法苑珠林 6.53

6.53

又分別功德論云。有諸沙門行諸禪觀。或在塚間。或在樹下。時在塚間觀於死屍。夜見飢鬼打一死屍。沙門問曰。何以打此死屍耶。答曰。此屍困我如是。是以打之。道人曰。何以不打汝心打此死屍。當復何益也。於須臾頃。復有一天。以天曼陀羅花散此臭屍。沙門問曰。何為散花此臭屍耶。答曰。由我此屍得生天上。此屍即是我之善友。故來散花報往昔恩。道人答曰。何不以花散汝心中。乃散臭屍。夫為善惡之本皆心所為。乃捨本求末耶。

Furthermore, the *Fenbie gongde lun* states: There were śramaṇas practicing various meditations, some in charnel grounds, some beneath trees. Once, when one was in a charnel ground observing dead bodies, at night he saw a hungry ghost beating a dead body. The śramaṇa asked, 'Why do you beat this dead body?' It answered, 'This body brought me to such misery as this, and that is why I beat it.' The man of the Way said, 'Why do you not beat your own mind instead of beating this dead body? What benefit can there be in doing so?' In a short while, a deva came and scattered heavenly māndārava flowers over this foul corpse. The śramaṇa asked, 'Why do you scatter flowers over this foul corpse?' It answered, 'Because of this body of mine, I attained rebirth in heaven. This corpse is my good friend, and so I have come to scatter flowers to repay its past kindness.' The man of the Way replied, 'Why do you not scatter flowers in your own mind, rather than over a foul corpse? The root of both good and evil is entirely created by the mind; why forsake the root to seek the branches?'