觀音義疏 1.38

1.38

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.