大般涅槃經義記 1.77

1.77

In the third section, the text has two distinct parts: 1. contemplating faults and generating revulsion; 2. from "because of this condition" onward, practicing remedies to sever and eliminate them. In the former, first they contemplate the five faults of the body. From "better with an ox" onward, two matters reveal the disadvantage. From "therefore one should" onward, it concludes in summary by generating revulsion. In the initial contemplation of faults, first they contemplate the suffering of the body. Contemplating the body as like a snake is its internal suffering: just as four snakes have natures and characteristics that oppose one another, so too are the four great elements—earth is solid and heavy, wind is moving and light, water is wet and cold, and fire is dry and hot, each opposing the other, and therefore they are like four snakes; the various worms gnawing and eating are its external suffering. The varieties of suffering are limitless; these two are briefly raised.