法苑珠林 30.14

30.14

Now, one who wishes to become a great physician and propagate the Tripiṭaka must first adapt to the spiritual capacities [of others], curing his own ailments before treating others. In this way the Dharma may long endure. One must not, for the sake of fame and gain, idly talk about orthodox teachings while failing to cultivate even a single practice, thereby becoming like one crazed with drink. Hence the Daśabhūmi-vibhāṣā-śāstra states: 'There are two kinds of intoxication: the first is intoxication when family, beauty, wealth, and the like are accomplished; the second is intoxication when praised by others. Of these two intoxications, the former is mostly the intoxication of householders when they are wealthy and noble, opening the gates of indolence and creating the causes for hell. The latter is mostly that of renunciants: greedily pursuing fame and gain, they hold themselves cheap; desiring praise from others, they give rise to arrogance, become blinded to their aspirations, lose the holy intention, and, blind and unable to see the Path, wander adrift in the three evil destinies.' Therefore the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'The Buddha told Kāśyapa: "Seven hundred years after my parinirvāṇa, Māra Pāpīyān will gradually subvert and destroy my saddharma. Just as a hunter wears a kāṣāya on his body, Māra the King Pāpīyān will do likewise: he will assume the form of a bhikṣu, the form of a bhikṣuṇī, the form of an upāsaka, and the form of an upāsikā. He will also manifest as a srotāpanna, up to manifesting as an arhat and as the physical body of a Buddha. Māra the King will use these defiled forms to make undefiled forms and destroy my saddharma." The sūtra also says: 'If there is a bhikṣu who expounds the Dharma for others for the sake of material gain, all the disciples and followers of this person will also imitate this teacher and greedily seek material gain. In this way, this person will destroy his own assembly.' It also says: 'If there is a bhikṣu who, though observing the prohibitive precepts, sits, rises, and walks with precept-breakers for the sake of material gain, associating intimately with them and joining in their activities, this is called breaking the precepts and is also called a corrupt monk.' It also says: 'Furthermore, there are those who are constantly submerged and yet are not icchantikas. Who are they? If a person cultivates the virtues of giving and precepts for the sake of existence, this is called being constantly submerged.' Therefore the sūtra says: 'Good sons, there are four good deeds that result in evil fruits. What are the four? First, chanting the scriptures to surpass others. Second, upholding the pure precepts for the sake of material gain. Third, practicing dāna for the sake of [gaining] followers. Fourth, focusing mindfulness and contemplating for the sake of the station of neither-perception-nor-non-perception. These four good deeds bring evil retributions.' It also says: 'These icchantikas extinguish all roots of goodness; because they are not vessels [for the Dharma], even if such a person were to hear and receive such a Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra for hundreds of thousands of myriad years, they could never generate the bodhicitta. Why is this? Because they lack a good mind.' The sūtra also says: 'Good sons, an immeasurable hundred thousand years after my nirvāṇa, the noble ones of the four fruits will all have entered nirvāṇa as well. After the saddharma has disappeared, during the semblance Dharma, there will be bhikṣus who resemble observers of the vinaya but seldom read or recite the sūtras. Greedily craving food and drink to nourish their bodies, the clothes they wear on their bodies will be coarse, shabby, and unsightly. Their countenances will be withered and exhausted, devoid of majestic dignity. Tending cattle and sheep, carrying firewood and grass, their head-hair, beards, and nails will all be long and sharp. Though wearing kāṣāyas, they will be like hunters, walking with slow and cautious steps like a cat stalking a mouse. They will constantly proclaim: "I have attained arhatship!" Having many painful illnesses, they will sleep and lie in filth and excrement. Outwardly displaying virtue and goodness, inwardly they harbor greed and jealousy, like Brahmins who have undertaken vows of silence. Not truly śramaṇas, they display the appearance of śramaṇas; their wrong views will blaze furiously, and they will slander the saddharma. Such people as these will destroy the vinaya precepts and the proper deportment established by the Tathāgata, proclaiming the fruit of liberation while failing to depart from impure dharmas, and destroying the profound and secret teachings. Following their own inclinations, they will conversely distort the sūtras and vinaya, saying: "The Tathāgata allows all of us to eat meat and drink alcohol." Generating such assertions on their own, they will say they were spoken by the Buddha. Quarreling with one another, each will claim to be a śramaṇa and a disciple of the Śākya. Good sons, at that time there will also be śramaṇas who hoard raw grains, accept and take fish and meat, prepare food with their own hands, and hold oil jars. With precious parasols and leather sandals, they will curry favor with kings, great ministers, and elders. Divining constellations, diligently studying medicine, keeping slaves and maidservants, gold, silver, and miscellaneous gems, they will learn various crafts: painters, plasterers, making books and teaching, planting roots and crops, practicing sorcery and incantations, compounding medicines, performing music and dance, adorning their bodies with scents and flowers, playing dice, Go, and various handicrafts. If there is a bhikṣu who can keep far from such evil matters, that person should be called my true disciple. If, conversely, one practices these things, associates intimately with kings, princes, great ministers, and women, laughs loudly or remains sullenly silent, harbors many doubts regarding the teachings, talks excessively and falsely of faults and merits, the good and the ungood, loves wearing fine clothes—with various impure things such as these, praising oneself before donors, going in and out of impure places such as taverns, brothels, and gambling dens—such a person I do not now permit to remain among the bhikṣus. They should be expelled from the Path, returned to the laity, and put to forced labor, just as tares and weeds are completely eliminated without remainder. You should know that what is proscribed in these sūtras and vinayas was entirely spoken by the Tathāgata. If there are those who follow what is spoken by Māra, they are Māra's retinue; if there are those who follow what is spoken by the Buddha, they are bodhisattvas.' Furthermore, the sūtra says: 'Precept-breaking bhikṣus shall, for hundreds of thousands of kotis of myriad kalpas, have the flesh of their bodies sliced and cut to repay their donors. If born as animals, their bodies will constantly bear heavy burdens. Why is this? Just as dividing a single hair into a thousand kotis of parts, a precept-breaking bhikṣu cannot consume even one part of the offerings, how much less could he consume others' clothing, food and drink, bedding, and medicine!' It also says: 'They delight in looking at women and do not associate with men; they even despise precept-keepers and associate intimately with precept-breakers. They constantly praise dāna, but do not praise śīlapāramitā, kṣānti, vīrya, dhyāna, and prajñā. They do not praise tranquility, detachment, and solitude. They constantly love to mock and discuss the faults of precept-keepers, and do not praise those who practice dhūtas, or they point out their deeds, heaping abusive speech upon them.' The sūtra also says: 'Good sons, when the saddharma of the Tathāgata is about to disappear completely, there will be many bhikṣus of evil conduct at that time who do not understand the subtle, secret treasury of the Tathāgata. Lazy and indolent, they will be unable to read, recite, proclaim, and analyze the saddharma of the Tathāgata. Just as a foolish thief discards true gems and carries off grass and chaff, because they do not understand the subtle, secret treasury of the Tathāgata, they will be indolent and unenergetic toward this sūtra. Alas, what a great peril! The future age is truly terrifying! What suffering for sentient beings, who will not diligently listen to and receive this Mahāyāna scripture! Only the bodhisattva-mahāsattvas can grasp the true meaning of this Great Nirvāṇa Sūtra without clinging to the words, expounding it for sentient beings in accordance with it and without opposition. Furthermore, good sons, consider a cowherdess who, wishing to sell milk, added two parts of water out of greed for greater profit, and resold it to another cowherdess. That woman, having obtained it, added another two parts and resold it to a woman living near the city. Having obtained it, she added another two parts and resold it to a woman within the city. That woman, having obtained it, added another two parts and went to the market to sell it. At that time, a man was taking a wife for his son and needed good milk to entertain the guests. He went to the market intending to buy it. The milk seller demanded a high price. The man replied: "Your milk has much water and is not worth that much. But it happens that I must entertain guests today, so I will take it." Having taken it, he returned home and boiled it to make porridge, but it had no taste of milk at all. Yet, though it was tasteless, it was still a thousand times superior to bitter tastes. Why? Because among all tastes, the taste of milk is the supreme. Good sons, eighty years before the saddharma disappears after my nirvāṇa, this sūtra will be widely circulated throughout Jambudvīpa. At that time, there will be many evil bhikṣus who will plunder this sūtra and divide it into many portions, being able to destroy the color, fragrance, and delicious taste of the saddharma. Though these evil people read and recite such scriptures, they will eradicate the profound, secret, and essential meaning of the Tathāgata, inserting worldly ornamentation and embellished, meaningless words. They will copy what is at the beginning and place it at the end; copy what is at the end and place it at the beginning; place what is at the beginning and end in the middle; and place what is in the middle at the beginning and end. You should know that such evil bhikṣus are companions of Māra. They will receive and store all manner of impure things, saying: "The Tathāgata permitted us to keep all of them." Just as the cowherdesses added much water to the milk, so too are the evil bhikṣus: solely using worldly language, they will garble and standardize this sūtra, causing many sentient beings to be unable to expound it correctly, copy it correctly, comprehend it correctly, or revere, praise, make offerings to, and respect it. For the sake of material gain, these evil bhikṣus will be unable to widely proclaim and circulate this sūtra; what little they disperse will be scant and not worth mentioning. Just like that poor cowherdess, through successive dilutions it loses all flavor. Though it has no flavor, it is still superior to other tastes by a full thousand times, because the taste of milk is a thousand times superior to all bitter tastes. Why? Because this Mahāyāna scripture, the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, is the foremost among the śrāvaka sūtras, just as the taste of cow's milk is supreme among all tastes. For this reason, it is called the Great Nirvāṇa.'