妙法蓮華經玄贊 4.47

4.47

Identifying the essential nature: The Bodhisattvabhūmi (*Dìchí lùn) states: 'It refers to people of this present era who mostly have short lifespans, at most one hundred years; this is called the defilement of lifespan.' This takes the life-faculty, which is the functional distinction of the name-and-concept seeds in the fundamental consciousness induced by karma, as its essential nature. The force of wholesome karma being weak, the life-faculty gradually shortens, which is brought about by the karma of taking life. If sentient beings do not recognize mother and father, do not recognize śramaṇas, brāhmaṇas, clans, elders, and superiors, do not cultivate righteous principles, do not fear or dread the retribution of bad karma in this life or future lives, do not cultivate giving, do not perform merits, do not cultivate the fasting regulations, and do not uphold the prohibitive precepts, this is called the defilement of sentient beings. Although the eighth consciousness is designated as 'sentient being', here it is said that due to proximity to bad external conditions, the nominal person of the five aggregates performs evil without good, which is called the defilement of sentient beings; it takes the eighth consciousness together with the five aggregates as its nature. If these sentient beings increase in unrighteous greed, or give knives and swords to make donations of weapons, engage in litigation, disputes, agitation, flattery, deviousness, and false speech, and adopt false teachings and other bad, unwholesome dharmas, this is called the defilement of afflictions. Except for the five views, all remaining afflictions and secondary afflictions constitute the essence of the defilement of afflictions. This unrighteous greed and giving of knives and swords causing the practice of killing, or being stingy with fine wealth while only giving away knives and swords, litigation arising due to unrighteous greed, etc., up to other bad, unwholesome dharmas, comprehensively subsumes all afflictions and secondary afflictions without remainder. Because by nature they repeatedly practice them, when meeting bad circumstances they are pulled along and the afflictions become especially heavy. If in the present era the true Dharma is ruined and the true Dharma disappears, the semblance Dharma gradually arises, and false teachings proliferate, this is called the defilement of views. This takes the five views as its essential nature; mostly due to proximity to outsiders, bad views repeatedly arise. If the kalpa of famine arises, the kalpa of epidemics arises, or the kalpa of weapons arises, this is called the defilement of the kalpa. This takes the four sensory data of the form aggregate as its essential nature, or extends to all five aggregates; yet it is time, an unassociated conditioned dharma, that serves as its essential nature, established as it is upon the four or five aggregates. Afflictions increasing and bad karma becoming especially heavy, they then incur bad results, and the three calamities thereupon arise.