宗鏡錄 63.10

63.10

The answer is: A verse states, / 'Animals are born in the heavens, / But hell is not like this; / Because when dwelling in heaven, / They do not suffer the pain of animals.' / What does this verse explain? Those animals and the like that are born in heaven have a small portion of karma pertaining to the receptacle world of heaven, and therefore in that receptacle world they experience pleasant retributions. The hell masters, crows, dogs, and the like do not experience various sufferings. For this reason, in that hell there are no real masters, crows, dogs, or the like, apart from the sinful sentient beings. Furthermore, the Ratnagotravibhāga-śāstra states: 'As said above, they attain distinct bodily substances, and they do not together experience the vessels of suffering in hell. Or, by the power of karma, the fierce fires simply cause no burning pain. If one were not oneself a good friend, who could make such a statement arbitrarily? Anyone who is a close friend and fundamentally kind by nature, irrespective of smooth or perilous circumstances, constantly deliberates what will benefit. Wishing to show that they do not undergo the pain of burning, they therefore express these words. Yet at this time, to help establish the doctrine is precisely to reveal the intent of a good friend. Because they do not experience that suffering, the intention is to establish that they are not naraka beings. Now it is further said: "By their karmic power, although there is said to be great fire, it does not burn." This truly establishes the doctrine of consciousness-only. Because there is no real fire, it is merely the power of karma that can destroy its own nature; since they definitely do not experience such pain, it follows that this fire originally lacks inherent nature. Yet the existence of a real nature is what is accepted by that school. If it is also admitted that it is an appearance manifested by consciousness and that the actual entity originally does not exist, then that there is no fire due to karmic power becomes logically sound. This is because their prior karma sets the limit. If it were otherwise, since the result brought about by that sovereign karma is already present there, how could it not be seen? It is like an ignorant person who, wishing to extinguish a fire, pours more clarified butter upon it. Now the Consciousness-Only school becomes all the more radiant. Due to these various reasons, this proves that they do not constitute the category of naraka beings. Therefore we know that it is merely manifested by citta; the correct principle is without error.' As the Chapter on Contemplating the Buddha's Citta in the Guan fo sanmei hai jing states: 'At that time, the Buddha's citta was like a red lotus flower. Between the petals of the lotus flower there were eighty-four thousand white rays of light. Their light illuminated everywhere the sentient beings of the five destinies. When this light came forth, the sentient beings undergoing suffering all appeared. As for those sufferings, they were the Avīci Hell, the eighteen minor hells, the eighteen cold hells, up to the five hundred billion sword-forest hells, and so forth.'