龍舒增廣淨土文 9.14

9.14

In the Śūraṅgama-sūtra, the Buddha stated that through desiring and clinging to female beauty, the mind is bound and does not depart, hence there is sexual desire. Thus across all worldly realms, parents and children generate one another without cease; such things have craving and desire as their root. From craving and relishing the taste of blood, the mind's indulgence does not stop, hence there is the eating of meat; thus across all worldly realms, creatures born from eggs, by transformation, from moisture, and from wombs devour one another in succession according to the strength of their power. Such things have the craving for killing as their root. Humans raise sheep; when the sheep die, they become humans, and when the humans die, they become sheep; eating other sentient beings is also like this. Through endless deaths and births they mutually devour one another, evil karma being born together with them to the exhaustion of the future. This, then, has the craving for stealing as its root: you owe me my life, and I repay you my debt; through these causes and conditions, for hundreds of thousands of kalpas they remain constantly in birth-and-death. You love my mind, and I pity your beauty; through these causes and conditions, for hundreds of thousands of kalpas they remain constantly in bondage. These three—killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct—are the root. Through these causes and conditions, the retributions of evil karma continue incessantly. As for the Western Pure Land, one receives a pure body not born from sexual desire; one eats pure food not obtained through killing and harming; one befriends pure people not associating through defiled attachment. All these [defilements] are cast off there. However, for those cultivating for the highest grade, these matters must not be left unexamined.