萬善同歸集 3.33

3.33

答：「因放逸懈怠故無成，因勇猛精進故速辦。《譬喻經》云：『有一比丘飽食入室，閉房靜眠，愛身快樂。却後七日，其命將終；佛愍傷之，告比丘言：「汝維衛佛時，曾得出家，不念經戒，飽食却眠；命終魂神生蜈蚣蟲中，積五萬歲壽盡，復為螺蜯之蟲，樹中蠧蟲，各五萬歲。此四品蟲，生在冥中，貪身愛命，樂處幽隱為家，不喜光明；一眠之時，百歲乃覺，纏綿罪網，不求出要。今世罪畢，得為沙門，如何睡眠不知厭足？」比丘聞已，慚怖自責，五蓋即除，成阿羅漢。』《大寶積經》云：『佛言：「譬如綵帛繫在頭上，火來燒綵帛，無暇救火，何以故？究實理急。」』此上一一親明教行，豈敢造次，輒有浪陳。願遵懇苦之言，不違究竟之說。」

Answer: "Due to heedlessness and indolence, there is no accomplishment; due to courageous vigor, there is swift completion. The Avadāna Sūtra states: 'There was a monk who, after eating his fill, entered his room, closed his door and slept peacefully, loving the pleasures of his body. Seven days later, his life was about to end. Pitying him, the Buddha said to the monk: "At the time of Vipaśyin Buddha, you once attained pravrajyā, but did not contemplate the sūtras and precepts, eating your fill and then sleeping. When your life ended, your consciousness was reborn as a centipede. When a lifespan of fifty thousand years ended, you became a snail or clam, and then a wood-boring insect in a tree, each for fifty thousand years. These four classes of insects are born in darkness, greedy for their bodies and loving their lives, enjoying dwelling in hidden darkness as their home and disliking light. When they sleep once, they only wake after a hundred years; entangled in the net of transgressions, they do not seek the essentials of liberation. In this lifetime, your transgressions being exhausted, you were able to become a śramaṇa; how can you sleep without knowing satiety?" Having heard this, the monk felt ashamed and terrified, reproaching himself; the five hindrances were immediately eliminated, and he became an arhat.' The Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra states: 'The Buddha said: "For example, if colored silk is tied to one's head and fire comes to burn it, one would have no leisure to put out the fire. Why? Because the urgency of investigating the true reality is pressing."' The above passages directly clarify teachings and practices one by one; how could I dare act rashly and make reckless declarations? I hope you will follow these earnest words and not go against the definitive teaching."