觀音義疏 1.38

1.38

答：此有所表，人以六種成身，還以六種自害。如人共七難同住，復以七為難，今通用七難等來表六種也。火、水、風即表身內三種也，刀、杖、枷鎖表地種也，鬼、賊、王等表識種也，三千大千世界表空種也。云何空得為難？如人身有內空，四大圍之，識於中住，何異大千界圍，地、水、火、風，王、鬼、賊等於中住耶？空為難者，空是來難之由。如身體堅實，外病不侵；身若虛疎，眾疾逼惱。又如人家，宅無垣牆，盜賊則進，能來難故，空亦成難。識種是難者，心識耶計橫起愛見，毀滅法身慧命。如王、鬼、賊劫奪財寶，斷傷壽命，故識種是難。所以不多取者，正應表此，假令多舉諸難亦是表此。一、火難為四：一、持名即是善為機，二、遭苦即是惡為機，三、應，四、結。

Answer: This has a symbolic meaning: humans use six elements to form the body, and in turn use these six to harm themselves. Just as humans dwell together with the seven disasters, they also take seven as disasters; now the seven disasters and so forth are broadly used to symbolize the six elements. Fire, water, and wind symbolize the three elements within the body; swords, staves, fetters, and chains symbolize the earth element; ghosts, bandits, kings, and so forth symbolize the consciousness element; the trichiliocosm symbolizes the space element. How can space become a disaster? Just as the human body has internal space surrounded by the four great elements, within which consciousness abides, how does this differ from the trichiliocosm enclosing earth, water, fire, wind, kings, ghosts, bandits, and so forth abiding within it? Space being a disaster means that space is the source from which disasters arrive. For instance, if the body is solid and firm, external illnesses do not invade; if the body is hollow and porous, numerous diseases afflict it. Again, like a human dwelling: if a house has no surrounding walls, thieves and bandits enter; because it can bring about disasters, space also constitutes a disaster. The consciousness element being a disaster means: false calculations of the mental consciousness arbitrarily give rise to craving and views, destroying the dharma body and the life of wisdom. Just as kings, ghosts, and bandits plunder wealth and sever life, so the consciousness element is a disaster. Therefore, not selecting many is precisely meant to symbolize this; even if many disasters were cited, they would still symbolize this. First, the disaster of fire has four parts: 1. upholding the name, which is goodness serving as the capacity; 2. encountering suffering, which is evil serving as the capacity; 3. the response; 4. the conclusion.