法苑珠林 81.23

81.23

又優婆塞經云。若惱眷屬得物以施。是人未來雖得大報身當病苦。若先不能供養父母。惱其妻子奴婢困苦而布施者。是名惡人。是假名施。不名義施。如是施者。名無憐愍。不知報恩。是人未來雖得財寶。常求不集不能出用。身多病苦。以此文證。強役人物營修福者。反招苦報。何名出益。今時末世道俗訛替。競興齋講強抑求財。營修塔寺依經不合。反招前罪。不如靜坐內修實行。出離中勝無過於此。若有淨心為人說法。前人敬誠求法捨施。即須為說令成福智。不得見有前判。雷同總撥妄生譏謗。抑遏前福。

Furthermore, the Upāsaka-[śīla]-sūtra states: "If one distresses one's family and dependents to obtain goods for giving, although this person will receive a great reward in the future, their physical body will suffer from sickness. If one is unable first to support one's parents, but distresses one's wife, children, and servants, plunging them into distress and hardship in order to give, this is called an evil person; this is nominally called giving, but is not called righteous giving. Giving of this kind is called lacking compassion and not knowing how to repay kindness. Although this person will attain wealth and treasures in the future, even if constantly sought they will not accumulate, nor will they be able to expend and use them, and their body will suffer much illness and pain." Taking this text as proof, one who forcibly exploits people's goods to construct and cultivate merit will instead invite painful retribution; how could this be called a beneficial renunciation? Nowadays, in the final age, the monastic and lay communities have declined and degenerated; they compete in holding vegetarian feasts and lecturing, forcibly extorting wealth to build stupas and monasteries, which does not accord with the sūtras, thus inviting the aforementioned sins. It is far better to sit quietly and internally cultivate real practice; among ways of seeking transcendence, none surpasses this. If someone with a pure mind expounds the Dharma for others, and the listener reverently and sincerely seeks the Dharma, relinquishing offerings, one must then expound it for them to bring about their merit and wisdom. One must not, upon seeing the prior judgment, generalize sweepingly, reject everything, and mistakenly generate slander to obstruct the other's merit.