阿彌陀經通贊疏 3.86

3.86

Second, revealing the essential nature. The Bodhisattvabhūmi states: It means that people of this present world mostly have short lifespans, at most lasting one hundred years; this is termed the defilement of lifespan. This takes as its essential nature the distinctive functional capacity of the life-faculty drawn by karma from the name-and-concept seeds in the fundamental consciousness. Because the power of wholesome karma is weak, the life-faculty gradually shortens, induced by the karma of killing living beings. If sentient beings do not recognize their parents, do not recognize śramaṇas or their clan elders and superiors, do not cultivate righteousness and principle, do not dread or fear the retributions of evil karma in this life or future lives, do not cultivate generous giving or perform meritorious deeds, do not observe the purification practices and do not uphold the prohibitive precepts—this is termed the defilement of sentient beings. Although the eighth consciousness is designated 'sentient being', it is spoken of here because, due to proximity to evil external conditions, the nominal person made of the five aggregates commits evil without goodness; thus it is called the defilement of sentient beings, taking the eighth consciousness combined with the five aggregates as its nature. If these sentient beings increase unlawful greed, or bestow knives and swords, or give weapons, engage in litigations, brawls, and disturbances, are flattery-prone, crooked, and mendacious, adopt false dharmas and other bad, unwholesome dharmas—this is termed the defilement of afflictions. Excluding the five views, all remaining afflictions and secondary afflictions are the essential nature of the defilement of afflictions. This unlawful greed, bestowing knives and swords, and so on, causing killing to be carried out, or stingily hoarding fine wealth while giving only knives and swords, with disputes arising from unlawful greed, and extending to all other bad and unwholesome dharmas, comprehensively subsumes all afflictions and secondary afflictions completely; because of habitual practice by nature, when encountering evil objects, one is dragged along, and the afflictions become particularly heavy. If in this present world the True Dharma is ruined and the Dharma sinks, the Counterfeit Dharma gradually arises, and false doctrines are increasingly produced—this is termed the defilement of views. This takes the five views as its essential nature; by mostly associating with non-Buddhists, evil views frequently arise. If kalpas of famine arise, kalpas of epidemics arise, and kalpas of weaponry arise—this is termed the defilement of the kalpa. This takes the four sensory objects of the form aggregate as its essential nature, or generally includes the five aggregates; it still has the unassociated [conditioned factor of] time as its essential nature, because it is established on the basis of the four or five aggregates. As afflictions multiply and evil karma grows particularly heavy, evil results are incurred, and the three calamities consequently arise.