法苑珠林 71.22

71.22

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.