觀心論疏 1.34

1.34

偈云：「勸化修供養，興顯安行人，密心為自利，倚託以資身。壞他喜捨善，駝驢以償人，若能問觀心，即如駝驃也。由是因緣故，須造觀心論。」前有二偈半明欲興顯佛法翻為污損，就通方行化人也；此兩偈半正明知事得失。然自非內有明解觀行，知因識果，畏罪憚業，誓能無利己者耳？觀智觀心，知萬法幻化，何物可貪？何身可為？雖如幻化，因果不差，盜至於五，如斷多羅樹，佛法死人，不預僧數。顯則人天所惡，冥則幽聖所呵，現則色心摧折，末則駝驢償人。一失人身，萬劫不復，侵利極微，受報極重。何有觀智之人而為斯也？至如駝驃，終無利己侵眾之失也。

The verse says:
"Exhorting and converting [others] to cultivate offerings,
Promoting [the Dharma] and bringing peace to practitioners,
Yet secretly having a mind set on self-gain,
Relying on it to support oneself.
Destroying others' good roots of joyful giving,
One will repay people as a camel or a donkey.
If one can interrogate contemplation of mind,
One will be just like a swift camel.
For these reasons,
One must compose the Treatise on Contemplating the Mind."
The previous two and a half verses clarified that wishing to promote the Buddha-Dharma turned into defiling and damaging it, speaking with respect to those who propagate teachings everywhere; these two and a half verses directly clarify the gains and losses of administrative monks (karmadāna / vihārasvāmī). Now, unless one internally possesses clear understanding and contemplative practice, knows causes and discerns fruits, fears transgressions and dreads karmic consequences, how could one vow not to profit oneself? With the wisdom of contemplation one contemplates the mind, knowing that the myriad phenomena are illusory transformations—what object could be craved? What body could be indulged? Though like illusory transformations, cause and fruit never err; stealing up to the value of five [māṣas] is like snapping a tāla palm tree: one becomes a dead person in the Buddha-Dharma, no longer counted among the Saṅgha. Openly one is despised by humans and devas; secretly one is rebuked by the unseen holy ones; in the present life one's body and mind are crushed; and in the end one repays people as a camel or a donkey. Once one loses the human body, it is not regained for ten thousand kalpas; the gain encroached upon is extremely minute, yet the retribution received is extremely heavy. How could a person of contemplative wisdom do such a thing? As for a swift camel, it is ultimately free from the fault of profiting oneself and encroaching upon the Saṅgha.