法苑珠林 56.28

56.28

Poverty, wealth, nobility, and lowliness are all caused by past karma. Gain, loss, having, and lacking all originate from former deeds. Therefore, the sūtra says: 'If you wish to know the past cause, look at the present effect; if you wish to know the future effect, look at the present cause.' Thus, in the home of Yuan Xian and the chamber of Qianlou, ropes for hinges and jars for windows could not keep out the wind and dust; reed doors and tumbleweed gates could not shelter them from frost and dew. Some wove rice stalks to serve as mats; some cut lotus leaves to use as garments. Drawing in the elbows, both sleeves were worn through; pulling on the threads, both lapels were likewise torn. For their bellies they depended on [the spring of] Anyi; for shelter they stayed at the Spirit Terrace. On their heads they wore hats of ten years; on their bodies they draped threads of a hundred patches. In their hometowns they had neither fields nor houses, and in Luoyang they lacked a host. Wandering aimlessly with the times, they passed their days in dire crags. Though ashamed before Lingzhe, they had the plight of being sheltered under the mulberry; though abashed before Boyi, they incurred the suffering of Mount Shouyang. Abruptly lacking coats and skirts, how could they see the warm spring? Possessing not even a pint or a peck, how could they finish the year? The reason it is like this is entirely because in former days they did not practice generous dāna and always harbored stinginess and greed, causing their karmic retribution to become utterly destitute in a single morning. Therefore, practitioners should practice dāna.