龍舒增廣淨土文 10.8

10.8

A thousand adornments are merely for the half-inch eye; a hundred kinds of music are merely for the bean-sized ear; aloeswood, sandalwood, camphor, and musk are merely for the two nostrils; food spread out over ten square feet is merely for the three-inch tongue; exquisite beauty and seductive charm are merely for a foul and decaying body; compliance and flattery are merely for a wild and unrestrained mind. If one can see through this principle, one will be a happy person free of affliction. The Buddha said: "Sentient beings since beginningless time have recognized a thief as their child, robbing their own family jewels." This refers to being deluded by the thieves of the six sense faculties and thereby losing one's true nature. Mencius said: "Only a sage can fulfill the physical form," which means not being deluded by these. There was a courtesan who attained the Way. Mañjuśrī asked her: "How is it that you do not become angry?" She replied: "I see that all sentient beings do not arise." He asked again: "How do you see the eighteen realms?" She replied: "Like seeing the kalpa fire burning all worlds." How wonderful are these words! They mean that all sentient beings originally do not exist and are born only from false thoughts; what anger could there be? The eighteen realms refer to the six sense faculties, the six sense objects, and the six consciousnesses. Because there are these various elements, immeasurable matters are generated and immeasurable evils are created; therefore they are like the kalpa fire burning all worlds. If one awakens to this principle, although one has not yet been born in the Pure Land, it is already as if one were born in the Pure Land.