法苑珠林 38.4

38.4

依像法決疑經云。造新不如修故。作福不如避禍。斯言驗矣。或有村坊墳塔故寺伽藍堂殿朽壞舍屋崩摧。蓆扇蓬戶靡隔煙塵。甕牖茅茨無掩霜露。是以門墻凋毀糞穢盈階。路絕人蹤。僧徒漂寄不修不飾。日就衰羸。造罪造愆無時暫捨。夜暗燈燭本自無聞。晝日幡華元來非見。堂絕梵唄鑪停海檀。遂使惡鬼効靈善神捨衛。伽藍無固直為僧徒慢惰佛法既衰。亦由白衣無敬。此而不憂更欲何求。

According to the Xiangfa jueyi jing: "Building anew is not as good as repairing the old; creating blessings is not as good as avoiding misfortune." These words have indeed been verified! There are village settlements, funerary stūpas, old temples, and saṃghārāmas whose halls and pavilions have rotted and fallen into ruin, their dwellings and buildings collapsed and destroyed. Woven-reed doors and bramble entries fail to shut out the smoke and dust; jar-rim windows and thatched roofs fail to keep off the frost and dew. Consequently, gates and walls are ruined, filth and excrement fill the steps, and the roads are devoid of human footprints. The assembly of monks drifts and wanders as transients, neither repairing nor adorning [the temples], so that day by day they fall into decline and debility. They create sins and offenses without ceasing for a single moment. At night in the dark, lamps and candles are simply unheard of; in the light of day, banners and flowers have never been seen. The halls are devoid of Buddhist chanting, and in the censers, the sea-sandalwood incense has ceased burning. This causes evil ghosts to show their uncanny powers and good spirits to abandon their protection. The saṃghārāmas lack stability simply because the assembly of monks is negligent and indolent; since the Buddhadharma has declined, it is also because the white-robed laity has no reverence. If one does not worry over this, what else could one seek?