法苑珠林 90.18

90.18

以此文證。愚人背道專求名利。唯成惡業。常順生死每處暗冥。若聞禁戒廣學多聞。即言我是下根凡愚。自非大聖何能具依若聞王課種種苦使勒同俗役。便言我是出家淨行沙門。高於人天重逾金玉。豈預斯事。故佛藏經云。譬如蝙蝠欲捕鳥時則入穴為鼠。欲捕鼠時則飛空為鳥。而實無有大鳥之用。其身臭穢但樂暗冥。舍利弗。破戒比丘亦復如是。既不入於布薩自恣。亦不入王者使役。不名白衣。不名出家。如燒屍殘木不復中用。

Using this text as evidence, foolish people turn their backs on the Way and exclusively pursue fame and gain, producing only bad karma, constantly following saṃsāra and always dwelling in darkness. If they hear of the prohibitive precepts and broad learning through erudition, they immediately say: 'I am an ordinary fool of inferior faculties. Unless one is a great sage, who can fully abide by them?' If they hear of royal tax levies and various forms of arduous labor demanding that they be forced into common secular service, they then say: 'I am a śramaṇa who has left home to practice pure conduct; I am higher than humans and devas, and more precious than gold and jade. How could I participate in such matters?' Therefore, the Fo zang jing says: 'Just as a bat, when wishing to catch birds, enters a hole and becomes a rat, and when wishing to catch rats, flies in the air and becomes a bird, yet in reality possesses none of the functions of a great bird; its body is foul and filthy, and it takes delight only in darkness. Śāriputra, a bhikṣu who breaks the precepts is also like this: he neither joins the poṣadha and pravāraṇā, nor enters the king's corvée service. He is not called a white-robed [layperson], nor is he called one who has left home. He is like charred wood from a corpse, no longer of any use.'