觀心論疏 3.13

3.13

Second, reproving the five desires: this refers to form, sound, smell, taste, and touch. The Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā states: "Restraining the six sense-faculties is like binding a dog, a deer, a fish, a snake, an ape, and a bird." A dog delights in villages; a deer delights in mountains and marshes; a fish delights in pools and ponds; a snake delights in dwelling in holes; an ape delights in deep forests; a bird delights in relying on the open sky. The six sense-organs delight in the six sense-objects; this is not something ordinary people of shallow wisdom and weak resolve can subdue. Only those with great wisdom, firm minds, and right mindfulness can subdue them. This is an overall analogy for the six sense-organs; now I privately correlate them: the eye is greedy for form—form has substantial shape like a village, so the eye is like a dog; the ear is greedy for sound—sound has no substantial shape like an open marsh, so the ear is like a deer; the nose is greedy for smell, like a fish; the tongue is greedy for taste, like a snake; the body clings to touch, like an ape; the mind takes conditions from mental phenomena, like a bird. Here, excluding the mind-faculty, we clarify only the five sense-objects. The five sense-objects are not themselves desires, but within them there is relish that can produce a greedy mind of desire in practitioners; hence they are called the five desires. For example, just as when a potter is visited by guests who request his attention, his work cannot be completed, the five desires are also like this: they constantly tend to drag people into various demonic realms. Although one has the preceding conditions complete, concentrating the mind is difficult to establish; therefore, one must reprove them. Form refers to red, white, long, short, bright eyes, pleasing glances, white necks, kingfisher brows, pearly teeth, cinnabar lips, and even the dependent retribution of red, yellow, vermilion, purple, and various precious gems and treasures, which delude and agitate people's minds. As stated in the Chanmen: "The harm of form is especially deep, driving people mad and drunk." The root of birth and death is truly due to this. A sūtra says: "Sentient beings are greedy as wolves for wealth and sex; because of this they do not attain the Way." The Guan jing says: "Driven by form, slaves to affection, they do not attain mastery." If one can know the faults and perils of form, one will not be deceived by it; having reproved it in this manner, desire for form will then cease, conditions will not arise, and one enters concentration with a single-minded focus. Desire for sound refers to alluring and seductive words, lascivious sounds, and defiled talk, as well as the sounds of strings, flutes, bracelets, bangles, and tinkling pendants. Desire for smell refers to thick fragrance, misty vapors, the scents of orchid and musk, fiercely fragrant and luxuriant substances, and the scents of male and female bodies. Desire for taste refers to wine, meat, rare delicacies, fatty and rich foods, savory grease, sweet, sour, spicy flavors, ghee, oils, fresh blood, and the like. Desire for touch refers to cold, warmth, fineness, smoothness, lightness, heaviness, hardness, softness, famed garments, fine clothing, and male and female bodies. As for the faults and perils of these five desires: form is like a hot iron pellet—if grasped, it burns; sound is like a poison-smeared drum—if heard, one is sure to die; smell is like the breath of a dead dragon—if inhaled, one falls ill; taste is like boiling honey—it scalds the tongue until it festers, and like honey smeared on a blade—if licked, one is injured; touch is like a sleeping lion—if approached, it bites. Regarding these five desires, attaining them brings no satiety; evil thoughts grow increasingly fierce like fire fed with wood. Lifetime after lifetime they cause harm worse than an enemy or bandit; for successive kalpas down to the present, they have continually plundered us. They break and destroy body and mind; now they obstruct the stillness of dhyāna and once again trouble and disrupt us. Knowing their faults deeply, greedy defilement comes to an end. As for the contemplation of mind reproving the five desires: just as within desire for form the relishes are measureless—namely, permanent and impermanent, self and non-self, pure and impure, suffering and bliss, empty and existent, and worldly supreme truth—these are all relishes. The Dazhidulun states: "The two vehicles reprove worldly form for the sake of dhyāna; this is not called a pāramitā. Bodhisattvas reprove form and immediately see the true mark of form; seeing the true mark of form is seeing the true mark of dhyāna; therefore it is called a pāramitā, reaching the other shore of form. Reaching the other shore of form is seeing the Middle Way." Discerning form is seeing the conventional truth of form; that form is immediately empty is seeing the ultimate truth of form. Reproving form in this manner exhausts the source and bedrock of form, fulfills the samādhi of the three truths, and generates the three kinds of wisdom. Deeply reproving form serves as an expedient means for the contemplation of mind; its meaning lies here. Reproving form being like this, the remaining four are also like this.