法苑珠林 77.9

77.9

故攝論云。慳惜是多財障。嫉妬是尊貴障。又眾生起貪無過色財。第一愛色多過。如前已述。不同意者今更略論。如涅槃經說。譬如有人以羅剎女而為婦妾。是羅剎女隨所生子。生已便噉子既盡已。後噉其夫。愛羅剎女亦復如是。隨諸眾生生善根子。隨生隨食。善子既盡復噉眾生。令墮地獄畜生餓鬼。又如有人性愛好華。不見華莖毒蛇過患。即便前捉。捉已蛇螫。螫已命終。一切凡夫亦復如是。貪五欲華不見是愛毒蛇過患。而便受取。即為愛毒之所螫。命終之後墮三惡道。第二於財生貪者。貪財致禍大苦所惱。乖背道俗失於親疏。故智度論云。財物是種種煩惱罪業因緣。若持戒禪定智慧種種善法。是涅槃因緣。以是故。財物尚應自棄。何況好福田中而不布施。譬如有兄弟二人。各擔十斤金行道中。更無餘伴。兄作是念。我何以不殺弟取金。此曠路中人無知者。弟復生念欲殺兄取金。兄弟各有惡心。語言視瞻皆異。兄弟即自寤。還生悔心。我等非人與禽獸何異。同產兄弟而為少金。故而生惡心。兄弟共至泉水邊。兄以金投著水中。弟言。善哉善哉。弟復棄金水中。兄言。善哉善哉。兄弟更互相問。何以故。言善哉。各相答言。我以此金故生不善心欲相危害。今得棄之故言善哉。二辭各爾。以是因緣。常應自捨。

Therefore the Mahāyānasaṃgraha says: 'Stinginess is an obstacle to great wealth; jealousy is an obstacle to high status.' Furthermore, when sentient beings give rise to greed, nothing exceeds sensual form and wealth. First, excessive attachment to sensual form has many faults, as has been recounted before; for those who do not yet accept this, it will now be discussed briefly again. As the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'Suppose a person takes a rākṣasī as his wife and concubine; whatever children this rākṣasī gives birth to, having given birth to them she immediately devours them, and when the children are exhausted, she then devours her husband. Attachment, like the rākṣasī, is also like this: whatever children of wholesome roots sentient beings give birth to, it devours them as they are born, and when the wholesome children are exhausted, it then devours the sentient beings, causing them to fall into hells, animals, and hungry ghosts. Furthermore, suppose a person by nature loves beautiful flowers, and failing to see the peril of a poisonous snake in the flower stem, immediately reaches forward to grasp it; having grasped it, the snake bites him, and having been bitten, his life ends. All ordinary beings are also like this: coveting the flowers of the five desires, they do not see the peril of the poisonous snake of attachment, and thus accept it, immediately being bitten by the venom of attachment, and after their lives end, they fall into the three evil paths.' Second, as for those who give rise to greed toward wealth: greed for wealth brings about disaster and is afflicted by great suffering, turning against both the monastic and lay ways and causing estrangement among kin. Thus the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra says: 'Material possessions are the conditions for various defilements and sinful karmas; upholding precepts, dhyāna meditation, wisdom, and various wholesome dharmas are the conditions for nirvāṇa. For this reason, material possessions should be discarded by oneself, how much more should they not be given away in excellent fields of merit? For example, there were two brothers, each carrying ten catties of gold, traveling on a road with no other companions. The elder brother thought: "Why should I not kill my younger brother and take his gold? On this open road, no one will know." The younger brother also gave rise to the thought of wanting to kill his elder brother and take his gold. Both brothers harbored evil intentions; their words and gazes both altered. The brothers then awakened to themselves and gave rise to regret: "We are inhuman; how do we differ from beasts? Being brothers of the same womb, yet for the sake of a little gold, we gave rise to evil intentions!" The brothers went together to the edge of a spring. The elder brother threw his gold into the water, and the younger brother said, "Excellent, excellent!" The younger brother also cast his gold into the water, and the elder brother said, "Excellent, excellent!" The brothers asked each other: "Why did you say 'Excellent'?" Each answered: "Because of this gold, I gave rise to unwholesome thoughts wanting to harm you; now that I have discarded it, I said 'Excellent.'" Both spoke identical words. Due to this cause, one should always abandon [wealth] oneself.'