萬善同歸集 3.30

3.30

「又薄德少福人，不堪受此法。夫善根易失，惡業難除。《涅槃經》明：『譬如畫石，其文常在；畫水速滅，勢不久住。瞋如畫石；諸善根本，如彼畫水，是故此心難得調伏。』故知善事易忘，人身難得，不可因循，剎那異世。《提謂經》云：『如有一人，在須彌山上以纖縷下之，一人在下持針迎之；中有旋嵐猛風，吹縷難入針孔。人身難得甚過於是。』又《菩薩處胎經》云：『盲龜浮木孔，時時猶可值；人一失命根，億劫復難是。海水深廣大，三百三十六，一針沒海底，求之尚可得。』又云：『吾從無數劫，往來生死道；捨身復受身，不離胞胎法。計我所經歷，記一不記餘；純作白狗身，積骨億須彌。以利針地種，無不值我體；何況雜色狗，其數不可量。吾故攝其心，不貪著放逸。』是以暫得人身，於十二時中，不可頃剋忘善，剎那長惡，此便難逢，豈容空過。

"Furthermore, people of thin virtue and little merit cannot receive this Dharma. Wholesome roots are easily lost, while evil karma is difficult to eliminate. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra explains: 'For example, if one carves on stone, the inscription endures; if one draws on water, it quickly vanishes and its trace does not last long. Anger is like carving on stone; the roots of all good deeds are like drawing on water. Therefore, this mind is difficult to tame.' Thus we know that good deeds are easily forgotten, while a human body is difficult to obtain; one must not dally, for in an instant one may be in another world. The Tiwei Sūtra states: 'Suppose there is a person on Mount Sumeru lowering a fine thread, and someone below holds a needle up to receive it; in between, a violent cyclone blows, making it difficult for the thread to enter the eye of the needle. Obtaining a human body is more difficult than this.' The Pusa chutai jing also states: 'A blind turtle meeting a hole in a floating log may still occur from time to time; but once a person loses the life-faculty, in a hundred million kalpas it is difficult to obtain it again. The seawater is deep and vast, three hundred and thirty-six [thousand yojanas]; if a single needle sinks to the ocean floor, seeking it may still be achieved.' It also states: 'For countless kalpas, I came and went on the paths of saṃsāra, casting off bodies and receiving bodies again, never separated from the condition of the womb. Counting what I have passed through, noting one and not noting the rest: merely as a white dog, my accumulated bones would equal a hundred million Mount Sumerus. If the earth were planted with sharp needles, none would fail to strike my corpse; how much more so for dogs of mixed colors, whose number cannot be measured! Therefore I gathered my mind, not clinging to heedlessness.' Hence, having temporarily obtained a human body, throughout the twelve periods of the day one must not for a moment forget the good, nor for an instant foster evil; this opportunity is difficult to encounter, so how could one allow it to pass in vain?