法苑珠林 48.67

48.67

法界內有如意寶人焉。九緘其口而。銘其膺曰。古之攝心人也。誡之哉。誡之哉。無多慮無多知。多知多事。不如息意。多慮多失。不如守一。慮多志散。知多心亂。心亂生惱。志散妨道。勿謂何傷。其苦悠長。勿言何畏。其禍鼎沸。滴水不停。四海將盈。纖塵不拂。五岳將成。防末在本。雖小不輕。關爾七竅。閉爾六情。莫窺於色。莫聽於聲。聞聲者聾。見色者盲。一文一藝。空中小蜹。一技一能。日下孤燈。英賢才藝。是為愚弊。捨棄淳樸。耽溺婬麗。識馬易奔心猨難制。神既勞役。形必損斃。邪徑終迷修途永泥。英賢才能。是曰惛懵。洿拙羨巧。其德不弘。名厚行薄。其高速崩。塗書污卷。其用不常。內懷矜伐。外致怨憎。或談於口。或書於手。要人令譽。亦孔之醜。凡謂之吉。聖以之咎。賞悅暫時悲憂長久。畏影畏迹逾劇逾走。端坐樹陰迹滅影沈。厭生患老隨思隨造。心想若滅生死長絕。不死不生無相無名。一道虛寂萬物齊平。何勝何劣。何重何輕。何貴何賤何辱何榮。澂天愧淨皦日慚明。安夫岱岳固彼金城。敬詒賢哲斯道利貞。

'Within the Dharma realm, there is a wish-fulfilling jewel man. Nine times sealed was his mouth, and inscribed upon his chest it read: "A man of antiquity who restrained the mind. Beware, beware! Do not brood much, do not know much. Knowing much leads to many affairs; it is better to rest the mind. Brooding much leads to many failures; it is better to preserve oneness. When brooding is excessive, the will is scattered; when knowledge is excessive, the mind is disordered. When the mind is disordered, afflictions arise; when the will is scattered, the Way is obstructed. Do not say, 'What harm is there?' Its suffering will be long and enduring. Do not say, 'What is there to fear?' Its disaster will boil like a cauldron. If drops of water do not cease, the four seas will become full; if fine dust is not swept away, the five peaks will be formed. Guard against the end by attending to the root; though small, do not take it lightly. Close your seven apertures, shut your six emotions. Do not peer at sights; do not listen to sounds. Those who listen to sounds become deaf; those who look at sights become blind. A single piece of writing or a single art is like a small midge in the air; a single craft or a single ability is like a solitary lamp beneath the sun. Talents and arts of the brilliant and worthy are folly and defect. Abandoning simplicity and getting addicted to luxuriant beauty, the horse of consciousness easily bolts, and the monkey of the mind is difficult to restrain. Once the spirit is toiled, the body will surely deteriorate and die. Deviant paths will ultimately lead astray; the long journey will forever be bogged in mud. Talents and abilities of the brilliant and worthy are called confusion and ignorance. When the dirty and clumsy envy cleverness, their virtue is not vast. When fame is thick and conduct is thin, their high position quickly collapses. Smearing books and dirtying scrolls, their use is not lasting. Inwardly harboring pride and self-praise, outwardly they incur resentment and hatred. Whether spoken with the mouth or written with the hand, to fish for people's good praise is exceedingly ugly. What the ordinary call auspicious, the sages consider a fault. Pleasure and joy are fleeting; sorrow and grief are enduring. Fearing shadows and fearing footprints, the more severely one runs, the more one suffers; sit upright in the shade of a tree, and footprints disappear and shadows sink away. Despising life and suffering old age, as thoughts arise, karmic actions are created; if mental conceptions are extinguished, birth and death are forever severed. Neither dying nor being born, without marks and without name, the one Way is empty and tranquil, all things are equalized. What is superior, what is inferior? What is heavy, what is light? What is noble, what is base? What is disgrace, what is glory? Let the clear sky be ashamed before purity, and the bright sun blush before brilliance. Steady as Mount Tai, solid as a metal rampart. Respectfully bequeathed to worthies and sages: this Way is beneficial and steadfast."'