分別功德論 1.10

1.10

What is meant by living beings being incomprehensible? Some say that after the kalpa destruction by fire, water replenishes the place of fire, and the vairambha wind blows to create palaces; after this is completed, below there is the earth essence. The devas of the Ābhāsvara Heaven, roaming playfully down to the earth, gradually tasted the earth essence, and thereupon their bodies grew heavy so that they could not return. Those who ate much transformed into women. Gradually this diminished to thin cakes and non-glutinous rice, they lost their ṛddhi and radiance, and reverted to being human beings. Virtuous conduct leads to rebirth in the heavens, while evil conduct leads to the three destinies; transmigrating through the five realms, there is no fixed rule. Even if one wished to trace to the very bottom the origin of a single person, one still could not know it; how much less could all living beings be conceived? This is why living beings are incomprehensible.