六妙法門 1.40

1.40

所以者何？凡夫鈍根行者，當數息時唯知從一至十，令心安定，欲望此入禪，受諸快樂，是名於數息中而起魔業，以貪生死故。復次，如諸利根外道，見心猛盛，見因緣故，當數息時非但調心數息，從一至十，欲求禪定，亦能分別現在有息、無息、亦有亦無、非有非無；過去息如去、不如去、亦如去亦不如去、非如去非不如去；未來息有邊、無邊、亦有邊亦無邊、非有邊非無邊；現在息有常耶，無常耶，亦常亦無常耶，非常非無常耶？及心亦爾，隨心所見，計以為實，謂他所說悉為忘語。是人不了息相，隨妄見生分別，即是數息戲論。四邊火燒，生煩惱處，長夜貪著邪見，造諸邪行，斷滅善根，不會無生，心行理外，故名外道。如是二人鈍利雖殊，三界生死輪迴無別。

Why is this? When ordinary practitioners of dull faculties count the breath, they only know how to count from one to ten to make the mind settled, hoping by this to enter dhyāna and experience various pleasures. This is called giving rise to māra's activities within counting the breath, because of craving for saṃsāra. Furthermore, as for non-Buddhists of sharp faculties, their speculative minds are fierce, and due to causes and conditions, when counting the breath, they not only regulate the mind and count the breath from one to ten seeking dhyāna absorption, but they can also discriminate whether the present breath exists, does not exist, both exists and does not exist, or neither exists nor does not exist; whether the past breath has gone as such, has not gone as such, has both gone as such and not gone as such, or has neither gone as such nor not gone as such; whether the future breath has an end, has no end, both has an end and has no end, or neither has an end nor has no end; and whether the present breath is permanent, impermanent, both permanent and impermanent, or neither permanent nor impermanent. The mind is also like this. Following whatever their minds perceive, they grasp it as real and claim that what others say is entirely false speech. Such persons do not understand the characteristics of the breath, and generating discriminations based on false views is the conceptual proliferation of counting the breath. Burning with the fires of the four extremes, a site where defilements arise, through the long night they cravenly cling to wrong views, commit various wrong deeds, sever their roots of goodness, and do not accord with the unarisen. Because their mental activities are outside the truth, they are called non-Buddhists. Although these two persons differ in dullness and sharpness, they are no different in their transmigration through the saṃsāra of the three realms.