量處輕重儀 2.34

2.34

Because I consider light and heavy property difficult to distinguish, following the particulars of each matter, although the names of the items are fully revealed and their determinations are clear, I still fear that because their categories are manifold, it will be hard to comprehend them upon sudden inquiry. People might then deliberate with private feelings and dispose of them arbitrarily: converting heavy property to light property will immediately incur the ultimate penalty, while shifting light property to heavy property will likewise fall into penal sanctions; or where an entrustment was incomplete, they will unfairly allocate it with a crooked pen; or where debts are neglected, they will boldly assign it to another; or where prior facts were false; or where circumstances were difficult to train in, they will harbor private bribes and rely on influence to indulge their feelings, exchanging heavy and light property and misappropriating the saṅgha's benefit—all these are heavy offenses, and liberation through confession is difficult to expect. Therefore, I have repeatedly set forth standard maxims and proclaimed them throughout. Since our stage is not that of the first fruit, repaying debts in principle is difficult; only when one comprehends the entire scope from beginning to end can one determine penal guidelines.