法苑珠林 71
English (machine translation) 71
- Language
- English
71.1
Compiled by the Śramaṇa Shi Daoshi of Ximing Temple
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Section 80: Transgressions and Merits
Section 81: Hindrance of Desire
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Section on Transgressions and Merits (containing four parts)
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Part 1: Exposition of the Intent
Part 2: Karmic Conduct
Part 3: Transgressive Conduct
Part 4: Meritorious Conduct
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Part 1: Exposition of the Intent
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Good and evil overturn each other; light and darkness are mutually opposed. Transgression and merit face each other in the unseen, as clear as before one's very eyes. Therefore, evil is termed plummeting downward, while good is described as ascending into purity. Merit brings wealth and abundance; calamity brings ruin and destruction. Thus we know that transgressive and evil phenomena must not be left uneradicated, and the achievements of meritorious good should not be left uncultivated. The holy teachings are lucid; the ascending and sinking can be seen clearly.
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Part 2: Karmic Conduct
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The exposition states: The names of these types of conduct are not spoken uniformly by the sages. As for transgressive conduct, various sutras sometimes call it 'dark-dark karma' and 'unwholesome karma.' As for ordinary persons' meritorious conduct, various sutras sometimes call it 'dark-bright karma' as well as 'wholesome karma.' Although the names are varied, the underlying nature of the conduct is not different. What is the nature of the conduct? As the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: killing and so forth are unwholesome karma; giving and so forth are wholesome karma. This refers to the two kinds of conduct: transgressive and meritorious. When it says 'killing and so forth,' 'and so forth' encompasses the ten unwholesome deeds, all equally called transgressive conduct. When it says 'giving and so forth,' 'and so forth' encompasses phenomenal karmas such as precepts and concentration, which are all worldly goods and collectively called meritorious conduct. Among these worldly goods, the eight meditative absorptions, when viewed in contrast to the distracted good of the desire realm, are called unmoving conduct. If viewed in contrast to the supramundane wisdom of the contemplation of principle, this abiding through conditioning on phenomenal things is called meritorious conduct. As when explaining the six perfections, all the meditative concentrations among the first five perfections are generally also called merit. However, the conduct of different people regarding transgressions and merits varies: some cultivate merit exclusively, some commit only transgressions, and there are also people who perform both transgressions and merits. Those who cultivate merit exclusively possess what is called a pure mind, practicing giving, precepts, and so forth to benefit others. Those who commit only transgressions are said to lack the moisture of compassion, moving body, speech, and mind solely to harm others. Those who combine transgressions and merits are those who, when cultivating merit, have an impure internal mind or concurrently harm living beings. This is the mixed karma of the desire realm; because it is not purely clean, it is also called impure. If we discuss transgressive conduct, it is coarse and evident, readily known. But if we discuss mixed karma in comparison with pure meritorious conduct, there are similarities and differences that are somewhat hidden and hard to know. That is, regarding all who cultivate merit, based on their external appearance, the faith and joy in their activities are identical; but based on their inner minds, whether for themselves or for others, their aims differ and their refinement or coarseness is unequal. Because all who cultivate merit are externally identical but internally different, there is the distinction between pure and mixed karmas. If one can tame the mind, show compassion, and pity living beings, then whatever is given or done will become great good. If one does not maintain mindfulness but contemplates characteristics while cultivating merit, being inwardly coarse and outwardly fine, it will only result in mixed karma. Although in accord with their foolish feelings they consider it surpassing the worldly, in principle it actually violates the Way, nor is it pure merit. Because when cultivating merit they do not contemplate the emptiness of beings, their inverted view of self is constantly active and pervades the three natures; all their actions correspond with inversion and are the nature of provisional grasping, and for this reason they violate the Way. Because with an unwholesome mind they mostly seek worldly retribution and also mostly seek fame, it is not pure merit. Because worldly people are mostly confused about this purity and mixture, I now briefly discuss it in particular, to enable people to recognize their conduct.
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We first discuss mixed karma, and later elucidate pure merit. However, various mixed karmas naturally have coarse and subtle aspects: the coarse consists of doing evil that concurrently harms others; the subtle consists of acting for oneself, merely seeking worldly retribution. First, discussing the coarse-mixed: if considered in terms of giving, there are those who take wealth unlawfully to give, such as stealing others' goods to use for giving; this induces a future retribution that is also constantly diminished and exhausted. If one gives and subsequently feels regret, the fruit obtained is also like this. Hence the Upāsaka-śīla Sūtra states: 'If a person, having given, conceives a regretful mind, or robs others' wealth and uses it for giving, this person, even though obtaining wealth in the future, will constantly suffer depletion and never accumulate.' There are also those whose giving concurrently harms others; that is, if when giving they lack right mindfulness of good, or give rise to anger, or generate arrogance, they shall fall into the evil destinies. Although they receive meritorious retribution, they experience it separately among animals and do not induce rebirth among humans or devas. Therefore, a verse in the Sutra on Distinguishing Karmic Retribution states:
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Practicing great giving, / But being impatient and prone to wrath, / Not relying on right mindfulness, / One later takes the body of a great nāga. / Capable of practicing great giving, / But haughty and despising others, / From this karmic conduct is born / A garuḍa of great power.
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If one cultivates merit in pursuit of worldly retribution: as when, upon relinquishing wealth, one seeks future retribution for oneself; or relinquishes it out of fear that body and wealth are impermanent; or focuses exclusively on self-benefit for the sake of fame and reputation—this is not done out of compassion to relieve the poor and suffering. It is like commercial trade, not a purely wholesome karma; hence in the sūtras it is called impure giving. As the Śata-śāstra says: "Giving for such reasons is called impure; the giving is like commercial trade." Therefore, its retribution is of two kinds: present retribution, namely fame, respect, love, and the like; and subsequent retribution, namely wealth and honor in future lifetimes, and the like. This is called impure giving. It is like a merchant who travels far to another land: although he brings miscellaneous goods and brings much benefit, he does so not out of pity for sentient beings, but to seek profit for himself; hence this karma is impure. Giving in pursuit of retribution is also like this. From this it is proven that where there is no genuine compassion, but only the pursuit of reputation for oneself, or the desire for future retribution, even extensive giving is not pure karma. Because the karma is not pure, the retribution obtained is not refined. Thus the Fenbie yebao jing says: "If one gives in order to be born in heaven, / or again seeks renown, / to repay kindness or hope for retribution, / or practices giving out of fear, / the fruit attained will not be pure, / and what is received will mostly be coarse and harsh." The practice of giving being such, all good deeds such as moral discipline are similarly impure. Thus the Śata-śāstra says: "Those of impure discipline seek pleasurable retribution for themselves: if one keeps the precepts seeking [rebirth] in heaven to take pleasure with celestial maidens, or [seeking] wealth and honor among humans to enjoy the pleasures of the five desires—this is done for the sake of sensual desire. Like a charlatan who internally lusts after another's form while externally feigning intimacy and virtue, this is called impure." Other than this, impure observance of precepts with a subtle mind is as the verse that Ānanda spoke to Nanda says:
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"Like two rams butting heads, / drawing back only to surge forward again, / your keeping the precepts for the sake of desire / is also just like this."
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If one opens the mind and acts solely for the benefit of others, the merit obtained is great. Furthermore, with regard to the recipient of the gift, there are the poor and the sick, or those who know the Dharma but lack necessities. If one gives so as to benefit them and increase their goodness, then the gift is appropriate and the merit obtained is great. Thus the Xianyu jing says: "The Buddha praised five kinds of giving that obtain immeasurable merit: namely, giving to one who comes from afar, to one who goes far away, to one who is sick and emaciated, giving food and drink in times of hunger and starvation, and giving to one who knows the Dharma. Such five kinds of giving obtain merit in the present life." Such giving is appropriate and immediately obtains abundant merit; it is not like seeking fame, where giving to unnecessary places, no matter how much one renounces, fails to attain pure retribution. Furthermore, as for rejoicing in the giving of others: when viewed against those who commit extremely coarse unwholesome deeds, this subtle fault may also be called wholesome; but when viewed against detachment from desire and acting solely for others, this mixed karma is indeed a fault. Thus the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra says: "Coarse people have coarse faults; refined people have refined faults." Therefore, in this mixed karma, faults and merits proceed together; in view of the mind, it is not pure and is impure karma. The above explains that faults and merits proceed together, concluding the impure mixed karma of the desire realm. As for pure karma, it can be known by reversing the above. Thus the Śata-śāstra says: "As for pure giving: if a person gives with love, respect, and benefit, the merit obtained is also great." Thus a verse from the Yinguo jing says:
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"If there is a poor person / with no wealth to give, / who, seeing another practice giving, / gives rise to a mind of sympathetic joy, / the meritorious retribution of that sympathetic joy / is equal to and no different from the giving itself."
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Furthermore, a verse from the Puruṣa-śāstra says:
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"Giving to a single person with a compassionate mind / yields merit as vast as the earth; / giving to all beings for one's own sake / brings retribution like a mustard seed. / Rescuing a single person in distress / surpasses all other giving: / though the many stars have light, / they do not equal the one bright moon."
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If ordinary persons produce such faults and merits without understanding that cause and effect, good and evil, have no intrinsic nature, this is being confused about phenomena and grasping at intrinsic nature, remaining perpetually bound to the three realms of existence. Thus the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra says: "Just as a fly alights everywhere except on a flame, the attachment of sentient beings is also like this: they attach to both wholesome and unwholesome dharmas, and even attach up to the state of neither-perception-nor-non-perception; they only fail to attach to the great fire of the emptiness of intrinsic nature of the prajñāpāramitā." From this it is proven that those who lack the nature of good and evil and constantly revolve in the five destinies are precisely sentient beings without buddha-nature. This briefly explains the two practices of faults and merits of ordinary persons, who are confused about phenomena and grasp at intrinsic nature, concluding the citations from sūtras and treatises.
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Section 3: Sinful Actions
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The commentary says: This explains that the holy ones, in relation to the subsequent meritorious actions, speak of sinful actions. However, these sinful actions falsely perceive the defilement of external objects, rigidly grasp at self and others, and cling to what is agreeable or disagreeable, thereby causing both self and others to commit evil karma. Thus a sūtra says: "Sensual desire does not arise or cease; it cannot afflict the mind. If a person has a notion of self and holds views of attainment, this person, because of sensual desire, will enter into the hells." Therefore, although there is no separate object outside the mind, conforming to their deluded sentiments, they forcibly perceive and produce defilements. It is like dreaming of an object and giving rise to greed and anger: conforming to the dreamer, one considers it real and not false; but in truth there is no object, only the false perception of sentiment. Thus the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra says: "Just as in a dream one is pleased without a pleasing matter, angry without an anger-provoking matter, and frightened without a frightening matter, so it is with sentient beings of the three realms: because of the sleep of ignorance, they become angry when they should not be angry, and so forth." Therefore we know that although there is no separate object outside the mind, conforming to their deluded sentiments they falsely perceive and produce defilements. Although there are no marks of hell and so forth outside the mind, when evil karma is accomplished, they falsely perceive and experience suffering.
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As the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna-sūtra says: "The beings of Yama are not sentient beings; sinners see them and consider them sentient beings, holding blazing iron pincers in their hands. When the evil karma of those hell dwellers is exhausted, after their lives end they no longer see Yama's wardens. Why? Because they do not belong to the category of sentient beings. Just as when the oil and wick are exhausted there is no lamp, so it is when karma is exhausted: they no longer see Yama's wardens. Just as when sunlight appears in Jambudvīpa there is no darkness, so it is when evil karma is exhausted: Yama's wardens, with their evil eyes and evil mouths resembling sentient beings, and their terrifying forms, are all wiped out. Just as when a painted wall is destroyed the painting is also destroyed along with it, so it is with the painted wall of evil karma: they no longer see the terrifying forms of Yama's wardens." Proving it with this passage: sentient beings whose evil karma dictates they should experience suffering naturally and falsely perceive hell where there is nothing. Question: As for those who see hell: it may be granted that the wardens, tigers, wolves, and so forth that they see are false perceptions; but at that hell site, King Yama resides in the midst to judge the sinners, so this realm does exist—how can you say it is absent? Answer: Their seeing the lord of hell is also a false perception; it is simply that the sinners' evil karma perfumes their minds, causing their minds to undergo transformation and falsely perceive where there is nothing; in truth there is no hell with Yama in its midst. Thus the Vijñaptimātratā-śāstra says: "Just as there is no hell-lord in hell, yet the sentient beings of hell, dependent on their natural karma, see a hell-lord inflicting various kinds of suffering, and give rise to thoughts perceiving 'this is a place of hell, this is night-time, this is day-time; because of my evil karma I see dogs, I see crows, or I see mountains crushing me.'" Proving it with this passage: good and evil perfume the mind, causing the mind to see differently; in reality there is no hell. Therefore, although there is no hell outside the mind, when evil karma is accomplished, they forcibly and falsely perceive it on their own. Question: Since this retribution of painful karma is not a good thing, why not simply speak of goodness to cause them to practice it? Why must you speak of painful karma according to their sentiments? Answer: The dharmas of cause and effect of good and evil must be set in opposition. If one does not explain that greed and the like are faults, how can one reveal that giving and the like are good? If one does not proclaim that the three lower destinies are suffering, there is no way to reveal that human and celestial realms are blissful. Therefore, one must speak of the sinful actions of ordinary persons to make people recognize them, develop revulsion, and take refuge in goodness. If they are of dull faculties, when they hear of this painful karma and give rise to revulsion, they immediately seek worldly bliss, and on this basis turn their minds to cultivate various meritorious karmas. If they are of sharp faculties, when they hear of this painful karma and give rise to revulsion, they immediately seek liberation, and on this basis turn their minds to be able to cultivate the contemplation of the Path, thereby generating the cause of transcendence within delusion. Thus a sūtra says: "All afflictions are the seeds of buddhahood." Therefore we know that painful karma is the root of revulsion and the condition for generating goodness; hence it must be taught. If one did not speak of this evil karma and sinful actions, sentient beings would not recognize them and would constantly practice them without cease. Although one speaks of various faults conforming to the perceptions of their sentiments, in truth there is no separate karmic suffering outside the mind; there is only consciousness without external objects, and the substance of the mind is ever-pure. Thus a sūtra says: "Although it speaks of the fault of sensual desire, it does not see any dharma that can be desired; although it speaks of the fault of anger, it does not see any dharma that can be angered at; although it speaks of the fault of delusion, it knows that all dharmas are not deluded and without obstruction; although it shows sentient beings the terrifying suffering of falling into the three bad destinies, it does not apprehend the characteristics of hell, hungry ghosts, or animals." Proving it with this passage, we know that the cause and effect of sinful actions is mind-only and has nothing external. Ordinary fools do not understand, so as an expedient conforming to their sentiments, one must speak of karmic suffering. In the two gates above, according to the ultimate teaching, it is taught that the substance of sin is true [suchness] and there is nothing separate to destroy; yet because the foolish do not understand, one must decisively speak of sin. This specifically explains the foolish person's confusion about truth and false understanding, and thus why one must decisively speak of the intent behind sinful actions.
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Section 4: Meritorious Actions
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The commentary says: This explains meritorious actions, setting forth these meritorious actions in contrast to the preceding sinful actions. First, in explaining ordinary persons cultivating the wholesome deeds of the desire realm: as long as they cultivate various practical merits with a distracted mind, they are definitely born in the lower realms, which is called desire-realm karma; it can arise in all of the five destinies. First, explaining in terms of the hells: according to the Abhidharma, people in hell also have the three wholesome karmas, which are the three wholesome roots of the mental ground; these are merely possessed and are not active functions. Because this is a difficult realm, they mostly do not hear the Dharma or deliberate on the pursuit of the Path, hence there is no active function. If speaking of innately acquired wholesome roots, the hells also have them: as King Xianyu killed five hundred Brahmins and was born in hell, yet he generated a faithful mind and was born in the Land of Amṛta; thus we know there is active function. If according to the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra, it is also said that hell has active wholesome functions: although they lack vigorous expedients to produce goodness and cultivate the attainment of the noble path, nevertheless they have innately acquired wholesome roots that give rise to goodness. That is to say, from beginningless time all sentient beings have cultivated worldly faith, vigor, mindfulness, and so forth, and have not given rise to wrong views slandering the nonexistence of cause and effect; these wholesome roots do not perish, and upon birth they obtain them, which is called innately acquired goodness. Relying on these wholesome roots, they can give rise to wholesome minds. If one has strong conditions from past karma, a great sage may manifest a transformation to bring an end to suffering, and teach the Dharma of the Path so that they can cultivate expedients. Second, animals, nāgas, and the like also cultivate goodness: as in the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra, when the Buddha explained the meaning, immeasurable birds and beasts gave rise to the bodhi-mind and were born in the heavens. If according to the Abhidharma, the ten wholesome deeds of hungry ghosts and animals are not subsumed under moral restraint, because the seven wholesome restraints of body and speech arise toward all sentient beings, and ghosts and spirits are unable to receive them. Thus the Sarvāstivāda-śāstra says that animals, because of their stupidity and dullness, do not generate moral restraint. If according to the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra, ghosts, spirits, animals, and the like can also obtain the precepts.
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In terms of humans: the people of Uttarakuru only possess the three wholesome courses of karma of the mental ground, but do not put them into active function. Because they do not sever goodness, when the kalpa comes to an end, people all cultivate dhyāna; they alone cannot do so, as detachment from desire is beyond their capacity. As for the other three continents, all have the ten wholesome deeds, though some are incomplete.
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In terms of the six heavens of the desire realm: there are no prātimokṣa precepts for leaving home; there are only the ten wholesome deeds and lay precepts. Thus the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra says: "Like Śakra, lord of the gods, who frequently received the eight precepts; nāgas and the like also receive them; they are not limited to humans." If discussed in terms of the various heavens of the form realm: according to the Abhidharma, being born in a higher realm loses the lower; the higher realm does not give rise to the wholesome karma of the lower realm, because the cause and effect of those stages are severed. When the body is born in a higher realm, the dharmas of the lower ground are severed; this is based on contaminated [dharmas]. One achieves the higher while in the lower; but having been born in the higher, one loses the lower, and so does not cultivate or produce it. If according to the Tattvasiddhi-śāstra, the higher can achieve the lower, and can also temporarily give rise to the wholesome karma of the lower realm: as when various Brahmā gods see the Buddha, prostrate, and utter words of praise, which is distracted goodness; this is temporarily giving rise to desire-realm wholesome karma. If according to the Abhidharma, Mahāvibhāṣā-śāstra, and the like, the Brahmā gods' prostration and praise is not desire-realm goodness, but is generated by the deportment mind of the first dhyāna; based on what it relies upon, it is indeterminate and not wholesome; based on external body and speech, it is form-realm karma of the higher realm. This concludes the explanation of the locus where the distracted wholesome meritorious karma of the desire realm arises dependent on the physical body.
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Second, explaining the basis in the body for the arising of the meditative karma of the four dhyānas of the form realm: If among ghosts or animals one encounters a powerful condition in the form of a sage and is able to awaken to the Path, one may also cultivate and give rise to it, because the undefiled arises based upon dhyāna. Even if they lack the true essence of the fundamental deep absorption, they must possess the coarse and shallow mind of threshold dhyāna. This threshold dhyāna is karma of the form realm. When, based upon this threshold [dhyāna], one severs the fetters of desire, this karma then incurs the Brahmā fruit of the first dhyāna. If we discuss the cultivation of form-realm karma with respect to humans and devas: with the exception of Uttarakuru, where none cultivate dhyāna, in the other three continents and the devas of the desire realm, all are able to cultivate and give rise to the ten virtuous [karmas] of the form realm. That is to say, for one who attains dhyāna, there are three in the mental ground, namely non-greed, non-anger, and right view. If we discuss the seven virtuous karmas of body and speech, it refers to acquiring the dhyāna-precepts based on the concentrated mind; the dhyāna-precepts are precisely the seven virtues of body and speech. Therefore, when one attains dhyāna, there are the ten virtues of the form [realm]. If we discuss this with respect to the devas of the formless realm: according to the Abhidharma, the devas of the formless realm cannot cultivate and give rise to the meditative karma of the form realm; being born above, one abandons what is below, because the realm and stage are cut off. If according to the *Tattvasiddhi-śāstra*, an ordinary being born in the formless realm can also give rise to karma belonging to the form realm below. This explains the basis in the body for the arising of the ten virtuous karmic paths and the meritorious karma of dhyāna concentration of the form realm. If we discuss the basis in the body for the arising of the meditative karma of the four formless absorptions: humans and devas throughout the three realms can all cultivate and give rise to them. Above, explaining the basis in the body for the arising of various meritorious practices is concluded. If we discuss sages generating merit, this does not pertain to ordinary beings; it was described because of aspirations.
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The verse says:
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Seeking causes, the paths are indeed different;
Yet when casting off [the body], the destinies are still light.
At the extremity of suffering, one longs to return to joy;
At the extremity of joy, suffering is born again.
Is it not that the distinction between sin and merit
All stems from clinging feelings?
If one severs defiled karma,
One will always see the radiance of the Dharmakāya.
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Circumstances of Sympathetic Resonance (briefly citing one verification):
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During the Wude era of the Tang dynasty, Kong Ke, an adjutant secretary in the Area Command of Suizhou, suddenly fell ill and died. After one day he revived. He recounted of himself that he had been taken to an official's office, where he was asked, 'Why did you kill two oxen?' Ke said, 'I did not kill them.' The official said, 'Your younger brother testifies that you killed them; why do you not confess?' Thereupon he summoned Ke's brother. The brother had already been dead for several years. When he arrived, he was bound under very severe fetters and cangues. The official asked, 'Is what you said about your elder brother killing the oxen true or false?' The brother said, 'My elder brother was previously sent as an envoy to pacify the Liao rebels and ordered me to kill the oxen to feast them. It was truly obeying my brother's orders, not killing them on my own.' Ke said, 'Ordering my brother to kill the oxen to feast them is true, yet it was state business. What sin does Ke have in this?' The official said, 'You slaughtered to feast the Liao to claim pacification as merit, using it to seek official reward for your personal benefit; how can you call it state business?' He then said to Ke's brother, 'Because you testified against your brother, we detained you for a long time. Now that your brother admits to having ordered the killing, you are without sin and are released to receive rebirth at will.' Having spoken, the brother suddenly vanished, and they never even had a chance to converse. The official further asked Ke, 'Why did you also kill two ducks?' Ke said, 'When previously serving as a county magistrate, I only killed ducks to provide for official guests; how could that be Ke's sin?' The official said, 'Official guests had their own rations and no ducks were allotted. You provided ducks to them in order to gain a good reputation; how is this not a sin?' He further asked, 'Why did you also kill six chicken eggs?' Ke said, 'In my entire life I have not eaten chicken eggs. I only recall when I was young, at nine years old, on the Cold Food Festival, my mother would always give me six eggs, so I boiled and ate them.' The official said, 'Then do you wish to push the blame onto your mother?' Ke said, 'I would not dare; I am only stating the cause. This was killed by Ke himself.' The official said, 'You killed the lives of others; you must receive [the retribution] yourself.' Having spoken, suddenly several tens of men all came and seized Ke to take him away. Ke shouted loudly, 'The court is also greatly unjust and arbitrary!' Hearing this, the official called him back and asked, 'How is it unjust and arbitrary?' Ke said, 'Every sin since my birth is not left out, while not a single merit cultivated since my birth is recorded. How is this not arbitrary?' The official asked the clerk in charge, 'What merit does Ke have? Why was it not recorded?' The clerk replied, 'Merits are also completely recorded. We weigh the amount of sin and merit: if merit is much and sin is little, we first have him receive merit; if sin is much and merit is little, we first have him receive punishment. However, Ke has little merit and much sin, so we had not yet discussed his merit.' The official was enraged and said, 'Even if he must receive punishment first, why did you not chant out the merits to show him?' He ordered that the clerk be given one hundred lashes. In an instant the whipping was finished, blood flowing and splattering the ground. Thereupon he chanted out the merits Ke had cultivated throughout his life, with none omitted. The official said to Ke, 'You should receive punishment first. I will grant you leave to return for seven days; you may diligently pursue merit.' Thereupon he sent people to escort him out, and he was on the verge of reviving. Ke gathered a great assembly of monks and nuns to practice the Path and make confession, applying himself with diligent austerities, and recounted the matter himself. When seven days arrived, he bid farewell to his family, and in a moment his life ended. Lin's elder brother was a subordinate in the Sui Area Command, and therefore knew the details. (The one verification above is from the *Mingbao ji*.)
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Section 81: Desires and Hindrances (This has two parts)
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Part 1: The Five Desires
Part 2: The Five Hindrances
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Part: The Five Desires (This has four sections)
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Section on Stating the Intent
Section on Fetters of Desire
Section on Obstacles of Desire
Section on Rebuking Desire
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Section 1: Stating the Intent
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Humbly examining the sūtras and treatises, when practitioners cultivate the Path, all say that the five desires are the root of obstacles to the Path. If one does not learn to sever them, there is no way to realize sagehood. If one wishes to know their root, three kinds are briefly stated: first, internally, the five sense faculties; second, externally, the five sense objects; third, the five consciousnesses produced thereby. Due to these three, defiled desire can arise. Therefore, the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra* says: 'Good sons, it is like a vicious elephant whose mind is not yet tamed. If a person rides it, it does not go according to his wishes, but leaves the cities and towns far behind to go into open wilderness, beyond his ability to control well. These five sense faculties are also like this: they take a person far away from the city of nirvāṇa to the wilderness of saṃsāra. Good sons, it is like a flattering minister who teaches the king to do evil; the flattering ministers of the five sense faculties are also like this, constantly teaching sentient beings to commit immeasurable evils. It is like an evil son who does not accept the instructions of teachers, elders, and parents, and thus there is no evil he will not commit; untamed five sense faculties are also like this, not accepting the good words and instructions of teachers and elders, and committing every evil. Good sons, ordinary people who do not restrain their five sense faculties are constantly plundered and harmed by hell, animals, and hungry ghosts, just as resentful bandits bring harm to good people.' Furthermore, the *Yijiao jing* says: 'The calamity of the thieves of the five faculties brings disaster across multiple lifetimes; their harm is exceedingly grave, and one cannot fail to be cautious. Therefore, the wise restrain them and do not follow them, holding them as if they were thieves. Even if one gives way to them, before long one sees their destruction.' Now, as for 'hindrances' (nīvaraṇa), it means to shade and cover; that is, covering and obstructing the practitioner, causing their resolve and nature to sink into gloom, concentration and wisdom to lose their clarity, and eclipsing good people. Being obstacles to cultivating the right path, they are called 'hindrances'. Therefore, the *Abhidharmasamuccaya* says: 'These hindrances cause good factors to fail to become evident; this is the meaning of hindrance. Covering their minds and obstructing various good factors so that they cannot function—hence it is called the meaning of hindrance.' The preceding five desires arise from the external five sense objects; these five hindrances burst forth from the internal five sense faculties.
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Section 2: Fetters of Desire
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It is stated: As for the five desires, once their roots exist, they give rise to the five desires, binding sentient beings so they cannot attain liberation. Therefore, the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra* says: 'Ordinary people are bound by the five desires, allowing Māra Pāpīyas to carry them off at will, just as a hunter captures and strikes a monkey, shouldering it and returning home. Good sons, it is like a king residing peacefully in his own realm, whose body and mind are safe and joyful; if he goes to another's realm, he incurs many sufferings. All sentient beings are also like this: if they can abide within their own sphere, they obtain peace and joy; if they go to another's sphere, they encounter evil demons and suffer all kinds of pain and distress. One's own sphere refers to the four stations of mindfulness; another's sphere refers to the five desires.' The five desires are the visible forms, sounds, scents, tastes, and touch on the bodies of men and women. These five desires take yearning and craving as their meaning; coveting and clinging to the five sense objects is called desire. Together with the sphere contacted and conditioned by the mental consciousness, it is called the phenomenon object. These six dust-objects are not merely called 'dust'; where they travel, they also acquire the name of 'evil thieves'. Therefore, the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra* says: 'Just as six great thieves can rob all people of their wealth and treasures, the evil thieves of the six dust-objects are also like this, capable of robbing all sentient beings of their wealth of good. Just as six great thieves, if they enter a person's house, can plunder all that the house currently holds without distinguishing between good or bad, causing the immensely wealthy to suddenly become impoverished, these thieves of the six dust-objects are also like this: if they enter a person's faculties, they can plunder all good dharmas. Once good dharmas are exhausted, one becomes impoverished, destitute, and an icchantika. Therefore, the bodhisattva closely contemplates the six dust-objects as six great thieves.'
71.38
Section 3: Obstacles of Desire
71.39
It is stated: Regarding the faults of desire, they refer to the five desires as ruinous Māras and the six dust-objects as evil thieves. The Buddha judged them to be deviant delusions, confusing and obstructing the Buddha-nature. Therefore, the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra* says: 'Sentient beings' five consciousnesses, though not arising in a single thought-moment, are nevertheless defiled and perverse, increasing all defilements for all ordinary beings. They grasp and cling to visible form, and so on up to clinging to consciousness. Because of clinging to visible form, they give rise to a mind of greed; because of giving rise to a mind of greed, they are bound by form, and so on up to being bound by consciousness. Because of being bound, they cannot escape from birth, old age, sickness, death, worry, sorrow, great suffering, and all afflictions.' It also says: 'If there is a bodhisattva who claims his precepts are pure, yet although he does not join with a woman, speak or joke with her, or listen to her voice, when he sees a man pursuing a woman or a woman pursuing a man, he gives rise to covetous attachment—such a bodhisattva accomplishes the dharmas of desire, breaking the pure precepts, defiling the pure conduct, and polluting the precepts, and cannot be called endowed with pure precepts.' Furthermore, the *Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra* says: 'The bodhisattva contemplates various impurities. Among all ruins, the ruin of women is the gravest. Swords, fire, thunderbolts, lightning, and bitter enemies, as well as poisonous snakes and the like, can still be approached temporarily; but a woman's stinginess, jealousy, anger, flattery, bewitching filth, quarreling, and covetous envy must not be approached. Why is this? A woman is petty-minded, shallow in heart and thin in wisdom, intimate only with desire, taking no regard of wealth, noble status, virtue of wisdom, or fame. She specializes in practicing lustful evil, destroying people's good roots. As for shackles, cangues, chains, and confinement in prison, though called difficult to undo, they are still easily opened; but the chain of woman that binds a person has defiled attachment rooted so deeply that nothing can free him from it—of all illnesses, it is the gravest.' As the Buddha's verse says:
71.40
Better to roll a heated iron
Inside the eye
Than, with a defiled mind,
Cast deviant glances at feminine form.
Smiling and making alluring postures,
Conceitedly harboring intentions,
Turning the face and winking the eye,
Sweet words with jealous wrath,
Walking with bewitching filth
To bewilder people.
In the snare of lust, the net of desire,
People all drown their bodies.
Sitting, lying, walking, standing,
Glancing about with clever charms,
Fools of shallow wisdom
Are intoxicated by them.
Holding a sword against an enemy
Can still be overcome;
A female thief harming a person
Is impossible to withstand.
A viper holding poison
Can still be seized by hand;
A woman's passions bewildering a person
Must not be touched.
A person of wisdom
Should not look upon them;
If one wishes to contemplate them,
Regard them as mother and elder sister.
Looking closely to contemplate them,
Impurities are piled high;
If the fire of lust is not removed,
One will be burned away by it.
71.41
The faults of visible form being such, the rest—scents, tastes, touch, and so on—are all likewise. That all sentient beings from beginningless time have forever sunk into saṃsāra and been unable to escape is truly due to feminine form, by which they are bound and find it difficult to break free. Blind and devoid of the eye of wisdom, they do not see the pit of saṃsāra, causing them to plunge into it. Considering now that neither monastics nor laypeople contemplate the perils of desire, but instead rush toward them, on what day will they turn back and be able to escape this fault? Their minds are constantly defiled and cannot relinquish them even for a moment; when even the precepts are not preserved, how could there be concentration, wisdom, or contemplation of the Buddha-nature? Therefore, a verse from the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra* says:
71.42
Committing evil does not bring immediate retribution,
Just as milk does not immediately become curd;
Like ashes covering a fire,
The fool lightly treads upon it.
71.43
Section 4: Rebuking Desire
71.44
As the *Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra* states: A practitioner should reprimand the five desires, saying: 'How pitiable are sentient beings! Constantly afflicted by the five desires, they pursue them without ceasing and will fall into a great pit. Obtaining them only worsens [their plight], like applying fire to an itch. The five desires bring no benefit, like a dog gnawing on a bone. The five desires increase contention, like birds fighting over meat. The five desires burn a person, like carrying a torch against the wind. The five desires harm a person, like treading upon a vicious snake. The five desires have no reality, like what is gained in a dream. The five desires do not last, like something borrowed for a mere moment. People of the world are foolishly deluded and greedily attached to the five desires, refusing to cast them off until death, and because of this they suffer limitless pain in future lives. When one gains these five desires, there is momentary pleasure; when one loses them, there is great suffering. It is like licking a honey-smeared blade: one hungers for the sweetness and does not realise the tongue will be wounded.' These five desires are called sights, sounds, scents, tastes, and tangibles. These five items are direct hindrances to the meditator; if one wishes to cultivate meditative absorption, one must abandon all of them.
71.45
First is reprimanding the fault of the desire for sights. For example, King Bimbisāra, because of visual form, entered an enemy state alone and stayed in the room of the courtesan Āmrapālī. King Udayana, because of lustful defilement by visual form, severed the hands and feet of five hundred ṛṣis. Various causes and conditions such as these are called reprimanding the faults of the desire for sights.
71.46
Second is reprimanding the fault of the desire for sounds. The characteristics of sound do not abide; the moment they are heard, they perish. Foolish people do not understand that the characteristics of sound are impermanent, mutable, and fleeting; hence they give rise to deluded fondness for sounds and develop attachment by longing for sounds that have already passed. For instance, five hundred ṛṣis were residing in the mountains. A kinnarī was bathing in a pool on the Snow Mountains (Himālaya). Upon hearing her singing, they instantly lost their meditative absorption, became intoxicated and frantic, could not contain themselves, lost their merits, and later fell into the evil destinies. A wise person observes the arising and perishing of sounds: the preceding and succeeding [moments] do not coexist and have no characteristics that reach one another. Knowing this, they are not defiled or attached. To such a person, even heavenly music cannot bring distraction, much less human voices. Various causes and conditions such as these are called reprimanding the faults of the desire for sounds. Thus the treatise says: It is like the five hundred ṛṣis flying through the air who heard the song of a kinnarī; with hearts deeply attached and intoxicated, they all lost their supernormal feet and simultaneously fell to the ground. Or again, when the śrāvakas heard the kinnara king Druma playing the lute and singing in praise of the Buddha through the real mark of all dharmas, Mount Sumeru and all the trees shook at that moment, and Mahākāśyapa and the other great disciples all danced on their seats, unable to compose themselves. The bodhisattva Celestial Garland asked Mahākāśyapa: 'You are the most senior elder and foremost in dhūta practices; why are you now unable to control your mind and keep still?' Mahākāśyapa replied: 'My mind does not waver before any human or heavenly desires. But this is the sound of the retribution of a bodhisattva's limitless merit, and furthermore produced through the transformations of wisdom; I cannot resist it. It is like the winds arising from the eight directions, which cannot move Mount Sumeru; but when the kalpa comes to an end, the vairambha wind arrives and blows Mount Sumeru away as if it were rotten grass.'
71.47
Like the asura lute, which always emits sound on its own according to one's wish without anyone plucking it—this also has neither a scattered mind nor a concentrated mind, but because it is born of the retribution of merit, it produces sound according to one's wish. A dharmakāya bodhisattva is also like this: free from discrimination, without a scattered mind, and without the characteristic of expounding the Dharma, on account of the causes and conditions of boundless merit and wisdom.
71.48
Third is reprimanding the fault of the desire for scents. People consider attachment to scent a minor offense, but defiled love for scent opens the gate to the fetters; even if one has upheld the precepts for a hundred years, it can destroy them in a single moment. For example, there was an arhat who regularly entered the dragon palace to eat. After eating, he handed his bowl to a novice (śrāmaṇera) to wash. There were a few leftover grains of rice in the bowl. The novice smelled them and found them extremely fragrant; he ate them and found them delicious. He then devised a method and crept under his master's rope couch, holding the legs of the couch with both hands. When the master's time arrived, he entered the dragon palace together with the rope couch. The dragon said: 'This person has not attained the Path; why have you brought him along?' The master said: 'I was unaware.' After the novice received food and drink, he also saw that the dragon maiden's body was upright and fair, with an exquisite and peerless fragrance; his mind became intensely attached and he made an evil vow: 'I will create merit to usurp this dragon's place and dwell in his palace.' The dragon said: 'Do not bring this novice hereafter.' After the novice returned, with single-minded devotion he gave alms and held the precepts, focusing exclusively on fulfilling his vow, wishing to quickly become a dragon. At that time, when he walked around the monastery, water issued from beneath his feet; he knew within himself that he would surely become a dragon. He went directly to the large pool where his master had originally entered, covered his head with his kāṣāya robe, entered [the water], and died immediately, transforming into a great dragon. Because his merit was great, he immediately killed that dragon, and the entire pool turned completely red. Prior to this, the monks and his master had reprimanded him, but the novice said: 'My mind is already fixed; the signs of my mind have already emerged.' He led the monks to the pool to observe it. Such causes and conditions were due to the fault of attachment to scent. Furthermore, there was a monk who was walking in a forest by a lotus pond. Smelling the fragrance of the lotuses, his nose received it and his mind became attached. The deity of the pond spoke to him: 'Why have you abandoned that quiet place for seated meditation under the trees and come to steal my fragrance? Because of attachment to fragrance, all the sleeping fetters will arise.' At that time, another man came into the pond, gathered many of its flowers, dug up and pulled out the roots and stems, leaving them in disarray, and went away. The pond deity remained silent and said nothing. The monk said: 'That man destroyed the flowers in your pool, yet you said nothing at all. I was only walking along the bank of the pond, yet I was reprimanded and accused of stealing your scent.' The pond deity said: 'The evil people of the world constantly dwell in the excrement of sinful defilement, submerged head-deep in impurity; I do not speak with them. You are a good person practicing meditation, yet you are attached to this fragrance, which ruins your good endeavor; therefore I reprimand you. It is like a piece of white cloth, fresh and clean, on which a black stain appears for all to see. That evil person is like a black garment: if one spots it with ink, people cannot see it; who would question it?' Various causes and conditions such as these are called reprimanding the faults of the desire for scents.
71.49
Fourth is reprimanding the fault of the desire for tastes. One should awaken oneself: 'It is solely because of greedy attachment to fine tastes that I will suffer many torments, having molten copper poured into my mouth and swallowing burning iron pellets.' If one does not contemplate food, and one's craving mind is firmly attached, one will fall among foul worms. For example, there was a novice whose heart was always fond of curd. Whenever the dānapatis offered curd to the saṃgha, the novice would always receive the leftover portions; in his heart he was attached to it and could not bear to be parted from his delight in it. After his life ended, he was reborn inside a jar containing these curd leftovers. The novice's master attained arhatship. When the saṃgha was distributing the curd, the master said: 'Gently, do not harm this curd-loving novice.' The people said: 'This is a worm; why do you call it the curd-loving novice?' He answered: 'This worm was originally my novice; solely because of greedy love for leftover curd, he was reborn in this jar.' When the master received his portion of curd, the worm came within it. The master said: 'Curd-lover, why have you come?' and immediately gave him the curd. Furthermore, there was a king named Candrabhāga. The king had a crown prince who was attached to fine tastes. The king's orchard keeper daily presented fine fruits. In the orchard was a large tree upon which a bird was rearing its fledglings; it would often fly to the Gandhamādana Mountains, fetch fine fragrant fruits, and feed them to its young. The fledglings fought over them, and one fruit fell to the ground. The orchard keeper saw it at dawn, marveled at its rarity, and immediately presented it to the king. The king treasured this fruit, for its fragrance and colour were extraordinary. The crown prince saw it and demanded it; the king loved his son, so he gave it to him. The prince ate the fruit, savoured its flavour, became deeply attached to it, and wanted it every day. The king then summoned the orchard keeper and asked him where it came from. The orchard keeper said: 'This fruit has no seed [here]; I found it on the ground and do not know where it came from.' The prince wept and would not eat. The king pressed and reproached the orchard keeper, saying: 'I depend upon you to obtain it.' The orchard keeper went to the place where he had found the fruit, saw the bird's nest, and realized that the bird had brought it. Concealing himself in the tree, he waited to take it. When the mother bird came, he snatched the fruit and delivered it, doing so every day. The mother bird was enraged, went to the Gandhamādana Mountains, and brought back a poisonous fruit, making its scent, taste, and colour resemble the previous one. The orchard keeper snatched it and presented it to the king; the king gave it to the prince. Not long after eating it, his flesh rotted away and he died. Various causes and conditions such as these are called reprimanding the faults of the desire for tastes.
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- 法苑珠林 — 道世, Classical Chinese