妙法蓮華經玄贊 4.226

4.226

贊曰：下二頌半有惡，為二：初一頌半現苦沈溺煩惱增多，後一頌設求出要而行邪行。此初也。世間犛牛由自愛尾藏身護尾，人貪其尾遂殺其身；眾生亦爾，貪著五欲以自藏身，遂以貪愛而自弊敗，反自弊困墜墮惡道。有本云「自蔽」，蔽掩障也。如犛牛愛尾以弊其心遂致喪命；眾生亦爾，貪愛蔽心。犛牛，《說文》「西南夷長髭牛也」。有作「猫」字，人間捕鼠者，非此中義。有作「猫」、「𤚐」，不知所從。

The Commentary says: The two and a half verses below concern the presence of evil, divided into two parts: first, one and a half verses on sinking in present suffering and the increase of afflictions; later, one verse on practicing wrong conduct even when seeking the way out. This is the first. In the world, a yak, out of love for its own tail, conceals its body to protect its tail, yet people covet its tail and consequently kill its body; sentient beings are also like this: coveting and clinging to the five desires to conceal themselves, they are consequently harmed and ruined by their greedy love, which turns back to entrap and torment them so that they fall into evil destinies. One version has "self-obscuring" (zibi 自蔽), "obscuring" meaning concealing and covering. Just as the yak loves its tail so that it obscures its mind and ultimately loses its life, sentient beings are also like this, their minds obscured by greedy love. For the yak (maoniu 犛牛), the Shuowen says: "A long-bearded bovine of the southwestern barbarians." Some have written the character mao 猫 (cat), which catches mice in the human world; that is not the meaning here. Some write it as 猫 or 𤚐, and it is unknown where those came from.