法苑珠林 34.40

34.40

Also, the Weiwu sanmei jing says: The Buddha told Ānanda: "Good son, when a person seeks the Way and practises dhyāna, they must first sever thoughts. That people born in the world do not attain the Way is solely because they dwell in thinking and have many defiled thoughts. One thought comes, one thought goes; in a single day and night there are eight hundred and forty million thoughts, rising and ceasing without pause. A single good thought also obtains a good retribution; a single evil thought also obtains an evil retribution—like an echo answering a sound, like a shadow following a form. Therefore, good and evil, transgression and merit, are each distinct."