法苑珠林 66
English (machine translation) 66
- Language
- English
66.1
Compiled by the Śramaṇa Shi Daoshi of Ximing Temple
66.2
Section 77: Resentment and Suffering (containing seven parts)
66.3
Part 1: Explaining the Purport
Part 2: Grieving and Mourning
Part 3: The Five Aggregates
Part 4: The Eight Sufferings
Part 5: Miscellaneous Difficulties
Part 6: Inhabitation of Worms
Part 7: The Hells
66.4
Part 1: Explaining the Purport
66.5
Now, the transmigration in the three realms is like duckweed drifting across the six destinies. The spiritual consciousness is imperishable, held in obscurity by thoughts and perceptions. Now dying, now being born; at times coming, at times going. In casting away bodies and lives, grass tallies can hardly tally them. Indeed, throughout the great earth, there is no mound or pit that was not our former body; the vast oceans and flowing rivers all equal our tears and blood. Viewing it in this light, who is not our relative or friend? Although humans and ghosts differ, their birth and death are certainly the same. Sentiments of love and affection at times still echo back and forth. The multitudes of the deluded and foolish do not recognize close from distant kin; consequently, they cause another's physical form to perish in order to nourish their own bodily life, mutually butchering and dismembering one another to form an abyss of resentments. Through kalpas, they become enemies to each other, and their bitter retributions can hardly be exhausted. Quietly contemplating this matter, how could one's heart not ache?
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Part 2: Grieving and Mourning
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As the Madhyamāgama says: At that time, the World-Honoured One addressed the monks: 'Sentient beings transmigrate through the long night of beginningless birth and death, unaware of the fundamental limit of suffering. Monks, what do you think? If all the grasses and trees of this great earth were cut into tallies four fingers long, and used to count the parents upon whom you have depended during your long night of transmigrating through birth and death, the number of tallies would be exhausted, yet the number of those parents would still not be exhausted. Monks, it is because of transmigrating through the long night of such beginningless birth and death that one does not know the fundamental limit of suffering.'
66.8
'The Buddha addressed the monks: "The mother's milk you have drunk while transmigrating through birth and death is more than the waters of the Ganges River and the four great oceans. Why is this? In your long night, you were born among elephants and drank an immeasurable amount of mother's milk; or you were born as camels, horses, oxen, donkeys, and various birds and beasts, and drank an immeasurable amount of their mother's milk. When you were cast away in burial grounds during your long night, the pus and blood that flowed out were also like this; or when you fell into the hells, animals, and hungry ghosts, the marrow and blood that flowed out were also like this."'
66.9
'The Buddha addressed the monks: "The bodily blood you have shed while transmigrating through the long night of birth and death is exceedingly vast and countless, exceeding the waters of the Ganges River and the four great oceans. In the long night you were once born among elephants, and your ears, nose, head, tail, and four legs were cut off, yielding an immeasurable amount of blood. Or you took the form of horses, camels, donkeys, oxen, birds, beasts, and the like, and your ears, nose, head, legs, and four limbs were severed, yielding an immeasurable amount of blood. Or when your bodies died and were cast away in burial grounds, the pus and blood that flowed out were also of such a number. Or during the long night of transmigrating through birth and death, you lost your fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, clan relatives, and friends, or lost wealth and property, and shed tears on account of this—exceedingly vast and immeasurable, exceeding the waters of the four great oceans."'
66.10
'The Buddha addressed the monks: "When you see sentient beings at ease and happy, you should think: 'During the long night of transmigrating through birth and death, we too once experienced such pleasure, an immeasurable number of times.' Or when you see sentient beings undergoing suffering and affliction, you should think: 'Ever since we transmigrated through the long night of birth and death in the past, we have experienced suffering such as this, an immeasurable number of times.' Or when you see sentient beings and feel terror so that your hairs stand on end, you should think: 'In the past we surely killed living beings and harmed them, acting as bad companions in transmigrating through the long night of beginningless birth and death, unaware of the fundamental limit of suffering.' Or when you see sentient beings and feel fond affection and joy, you should think: 'In past lifetimes, they were surely our parents, brothers, wives, children, relatives, teachers, and good friends. Thus through the long night of birth and death we have transmigrated, covered by ignorance and bound about the neck by craving; hence we transmigrate through the long night, unaware of the fundamental limit of suffering. Therefore, monks, you should train yourselves in this way: diligently cultivate expedients to sever and eliminate the great [elements of suffering], and not let them increase." At that time, the World-Honoured One spoke a verse:'
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'If the bones of one person's body / In the course of a single kalpa
Were constantly accumulated without decaying, / They would be like Mount Vipula.
If the noble disciples / With right knowledge see the true realities:
This suffering and the cause of suffering, / Freedom from suffering, and the attainment of cessation;
Cultivating the path of the eightfold track, / Directing themselves straight toward parinirvāṇa,
At most reaching seven existences, / Coming and going in birth among gods and humans,
They will exhaust all fetters / And completely reach the limit of suffering.'
66.12
The Buddha addressed the monks: 'Sentient beings transmigrate through the long night of beginningless birth and death, unaware of the fundamental limit of suffering. There is not a single place where they have not been born and have not died; thus through the long night of beginningless birth and death, they do not know the fundamental limit of suffering. Nor is there a single place where there have not been their parents, brothers, wives, children, kin, clan relatives, teachers, and elders. Just as when heavy rain falls, bubbles arise and vanish, these sentient beings are covered by ignorance and bound about the neck by craving, transmigrating through the long night unaware of the fundamental limit of suffering. Just as when heavy rain pours down universally across heaven and earth, east, west, south, and north, without any place of interruption, so too across immeasurable lands in the four directions when the kalpa is destroyed, just as rain universally pours down across the world without interruption, they transmigrate through the long night unaware of the fundamental limit of suffering. Just as when a stick is thrown into the air, sometimes the top hits the ground, sometimes the bottom hits the ground, and sometimes the middle hits the ground, so too in transmigrating through the long night of beginningless birth and death, they sometimes fall into hell, sometimes fall into animals, and sometimes fall into hungry ghosts.' Furthermore, the Ekottarikāgama says: At that time, in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven there was a devaputra whose physical body showed the five omens of death: first, his flower crown naturally withered; second, his garments became soiled with dirt; third, sweat flowed from his armpits; fourth, he took no pleasure in his original seat; fifth, the jade maidens went against his company. Then that devaputra, grieved, distressed, and suffering, beat his breast and sighed. At that time, Śakra Devānām Indra heard the sound of this devaputra's sorrow, and instructed a devaputra: 'What kind of sound is this that penetrates all the way here?' That devaputra reported the cause in full. At that time, Śakra Devānām Indra went to his place in person and said to that devaputra: 'Why are you now so grieved and distressed, even to this degree?' The devaputra answered: 'Venerable one, how could I not grieve? My life is about to end, and the five omens of decay have appeared; they will cause this palace of seven treasures to be completely lost, and the five hundred jade maidens will also be scattered like stars, and the ambrosia I eat now has no flavor.' At that time, Śakra Devānām Indra said to that devaputra: 'Have you not heard the verse spoken by the Tathāgata?'
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'All conditioned things are impermanent; / Those that are born must surely die.
Without birth there is no death; / This cessation is the highest bliss.'
66.14
'Why are you now so grieved, even to this degree? All conditioned things are impermanent; to wish to make them permanent—this cannot be so.' The devaputra answered: 'Lord of Devas, how could I not grieve? Today my divine body is pure and undefiled, its radiance surpassing the sun and moon, illuminating everywhere. Having cast off this body, I am to be born in the belly of a pig in the city of Rājagṛha, constantly eating feces and urine in life, and being butchered by knives at death.' At that time, Śakra said to him: 'You may now take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṃgha, and then you will not fall into the three evil destinies. For the Tathāgata also spoke this verse:'
66.15
'Whoever takes refuge in the Buddha / Will not fall into the three evil destinies;
Exhausting defilements, dwelling among gods and humans, / They will then proceed to nirvāṇa.'
66.16
At that time, that deva asked Śakra: 'Where is the Tathāgata now?' Śakra replied: 'The Tathāgata is now at the Kalandaka Bamboo Grove in the city of Rājagṛha in the country of Magadha.' The devaputra replied: 'I now lack the strength to go there.' Śakra replied: 'You should place your right knee on the ground, kneel upright, clasp your hands together toward the lower realm, and say these words: "I only pray that the World-Honoured One will kindly look upon me. Being now in a state bordering on utter exhaustion, I pray you will take pity on me. I now take refuge in the Three Honoured Ones, the Tathāgata who has no attachments."' At that time, that devaputra complied with Śakra's words, and immediately knelt upright toward the lower realm, announced his own name, and took refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṃgha, [saying]: 'To the end of my bodily life, I will be a true disciple of the Buddha, no longer relying on being a devaputra.' He repeated this up to three times. Having spoken these words, he no longer entered the womb of a pig, but was born into the family of an elder. At that time, according to the length of his life, the devaputra was born into the household of a great elder in the city of Rājagṛha. At that time, the elder's wife knew herself to be pregnant; when the ten months were complete, she gave birth to a boy, exceptionally handsome and rare in the world. When he reached ten years of age, his parents brought him to the Buddha's place. The Buddha preached the Dharma for him, and right on his seat all dust and defilement were exhausted and he attained the purity of the Dharma eye, free of further blemish. Later he left secular life to become a monk and attained the fruit of an arhat.
66.17
Furthermore, the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna-sūtra says: At that time, King Yama, speaking in brief for the hosts of devas, said, "Among gods and humans, there are sixteen sufferings. What are the sixteen? They are subsumed within the wholesome destinies among gods and humans: first, the suffering of the intermediate existence (antarābhava); second, the suffering of dwelling in the womb; third, the suffering of emerging from the womb; fourth, the suffering of fearful sustenance; fifth, the suffering of encountering the hated and despised; sixth, the suffering of separation from loved ones; seventh, the suffering of cold, heat, and the like; eighth, the suffering of illness; ninth, the suffering of being made a servant by others; tenth, the suffering of being dispatched to seek and toil; eleventh, the suffering of associating with bad companions; twelfth, the suffering of the decline and distress of wife, children, and kin; thirteenth, the suffering of hunger and thirst; fourteenth, the suffering of being disparaged and reviled by others; fifteenth, the suffering of old age; sixteenth, the suffering of death. Such are the sixteen great sufferings among humans. In the human realm, up unto the end of life as well as remaining various afflictions, [they] cannot be endured within saṃsāra. Within conditioned phenomena, there is not the slightest joy. All is impermanent; all is ruined and destroyed." At that time, King Yama spoke in verse, saying:
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"Within the human world, / wherever there are aggregates, all is suffering. / Where there is birth, it must return to death; / where there is death, there must be birth. / If one dwells in the intermediate existence, / by one's own karma one suffers distress. / The suffering of a long night and far journey— / this suffering cannot be told. / Sunk within feces and urine, / scorched by hot vapors: / such suffering of dwelling in the womb / cannot be fully recounted. / Constantly craving the flavor of food, / one's mind constantly yearns; / changing flavors into great suffering— / this suffering cannot be told. / The petty mind constantly yearns, / never satisfied with desires; / all the distresses endured— / this suffering cannot be told. / Meeting with the hated, despised, and unloved / is like great fire and poison; / all the distresses that arise— / this suffering cannot be told. / In separation from beloved kin, / sentient beings head toward great suffering; / great evil hard to endure— / this suffering cannot be told. / Cold and heat, great bitter terrors, / give rise to immeasurable kinds of suffering; / sentient beings endure this suffering— / this suffering cannot be told. / The suffering of illness harms human life; / illness is the messenger of King Death; / sentient beings endure this suffering— / this suffering cannot be told. / Driven and commanded by others, / constantly devoid of self-mastery; / sentient beings endure this suffering— / this suffering cannot be told. / The poison of craving burns sentient beings; / dispatched to seek, they endure great suffering, / in succession even unto death— / this suffering cannot be told. / If one associates with bad companions, / diverse sufferings constantly continue; / one shall endure the suffering of bad destinies— / this suffering cannot be told. / Wife and children fall into decline and distress; / to see it gives rise to great suffering, / surpassing [that of] the hells— / this suffering cannot be told. / Hunger and thirst burn one's own body, / just like blazing flames, / capable of destroying body and mind— / this suffering cannot be told. / Constantly disparaged by others— / kin, relatives, and acquaintances— / giving rise to grief and bitter sorrow— / this suffering cannot be told. / Humans are crushed by old age, / body frail and mental faculties enfeebled; / bent double, walking leaning on a staff— / this suffering cannot be told. / Humans are seized by death, / going from this world to another; / this death is a great suffering / that cannot be expressed."
66.19
Furthermore, the Sūtra on the Nine Untimely Deaths says: The Buddha told the monks, "There are nine sorts, nine causal conditions, whereby when life is not yet exhausted, one dies an untimely death: first, eating what should not be eaten; second, eating without moderation; third, eating what one is unaccustomed to; fourth, not digesting [food] out; fifth, retaining what has matured; sixth, not upholding the precepts; seventh, associating with bad companions; eighth, entering a village at an improper time and not acting according to Dharma; ninth, not avoiding what can be avoided. Such are the nine causal conditions by which human life is brought to an untimely end. 'Eating what should not be eaten' refers to eating unwholesome food, or filling the belly intemperately. 'Eating without moderation' refers to not knowing regulation and eating to excess beyond satisfaction. 'Eating what one is unaccustomed to' refers to not knowing the proper season, going to another country in winter or summer, not knowing local customs, and eating unaccustomed food. 'Not digesting [food] out' refers to eating again when previously eaten food has not yet digested, not taking medicine to vomit or purge, due to its not having digested in time. 'Retaining what has matured' refers to not evacuating immediately when urination or defecation arises, or suppressing belching, hiccups, sneezing, and flatulence when they arise. 'Not upholding the precepts' refers to violating the five precepts: killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, double-tongued speech, and drinking alcohol, which causes one to fall into the hands of the authorities to be beaten with canes, hacked, and stabbed, or to die at the hands of an enemy, or to die of terror and grief over one's offenses. 'Associating with bad companions' refers to sitting and not parting from bad companions, so that one fails to perceive good and evil. 'Entering a village at an improper time' refers to traveling in the dark, or when there is strife in the village and magistrates are pursuing arrests and one does not avoid them, or not acting according to Dharma and entering another's house recklessly. 'Not avoiding what can be avoided' refers to being harassed and injured by vicious elephants, horses, ox-carts, vipers, pit-traps, water, fire, blades, clubs, drunken and wicked persons, and the like. These are the nine untimely [deaths]; when human life is not yet exhausted, it is brought to an end on account of these." Furthermore, in the Sūtra on the Similes of the Five Aggregates, the Buddha spoke in verse, saying:
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"A cluster of foam is a simile for form; / feeling is like a bubble on water; / perception is compared to a mirage in the heat; / formations are like a plantain tree; / a vessel of illusion is a simile for consciousness: / thus do the Buddhas speak. / One should observe these essentials, / carefully examine and reflect upon them: / empty and hollow, ascertain them to be so; / one does not see them to have permanence. / If one wishes to see the aggregates, it should be thus; / true wisdom says all are so. / When the three things are severed, / know that the body is worth nothing: / life exhausted, warmth and breath / abandon the body and pass away. / When dead and lying on the ground, / like grass, it knows nothing. / Observing its condition to be like this, / it is merely an illusion, yet the foolish crave it. / Cease, cease! It provides no security, / nor has it any solidity. / Knowing the five aggregates to be thus, / a monk should be vigorous. / Therefore, day and night, / one should awaken oneself and be mindful of correct wisdom, / practice the path of quiescent extinction; / the elimination of conditioned action is the highest peace and joy."
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Section 3: The Five Aggregates
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As the Nirvāṇa-sūtra says: For example, there was a king who kept four venomous snakes, placed them in a single chest, and entrusted them to a man, ordering him to look after and nurture them: "If you cause even one snake to give rise to anger, I shall execute you in the public market according to the law." At that time, hearing the king's stern command, the man was terrified in his heart, abandoned the chest, and fled. The king then dispatched five caṇḍālas, who drew their swords and pursued behind him. Looking back, the man saw the five men behind him, and thereupon fled further away. At that time, the five men used an evil expedient, concealing the swords they held and secretly dispatching one man to feign friendly intimacy, saying to him, "You may return!" The man did not believe him, and threw himself into a village wishing to conceal himself. Having entered the village, he peered into the houses and saw no people at all; the jars and vessels he held were all empty, without anything. Having seen no people and finding no provisions, he sat on the ground and heard a voice in the air: "Alas, O man! This village is desolate, without inhabitants. Tonight six great bandits will come; if you meet them, your life will end. How will you escape now?" At that time, the man's fear increased even more, and he abandoned it and fled again. On the road, he encountered a river whose waters were rushing swiftly, with no boat or raft. Out of fear, he immediately gathered various grasses and trees to make a raft. He reflected again: "If I stay here, I shall be harmed by the venomous snakes, the five caṇḍālas, the one who feigned friendship, and the six great bandits. If I cross this river, the raft cannot be relied upon, and I shall drown in the water and die. Yet I would rather drown in the water and die than be harmed by those snakes and bandits!" He then pushed the grass raft into the water, leaned his body upon it, embraced it with his hands and paddled with his feet, cutting across the current and departing. He immediately reached the other shore, secure and free from adversity, his mind calm and his terror extinguished. The four venomous snakes are the four great elements. The five caṇḍālas are the five aggregates. The one who feigned friendship is craving. Throwing oneself into a village is the six internal sense-bases. The coming of the six great bandits is the external sense-objects. That these six great bandits can only be stopped by kings means that only Buddhas and bodhisattvas can stop them. Though kings cut off their hands and feet, these six great bandits still cannot be made to cease their intentions; the evil bandits of the six sense-objects are also like this: though one attains the four fruits of śramaṇahood and cuts off their hands and feet, they still cannot be prevented from robbing wholesome dharmas. Just as only a valiant man can subdue these six great bandits, so too can the Buddhas and bodhisattvas destroy the evil bandits of the six sense-objects.
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Section 4: The Eight Sufferings
66.24
As the Sūtra on the Five Kings says: The Buddha expounded the Dharma for five kings: "When humans are born into the world, immeasurable sufferings constantly afflict their bodies. Now I shall roughly and briefly explain the eight sufferings for you. What are the eight sufferings? First, the suffering of birth; second, the suffering of old age; third, the suffering of illness; fourth, the suffering of death; fifth, the suffering of separation from loved ones; sixth, the suffering of not getting what is sought; seventh, the suffering of encountering the hated and despised; eighth, the suffering of sorrow and grief. These are the eight sufferings. What is the suffering of birth? When a person dies, he does not know to which destiny his consciousness is heading; having not yet attained a place of birth, all receive the form of the intermediate existence. By the third seven-day period, when father and mother unite, he comes to enter the womb. In the first seven days, it is like thin curds. In the second seven days, it is like thick curds. In the third seven days, it is like congealed ghee. In the fourth seven days, it is like a lump of flesh. In the fifth seven days, the five vesicles are completed; the subtle wind enters the abdomen, blowing upon his body, and the six sense-faculties open up. Dwelling in the mother's abdomen below the stomach and above the intestines, when the mother consumes a cup of hot food, it pours over his body as if he had entered a boiling cauldron; when the mother drinks a cup of cold water, it is also like cold cutting into his body. When the mother is full, it presses tightly upon his body with unspeakable pain; when the mother is hungry, his abdomen feels hollow, also as if suspended upside down. He endures immeasurable suffering. When the months are fulfilled and he is about to be born, his head turns toward the birth canal, agonizing as if between two stone cliffs of a gorge. When he is about to be born, the mother is in danger and the father is terrified. Born and falling upon the grass, his body is soft and delicate; the grass touching his body is like treading on knives and swords. Suddenly he loses his voice and cries out loudly. Is this suffering or not?" All the people said, "This is great suffering." "What is the suffering of old age? It means that parents raise [a child] until he grows to adulthood; trusting in his own strength, he carries light burdens and bears heavy loads without measuring his capacity, intemperate in cold and heat. When old age comes, his head turns white and teeth fall out; his vision becomes dim and obscure, his ears dull of hearing; vitality departs and decrepitude arrives; his skin slackens and face wrinkles; all joints ache and walking is extremely painful; sitting and rising he groans, his heart distressed with sorrow and grief; his mental faculties decline, forgetting things immediately after turning around; his lifespan shortens by the day; speaking of it, tears and mucus flow; sitting and rising, he requires others. Is this suffering or not?" They answered, "It is great suffering."
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"What is the suffering of illness? A human is composed of the harmony of the four great elements. If one great element is out of harmony, one hundred and one diseases arise; if the four great elements are all out of harmony, four hundred and four diseases arise simultaneously. If the earth element is out of harmony, the whole body feels heavy. If the water element is out of harmony, the whole body swells with dropsy. If the fire element is out of harmony, the whole body is steamed with heat. If the wind element is out of harmony, the whole body becomes rigid and stiff. The hundred joints ache as if beaten with rods and whips. The four elements advancing and retreating, hands and feet become useless; energy and strength are exhausted, and sitting and rising require others. The mouth is parched and lips scorched; sinews snap and the nose cracks; eyes do not see form and ears do not hear sound. Impurities flow forth and the body lies upon them; the mind harbors distress, and every word is sorrowful. The six relations are at one's side, watching day and night without rest; delicious dishes and fine foods are all bitter upon entering the mouth. Is this suffering or not?" They answered, "It is truly great suffering."
66.26
"What is the suffering of death? When a person dies, four hundred and four diseases arise simultaneously; the four great elements are about to disperse, and the soul and spirit are unsettled. When about to die, the knife-winds dismember the form, with nowhere free from pain; white sweat flows forth and both hands clutch at the empty air. Family members within and without stand to his left and right, grieving and weeping with pain penetrating to the marrow of their bones, unable to contain themselves. The dying person departs; the wind wanders and breath is severed; the fire is extinguished and the body grows cold. Wind first, fire second, the spirit departs! The body lies stiff and straight, knowing nothing more. Within ten days to a month, the flesh rots and blood flows, swelling, putrefying, and stinking, utterly unapproachable; cast into the wilderness, flocks of birds feed on it; the flesh exhausted, the bones dry, skulls scattered in different places. Is this suffering or not?" They answered, "It is truly great suffering."
66.27
"What is meant by the suffering of separation from the beloved? It refers to relatives both within and outside the household—brothers, wives, and children—who cherish and yearn for one another. In a single morning their home is ruined, and they are raided and plundered by others. Each is torn apart: the father is to the east, the son to the west; the mother to the south, the wife to the north; they are not in a single place. Becoming the slaves of others, each weeps and laments. Their hearts and flesh feel severed, plunged into darkness, with no prospect of ever seeing one another again. Is this suffering or not?"
He answered, saying: "Truly, it is great suffering."
66.28
"What is meant by the suffering of not getting what one seeks? One disperses and spends the household wealth pursuing ambitions, and high officials, lesser clerks, and commoners all hope to attain wealth and honor. Diligently and painfully seeking it without ceasing, by chance one obtains it and becomes the magistrate or governor of a border region. Before much time passes, he covetously seizes the people's possessions, and is denounced by others. In a single morning trouble strikes; he is loaded into a caged cart and hauled away. Facing impending execution, his grief and suffering are boundless, not knowing on which day he will live or die. Is this suffering or not?"
He answered, saying: "Truly, it is great suffering."
66.29
"What is meant by the suffering of association with what is hated? The people of this world are vulgar, living together amid cravings and desires. Contending over non-essential matters, they mutually slaughter each other, and thus great enmities are formed. Each shuns the other, with no place to hide. Each sharpens knives, files arrows, carries a bow, and grasps a staff, fearing to see the other. When by chance they encounter each other on a narrow path, they draw bows, notch arrows, and face one another with crossed blades, not knowing who will prevail. At that moment, their terror is boundless. Is this suffering or not?"
He answered, saying: "Truly, it is great suffering."
66.30
"What is meant by the suffering of worry, grief, and affliction? It refers to human life in the world: those of long lifespan may reach a hundred years, while those of short lifespan miscarry and perish in the womb. For those of long lifespan granted a hundred years, nights consume half of it, leaving fifty years. When drunk with wine or stricken by disease, one is unaware of being human; deduct five years for this. In childhood one is foolish; up to fifteen years of age one does not yet understand ritual and duty. When past eighty, one is aged, dull, and devoid of wisdom, deaf and dim-eyed, with no capacity for proper conduct; deduct another twenty years. Ninety years have already passed. In the remaining ten years, there are many worries and sorrows: when the empire is about to fall into chaos, one worries; when the empire suffers drought, one worries; when the empire has great floods, one worries; when the empire suffers frost, one worries; when the empire's crops do not ripen, one worries; when relatives within and outside the household suffer many illnesses and pains, one worries; when managing household property and doing business, fearing its loss, one worries; when the official taxes and levies have not yet been paid, one worries; when a family member is arrested by officials and confined to prison with no known date of release, one worries; when brothers travel far and have not returned, one worries; when the household is poor and cold, lacking clothing and food, one worries; when neighboring villages face calamities, one worries; when the sacrifices to the earth and grain gods cannot be prepared, one worries; when a family member dies and there are no goods for a funeral and burial, one worries; when spring comes for planting and there are no oxen or plows, one worries. Such various kinds of worry and grief leave no time for joy. Even when gathering together on festival days when they should rejoice, they only face each other and weep. Is this suffering or not?"
He answered, saying: "Truly, it is great suffering."
66.31
Furthermore, the Jinshe wang jing says that a devatā spoke a verse to King Kanakavarṇa, saying:
66.32
"What thing is named suffering? / It is that which is poverty. / Which suffering is the heaviest? / It is the suffering of poverty. / The suffering of death and the suffering of poverty: / These two sufferings are equal and no different. / One would rather endure the suffering of death / Than live in poverty."
66.33
Furthermore, the Buddhabhūmi-śāstra states: "There are five fears: first, fear regarding livelihood; second, fear of ill repute; third, fear of death; fourth, fear of evil destinies; fifth, timidity. When one realizes the stage of pure intention, all such five fears are left far behind."
66.34
Furthermore, in the Sūtra on the Death of the Queen Mother of King Prasenajit, the World-Honored One spoke a verse for the king, saying:
66.35
"All people return to death; / There is none who does not die. / According to their actions, sowing misfortune or merit, / They themselves obtain the fruits of good and evil. / Hell is for evil deeds; / The virtuous will surely be born in heaven. / Clear wisdom can discern this: / Only merit can halt evil."
66.36
"Thus, Great King, there are four terrors that no one can avoid: old age is a great terror, causing plump flesh to waste away completely; sickness is a great terror, depriving one of a robust will; death is a great terror, entirely ending one's lifespan; separation from the beloved is a great terror, allowing no way to seek permanence. For these four great terrors, no knives, staffs, incantations, medicinal herbs, elephants, horses, people, precious jewels, or fortified cities can rescue or ransom one. They are like a great cloud rising with thunder and lightning, dispersing again in an instant. Human life is extremely short, with a maximum lifespan of a hundred years, and few among them exceed it. Only by cultivating the perception of impermanence and casting away attachments of love can one cross over suffering."
66.37
Section 5: Miscellaneous Difficulties
66.38
As the Furen yugu jing states: When the Buddha was in the world, there was a man without a wife who went to Śrāvastī to take a wife. In his native state he already had two sons: the eldest was seven years old, and the second was a nursing infant. The mother was pregnant again and wished to go home to give birth, as the custom in India was for a woman to return to the state of her parents. At that time, the husband and wife rode in a cart carrying the two sons, heading toward Śrāvastī. Midway, while stopping to eat and graze the ox, a venomous snake coiled around the ox's leg, and the ox broke free of its tether. When the husband went to retrieve the ox in order to set out, he saw that the ox had been killed by the venomous snake. The snake then left the ox, coiled around the husband, and killed him. The woman, watching from afar, was terrified and trembling, weeping and calling upon Heaven, with no one to save or protect her. As the sun was setting, not far from the road there was a river, and opposite the river there were dwellings. Fearing nightfall and terrified of being plundered by bandits, the woman abandoned the cart and took the two sons to the riverbank. Leaving the eldest child on the riverbank, she carried the younger child across the water. Just as she reached the middle of the river, a wolf came to eat the eldest child. The child cried out to the mother; turning to look back, she saw her child being devoured by the wolf. Startled and terrified, she lost hold of the child in her arms, who fell into the water and was swept away by the current. The mother grew even more distraught and bewildered, losing her senses; stumbling in the water, she miscarried the child she was carrying. She then crossed the river and asked travelers on the road: 'Are my parents peaceful and well?' A traveler answered: 'Last night there was a fire that burned your parents completely to ashes.' She further asked a traveler: 'Are my husband's parents-in-law peaceful and well?' The traveler answered: 'Yesterday bandits attacked and harmed their family; both father-in-law and mother-in-law are dead, with none left whole.' Hearing this, the mother was stricken with grief and terror; confused and bewildered in mind, she could not tell east from west. She stripped off her clothes, naked and deranged, running about madly. Travelers on the road saw her and found it extremely strange, thinking she was afflicted by an evil disease or haunted by spirits. The Buddha was at the Jetavana monastery in Śrāvastī, and the woman ran toward it. At that time, the World-Honored One was teaching the Dharma to a great assembly. By the Dharma of all Buddhas: the blind who see the Buddha gain clear sight; the deaf gain hearing; the mute gain speech; illnesses are cured; the feeble become robust; poisons cease to take effect; and the distracted mind attains concentration. When the woman saw the Buddha, her mind immediately attained concentration and she no longer grieved. Looking at her own nakedness, she felt shame and prostrated on the ground. The Buddha called Ānanda to bring clothes and give them to her. Once she had put them on, she bowed her head at the Buddha's feet and sat to one side. The Buddha then expounded the sūtra for her, revealing transgressions and merit, the impermanence of human life, and the inevitable parting of all that unites. Through these various essential Dharmas, her heart opened and her mind understood; she immediately gave rise to the aspiration for unsurpassed true awakening and attained the stage of non-retrogression.
66.39
Furthermore, the Abhidharma-samuccaya says: 'Why is birth itself suffering? Because it is oppressed by manifold sufferings, and because it is the support for remaining sufferings.' When emerging from the womb, one further suffers the great distress of physical constriction. 'The support for remaining sufferings' means that manifold sufferings such as aging, sickness, and death attend it. 'Why is aging suffering? Because of the suffering of temporal deterioration. Why is sickness suffering? Because of the suffering of the alteration of the great elements. Why is death suffering? Because of the suffering of the destruction of the lifespan. Why is association with what is hated suffering? Because union produces suffering. Why is separation from the beloved suffering? Because separation from the beloved gives rise to suffering. Why is not getting what one seeks suffering? Because the failure of what is sought produces suffering. In brief, why are all five grasping aggregates suffering? Because of the suffering of gross heaviness.' Furthermore, the Samyuktāvadāna-sūtra says: In ancient times, a worldly person went to sea to gather jewels and met with seven perils: first, great winds arose simultaneously from the four directions, blowing and overturning the ship; second, the ship was on the verge of breaking apart and leaking; third, the person was about to fall into the water and die before reaching the shore; fourth, two dragons came ashore wishing to devour him; fifth, upon reaching flat ground, three venomous snakes pursued him wishing to devour him; sixth, on the ground there was hot sand, and running upon it burned and scalded the person's feet; seventh, looking up, he could not see the sun or moon, being in perpetual darkness and unable to tell east from west, which was extremely perilous.
66.40
The Buddha told his disciples: 'You too face seven matters: first, the great winds arising from the four directions refer to birth, old age, sickness, and death; second, the boundless greed and love of the six sense faculties are likened to the overflowing ship; third, falling into the water on the verge of death refers to falling into the grasp of Māra; fourth, the two dragons coming ashore to devour refer to the sun and moon consuming one's lifespan; fifth, the three venomous snakes on flat ground refer to the three poisons within the human body; sixth, the hot sand burning and scalding feet refers to the fires in hell; seventh, looking up and not seeing the sun or moon refers to the place of receiving punishment, being plunged into darkness with no date of emergence.' The Buddha told his disciples: 'You should understand these words. Do not encounter these things. By diligently practicing the six matters, you will attain liberation.'
66.41
Furthermore, the Nirvāṇa-sūtra says: 'If non-Buddhists who practice self-starvation and austerities could attain the Way, then all animals should also attain the Way. For this reason, non-Buddhists adopt practices of self-starvation, casting themselves into abysses, throwing themselves into fire, leaping from high cliffs, constantly standing on one leg, exposing their bodies to the five fires, and constantly lying on ashes, thorns, wooden stakes, leaves, noxious weeds, and cow dung; wearing coarse garments, hemp clothes, rags from dunghills, coarse woolen fabrics, and kamala robes; eating wild vegetables, feeding on fruits, lotus roots, and oil dregs; when begging for food, limiting themselves to a single household, and if the owner says there is none, immediately turning away, never looking back even if called back; abstaining from salt, meat, and the five pungent roots; constantly drinking and eating gruel, cane sugar, and boiling liquids. To claim that these things can serve as the cause for unsurpassed liberation is impossible. One never sees bodhisattva mahāsattvas practicing such methods and attaining liberation. Therefore, one must first tame the mind; not exclusively tormenting the body, one will then attain the fruits of the Way.' Furthermore, the Yogācārabhūmi-sūtra says: For example, a young boy catches a sparrow and holds it, tormenting it; binding it with a long thread, he lets it fly away. Thinking it has escaped and will no longer face distress, it goes to a tree or pond to drink, enjoying itself in peace. When the thread runs out, he pulls it back and torments it as before, without any difference. The practitioner is like this, reflecting to himself: 'Though I reach the Brahmā heaven, I will still return to the desire realm to suffer as before.' Thereupon he spoke a verse:
66.42
"Like a sparrow with a cord tied to its leg, / As soon as it flies, the thread runs out and it is pulled back; / The practitioner who abides in the Brahmā heaven is just like this: / Still proceeding to the desire realm, not freed from suffering."
66.43
Forest of Gems in the Garden of the Dharma, Fascicle 66
Linked texts (1)
- 法苑珠林 — 道世, Classical Chinese