法苑珠林 67

English (machine translation) 67

Language: English

67.1

Compiled by the Śramaṇa Shi Daoshi of Ximing Temple

As the Chan miyao jing says: 'Furthermore, Śāriputra, when a practitioner enters dhyāna-concentration, if sensual awareness arises and the wind of lust stirs, it agitates the four hundred and four channels, from the eyes down to the body sense-faculty, shaking them all at once. The senses become obstructed, stirring the heart-wind and driving the mind mad. Driven mad because of this, they are possessed by ghosts and demons, yearning for sensual desire day and night as if trying to extinguish fire from their hair. One must urgently remedy this. The method of remedying it is to teach this practitioner to contemplate the womb. The womb is located below the receptacle for raw food and above the receptacle for digested food, with ninety-nine layers of membranes resembling the bladder of a dead pig. Four hundred and four channels branch out from the womb like the scrapings of a tree, dispersing through the faculties like sacks filled with faeces, with nineteen hundred joints resembling plantain leaves. Eighty families of worms encircle the four hundred and four channels as well as the womb, like a horse's intestines, extending straight to the birth canal like an armlet, round in size, circular above and pointed below, shaped like cowrie teeth, in ninety-nine layers. Between each single layer there are four hundred and four worms, each worm having twelve heads and twelve mouths. When a person drinks water, the essence of the water enters the channels and disperses among the worms, entering the crown of the vilā worms straight to the birth canal. Fortnight by fortnight impure water discharges; the worms each vomit it out like rotten pus, entering the mouths of ninety worms, and discharging from the six apertures of twelve worms like spoiled crimson juice. There are further worms, finer than autumn down, disporting within it. Due to the past misdeeds of men, the four hundred and four channels disperse from the eye faculty through the four limbs, flowing through the intestines down below the receptacle for raw food and above the receptacle for digested food. On either side of the channels of the lungs, spleen, and kidneys, there are each sixty-four worms, each with twelve heads and twelve mouths, coiled together like finger rings, filled with bluish pus like the semen of a wild boar, foul and repulsive beyond measure. Reaching the hidden place of the genitals, they divide into three branches: two-ninths are above, like plantain leaves, having one thousand two hundred channels. In each channel, wind worms are born, fine as autumn down, resembling the beaks of vilanta birds. Among the worms are born sinew-coloured worms (the form of these worms resembles chopsticks, binding and holding the womb, able to agitate the channels and suck essence in and out; the male worms are bluish-white, and the female worms are red), seventy-eight thousand entwined together, shaped like stacked rings, resembling the eyes of kuśīra birds. Ninety-eight channels rush upward to the heart and up to the topknot. When men's eyes contact visible forms, the wind stirs the heart faculty, and the four hundred and four channels are driven by the wind to churn without ceasing. The eighty families of worms simultaneously open their mouths, and pus issues from the eyes, flowing into the channels and reaching the worms' crowns, throwing the worms into chaotic agitation, driven utterly mad. Upon contacting the female genitals, the man's bluish-white semen is the tears of these worms; the woman's yellowish-red essence is the pus of these worms. These are the practices perfumed by the ninety-eight defilements; the movements of the eighty families of worms and the earth, water, fire, and wind all proceed from this.' The Buddha told Śāriputra: 'If any among the fourfold assembly wear the garments of shame and conscience, take the medicine of shame and conscience, and wish to seek liberation and cross beyond worldly suffering, they should train in this method as if drinking ambrosia. One who trains in this method visualises the aforementioned womb, down to the female genitals and the male body, with all the worms large and small opening their mouths, pricking their ears, glaring with anger, and vomiting pus. Turning it over with the hand, place it on the tip of the left knee, counting breaths to settle the mind for one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine cycles. When this visualisation is perfected, place it on the tip of the right knee and contemplate it as before. Again turning it over with the hand, cover the head with it, causing these worms and all manner of impure matter first to touch both eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, reaching everywhere. Having seen this, when looking with one's eyes upon beautiful female forms and beautiful male forms, or even sons of devas and daughters of devas, it is like seeing a leper's worm-infested ulcers, like the hellish arrows of the pantara demons and spirits, like the blazing fire and scorching flames of the Avīci Hell. One should contemplate attentively: one's own body, others' bodies, and the bodily parts of all sentient beings in the desire realm are all impure in just this way. Śāriputra, do you know now? The primal seed of the bodily faculties of sentient beings is entirely impure and cannot be described in full. One should simply count the breaths and contemplate it single-mindedly. One who takes this medicine is a great man, a teacher of gods and humans, a taming leader of humans. They are spared the mire of desire, and are not drowned by the water of the defilements and the great river of attachment, nor harmed by licentious, inauspicious phantoms and demonic spirits. You should know that though such a person has not yet escaped saṃsāra, their body is fragrant and pure like an utpala lotus, unsurpassed by the fragrant elephants among humans, nāga kings, mighty wrestlers, or Maheśvara; they are a great man of vast strength, revered by gods and humans.' The Buddha told Śāriputra: 'Receive and uphold this well, and preach it to the fourfold assembly; take care not to forget or lose it.' Then Śāriputra, Ānanda, and the others, hearing what the Buddha had spoken, rejoiced and put it into practice.

67.5

Furthermore, the Zhengfa nian jing says: 'When a monk-practitioner sees the body as it truly is, observing the body from head to foot, by means of wisdom born of hearing or by means of the divine eye he observes inside the skull that there are worms moving about, named "brain-crawlers". Roaming through the bones, they are born within the brain; moving or resting, they constantly feed on this brain. There are also worms residing in the skull: whether moving or feeding, they feed on the skull. There are also hair-worms residing outside the bone, feeding on the roots of the hair; when these worms become angry, they cause the hair to fall out. There are also ear-worms residing in the ears, feeding on the flesh inside the ears; when these worms become angry, they cause ear pain or cause deafness. There are also nose-worms residing in the nose, feeding on the flesh inside the nose; when these worms become angry, they make one's food and drink unpalatable and cause brain-saliva to drip down—because the worms consume the brain-saliva, food and drink are therefore unpalatable. There are also fat-worms born within the fat, residing within the fat, constantly feeding on the person's fat; when these worms become angry, they cause headaches. There are also joint-worms born between the joints. There are worms named "body-worms" residing in human teeth; when these worms become angry, they cause pain in the vessels like the piercing of needles. There are also worms named "saliva-eaters", residing in the root of the tongue; when these worms become angry, they cause the mouth to become parched. There are also worms named "tooth-root worms", residing in the roots of the teeth; when these worms become angry, they cause toothaches. There are also worms named "vomit worms"; when food is discordant, they produce excessive vomiting. This is called the inner practitioner's contemplation of the body. These ten kinds of worms reside in the head. Either through wisdom born of hearing or through the divine eye, when first observing the throat, there are worms named "saliva-eaters": when chewing food, as if mixed with vomited saliva, when about to swallow it joins with the brain-saliva; the saliva-worms in the throat feed together on this food to sustain their lives. If these worms multiply, they cause coughing illnesses. If one eats excessive grease, or eats sweets, or eats smoked food, or eats sour food, or eats cold food, the worms will multiply, causing diseases to arise in the person's throat. Furthermore, by wisdom born of hearing or by the divine eye, one sees saliva-digesting worms flowing into the throat; if a person does not eat the aforementioned greases and the like, the worms remain at peace and can digest the saliva, causing delicious flavours to flow out from the ten channels, experiencing peaceful pleasure. If a person produces excessive saliva, the worms become ill; because the worms are ill, they vomit cold foam, and because cold foam is vomited, illness develops in the chest. Furthermore, by wisdom born of hearing or by the divine eye, one contemplates vomit worms residing in the human body, dwelling where the ten channels flow; when a person eats, such worms surge upward through the body from the ten channels, and upon reaching the throat they immediately cause the person to vomit, producing five kinds of vomiting: first, wind vomiting; second, phlegm vomiting; third, saliva vomiting; fourth, mixed vomiting; fifth, fly vomiting. If the worms are at peace, then they proceed smoothly from the stomach into the abdomen.'

67.6

'Furthermore, by wisdom born of hearing or by the divine eye, one sees that because flies consume impure things, when a fly enters the throat it induces vomiting; when the worms stir, great vomiting immediately occurs.'

67.7

'Furthermore, by wisdom born of hearing or by the divine eye, one sees flavour-intoxicated worms roaming from the tip of the tongue down to the life-channel; between these, whether moving or resting, they are minuscule and footless. If one eats delicious food, the worms become intoxicated and multiply; if one eats unpalatable food, the worms wither and weaken. If I do not eat, the intoxicated worms become diseased and find no peace.'

67.8

'Furthermore, by wisdom born of hearing or by the divine eye, one sees heedlessness worms residing upon the crown of the head. If they reach the fontanelle, they cause sickness in the person; if they reach the crown, they cause sores to break out; if they reach the throat, they are like small ants filling the throat. If they remain in their original place, disease does not arise.'

67.9

'Furthermore, by wisdom born of hearing or by the divine eye, one sees six-flavour worms: whatever flavours they enjoy eating, I also crave; whatever these flavour worms do not enjoy, I also find disagreeable. If a feverish disease is contracted, the worms also contract such a feverish disease first. Due to this fault, the sick person finds food unpalatable and lacking any flavour.'

67.10

'Furthermore, by wisdom born of hearing or by the divine eye, one sees breath-draining worms: out of anger, they eat the brain and make holes, causing either throat pain or throat obstruction, giving rise to the agony of death. These breath-draining worms, together with all the other worms in the throat, create turmoil and cause various pains and afflictions. These breath-draining worms are constantly covered by saliva; they are short and small, having faces and feet.'

67.11

'Furthermore, by wisdom born of hearing or by the divine eye, one sees flavour-hating worms residing beneath the head in the root of the throat. How do these worms cause me illness and affliction, or bring about comfort? One sees that these worms detest flavours and crave only a single flavour: they either crave sweet flavours and detest other flavours, or crave sour flavours and detest other flavours. Whatever flavour they detest, I also detest; whatever flavour the worms crave, I also crave. There is a channel at the tip of the tongue that accommodates flavours; it causes the tongue to dry up, and because the worms become angry, they cause the tongue to flutter and twitch, or cause the throat to contract coughing illness. If they do not become angry, the throat will be free of the aforementioned illnesses.'

67.12

'Furthermore, by wisdom born of hearing or by the divine eye, one sees sleep-loving worms: their shape is minute, like dust in a window chink; they dwell in all channels, circulating through the pathways of taste; they dwell within the bone marrow, or dwell within the flesh, or within the skull, or inside the cheeks, or inside the jawbones, or inside the throat bones, or in the ears, or in the eyes, or in the nose, or in the beard and hair. These sleep-loving worms drift and circulate driven by the wind. If these worms become sick, or if the worms become exhausted, they dwell within the heart. The heart is like a lotus flower: in the daytime it opens, and having no sunlight, at night it closes again; the heart is also like this. When the worms dwell within it, seizing upon many sensory objects, the sense faculties become exhausted; when the worms sleep, the human also sleeps. All sentient beings experience sleep; if these sleeping worms are exhausted during the day, the human also sleeps.'

67.13

'Furthermore, by wisdom born of hearing or by the divine eye, one sees swelling worms travelling within the body. Their bodies are minuscule; wherever the worms drink blood, swellings arise, throbbing with pain. They are either on the face, or on the crown, or in the throat, or at the fontanelle, or in other places; wherever they are, they can cause swellings to arise. If they dwell in the sinews, there is no pain or illness.'

67.14

'Furthermore, by wisdom born of hearing or by the divine eye, one sees ten kinds of worms: when they reach the liver and lungs, the person becomes sick. What are the ten? The first is called the hair-eating worm; the second is called the aperture-crawling worm; the third is the candumāla worm; the fourth is called the red worm; the fifth is called the juice-eating worm; the sixth is called the hair-lamp worm; the seventh is called the blood-angering worm; the eighth is called the flesh-eating worm; the ninth is called the throbbing worm; the tenth is called the sour worm. The shapes of these worms are minuscule, without feet and without eyes, travelling in the blood, characterized by pain and itching.'

67.15

Furthermore, through the wisdom born of hearing or through the divine eye, one sees the hair-eating worm: if it becomes enraged, it can devour the beard and eyebrows, causing them all to fall out and inflicting leprosy upon the person. If the hole-coursing worm becomes enraged, it moves through the blood, making the body coarse, rough, numb, and devoid of sensation. If the candamālā worm travels through the blood, whether in the nose or in the mouth, it makes both the mouth and nose foul-smelling and loathsome. If the red worm becomes enraged and moves through the blood, it can cause ulcers to break out in the person's throat. If the sap-eating worm becomes enraged and moves through the blood, it makes the person's body develop blue emaciation, or black or yellow emaciation diseases. If the hair-lamp worm becomes enraged and travels through the blood, it gives rise to painful ailments: sores, ringworm, hot-jaundice, scabies, leprosy, and cracking. If the blood-enraging worm travels through the blood due to anger, it produces either red dysentery, or uterine bleeding in women, with bodily itching, scabies sores, and festering pus. If the blood-eating worm grows angry, it produces distressful illnesses: dizziness and vertigo, sores arising in the throat and mouth, and sores arising at the lower orifice. If the throbbing worm travels through the blood, it gives rise to severe sickness: extreme emaciation, exhaustion, and loss of desire for food and drink. If the sour worm becomes enraged, it likewise causes the person to contract such diseases.

67.16

Furthermore, one contemplates ten kinds of worms that move through the genitals: What are the ten? First is the ulcer-producing worm; second, the stinging worm; third, the sinew-obstructing worm; fourth, the vessel-agitating worm; fifth, the skin-eating worm; sixth, the fat-agitating worm; seventh, the collecting worm; eighth, the foul-smelling worm; ninth, the moisture-born worm; tenth, the heat worm.

67.17

Furthermore, through the wisdom born of hearing or through the divine eye, one sees the ulcer worm: either at the site of an ulcer, various worms surround and devour this sore, or ulcerous diseases arise in the throat. Or one sees the stinging worm: if it becomes enraged, it causes a person to have diarrhea like a burning fire, the mouth becomes dry, and food cannot be digested. If the person is sad and troubled, the worm rejoices, biting the person's blood vessels to bring about ruin and distress; either red blood is discharged, or indigestive diarrhea occurs. Or one sees the sinew-obstructing worm moving through the coarse sinews or through the fine sinews; if one senses the worm moving, the sinews ache; if one does not sense its moving, the sinews do not ache; all the bones and flesh also waste away, and there is pain in the sinews; if the worm becomes enraged, the person cannot eat; if it abides in the sinews and drinks the person's blood, it deprives the person of strength; if it eats the person's flesh, it makes them emaciated. Or one sees the vessel-agitating worm: this worm moves everywhere through all vessels; its body is minute and moves without obstruction. If the worm abides in a person's food vessels, there are disease faults, causing the body to dry out and have no fondness for food and drink; if the worm abides in the water vessels, then diseases arise that make the mouth dry; if in the sweat vessels, it causes all the person's pores to yield no sweat; if in the urinary vessels, it causes strangury, or ruins the semen, or inflicts intense pain; if the worm becomes enraged and moves into the lower orifice, it causes the person's bowels to be obstructed and blocked, suffering in agony near death. Or one sees the skin-eating worm: due to excesses in eating, the worm becomes enraged, causing the person's facial complexion to become ugly, or producing evil blisters, itching, redness, yellowness, or cracking; or further causing their beard and nails to fall off, giving the person malignant diseases, or breaking the skin, or rotting the flesh. Or one sees the fat-agitating worm: it abides inside the fat vessels of the body; if there is an excess in eating, or if one sleeps excessively, this worm grows angry and food cannot be digested; or it produces scabies and itchy rashes, malignant swellings and root-follicle egg-sores, or one gets goiters and tumors, or vessel distention, or wasting-thirst disease, or body-odor sickness, or profuse sweating while eating. Or one sees the collecting worm: it gathers into two kinds of body—first, the sentient body; second, the insentient body. Skin, flesh, blood, and the like are named the sentient body; hair, nails, teeth, and the like are named the insentient body. Because of excessive eating, the worm becomes powerless, and the person likewise becomes powerless, unable to walk and travel back and forth swiftly; sleep is heavy and drowsy, or there is much parching thirst, and skin, flesh, bones, blood, marrow, and semen diminish. Or one sees the foul-smelling worm: it abides in the flesh and amidst the feces and urine; due to excessive eating, the worm becomes enraged, so that the bodily flesh, feces, urine, saliva, and nasal mucus all become foul-smelling; putrid pus forms in the nose, or eye tears rot and stink; wherever the worm travels, all becomes foul and filthy. Clothes or bedding, or if food remains in the teeth, due to the worm's foulness the food also becomes foul, and clothes and bedding are completely foul-smelling; there is much white, foul filth on the tongue, and the body grime also stinks. Or one sees the moisture-coursing worm: moving in the flesh of the back, knowing that food has been digested, it enters the three orifices of the waist and takes the human filth—the fluid turns into urine, and the dregs become feces, causing them to enter the lower orifice.

67.18

Furthermore, the practitioner of contemplation observes the body internally, observing ten kinds of worms that course through the sense-organs, from which all human bodies emerge. What are the ten? First is the throbbing worm; second, the pining worm; third, the sprout-flower worm; fourth, the greatly deceitful worm; fifth, the black worm; sixth, the great-eating worm; seventh, the warmth-coursing worm; eighth, the heat-producing worm; ninth, the fire worm; tenth, the great-fire worm. All these worms abide amidst the sexual fluid and bile. By the wisdom born of hearing or through the divine eye, one sees the throbbing worm: due to excessive eating, the worm becomes enraged and eats the person's eyelashes, causing the eyes to itch and discharging much crust and tears. If this minute worm moves into the eyes, the eyes develop many diseases or are destroyed; if it enters the pupil, white cataracts develop in the eye. That worm is red in color; if the worm does not become angry, these diseases do not occur. Or one sees the pining worm: abiding in the human body, it moves in the genitals, its bile covering the body; if it enters the bones, it causes steaming heat; if it moves in the skin, there is constant fever day and night with hands and feet burning hot; if it enters beneath the skin, the body sweats. Or one sees the sprout-flower worm: it travels and abides in the genitals, with a sharp beak and short feet, its body like a repository of fire; the person has no desire to eat or drink; wherever it travels there is great burning rot; the blood of the body increases and the body suffers steaming heat; if the worm moves smoothly, there is no such disease. Or one sees the greatly deceitful worm: abiding in the body, it moves in the bile and genitals, at times settled, at times unsettled; due to excessive eating, the worm becomes enraged, moving from head to foot without hindrance, capable of causing all the hot blood in the body to produce hot sores, so that blood or sexual secretions flow forth from the mouth and ears; if the worm does not become angry, there is no such disease. Or one sees the black worm: abiding inside the body, it moves in the bile, at times settled, at times unsettled; due to excessive eating, the worm becomes enraged, causing the person's face to wrinkle, or producing many moles, black, yellow, or red; or it makes the body foul, or blinds the eyes, or produces sores in the mouth, or sores at the orifices of urination and defecation; if the worm does not become angry, there is no such disease. Or one sees the great-eating worm: due to excessive eating, it becomes enraged; abiding in the genitals and bile, it digests whatever is eaten as soon as it is consumed; if the worm does not become angry, there is no such disease. Or one sees the warmth-coursing worm: it always craves warm food and loathes cold food; if one eats cold food, the worm becomes enraged, causing the mouth to produce much fluid, or one becomes indolent or drowsy, or the mind and faculties become murky and confused, or the body aches and stiffens, or there is much nasal mucus, or much saliva, or throat diseases; if the worm does not become angry, there is no such disease. Or one sees the heat worm: abiding in the human body, due to excessive eating its pathogenic impurities increase, obstructing the in-and-out breaths and making the body coarse and bloated, or obstructing the throat so that urine and feces both turn white; it does not like cold, nor does it like bland food. Or one sees the fire-eating worm: abiding inside the body, it moves and rests in the genitals; in cold weather this worm rejoices, but in hot weather it becomes withered and weak; because it rejoices in cold, the person thinks of food; when it is hot and fire increases, the person does not desire food or drink; in the cold of winter the genitals are cool, but in heat the genitals inflame. Or one sees the great-fire worm: if something does not suit a person's constitution yet they force themselves to eat it, due to excessive eating the worm becomes enraged and devours the worms inside the body, causing intestinal pain or aching hands and feet; wherever it devours worms, there is pain; if the worm does not become angry, none of the above occurs.

67.19

Furthermore, the practitioner observes the body internally. Through the wisdom born of hearing or through the divine eye, one contemplates that there are ten kinds of worms in the bones. What are the ten? First is the bone-licking worm; second, the bone-gnawing worm; third, the joint-severing worm; fourth, the red-mouthed foul worm; fifth, the rotting worm; sixth, the red-mouthed worm; seventh, the paduma worm; eighth, the skin-eating worm; ninth, the wind-knife worm; tenth, the knife-mouthed worm. These ten worms move through the bones, running contrary to one's constitution and harming the body beyond full description.

67.20

Furthermore, the practitioner observes the body internally. Through the wisdom born of hearing or through the divine eye, one sees ten kinds of worms moving in the urine. What are the ten? First is the live worm; second, the needle-mouthed worm; third, the joint worm; fourth, the footless worm; fifth, the fluid-dispersing worm; sixth, the triple-burner worm; seventh, the intestine-rupturing worm; eighth, the obstructing worm; ninth, the fine-colored worm; tenth, the foul-orifice ulcer worm. When they emerge, their color is hideous, and they dwell in feces and filth. If these ten kinds of worms are provoked contrary to their nature, they also harm the human body; they are fully recorded in the sūtra texts and cannot be described in full.

67.21

Furthermore, the practitioner observes the body internally. Through the wisdom born of hearing or through the divine eye, one sees ten kinds of worms moving in the marrow, with some moving in the semen. What are the ten? First is the hair worm; second, the black-mouthed worm; third, the powerless worm; fourth, the great-pain worm; fifth, the vexation worm; sixth, the fire worm; seventh, the slippery worm; eighth, the downward-flowing worm; ninth, the sex-organ-rousing worm; tenth, the memory-rejoicing worm. If these ten worms are provoked contrary to their nature, they also harm the human body, as expounded at length in the sūtras and cannot be described in full.

67.22

Section 7: Hells

67.23

As stated in the Sūtra on Karmic Retribution and Teaching about the Hells: At that time, the Bodhisattva Xinxiang initiated the query on behalf of all sentient beings and said to the Buddha: 'World-Honoured One, now there are sentient beings suffering retribution who are chopped by hell wardens on mortar blocks, their bodies cut from head to foot, and even to their crowns; after cutting them to pieces, a miraculous wind blows them back to life, whereupon they are cut again. By what sin was this incurred?' The Buddha said: 'Because in their past lives they were held guilty of lacking faith in the Three Jewels, of unfilial behavior toward their parents, and of being butchers and executioners who slaughtered and dismembered sentient beings, they have incurred this retribution.'

67.24

Secondly, there are sentient beings whose bodies are withered and paralyzed, their eyebrows and beards fallen out, their whole bodies swollen and festering, roosting like birds and lodging like deer, utterly cut off from human tracks, polluting their relatives so that people do not wish to see them, which is called leprosy. By what sin was this incurred? The Buddha said: 'Because in their past lives they were held guilty of lacking faith in the Three Jewels, of unfilial behavior toward parents, destroying stūpas and temples, stripping monks of their robes, shooting and hacking worthy and noble ones, harming teachers and elders, being utterly ungrateful, betraying kindness and forgetting righteousness, habitually acting opportunistically, and committing illicit intercourse without distinction of high or low and with no scruples, they have incurred this retribution.'

67.25

Thirdly, there are sentient beings whose bodies are huge, deaf and stupid, footless, writhing and crawling on their bellies, feeding only on mud and soil to sustain their lives, and pecked and eaten by small insects, constantly undergoing this unbearable suffering. By what sin was this incurred? The Buddha said: 'Because in past lives when born as humans, they were self-opinionated and distrustful of good advice and wholesome words, unfilial to parents, and rebellious against the rulers of their time; or if as emperors, rulers, grand ministers, regional commanders of the four frontiers, regional governors, commandery governors, county magistrates, officials, jailers, or military supervisors, they relied on their authority and might to seize the property of the common people, causing the people to wither and languish without justification, walking along while wailing and sighing—therefore they have incurred this retribution.'

67.26

Fourth, there are also sentient beings whose two eyes are completely blind and without sight. Some bump into trees; some fall into ditches and pits. Having died, they receive yet another physical form just like this. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, due to not believing in transgression and blessing, they obstructed the light of the Buddha, sewed shut the eyes of hawks, caged and bound sentient beings, or enclosed [beings'] heads in leather sacks so that they could not see. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.27

Fifth, there are also sentient beings who stammer, are mute, and cannot speak with their mouths. If they wish to say something, they close their eyes and raise their hands, yet their words remain unintelligible. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, due to slandering the Three Honoured Ones, disparaging the holy path, discussing the faults of others, seeking out other people's defects, falsely accusing the good and virtuous, and hating and envying the worthy, they incurred this retribution.

67.28

Sixth, there are also sentient beings with huge bellies and slender necks who cannot swallow food. If they take in any food, it turns into pus and blood. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, they stole the food of the Saṅgha, or secretly ate in secluded places the blessed food prepared for great assemblies; they begrudged their own possessions yet only coveted the wealth of others; they constantly harboured evil intentions and administered poison to people, choking off their breath. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.29

Seventh, there are also sentient beings whose hundred joints and bones are constantly driven with burning red-hot iron nails by hell-wardens. Once the nailing is finished, fire spontaneously ignites, burning their bodies until all are scorched and putrefied. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, as acupuncture and moxibustion physicians, they pierced people's bodies but could not cure their diseases, deceiving others to take their wealth and causing them to suffer pain in vain, bringing them suffering and distress. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.30

Eighth, there are also sentient beings who are constantly in caldrons of boiling water, where ox-headed demons use three-pronged iron forks to impale them and toss them into the boiling water, cooking them until putrefied; then they are blown back to life and boiled again. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, they believed in heterodox and inverted views, offered sacrifices to ghosts and spirits, slaughtered sentient beings, scalded them with boiling water to pluck their hair, and fried and boiled them in caldrons beyond measure. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.31

Ninth, there are also sentient beings who are constantly in a fiery city of hot ashes reaching to their chests, with all four gates open. Whenever they attempt to head towards a gate, the gate immediately shuts. Running east and west, they cannot escape, and are completely incinerated by the fire. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, they set fire to mountains and marshes, roasted bird eggs in ashes, and burned and boiled sentient beings, peeling their skin and causing their bodies to rot. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.32

Tenth, there are also sentient beings who are constantly in the snowy mountains, blown upon by cold winds so that their skin and flesh split open, seeking death but unable to die. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, they acted as highway robbers, stripping people of their clothes and causing them to freeze to death during the winter months, or flayed cattle and sheep alive with unbearable agony. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.33

Eleventh, there are also sentient beings who are constantly upon mountains of knives and trees of swords. Whenever they grasp anything, their limbs and joints are cut, injured, severed, and destroyed. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, they made slaughter their livelihood, butchering and harming sentient beings, dismembering, flaying, and tearing them apart so that bones and flesh separated and heads and feet were scattered about, hanging them on high racks to weigh and sell them, or hanging sentient beings alive in agonizing suffering. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.34

Twelfth, there are also sentient beings whose five sense faculties are incomplete. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, they unleashed hawks and urged on hounds to shoot birds and beasts with slings, severing their heads or feet, or ripping off birds' wings while still alive. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.35

Thirteenth, there are also sentient beings who are crippled, lame, hunchbacked, paralyzed in hips and waist, lame in the legs, and curled in the hands so that they cannot manage tasks or travel. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, as humans, they set up spears along pathways in open fields, planted shooting pits, and laid snares and pitfall traps, plunging sentient beings into them so that their heads were crushed and their feet broken, injuring them in countless ways. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.36

Fourteenth, there are also sentient beings whose bodies are constantly shackled and cangued by hell-wardens, unable to escape. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, they netted and trapped sentient beings, encaged and tied up humans and animals, plunging them into hunger, destitution, and distress; or, serving as magistrates and district heads, they covetously seized wealth and wrongfully imprisoned the good and innocent, making them lament bitterly to high heaven without obtaining their freedom. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.37

Fifteenth, there are also sentient beings who are either insane or mad, foolish or dull, not distinguishing good from bad. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, they drank alcohol until intoxicated and disorderly, committing the thirty-six faults, and further possessed dull bodies resembling drunken persons, recognizing neither high nor low, and not distinguishing good from bad. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.38

Sixteenth, there are also sentient beings whose bodies are exceedingly small while their private parts are exceedingly large; when they pull them, the skin of their bodies is drawn forward, hindering them whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, they engaged in business and trade, praising their own goods while disparaging others' property, cheating with noisy measures, tampering with pints, and rigging the scales to deceive people. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.39

Seventeenth, there are also sentient beings who lack male organs and become eunuchs, never marrying throughout their lives. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, they castrated elephants, horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, and dogs, bringing them to the point of dying and reviving. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.40

Eighteenth, there are also sentient beings who have no sons from birth to old age, standing alone and solitary. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, being violent and evil, they did not believe in transgression and blessing. When the hundred birds were nesting and breeding, they took bottles and vessels and followed the islets of large waters to seek and collect the eggs of swans, cranes, parrots, geese, and various birds, carrying them back to boil and eat them. The birds, having lost their young, cried in grief and shrieked until blood flowed from their eyes. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.41

Nineteenth, there are also sentient beings who are orphaned and destitute from youth, having no parents or brothers, serving as servants to others, and making a painful living. When grown into adulthood, they are wrongfully struck by calamity, bound by officials, locked in prison with no one to send provisions, impoverished and starving in distress, with nowhere to make an appeal. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, they took pleasure in capturing and taking eagles, vultures, hawks, harriers, bears, brown bears, tigers, and leopards, keeping them chained and caged, depriving these creatures of their parents and siblings, who constantly suffered acute grief, shrieking with broken hearts that moved human sentiments; yet [the captors] could not properly care for them, leaving them constantly starving until their bones stood out and skin clung to their frames, seeking death but unable to die. Therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.42

Twentieth, there are also sentient beings whose appearance is exceedingly ugly: their bodies are black as lacquer, their eyes are bluish-green, their cheeks are sunken and lumpy, their faces are pimpled with flat noses, their eyes are yellow and red, their teeth are sparse and gap-toothed, their breath is fishy and foul, they are short, stunted, and swollen, with big bellies and protruding hips, their legs are crooked and twisted, their backs hunchbacked, and their ribs flared; they ruin clothes and eat voraciously; foul sores, pus and blood, dropsy, wasting, scabies, leprosy, carbuncles, and ulcers—all kinds of evils gather on their bodies. Even if they draw close to others, people pay them no mind; if others commit crimes, they wrongfully suffer the misfortune; they never see the Buddha, never hear the Dharma, and never recognize the Saṅgha. What transgression caused this? The Buddha said: In their past lives, as children they were unfilial to parents; as ministers they were disloyal to their lords; as lords they did not respect their subordinates; friends did not honour their trust; the village community did not respect their elders; the imperial court did not employ their ranks; they falsely engaged in deceit; their minds were perverse without restraint; they did not believe in the Three Honoured Ones; they assassinated lords and harmed teachers; they attacked states and plundered people; they besieged cities and destroyed forts; their evil karmas of stealing, burglary, and illicit taking were not just one; they praised themselves and disparaged others; they oppressed the orphaned and the elderly; they slandered the worthy and holy, and despised their elders; they cheated the lowly; they committed all kinds of sinful karmas in full. The retribution of accumulated evils gathered upon them; therefore, they incurred this retribution.

67.43

At that time, all the sentient beings suffering punishment, hearing the Buddha speak thus, wailed in grief, shaking the earth, tears falling like rain, and addressed the Buddha, saying: "We only pray that the World-Honoured One will abide long to preach the Dharma, so that we may attain liberation." The Buddha said: "If I were to abide long, those of little merit would not plant good roots; they would think that I always remain, and would not contemplate impermanence. Good sons, it is like an infant whose mother is always at its side, who does not produce the thought that she is hard to encounter; if the mother goes away, it then gives rise to thirsting longing and yearning thoughts, and only when the mother returns does it rejoice. Good sons, I am also like this: knowing the good and bad karmic conditions of sentient beings and their fine or ugly retributions, I therefore enter parinirvāṇa." At that time, the World-Honoured One spoke a gāthā for all these sentient beings suffering punishment:

67.44

Flowing water is not constantly full;
A blazing fire does not burn for long.
The sun rises and sets in an instant;
The moon, once full, wanes again.
For the exalted, glorious, and noble,
Impermanence is greater still.
One should mindfully strive with diligence,
And bow the head to the Unsurpassed Honoured One.

67.45

Furthermore, the Old Sūtra of Miscellaneous Parables states: Formerly, there were six companions who committed sins and all fell into hell into the same caldron. They all wished to recount their original transgressions. The first person said: "Sha." The second person said: "Na." The third person said: "Chi." The fourth person said: "She." The fifth person said: "Gu." The sixth person said: "Tuoluo." Seeing this, the Buddha smiled. Maudgalyāyana asked the Buddha: "Why do you smile?" The Buddha said: "There were six companions who together fell into hell in the same caldron. Each wished to speak of his original transgression, but because the hot broth boiled and surged, they could not speak a second time; with each single utterance, they sank back down. The first person who said 'Sha' meant: 'Sixty billion years in the human realm are only one day in Naraka; when will it ever end?' The second person who said 'Na' meant: 'There is no time of exit, nor do I know when I will attain release.' The third person who said 'Chi' meant: 'Alas! I was busy managing my livelihood and could not restrain my mind, stealing the shares of the five families to make offerings to the Three Honoured Ones; foolish and greedy without satisfaction, what does regret avail now?' The fourth person who said 'She' meant: 'I also managed my livelihood without sincerity; the wealth belonged to others, yet I have received bitter torment.' The fifth person who said 'Gu' meant: 'Who will guarantee for me that, once out of hell, I will not violate the moral prohibitions and may be born into heavenly bliss?' The sixth person who said 'Tuoluo' meant: 'At the outset of this matter, I did not carefully examine it in my mind; like driving a chariot that loses the way and enters a detour, breaking the axle and destroying the cart, regret is to no avail.'"

67.46

The eulogy states:

67.47

In flourishing years one enjoys indulgence;
Fierce and reckless, one cannot be dissuaded.
Though heaven is vast, morning dew is fleeting;
Birth, old age, and sickness come to claim their due.
A hundred joints all ache and throb;
A thousand ailments strike together.
Once departing the splendid halls,
Upon the dark path, ten thousand torments strike.

67.48

Accounts of Sympathetic Resonance (briefly citing thirteen verifications)

67.49

King Xuan of Zhou killed Du Bo, manifesting retribution after his death;
The First Emperor of Qin cut down Mount Zhongnan, with the tree anomaly;
Li Xiannu of Gaoping in the Qin helped a ghost exact retribution;
Zhang Feng's household of Wu Commandery in the Jin killed a ghost and received retribution;
Liu Chifu of the Wei dreamed that Lord Jiang summoned him to be an administrative assistant;
King Fuchai of Wu wrongfully killed his minister Gongsun Sheng, with a manifest verification;
Zhang Zuo of Anding in the Jin was wrongfully killed by Zhang Cui, with a manifest verification;
Zhang Qing of the Jin wrongfully killed Qu Jian, and Qing received a manifest verification;
Tao Jizhi, magistrate of Moling County under the Song, wrongfully killed a grand musician, with a manifest verification;
General Zhang Yue of the Song wrongfully killed Deng Wan, chief clerk of Jiangzhou, with a manifest verification;
Crown Prince Wenhui of the Song wrongfully killed Xiao Yi, Prince of Yuzhang, with a manifest verification;
Kou Zuren, magistrate of Luoyang under the Wei, wrongfully killed Yuan Hui, Prince of Chengyang, with a manifest verification;
In the early Tang, a band of bandits stayed together at Daci Temple in Xiangzhou, killing one another and defiling the temple, with a manifest verification.

67.50

King Xuan of Zhou killed Du Bo, who was innocent. Du Bo said: "If the dead have consciousness, within three years I will certainly make the lord know it." In the third year, King Xuan of Zhou went hunting at Futian, with attendants filling the wilderness. At noon, Du Bo rode in a plain chariot drawn by white horses, dressed in crimson robes and a crimson cap, holding a crimson bow and gripping a crimson arrow. He shot the king in the center of his heart, breaking his spine, so that he slumped over his bow-case and died. (The one verification above comes from the Account of Mozi.)

67.51

In the time of the First Emperor of Qin, there was a catalpa tree on Mount Zhongnan whose girth was several hundred spans, shading the palace. The First Emperor abhorred it and raised troops to fell it. The sky immediately sent down great wind and rain, blowing sand and stones; everyone fled swiftly. By night, all [the tree's] wounds closed up. There was a man struck by the wind and rain who fell ill with cold; unable to leave, he stayed overnight. At night, he heard a ghost come and ask the tree, saying, 'The King of Qin is cruel and violent; in felling you, did he not cause you distress?' The tree said, 'When he comes, I make wind and rain strike him. What can he do to me?' [The ghost] also said, 'If the King of Qin dispatches three hundred men, their heads bound with red silk, to encircle you and fell you, could you avoid defeat?' The tree remained silent and made no sound. The sick man reported this to the King of Qin. [The King] followed his words and felled it. When the tree was severed, a green ox came out from inside it. They chased it, and it ran into the river. Thereupon the King of Qin established the vanguard cavalry with yak-tail banners. (The one evidential account above is from the Xuanzhong ji.)

67.52

In Qin, Li Xian of Gaoping had a slave who was physically robust. When he reached Shitougang, he suddenly saw a man who said, 'My wife had an illicit affair with another man, and I was consequently killed by him. I wish to take revenge; could you assist me?' The slave followed his words. In the end, he saw the man coming. The ghost then seized [the man's] head, and the slave called out and lent a hand; [the man] immediately fell to the ground. On his way back halfway, he died. The ghost gave the slave one thousand cash and one bolt of dark-blue mixed-weave robe, admonishing him, 'This robe was pledged by Ding from the west gate of the market. You may wear it yourself, but take care not to sell it.'

67.53

In the second year of the Yongchu reign of the Jin, a ghost suddenly appeared in the household of Zhang Feng of Wu Commandery and said, 'If you share your food with me, I will assist and protect you.' [Zhang] then gave food to the ghost: he spread a mat on the ground, laid out cooked rice upon the mat, and placed meat, wine, and the five delicacies upon it. In this way, having obtained [the food], the ghost no longer violently troubled people. Later, when food was made for it, [Zhang] struck the place where it ate with a knife. He then heard several tens of people weeping, and their weeping was exceedingly mournful, saying, 'Now that we are dead, from where can we obtain a coffin?' He also heard [them say], 'The master's household has a catalpa boat that the slave treasures dearly; we should take it to serve as a coffin.' They saw the boat being carried in, and there was the sound of axes and saws. After the work on the boat was finished, they heard shouting to lift the corpse and place it into the boat. Feng's eyes could see nothing; he only heard the instructions being given, but did not hear the sound of driving nails. Then they saw the boat gradually ascend into the sky, entering into the clouds. After a long while, it vanished, and then fell from the sky; the boat was smashed into a hundred pieces. Then they heard what sounded like several hundred people laughing loudly, saying, 'How could you kill me? Am I one to be trapped by you? You only know malice; I detest your look, so I pushed the boat and smashed it!' (The two evidential accounts above are from the Youming lu.)

67.54

Liu Chifu of Wei dreamt that Lord Jiang summoned him to be an attendant scribe, and the date was urgent. Thereupon he went to the temple to make a petition: his mother was aged and his child was young, and his circumstances were truly pressing; he begged that the dream [summons] be pardoned and remitted. Wei Bian of Kuaiji possessed many arts and skills and was good at serving the spirits; [Liu] requested that Bian take his place, and thus kowtowed until he bled. The temple liturgist said, 'We specifically wished to call upon you; what sort of person is Wei Bian to match this position?' Chifu repeatedly begged, but was refused to the end. Shortly afterward, Chifu died. (This one evidential account above is from the Zhiguai zhuan.)

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法苑珠林 — 道世, Classical Chinese