念佛三昧寶王論 1.48

1.48

"According to these sacred teachings, if one does not provide such money, then the netters and the butchers will naturally cease. Furthermore, Nāgārjuna did not look down upon doves and sparrows, and eminent monks would not step over insects and ants. When someone asked the reason, the answer was: 'They and I are together in saṃsāra; they may perhaps attain full enlightenment before me, so how could I presumptuously look down on them?' If even looking down on them is impermissible, how could one exclusively eat their flesh and blood? The Ratnagotravibhāga says: 'In the Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra, [the Buddha] addressed Śāriputra, saying: "Sentient beings are precisely the ultimate truth, precisely the tathāgatagarbha, precisely the dharmakāya, precisely bodhi."' I say: If a dog only chases the clod and does not pursue the person, the clods will never cease to come; if one is only mindful of the past and present and not of the future, arrogance will never cease. If, like a lion, one pursues the person, the clods will naturally cease. I have heard that the way of respect and arrogance can be unified under a single principle: if one turns respect into arrogance and treats parents like ordinary people, this is the height of unfiliality! If one turns arrogance into respect and treats ordinary people like parents, this is the greatness of filial piety! Thus the Brahmajāla Sūtra says: 'Sentient beings of the six destinies are all my parents; filiality is called the precepts.' This truly lies here. When contemplating the six destinies as future buddhas, speaking of them as parents is still an understatement. If one can emulate the śrāmaṇera who saved the ants, a shortened lifespan will be prolonged; if one is like Jalavāhana who saved the fish, heavenly flowers will rain down in abundance. Transform the view of sentient beings held throughout vast kalpas, and be mindful of the bodies of future Sugatas; within filth, know there is true gold; amidst heavy clouds, trust there is a bright moon. Then the dense fog of meat-eating and the haze of birth and death will be swept away by the wind of wisdom into the vast sky of samādhi! The Brahmajāla Sūtra says: 'I am a buddha already accomplished; you are a buddha yet to become. Constantly maintain such faith, and the categories of precepts are already complete.' How could one not be mindful of them?"