四分律行事鈔資持記 3.869

3.869

Under 'General Instruction': In the first section, the biography is cited first. Regarding 'having it chanted and read': according to this, all merits cultivated during one's lifetime must be recorded. Whenever nursing the sick, one must constantly remain at their side, spurring their mental activities and perpetually causing them to be mindful of the good, because shedding one's retribution and proceeding to a rebirth depends entirely on whether the mind's thoughts are good or evil at the time of death. Below, the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa is cited as proof to resolve doubts. In the answer, the first sentence is the direct answer, and the two sentences below further explain it. As for 'committing evil yet being born into good destinies,' according to Tiantai's Shiyi lun, it is resolved through three meanings: First, in terms of the mind, when one commits sin, it arises from an illusory and inverted mind, which is false; now, due to a spiritual friend's encouragement, reforming the mind is real. Second, when committing sin, it was conditioned by ignorant delusion and vanity, which is spurious; now, meeting a spiritual friend, hearing the Buddha's name, and generating the bodhicitta is genuine. Third, regarding definitiveness: previously, when committing sin, the mind was interrupted; now, at the time of death, the mind is intense and sharp—just as a single lamp can dispel the darkness of a ten-thousand-year-old dark room, or a small fire can burn up a thousand-year accumulation of firewood. (This latter meaning is identical to the present manual.)