分別功德論 3.5

3.5

Mindfulness of morality (śīla) refers to practising pure morality and being endowed with all the rules of deportment. It is just like a potter conditioning and preparing clay, awaiting various requests for vessels: large, small, square, or round, each suiting what is desired. Morality is also like this: if one vows to be born in heaven, one receives blessings in the three realms; if one wishes to sever the fetters and seek the path, one's wish is granted as desired. It is like an auspicious vase: according to what a person desires, upon taking it they obtain it. Taking morality as the basis, one concurrently practises the thirty-seven factors of awakening and the various samādhis, severs the seven underlying tendencies (anuśaya) and nine fetters (saṃyojana), and advances to accomplish nirvāṇa. This is likened to clay made into a vessel, which can no longer be destroyed.