法苑珠林 46

English (machine translation) 46

Language: English

46.1

Compiled by the Śramaṇa Shi Daoshi of Ximing Temple

46.2

Section 44: Reflection and Circumspection
Section 45: Frugality and Economy

46.3

Section on Reflection and Circumspection (This contains five parts)

46.4

Part on Expressing the Intent
Part on Circumspection in Action
Part on Circumspection regarding Calamity
Part on Circumspection regarding Objects
Part on Circumspection regarding Faults

46.5

Part on Expressing the Intent, the First

Reflection and circumspection to guard against faults are the principles for having no anxieties; sealing the mouth and quieting thoughts are the origins of parting from evil. Taking warning at the beginning and being circumspect to the end are the salt and plum of the noble person; revering the start and protecting the finish are the essential drifts of cultivating life. May one awaken to the arising of causes and conditions, inspect the impermanence of arising and ceasing, recognize the non-self of suffering and emptiness, and illuminate the wondrous gateway of equanimity, thereby preserving its principle and discarding its traces, taking warning against its calamities and inviting its blessings. This is the way to harmonize the spirit's divinity and accord with things.

46.7

Part on Circumspection in Action, the Second

46.8

The Xiuxing daodi jing says: Formerly there was a king who selected a wise and discerning person from the entire country to be his assisting minister. Wanting to test him and learn what he was like, the king charged him with a severe offense and commanded his ministers and officials to fill a bowl to the brim with oil and make him carry it, walking from the north gate to the south gate, and out twenty li from the city to a park named Joyful Sport, ordering that he be brought there. If even a single drop fell, they were to behead him immediately without needing to ask permission. At that time, the assembled ministers received the king's grave order, filled the bowl brimful with oil, and gave it to that man. Holding it with both hands, he was filled with immense sorrow and dread. Even though there were carriages and horses and onlookers filling the road, though he saw right and wrong, he did not turn aside. Even though his relatives, wife, and children pressed forward, the man concentrated his mind and looked neither to the left nor to the right. Even though the whole country's spectators bustled in confusion, his mind remained upright and he did not see the crowds. Even though there was a fair maiden peerless in the land pressing near with song and dance, so that all who saw her were delighted, the man carried the bowl single-mindedly, his resolve unmoved and unswerving; nor did he look or falsely give rise to the slightest thought, but carried the bowl with focused refinement, paying no heed to their words. Thereupon he uttered a verse:

46.9

"Skilled, facile, calm, and composed, / Her dance is most exquisitely clever. / All people covet and delight in her, / Like the consort of Māra. / She can stir those who are detached from desires, / How much more so ordinary mortals! / Though she comes and goes beside that man, / Carrying the bowl, his mind does not tilt."

46.10

Even though elephants ran wild, horses bolted, and a fire broke out in the city burning the common people, who called out to one another urging them to flee the fire and not fall into ditches and moats, and the government troops all came at once to put out the fire, the man carried the bowl with a single mind, without spilling a single drop. Even though thunder rolled in the heavens, the earth shook, violent winds arose in turmoil snapping trees and sending dust flying, lightning flashed, thunderbolts crashed, birds and beasts fell, and people and domestic animals shrieked in terror, the man focused his mind on the oil and heard none of it. At that time, having carried the oil to that park pavilion without spilling a single drop, the ministers reported to the king, relating this matter in full. Hearing it, the king sighed in admiration: 'This man is hard to match; he is a hero among men, heedless of the myriad things.' The king rejoiced and appointed him a prime minister. The practitioner who walks the Path governs the mind in this manner: though all manner of evils—lust, anger, and delusion—come to disturb the faculties, he inspects within and guards without, gathering his mind without scattering. The samādhi of fixed intent is also just like this. Thereupon he uttered a verse:

46.11

"Like a man carrying a bowl of oil, / Motionless, spilling nothing, / His wondrous wisdom with a mind like the ocean, / Concentrates on carrying the vessel of oil. / If a person wishes to train in the Path, / He should hold his mind in just this way. / Harboring all virtuous brilliance in his mind, / He eliminates all blemishes whatsoever. / When varied sensual desires / Give rise to anger and delusion, / One who has resolve is not heedless, / But tranquil, extinguished, and self-restrained. / When the human body has disease, / Medicine is used to eliminate it; / Mental sickness is also like this: / The four applications of mindfulness dispel it."

46.12

Furthermore, the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra, in the “Chapter on Saving Dragons,” states: At that time, among the assembly, there was a blind dragon named Pharakiḷisa (?). Raising his voice in loud lamentation, he spoke these words: “O Great Sage, World-Honoured One! Please save and rescue me! Please save and rescue me! In my body right now I undergo great suffering and torment. Day and night, I am constantly gnawed and eaten by all manner of insects. Dwelling in boiling water, there is not even a moment of temporary joy.” The Buddha said: “Kiḷisa, in your past life within the Buddha-Dharma, you were once a monk who broke the monastic precepts. Inwardly you harboured deceit and fraud, while outwardly displaying virtuous appearances. You greedily accrued vast numbers of followers and disciples, and your reputation spread far and wide so that everyone heard of you. [You said,] ‘My preceptor has attained the fruit of an arhat.’ Because of this, you received many offerings and enjoyed them all to yourself. When you saw people who kept the precepts, you falsely reviled and spoke ill of them. Those people were filled with resentment and thought: ‘In lifetime after lifetime, wherever I may be, may I eat the flesh of your body!’ Through such evil karma, upon dying you were born among dragons. Because of the vows of those beings from your previous life, they devour your body. Due to the causes and conditions of this evil karma, you have received this retribution of blindness. Furthermore, throughout immeasurable kalpas in the past, in the molten red copper hell, you were constantly eaten and devoured by swarms of insects.” Hearing these words, the dragon was grieved and wept, saying: “All of us now, with utmost sincerity, repent together! We pray that we may quickly be liberated from this suffering!” Among that assembly of dragons, two billion six hundred million famished dragons, mindful of their past bodies, all wept like rain. Mindful of their past bodies, [they thought]: ‘Although we were able to go forth into the homeless life within the Buddha-Dharma, we committed extensive evil karma, passing through immeasurable lives in the three evil destinies. Owing to the remaining retribution, we endure extreme suffering among dragons. Just like the blue dragon, we are likewise so.’ At that time, the World-Honoured One said to the dragons: “You may take water and wash the Tathāgata’s feet, so that your calamities and offenses may gradually be eradicated.” Then all the dragons scooped water with their hands, but the water all turned into fire and transformed into large stones, filling their hands and generating ferocious blazing flames. When cast away, they generated again, doing so up to seven times. When the assembly of dragons saw this, they were terrified, filled with anguish, and wept like rain. The Buddha instructed them to make a great vow, whereupon the blazing fires were all extinguished. Then, up to eight times, they cupped water with their hands and washed the Tathāgata’s feet, repenting with utmost sincerity. The Buddha conferred a prophecy upon the dragons: “At the time of Maitreya Buddha, you will obtain human bodies, meet that Buddha, go forth into the homeless life, vigorously uphold the precepts, and attain the fruit of an arhat.” At that time, the dragons attained knowledge of their past lives (pūrvanivāsa) and recalled their past karmas: within the Buddha-Dharma, some had been laypersons through kinship relations, or had come and gone to listen to the Dharma; whatever faithful people gave as offerings of various flowers, fruits, and food, they ate in turn together with the monks. Some said: “I once consumed the flowers, fruits, and food belonging to the Saṃgha of the four quarters.” Some said: “I went to the monastery to give alms to the Saṃgha or to prostrate, and I ate in this manner.” Some said: “In the dispensation of Vipaśyin Tathāgata, I was once a layperson,” up to those who said: “In the dispensation of Śākyamuni Buddha, I was once a layperson. Whether through the connection of greeting relatives and friends, or through coming and going to listen to the Dharma, I visited the monastery. Faithful people, in order to make offerings to the Saṃgha, gave as offerings flowers, fruits, and various foods; after the monks received them, they redirected them as gifts to me, and having received them, I ate them. Due to the causes and conditions of that karma, I passed through immeasurable kalpas in hell, amid ferocious raging fire, being burned or boiled, drinking molten copper, or swallowing iron pellets. Emerging from hell, I fell among the animals; shedding the animal body, I was born among hungry ghosts. Having undergone all manner of hardship and pain in this way, yet with the evil karma not yet exhausted, I was born among these dragons and constantly suffer affliction.” The Buddha told the dragons: “This evil karma is no different from stealing the Buddha's property; compared to the offenses of the five heinous deeds (pañcānantarya), its guilt is equal to half. You should now all receive the three refuges and single-mindedly cultivate good. By virtue of this, during the Bhadrakalpa, you will meet the final Buddha named Ruci. In the era of that Buddha, your offenses will be eradicated.” Having heard these words, all the dragons, with utmost sincerity, received the three refuges for the rest of their lives.

46.13

At that time, in that assembly, there was a blind dragon-woman whose mouth was festering and swollen, filled with various insects, resembling feces and urine, and so filthy and vile that it was like the foul, rancid, unwatchable impurity of a woman's genital organ. Various [insects] devoured it, while pus and blood flowed out. Her entire body was constantly bitten and eaten by mosquitoes, horseflies, and various venomous flies. The stench of her body was difficult to behold or smell. At that time, the World-Honoured One, with great compassion, seeing that dragon-woman blind and tormented by suffering in this way, asked her: “Sister, by what causes and conditions have you obtained this wretched body? What karma did you commit in past lives?” The dragon-woman replied: “World-Honoured One, my present body is oppressed by numerous sufferings without ceasing for even a moment. Even if I wished to speak, I could not express it. I recall that for thirty-six hundred million years, across hundreds of thousands of lives, I have been born among evil dragons and endured such suffering, not stopping day or night for even an instant. In my past ninety-one kalpas ago, during the Dharma of Vipaśyin Buddha, I was a nun. My longing for sensual desire exceeded that of a drunkard. Although I went forth into the homeless life, I could not live according to the Dharma; within the saṃghārāma, I violated the monastic rules and precepts. I have constantly undergone burning and boiling in the three evil destinies.” Having spoken these words, [she said,] “May you save and rescue my body!” Then the World-Honoured One, having uttered words of truth, immediately poured a little water into the dragon’s mouth. The fire, insects, and pus were all completely extinguished and removed. The dragon’s mouth became cool and refreshing. She spoke these words: “O Great Sage Tathāgata, I recall that in the past, at the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, I was once a layperson ploughing a field. A monk came asking to beg fifty coins from me. At that time, I replied, ‘Wait until the grain is ripe, and I will give you food.’ The monk said again, ‘If fifty cannot be obtained, I beg for ten coins.’ At that time, I became angry with that monk and told him, ‘I will not even give you ten coins!’ The monk then felt resentment. At another time, I went to the monastery, entered beneath a grove of trees, and straightaway stole ten mangoes belonging to the present Saṃgha and ate them privately. Due to the causes and conditions of that karma, I suffered pain in hell. With the evil karma not yet exhausted, I was born in the marshes with the body of a hungry dragon, constantly devoured by various insects, with pus and blood overflowing, afflicted by hunger and thirst. Furthermore, because of the evil karmic condition of his wrathful mind, when that monk died, he immediately became a small venomous dragon, born under my armpit, sucking my blood. The heat touching my body was unbearable; for this reason, my body is full of boiling pus and blood.” The dragon said to the Buddha: “O Greatly Compassionate World-Honoured One! We pray only that you take pity, save and rescue me, and allow me to escape from that enemy venomous dragon.” Then the World-Honoured One scooped up water with his hand and made a truthful declaration, saying: “In the past, during an age of famine, I made a vow at that time to become a creature with an immense body, immeasurably long and wide. Through spiritual power, I proclaimed in the open air: ‘In that marsh, there is a large creature named 不瞋 (Free from Anger). You may go and take its flesh to eat, and you will not starve.’ At that time, when the humans, non-humans, and others in that world heard this voice, they all went and vied to take and eat it.” When these truthful and faithful words were spoken, the small dragon under that dragon’s armpit immediately came out. Then both dragons spoke together to the Buddha: “World-Honoured One, how long will it be before we depart from these dragon bodies and be liberated from these offenses and calamities?” The Buddha told the dragons: “This karma is extremely heavy, second only to the five deeds of immediate retribution (ānantarya). Why is this? If there are goods belonging to the permanent Saṃgha of the four quarters, or goods belonging to the present Saṃgha, or goods given with deep devotion by faithful donors—whether flower and fruit orchards, food, requisites for life, bedding, mats, or medicine for illness—and one privately uses any of these necessities, or takes them outside to give to acquaintances, relatives, or white-robed laypeople, this offense is heavier than the retribution suffered in Avīci hell. Therefore, you should receive the three refuges. Only after taking refuge in the Three Jewels can you go into cool water.” Having thus recited three times and received three times, their bodies immediately became peaceful and at ease, and they were able to enter the water. At that time, the World-Honoured One spoke verses for the dragons:

46.14

Better that one should cut one’s own body with a sharp knife,
Severing the limbs, parts of the body, flesh, and skin;
For whatever is given by faith as an offering,
It is truly difficult for laypeople to consume.
Better to swallow a great, red, hot iron pellet,
Causing bright flames to shoot out from the mouth;
Whatever eating utensils belong to the Saṃgha,
Should not be privately used outside.
Better to hold in one’s hand and consume oneself
A great fire equal in size to Mount Sumeru;
Those who are householders and laypeople
Should not casually eat food offered to the Saṃgha.
Better to butcher and mince oneself with a sharp knife,
Consuming the skin and membrane of one’s own body;
Those who are householders and laypeople
Should not receive or take miscellaneous food of the Saṃgha.
Better to throw one’s own body into that room
Full of great fire and fierce blazing flames;
Those who are householders and laypeople
Should not sit or lie on the beds and mats of the Saṃgha.
Better to hold in one’s fist a scorching hot, sharp iron awl,
Letting one’s hand become scorched and rotten;
Those who are householders and laypeople
Should not privately use the belongings of the Saṃgha.
Better to use an exceedingly sharp, fine butcher's block
To slice and mince the flesh of one’s own body,
Than to arouse a single thought of anger
Toward a pure person who has gone forth.
Better to gouge out both of one’s own eyes with one’s own hands,
Cast them away, and fling them to the ground,
Than to look with a resentful and angry mind
Upon those who practice wholesome dharmas.
Better to wrap one’s body in hot iron sheets
Moving about, walking, sitting, or lying down,
Than to wear the pure robes offered to the Saṃgha
With a mind of anger, wrath, and jealousy.
Better to drink lye and saline brine
Boiling hot and scorching the mouth like fire,
Than to consume the pure medicine offered to the Saṃgha
Harbouring a mind of greed and virulent evil.

46.15

When the World-Honoured One had finished preaching these verses, fourteen thousand dragons in the assembly all received the three refuges. From all their sufferings and afflictions of past and present karmic retributions, they attained liberation. They generated deep faith in the Three Jewels, and their minds did not regress. Furthermore, eighty billion other dragons in the assembly also aroused minds of refuge and reverence toward the Three Jewels.

46.16

Furthermore, the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra states: When one becomes a monk, all the various requisites of life that one obtains are given by faithful donors. Yet some beings either consume them themselves or give them to others, or conspire with a group to steal, conceal, and secretly use them in private. Due to such karma, they fall into the three evil destinies and endure intense suffering for a long time. Furthermore, there are beings who are poor, lowly, and unfree; they therefore go forth into the homeless life hoping to obtain wealth, liberation, peace, and happiness. Yet having gone forth, they become indolent and lazy, neither reading nor reciting the sūtras, abandoning vigorous practice of meditation and wisdom without cultivating them, and taking pleasure only in administering monastic affairs. Furthermore, there are monks who are diligent day and night, delighting in cultivating wholesome dharmas, reading and reciting the scriptures, and sitting in meditation to cultivate wisdom without relinquishing it for an instant. Because of this, they inspire the fourfold assembly to make various offerings. At that time, those in charge of monastic affairs, having obtained these offerings, either privately eat them themselves or steal and give them to acquaintances and laypeople. Because of such conditions, they remain for a long time in the evil destinies; emerging, they return again, being so foolish and blind that they do not see the gravity of future retributions. I now admonish and command my śramaṇa disciples to be mindful of maintaining the Dharma. They must not claim of themselves: ‘I am a śramaṇa, a true practitioner of the Dharma,’ and relying on the Saṃgha receive the offerings of faith from others—whether pastries, vegetables, fruits, or flowers—and, as long as it is food for the Saṃgha, casually give it to any layperson; nor must they say, ‘This is my own property,’ and eat it apart from the assembly. Furthermore, they must not stockpile the property of the Saṃgha, engage in business, or carry out various types of trade, claiming it is profitable while incurring worldly criticism and reproach. Nor must they sell high and buy low, competing for profit with the world. Nor must they, for the sake of food or Saṃgha affairs, cause living beings to fall into the three evil destinies. They must encourage, guide, and establish people in wholesome dharmas, causing the assembly of monks to have true faith in the Three Jewels, and gather in living beings up to one’s parents, causing them to attain peace and ease and establishing them in the three liberations.

46.17

Furthermore, the Daśacakra-sūtra states: If there are goods belonging to the Saṃgha of the four quarters, requisites for life, miscellaneous articles, and the like, and one does not give them to such persons whether they uphold or break the precepts, due to these causes and conditions, after their lives end, they will all fall into Avīci hell.

46.18

Furthermore, the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra, in the "Chapter on Saving the Nāgas," states: At that time, the nāga king Sāgara said to the Buddha: "Among these nāgas, some receive pleasant retributions like the gods; some receive pleasure like humans; some are like hungry ghosts; some are like beasts; and some suffer great torment as in the hells." When he had spoken these words, a son of the great nāga Sāgara named Utpalavaktrā (Blue Lotus Face) came forward and said to the Buddha: "World-Honoured One, by what karmic cause of evil deeds have I come to be born among the nāgas? My body is exceedingly handsome, yet all tactile contact and use of it is like being burned by fire, and I always lack clothing, walking naked. By contrast, my father the king enjoys supreme bliss, no different from the retribution of a cakravartin." The Buddha said: "Utpalavaktrā, I will explain it to you. Thirty-one kalpas ago, there was a Buddha, a World-Honoured One named Śikhin. At that time, in that world, there was a king named Vedapuṣpa (Peiduofusha). King Puṣpa made offerings to that Buddha for three months, as well as to immeasurable hundreds of thousands of great bodhisattvas and those who had attained the four fruits of the śramaṇa, supplying them with various robes, food and drink, and medicines. Having listened single-mindedly to the Dharma, he immediately gave rise to the mind of awakening (bodhicitta), and built a monastery for them, making various offerings. That king's eldest crown prince was named Vedapradyota (Peiduosuoshudi). Seeing the Buddha and hearing the Dharma, he felt great dread towards transmigration, and requested from his father the king to leave home. The king replied: 'As you wish.' Having left home, he said again to his father: 'I wish to dwell in the monastery.' The king said: 'Do so as you wish.' The monastic disciples of the Buddha Śikhin enjoyed food and drink in that monastery. That son of Puṣpa, Vedapradyota, gave rise to jealousy and frequently reviled and cursed them with anger. At that time, having been reviled and cursed, the saṃgha departed from the monastery entirely. Seeing that the monks had left, he felt joyful, and thought to himself: 'It is good that they are gone; I am at great ease.' He freely consumed the robes, food, and drink in the monastery, and when other people arrived, he would not allow them to stay. Having accumulated such evil karma, after his life ended he was born into the great hells, where he was burned by fires for immeasurable tens of millions of nayutas of years. Freed from the hells, he was born among the hungry ghosts, where he again underwent immeasurable hardship. Dying among the hungry ghosts, he fell back into the hells; freed from the hells, he was born again among the hungry ghosts. In this way, across thirty-one kalpas, he underwent such hardships fully in transmigration." The Buddha said: "Utpalavaktrā, could that Pradyota have been someone else? He was none other than your own body. Because of those evil karmic causes in the past, you were born into the great hells, the hungry ghosts, and the beasts, undergoing torment in transmigration, fully undergoing myriad sufferings throughout these thirty-one mahākalpas without a moment's relief. Due to the residue of that karma, you were born among the nāgas to receive this evil retribution." When the nāga Utpalavaktrā heard these words, he wept aloud with great wailing, threw his entire body with all four limbs to the ground, prostrated, and addressed the Buddha, saying: "Now, with an earnest mind, I confess and repent before the Buddha, daring not to conceal anything. My sincerity now penetrates into my marrow; I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṃgha, becoming an upāsaka until the end of my life." The Buddha said: "Sadhu, sadhu! Those who take refuge in me in this manner shall exhaust that karma. Dying from this state, you will encounter Maitreya Buddha, obtain a human body, leave home in the Dharma of Maitreya Buddha, and realize the fruit of an arhat."

46.19

Section 3: Guarding Against Misfortune

46.20

As the Old Sūtra of Miscellaneous Parables states: Formerly there was a country where the five grains ripened, the people were peaceful, and there was no disease. Day and night there was music and performance, and the people had no worries or distress. The king asked his assembled ministers: "I have heard that in the world there is misfortune; what does it look like?" They replied: "We ministers have never seen it either." The king then sent a minister to neighboring countries to seek and purchase it. A deity then transformed into a person and was selling it in the marketplace. In appearance it resembled a pig, bound and tied with iron chains as it was being sold. The minister asked: "What is this called?" The vendor replied: "The Mother of Misfortune." The minister said: "Is it for sale?" He answered: "It is for sale." The minister asked: "How much money do you seek?" He replied: "Ten million." The minister asked: "What does it eat?" He replied: "It eats a pint of needles." The minister then went from house to house searching for needles. Thus the people met in twos and threes seeking needles, causing disturbance everywhere across the prefectures and counties. Wherever the common people were, they suffered bitterly and were helpless. The minister addressed the king, saying: "Although we obtained the Mother of Misfortune, it has caused turmoil among the people, and men and women have lost their livelihoods. I wish to kill it and discard it, but I do not know if you permit it." The king said: "Very good." They then brought it outside the city to kill it. When they stabbed it, the blade would not penetrate; when they hacked it, it was unhurt; when they sliced it open, it did not die. They piled up firewood and burned it; its body turned red like fire and it ran away. Passing through a hamlet, it burned the hamlet; passing through a marketplace, it burned the marketplace; entering a city, it burned the city; entering a country, it burned the country. It disrupted the people, who suffered hunger, hardship, and distress. This suffering was incurred purely because they grew bored with pleasure and purchased misfortune. This is a parable for being burned by the fire of sexual desire for women; men are poisoned by craving and do not realize the suffering until death.

46.21

Section 4: Guarding Against Conditions

46.22

As the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna-sūtra states, the Bodhisattva Mayūra told the celestial host: "If a bhikṣu fears bad repute, he will keep away from all faults: namely, not entering places where women make merry and laugh; not entering taverns; not approaching those who sell liquor; not speaking with them; not approaching drunkards, nor speaking with them; not approaching thieves; not approaching those who have previously committed great evils; not approaching those who are fond of brawling; not approaching malicious people who harbor venom; not approaching practitioners who frequently abandon the path; not approaching gamblers; not approaching musicians and actors; not approaching children; not approaching those bound by female charms; not approaching frivolous and hasty people; not approaching those who do not guard their speech; not approaching greedy people; not approaching deceitful merchants; not approaching those who practice dishonest trade despised by the world; not approaching those who dig rivers and ponds; not walking even a single step on the same road as paṇḍakas and women; not approaching elephant tamers; not approaching executioners; not approaching horse trainers; not approaching those of nihilistic views; not approaching those who lack the precepts. One should not be intimate with such evil people. If one associates with such people, one will certainly walk the same path. Therefore, a bhikṣu should fear bad repute, and should not walk even a single step on the same road as these people of impure karma." Then he spoke a verse:

46.23

"If a person is close to the unwholesome, / He becomes an unwholesome person. / Therefore, one should depart from evil / And not commit unwholesome karma. / Whomever one draws near to, / Regularly keeping company with them, / Because of that closeness one acts in kind, / Whether wholesome or unwholesome. / All people seeking goodness / Should draw near to wholesome persons; / In this way one can attain happiness, / For the good is never the cause of suffering. / Drawing near to the good increases merit; / Drawing near to evil increases faults all the more. / The characteristics of merit and evil / Are now briefly spoken thus. / If one draws near to a wholesome person, / One will attain a good reputation; / If one draws near to an unwholesome person, / It quickly causes one to be despised. / One should always stay close to the wholesome, / And keep far away from evil friends; / Because of drawing near to good people, / One can abandon all evil karma."

46.24

Section 5: Guarding Against Transgressions

46.25

As the Saṃyuktāgama states: At that time, the World-Honoured One addressed the bhikṣus: "Suppose an iron ball were thrown into fire, becoming the same color as the fire, and was then placed inside karpāsa cotton. What do you think, bhikṣus, would it burn quickly or not?" The bhikṣus addressed the Buddha: "Indeed, World-Honoured One." The Buddha told the bhikṣus: "A foolish person lives dependent on a settlement. In the morning, putting on his robes and taking his bowl, he enters the village to beg for food. He does not guard his body well, does not protect the sense faculties, and does not fix his mindfulness. If he sees a young woman, he engages in improper reflection, grasps at her appearance, and gives rise to lustful desire. Desire burns his mind; desire burns his body. When body and mind are burned, he abandons the precepts and regresses. This foolish person will long obtain disadvantage and lack of benefit. Therefore, bhikṣus, you should train thus: guard the body well, protect the sense faculties, and enter the village with mindfulness fixed." At that time, the World-Honoured One told the bhikṣus: "In past times, there was a cat, hungry, thirsty, and emaciated, that watched a hole seeking a young mouse: 'When the young mouse comes out, I will seize and eat it.' At some time, the young mouse came out of the hole to play. At that time, the cat quickly seized and swallowed it. The young mouse, being small, entered the belly alive. Having entered the belly, it ate the internal organs. While it ate the internal organs, the cat became frantic and bewildered, running wildly east and west through empty houses and cemeteries, not knowing where to stop, and finally died. In the same way, bhikṣus, there is a foolish person who lives dependent on a settlement. In the morning, putting on his robes and taking his bowl, he enters the village to beg for food. He does not guard his body well, does not protect the sense faculties, and does not fix his mindfulness. Seeing women, he gives rise to improper reflection, grasps at their appearance, and arouses lustful desire. When the fire of desire blazes and burns his body and mind, he runs wild and unrestrained, takes no delight in the vihāra, abandons the precepts, and regresses. This foolish person will long obtain harm and suffering. Therefore, bhikṣus, you should train thus: guard the body well, protect the sense faculties, and enter the village to beg for food with the mind fixed in right mindfulness."

46.26

Furthermore, the Saṃyuktāgama states: At that time, the World-Honoured One addressed the bhikṣus: "Suppose a wooden pestle is used constantly without stopping; day and night it wears away. In the same way, bhikṣus, if one has never closed the sense faculties, knows no moderation in eating, and does not diligently stay awake in the first and last watches of the night to cultivate wholesome dharmas, know that such people will diminish all day long and not increase in wholesome dharmas, just like that wooden pestle."

46.27

Furthermore, the Sūtra on Self-Love states: The Buddha said: "When people live in the world, their minds harbor venomous thoughts, their mouths utter venomous words, and their bodies commit venomous deeds. These three things issue from the mind, body, and mouth, initiating and completing their evils to inflict them on sentient beings. When sentient beings are harmed by this poison, they harbor resentment and vow in their minds to seek revenge. Some obtain it in the present life; or after their bodies end and their spirits ascend to heaven, they come down to take revenge. Among humans, beasts, ghosts, and spirits of Mount Tai, they mutually harm and rob one another; all this is due to past karma and does not arise in vain." The Buddha spoke in verse:

46.28

"The mind is the origin of dharmas; / Mind is supreme, mind is the ruler. / If one lets the mind commit evil, / Speaking or acting accordingly, / Sin and suffering will pursue him, / Like the wheel crushing the track. / The mind is the foundation of dharmas; / Mind is supreme, mind is the ruler. / If within the heart one thinks of the good, / Speaking or acting accordingly, / Merit and joy will pursue him, / Like a shadow following the form."

46.29

Furthermore, the Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā states: "When a lay bodhisattva sees a person who breaks the precepts, he should not give rise to anger or contempt. He should give rise to a mind of compassion and benefit, employing skillful means to admonish and restrain him, causing him to give rise to a wholesome mind. If, despite bitter remonstrance, he does not reform and instead slanders, one also must not become angry or falsely view the other's faults. For in this Bhadrakalpa, it is heard that there was a bodhisattva who slandered Krakucchanda Buddha, saying: 'How could a bald-headed person attain the Way?' Such sentient beings are difficult to fathom. What they do, they themselves receive; what does it have to do with me? If one wishes to judge another, one may harm oneself. To measure sentient beings is not permitted by the Buddha." As it is said in a sūtra:

46.30

The Buddha told Ānanda: "If a person measures another, he harms himself." As the verse says:

46.31

"There are jars with covers that are empty, / And those without covers that are also empty; / There are jars with covers that are full, / And those without covers that are also full. / One should know that in the worlds / There are these four kinds of persons; / Their comportment and virtue, / Their presence or absence, are just like this. / If one is not omniscient, / How can one measure people? / How could seeing merely outward deportment / Enable one to know their virtue? / Truly knowing that one has a wholesome mind / Is what is called the sign of a worthy person. / Seeing only outward deportment, / How can one know what is within? / If by the outward one measures the inward / And gives rise to a mind of contempt, / One ruins oneself and one's roots of goodness, / And at the end of life falls into the evil realms. / Outwardly one falsely displays deportment, / Moving about as a worthy and good person, / Yet having only spoken words, / Like thunder without rain."

46.32

Therefore a sūtra says: "Do not despise those who have not yet studied; revere those who study as you would the Buddha. Only wisdom can destroy afflictions. If one measures others, one harms oneself. Only the Buddha's wisdom can clearly comprehend. Such matters are beyond my knowing." Thus towards persons who break the precepts, one does not give rise to anger or contempt.

46.33

Furthermore, the Old Samyuktāvadāna-sūtra says: In the past there was a turtle that encountered a drought; the lake dried up, and it was unable to reach a pool with food on its own. At that time, a great crane landed beside it. The turtle begged it for pity, asking to be saved and carried across. The crane took it up in its beak and flew over a town. The turtle would not remain silent; it continually asked, 'What is this? What is this?' The crane then answered it. When its beak opened, the turtle fell down, and people caught it, slaughtered it, and ate it. When people are foolish and dull and do not guard their tongues, it is just like this.

46.34

Furthermore, the Dharmapada-avadāna-sūtra says: The Buddha told a brāhmaṇa, 'There are four things in the world that people fail to practice. Those who practice them obtain blessings and do not come to such poverty. What are the four? First, when young and full of vigor, take care not to be arrogant. Second, when old, be diligent and do not crave lustful dissipation. Third, when possessing wealth and precious treasures, constantly be mindful of giving. Fourth, approach a master to study and ask questions, listening to and receiving correct words. An old man such as this does not practice these four things, presuming [wealth] to be permanent and taking no heed of success or failure, until one morning it is scattered and lost—just like an old crane guarding an empty pool, forever gaining nothing.' Thereupon the World-Honoured One spoke these verses:

46.35

Day and night indolent and remiss, / in old age not ceasing lust, / having wealth but not giving,
not receiving the words of the Buddha: / having these four defects, / one defrauds and deceives oneself.
Alas, when old age arrives, / physical appearance alters and grows senile! / While young, everything went as wished;
in old age, one is trampled upon and despised. / One did not cultivate pure conduct (brahmacarya), / nor did one acquire wealth or nobility;
in old age one is like a white crane / watching and waiting by an empty pool. / Having neither guarded the precepts
nor accumulated wealth, / in old age one is feeble and one's breath is exhausted; / how can longing for the past catch up?
Old age is like autumn leaves; / conduct is defiled, clothes tattered and torn. / When life swiftly comes to its end,
it will be useless to regret it.

46.36

The verse says:

46.37

Be mindful and cautious from beginning to end, / strive to keep oneself upright. / Let the mouth speak no deceitful words,
and the mind give rise to no false thoughts. / With few desires and contentment, / why falsely cling to 'this' and 'that'?
Be fearful and vigilant, / admonish and guide in times of sorrow and joy.

46.38

Occasions of Sympathetic Resonance (briefly citing eleven proofs)

46.39

Zhou Shi of Xiapi under the Han
A person of Gouzhang in Kuaiji under the Han
Wu Xiang of Zhuji under the Han
A man surnamed Zhou of Yixing under the Jin
Hu Maohui of Huainan under the Jin
Hu Bizhi of Yuzhang under the Song
Zhang Yi in the Taishi reign period under the Song
Li Yi of Xiangcheng under the Song
Emperor Xuan of the Zhou, Yuwen Yun
Shi Huiyu of the capital under the Qi
Gao Fayan of the Imperial Bodyguard under the Tang

46.40

Zhou Shi of Xiapi under the Han once traveled to the eastern coast road and met a clerk holding a scroll of a book, who asked for a ride. After traveling more than ten li, he said to Shi, 'I have to visit somewhere for a short while. I will leave the book in your boat; take care not to open it.' After he left, Shi furtively opened and looked at the book. It was entirely a register of dead people, and among the entries below was Shi's name. In a short while the clerk returned, and Shi confessed to having looked at the book. The clerk said angrily, 'I explicitly warned you not to look at it!' Shi kowtowed until he bled. After a long time, [the clerk said], 'I am grateful that you carried me from afar. Your name cannot be deleted from this book. Leave today and return home; for three years do not go outside your gate, and you may escape it. Do not say that you saw my book.' Shi returned and did not go out for two years, and the rest of the household all wondered at it. A neighbor suddenly died, and his father angrily made him go offer condolences. Shi could not refuse. Just as he stepped out of the gate, he saw this clerk. The clerk said, 'I told you not to go out for three years, but now you have come out of the gate. What can be done? I tried not to see you, and for your sake I was repeatedly flogged. Now that I have seen you, nothing can be done. In three days, at midday, I shall come to take you.' Shi returned weeping and recounted the whole matter. His father still did not believe it, but his mother watched over him day and night, weeping together with him. When midday on the third day arrived, he saw [the clerk] come to take him, and he died. (This one proof above is from the Soushen ji.)

46.41

Under the Han, a man of Gouzhang in Kuaiji returned from Dongye. At dusk, he could not reach the city gate. Seeing a small hut by the roadside with a fire lit, he went to seek lodging. There was a young woman who did not want to lodge together with a man, so she called a girl from the neighboring house to accompany her. At night, they played the konghou together, sang, and playfully said:

46.42

Entangled vines upon the pueraria vine, / now slack, now taut.
If you wish to know my surname: / my surname is Chen, my name is Adeng.

46.43

The next morning, reaching outside the eastern outer wall, there was an old woman selling food in a shop. This man sat down and told of what he had seen the previous night. When the old woman heard 'Adeng', she said in astonishment, 'This is my daughter. She recently died and was buried outside the outer wall.'

46.44

Under the Han, Wu Xiang, a petty clerk of Zhuji County, was exhausted and dreading his corvée duties, so he set out to flee into the deep mountains. Walking to a stream as evening approached, he saw a young woman wearing brightly colored clothes, very graceful and upright. The woman said, 'I live alone by myself, with no neighbors, having only an old solitary woman more than ten paces away.' Hearing this, Xiang was delighted and went along with her. After walking for more than a li, they reached the woman's home. The house was very poor and humble. She prepared food for Xiang. When the first night watch ended, he heard an old woman calling, 'Miss Zhang!' The woman answered, 'Yes.' Xiang asked who it was, and she replied, 'The solitary old woman I spoke of earlier.' The two slept together. At dawn, when the cock crowed, Xiang left. Filled with mutual affection, the woman gave Xiang a purple kerchief, and Xiang returned the favor with a cloth hand-towel. Walking to the stream at the place where they had met the previous day, the water that night had flooded violently, too deep to wade across. He then turned back toward the woman's home, but could not see the place from yesterday; there was only a single grave mound.

46.45

Under the Jin, a man of Yixing surnamed Zhou traveled out of the capital during the Yonghe reign period, riding a horse and accompanied by two servants. Before reaching a village, evening fell. By the roadside was a new, small thatched hut. He saw a woman come out of the door and gaze out; she appeared to be about sixteen or seventeen, with an upright countenance and clean, fresh clothes. Seeing Zhou pass by, she said to him, 'The sun has already set, and the village ahead is still far; how could you reach Linhe?' Zhou then requested to lodge there. This woman lit a fire and prepared food for him. Toward the end of the first watch, he heard a young child outside calling the name 'Axiang'. The woman answered, 'Yes.' Soon [the voice] said, 'The officials call you to push the thunder-cart.' The woman then took her leave, saying, 'Now I have business and must go.' During the night, there was a violent thunderstorm. Toward dawn, the woman returned. After Zhou mounted his horse, he looked back at the place where he had lodged the night before, only to see a new grave mound, with horse dung and leftover grass at the entrance of the mound. Zhou was greatly shocked and saddened. Five years later, he indeed became the Grand Administrator of Linhe. (These three proofs above are from the Xu soushen ji.)

46.46

Under the Jin, Hu Maohui of Huainan was able to see ghosts. Although he disliked seeing them, he could not stop it. Later, he traveled to Yangzhou and was returning to the city of Liyang. East of it was a spirit shrine, right at the time when the common people and spirit mediums were performing sacrifices in it. In a short moment, a flock of ghosts shouted to each other, 'The superiors are coming!' and each fled out of the shrine. Looking back, he saw two śramaṇas entering the shrine. The ghosts, in twos and threes, embraced each other and watched from the grass beside the shrine; as they watched the śramaṇas, all were terrified. After a short while, the śramaṇas left, and the ghosts all returned into the shrine. Thereupon Maohui believed in the Buddha and served the Buddha with sincere devotion. (This one proof above is from the Xu soushen ji.)

46.47

Under the Song, Hu Bizhi of Yuzhang was once Assistant Administrator of Wuchang Commandery. In the twenty-sixth year of the Yuanjia reign of the Song, as soon as he entered the official residence, there were demonic anomalies. In the middle of the night, when the moon lit up the room and the doors and windows were slightly open, someone would lean and stand outside the door, resembling a small child. When the door was closed, one heard footsteps as if of wooden clogs, but looking out, nothing was to be seen. This happened very frequently. In the third month of the twenty-eighth year, the entire household contracted an epidemic illness. Voices spoke in the air, throwing tiles and stones, or dry earth. By midsummer, the sick were all bedridden, and the force of the voices and throwing grew even fiercer. He then invited Daoists (daoren) to observe a fast and recite scriptures throughout the night, but [the stones] came twice as heavily like rain, only failing to hit the Daoists and the scrolls of scriptures. In autumn and winter, voices gradually arose, and tiles and stones hit people; the flesh turned dark and bruised, though not exceedingly painful. Bizhi had an old wet-nurse who was fond of cursing. The ghost frightened her greatly at her side. Bizhi invited a Daoist Libationer (jijiu) to submit petitions and deploy talismans to drive it away, and it gradually subsided. In the twenty-ninth year, the ghost returned more severely than before. The next year, fires repeatedly broke out four times in the official residence; through hurried pouring of water, they were put out in time. The ghost constantly made sounds like a dog, and the family members always called it 'Chilan'. Later, it suddenly spoke, 'I sound like Wu.' At the third watch, it knocked on the door. Bizhi asked who it was, and it replied, 'Cheng Shaoling.' Holding a torch, he went out to look, but completely nothing was seen. Several days later, during the second watch, it again clapped its hands outside the door. [Bizhi] then cursed it again. It said in reply, 'Sir, do not curse me. I am a good deity, not the one who came before and after. Censor Tao has sent me to inform you.' Bizhi said, 'I do not know Censor Tao.' The ghost said, 'Tao Jingxuan. You once associated with him in the past.' Bizhi said, 'When I was with him in the capital, we served Hengyang; moreover, he never served as a Censor.' [The ghost] said, 'Tao is now in a realm of blessing, serving as a Heavenly Censor. The previous and subsequent harassment was done by Master Shen. This official residence was originally Shen's home; he came to look at the house and casually spoke and threw things playfully. Angered by your excessive expulsions, to the point of cursing and ordering maidservants to be disrespectful toward him, and furthermore causing the Libationer to submit petitions severely accusing him of crimes that reached the Heavenly Bureau, Shen has now gone up to heaven to state: "He is a disciple who has taken the three refuges in the Buddha; why does he not seek blessings from the Buddhist fold, but instead causes a Libationer to submit petitions?" From now on, you need only single-mindedly revere the Dharma, and there will be no need for the evil ghost to distress you.' Bizhi invited nuns to read scriptures, and after observing a fast for one night, he again heard the Censor send word outside the door, stating: 'Assistant Administrator Hu, seeing Shen litigating against you very bitterly, according to his words, you were rather unreasonable. If you can take refuge with sincere devotion in the Sambuddha, practice the scriptures, and uphold the precepts, then the flock of evils will be shut out. Because of our deep past affection, I have specially informed you.'

46.48

In the Taishi reign period under the Song, there was a man named Zhang Yi who suffered from flogging sores whose pain would not cease. Someone instructed him to burn dead human bones into powder and apply it. He hired a young boy of the same household to climb a hill, fetch a human skull, and burn it to apply to the sores. That night, inside the door, there was a brazier with a fire burning, and this boy was tending the fire. In the air there was an object that pressed the boy's head into the fire, cursing, 'Why did you burn my head? Now I pay you back with this fire!' The boy cried out loudly, 'Zhang Yi burned it!' It replied, 'If you had not taken it and given it to Zhang Yi, how could Zhang Yi have burned it?' It pressed his head for a long time until his hair was completely burned away and his skin and flesh were scorched and rotten, before releasing him. Yi was terrified; he took the remaining bones and buried them in their former place, offering libations of wine and meat, and there were no further disasters or anomalies. (The two proofs above are from the Shuyi ji.)

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法苑珠林 — 道世, Classical Chinese