維摩經略疏 3.93

3.93

「是身至合成」，次總譬四想。身如毒蛇空聚怨賊之可畏也，即四想轉明。若約四苦，即總譬。此身有此四苦，如毒蛇賊等無有樂想。《大經》具出，今經略標。云「毒蛇」者，如四大毒蛇盛之一篋，各相違反；四大亦爾。又如毒蛇，人雖養育，嗔即螯人，不識恩養。身之四大亦復如是，行者養育宜應報恩，一大若違侵傷人善，使墮苦海難可出期。「如怨賊」者，以取人財物、傷人身命。五陰亦爾，在於身內劫人善財、斷人慧命。「如空聚」者，空聚無物，不生人愛。觀六根空，無神我味不應生染。又如空聚無有居民，但有鬼魅聚集其中。觀六根聚落非但無我，而有煩惱鬼魅聚集其中。陰者五陰，界者十八界，入者十二入。陰界諸入體本無實，何得有我？觀陰等理即是慧行，廣觀其事起種種行。

From "This body" up to "is composed of" is, next, a general simile for the four contemplations. The body is frightening like poisonous snakes, an empty village, or hostile bandits; thus the four contemplations become even clearer. If in terms of the four sufferings, it is a general simile: this body has these four sufferings, being like poisonous snakes, bandits, and so forth, without any thought of pleasure. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra sets this forth fully, while the present sūtra briefly outlines it. As for 'poisonous snakes': like four poisonous snakes contained in a single basket, constantly conflicting with one another; the four great elements are also like this. Furthermore, like a poisonous snake that, though raised by a person, bites the person when enraged, showing no gratitude for being nurtured; the four great elements of the body are also like this: the practitioner nurtures them and they ought to repay the kindness, yet if one great element conflicts, it harms the person's wholesome qualities and causes them to fall into the sea of suffering with no prospective time of emergence. As for 'like hostile bandits': they seize a person's property and harm a person's life; the five aggregates are also like this, plundering a person's wealth of wholesome roots and severing a person's life of wisdom within the body. As for 'like an empty village': an empty village has no goods and does not generate human love; contemplating that the six sense organs are empty and have no savor of a soul, one should not generate defiled attachment. Furthermore, like an empty village that has no residents, but only ghosts and demons congregating within it; contemplating that the settlement of the six sense organs is not only devoid of a self, but has the ghosts and demons of defilements congregating within it. 'Aggregates' are the five aggregates; 'realms' are the eighteen realms; 'entrances' are the twelve sense fields. The aggregates, realms, and entrances fundamentally have no substantial reality in their nature; how could there be a self? Contemplating the principle of the aggregates and so forth is the practice of wisdom; extensively contemplating their phenomenal aspects gives rise to various practices.