梵網經菩薩戒本疏 4.10

4.10

Eighth, regarding the practices of remedy, ten kinds are briefly set forth: First, reflect that one's own body as well as material possessions are all impermanent and destructible phenomena; once ruined, stinginess cannot preserve them, so being stingy and possessive is entirely of no benefit. Second, moreover, these are all equally shared with kings, thieves, floods, fires, unfilial sons, and the like; since they have not yet seized them, one should swiftly give them away in generosity, storing them in a secure treasury to belong permanently to oneself. Third, if out of stinginess one does not give, one plants karma of poverty through successive lifetimes to follow oneself. Fourth, furthermore, because in past lives I did not habituate myself to giving, now though having wealth I am stingy and unable to give; if I do not strive to give now, this habit will not be broken, and its increase will be able to obstruct great giving; therefore, I should now exert my mind to counter stinginess and practice giving. Fifth, again, if, being poor and destitute, one fears failing to survive and is stingy and does not give, one should reflect that poverty is an obstacle to giving; to shatter this obstacle, one should endure suffering and vigorously practice giving. Due to past karma I have experienced various sufferings such as hunger and thirst without benefiting a single sentient being; now by practicing giving I can benefit others, so even if I undergo manifold sufferings up to losing my life, I will ultimately not let the requester return empty-handed, much less when there are still remaining vegetable leaves and the like with which I can sustain my life; therefore, one should endure this poverty and suffering to practice giving. Sixth, if one cannot relinquish one's body, life, and prized possessions, one should immediately reflect: "When I generated the great bodhicitta before the Great Master of the Triple World, all internal and external [things] were already relinquished; how could I now betray my original vow and fail sentient beings?" Seventh, furthermore, if it causes me to commit a bodhisattva pārājika offense, it would be deceiving the Buddhas of the ten directions, which is utterly unacceptable. Eighth, "I now relinquish these unstable things and this foul, defiled body; now I will attain the pure dharmakāya and the indestructible Dharma; since this benefits me, if I do not practice giving, I will forfeit great benefit." Ninth, this body and wealth are illusory things; if one cannot even relinquish them to fulfill the wishes of sentient beings, how could one in the future benefit sentient beings with unexcelled bodhi? Tenth, I should contemplate that all phenomena are empty, devoid of self and what belongs to a self; if now I am stingy and unyielding with this illusory body and wealth, how could I realize and enter into the equal nature of phenomena? Contemplating these ten kinds of remedies, there is no stinginess one cannot relinquish, fully as explained in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, the Dazhidulun, the Yogācāra[-bhūmi], and so on.