弘明集 1.58

1.58

正曰。誠如所言。佛亦曾為惡耳。今所以得佛者。改惡從善故也。若長惡不悛迷而後遂往。則長夜受苦。輪轉五道而無解脫之由矣。今以其能掘眾惡之栽。滅三毒之燼。修五戒之善。書十德之美。行之累劫倦而不已曉了本際暢三世空。故能解生死之虛外無為之場耳。計天下蜫蟲之數不可稱計。人之在九州之內若毫末之在馬體。十分之九豈所言哉。故天地之性以人為貴。榮期所以自得於三樂達貴賤之分明也。今更不復自賴於人類不醜惡於畜生。以芻水為甘膳。以羇絡為非謫。安則為之無所多難也。

The correction says: It is truly as you say—the Buddha also once committed evil. That he has now attained Buddhahood is because he turned from evil to follow good. If one fosters evil without repenting, straying and then persisting in it, one will suffer torments through the long night, turning in the cycle of the five paths without any means of liberation. Now, because he was able to uproot the plants of all evils, extinguish the ashes of the three poisons, cultivate the good of the five precepts, record the beauty of the ten virtues, and practice them for accumulated kalpas untiringly, comprehending the fundamental limit and penetrating the emptiness of the three times, he was therefore able to resolve the vanity of birth and death and abide in the arena of non-action beyond. If one calculates the number of crawling insects in the world, they cannot be counted; humans within the Nine Provinces are like a fine hair on a horse's body. How could nine-tenths even describe it? Therefore, of all the natures produced by Heaven and Earth, man is the most noble; that was how Rongqi found contentment in the three joys, understanding the distinct division between the noble and base. Now you no longer rely on being human, do not loathe animals, consider fodder and water a sweet delicacy, and deem halters and reins not to be punishments. If you find peace in that, then become one; there is no need to make so many difficulties!