金光明懺法補助儀 1.12

1.12

更復略說，且出家之子，尚不應求事戒、世禪及二乘智慧，豈容全不資道，專為養軀，諂附行儀，竊規財利？設遂多畜，自犯嚴科，不淨八財，招苦三惡，供養既無福應，（《五百問》云：「尚不免地獄，何況得福？」）施設竟自空為，擬欲感天，恐應無日。二則天佐有德，不祐無道。畜財毀戒，天捨人譏，徒欲虔祈，逾近逾遠。尚今大鬼掃迹，寧得尊天衛身，天乎無親，唯德是輔。豈苟徇庸鄙，而言「終身不遠是人」耶？三則既反天意，與財何為？意為通經，不專濟命。尚令散積，豈使益貪？且沙門染法猶訶，畜財誰賞？世有不達，徒欲要求，天網恢恢，疎而不漏。

To speak further and briefly: moreover, a child of the renounced life should not even seek the worldly precepts, worldly dhyāna, and wisdom of the two vehicles; how could it be permissible to entirely fail to assist the Way, solely nourish the body, fawn upon ritual forms, and secretly plot for wealth and profit? Even if they end up accumulating much, they personally violate strict disciplines; the eight impure kinds of wealth incur suffering in the three bad destinies. Since offerings yield no retribution of blessing—(The Five Hundred Questions says: 'One cannot even avoid hell, let alone obtain blessings')—the arrangements end up entirely in vain; expecting to move heaven, there will likely never be such a day.

Secondly, heaven assists the virtuous, but does not bless the unprincipled. Storing wealth and breaking precepts, heaven abandons them and humans ridicule them; in vain they wish to pray devoutly, but the closer they try, the farther they become. Even great ghosts sweep away their tracks, so how could venerable devas protect their bodies? Heaven has no favorites; it only aids virtue. How could it casually comply with the mediocre and base, and say, 'To the end of my life, I will not be far from this person'?

Thirdly, having gone against the heavenly intention, what is the point of giving wealth? The intention was to propagate the sūtra, not solely to sustain life. If it even commands dispersing accumulations, how could it cause greed to increase? Moreover, when a śramaṇa's attachment to the Dharma is still rebuked, who would praise the amassing of wealth? In this world there are those who do not understand, vainly wishing to make demands; the net of heaven is vast—coarse, yet nothing slips through.