太子瑞應本起經 2.19

2.19

「佛言：『善哉，善哉！梵天！欲廣施安，救諸世間，撫利寧濟，樂使解脫。我念世間，貪愛嗜欲，墮生死苦，少能自覺本從十二因緣起，癡緣癡，行緣行，識緣識，名像緣名像，六入緣六入，更樂緣更樂，痛緣痛，愛緣愛，受緣受，有緣有，生緣生老死憂悲苦悶心惱；大患其有，精神從愛，轉受生死。欲得道者，當斷貪愛滅除情欲，無為無起，然則癡滅，癡滅則行滅，行滅則識滅，識滅則名像滅，名像滅則六入滅，六入滅則更樂滅，更樂滅則痛滅，痛滅則愛滅，愛滅則受滅，受滅則有滅，有滅則生滅，生滅則老死憂悲苦悶心惱大患皆盡；是謂得道。唯佛覺此，微妙難明。夫此清淨無愚癡想，不可以世間凡夫意知。天下道術，九十六種，各有所事，或事天地日月五星，或事水火鬼神龍神，皆樂生求安，貪欲嗜味，好於聲色，故不能樂佛道，不聞佛經，不知要法。凡人意異，計身萬物謂可常有，設當為說，目之所見，萬物無常，有身皆苦，身為非身，空無所有，親戚家屬，悉非人所。正言似反，誰能信者？吾為枯苦，不如取泥洹，故欲不言耳。』

"The Buddha said: ‘Well said, well said, Brahmā! You wish to broadly bestow peace, rescue all worlds, cherish and benefit, comfort and deliver, delighting in causing them to attain liberation. I consider that the world is attached to craving and fond of desires, falling into the suffering of birth and death, and few are able to realize on their own that it originally arises from the twelve links of dependent origination: ignorance conditions mental formations, mental formations condition consciousness, consciousness conditions name-and-form, name-and-form conditions the six sense bases, the six sense bases condition contact, contact conditions feeling, feeling conditions craving, craving conditions grasping, grasping conditions becoming, becoming conditions birth, and birth conditions old age, death, worry, sorrow, suffering, distress, and mental affliction. A great calamity is this existence: the spirit follows craving, repeatedly undergoing birth and death. One who wishes to attain the Way must cut off craving, eliminate passion and desire, be unconditioned and non-arising. Thus ignorance ceases; ignorance ceasing, mental formations cease; mental formations ceasing, consciousness ceases; consciousness ceasing, name-and-form ceases; name-and-form ceasing, the six sense bases cease; the six sense bases ceasing, contact ceases; contact ceasing, feeling ceases; feeling ceasing, craving ceases; craving ceasing, grasping ceases; grasping ceasing, becoming ceases; becoming ceasing, birth ceases; birth ceasing, old age, death, worry, sorrow, suffering, distress, mental affliction, and all great calamities come to an end. This is called attaining the Way. Only a Buddha awakens to this; it is subtle, wondrous, and difficult to comprehend. This purity is free from foolish ideations, and cannot be known with the minds of ordinary worldlings. Under heaven there are ninety-six kinds of arts and doctrines, each serving its own object: some serve heaven and earth, the sun, moon, and five planets; some serve water, fire, ghosts, spirits, and dragon gods. They all delight in life and seek security, crave desires and relish flavors, and are fond of sounds and forms; hence they cannot take delight in the Buddha's Way, do not hear the Buddha's scriptures, and do not know the essential Dharma. Ordinary people's minds are contrary: calculating the body and the myriad things, they think they can be permanently maintained. If I were to preach to them that what the eye sees and all the myriad things are impermanent, that having a body is entirely suffering, that the body is not the self, empty, and devoid of anything, and that relatives and family members are all not one's own—straightforward words sound like their opposite, so who could believe them? It would only be a weary toil for me. It is better to enter Nirvāṇa; for this reason, I intended not to speak.’