觀心論疏 1.37

1.37

偈云：「貧賤多姦諂，窺窬造眾惡，現彼王法治，死墮三惡道。若能問觀心，即安貧養道，有道即富貴，無為即富樂。為是因緣故，須造觀心論。」此兩偈半明貧者得大也。何者？若內無觀慧之道照朗心胸，情抱則闇，以心闇故，不識生死涅槃、世間出世間之因果也。而復為貧窮飢寒所逼，而遂窺窬姦諂造惡，故偈云「現被王法治，死墮於地獄」。若有觀智之心，即識往因，達今世之報，不更造惡，招將來之苦，但安神養道，故偈云「有道即富貴，無為即富樂」也。

The verse says:
"The poor and lowly are mostly deceitful and flattery-prone,
Peeping about and committing various evils;
In the present they are punished by the king's law,
And upon death they fall into the three evil paths.
If one can interrogate contemplation of mind,
One rests content in poverty and nurtures the Way;
Possessing the Way is itself wealth and nobility,
And non-action is itself wealth and joy.
For these reasons,
One must compose the Treatise on Contemplating the Mind."
These two and a half verses clarify that the poor attain what is great. Why is this? If one does not internally have the Way of contemplative wisdom to illuminate one's mind, one's inner disposition remains dark. Because the mind is dark, one does not recognize the causes and fruits of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, of the mundane and the supramundane. Further pressed by poverty, hunger, and cold, one subsequently peeps about, acts deceitfully and flatteringly, and commits evil. Thus the verse says: "In the present they are punished by the king's law, / And upon death they fall into hell." If one has a mind of contemplative wisdom, one recognizes past causes and understands the retribution of the present life; rather than creating further evil and incurring future suffering, one simply sets the spirit at ease and nurtures the Way. Thus the verse says: "Possessing the Way is itself wealth and nobility, / And non-action is itself wealth and joy."