佛祖歷代通載 7.111

7.111

In general, the purport of its scriptures mostly states that kinds of sentient beings all arise due to actions and karma. There are three periods of time: past, present, and future; and the mental consciousness is never extinguished. In all cases, doing good or evil inevitably brings karmic retribution. Accumulating many superior deeds refines away the coarse and vulgar; passing through countless forms, one purifies the spirit, until reaching non-arising and attaining the Buddha Way. The stages, mental practices, and levels therein are not just one; all proceed from the shallow to the deep, relying on the subtle to manifest the evident. Generally, it consists in accumulating benevolence and compliance, eliminating conditioned desires, and practicing emptiness and stillness to achieve pervasive illumination. Therefore, at the outset of cultivating the mind, one relies on the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṃgha, which are called the Three Refuges, akin to the three awe-inspiring things of the gentleman. Furthermore, there are the Five Precepts: abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and drinking alcohol. Their general meaning is identical to benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. Upholding them leads to rebirth in the superior places of gods and humans; violating them leads to falling into the various sufferings of ghosts and animals. Moreover, the rebirth realms of good and evil comprise six destinies in all.