法苑珠林 81.23

81.23

Furthermore, the Upāsaka-[śīla]-sūtra states: "If one distresses one's family and dependents to obtain goods for giving, although this person will receive a great reward in the future, their physical body will suffer from sickness. If one is unable first to support one's parents, but distresses one's wife, children, and servants, plunging them into distress and hardship in order to give, this is called an evil person; this is nominally called giving, but is not called righteous giving. Giving of this kind is called lacking compassion and not knowing how to repay kindness. Although this person will attain wealth and treasures in the future, even if constantly sought they will not accumulate, nor will they be able to expend and use them, and their body will suffer much illness and pain." Taking this text as proof, one who forcibly exploits people's goods to construct and cultivate merit will instead invite painful retribution; how could this be called a beneficial renunciation? Nowadays, in the final age, the monastic and lay communities have declined and degenerated; they compete in holding vegetarian feasts and lecturing, forcibly extorting wealth to build stupas and monasteries, which does not accord with the sūtras, thus inviting the aforementioned sins. It is far better to sit quietly and internally cultivate real practice; among ways of seeking transcendence, none surpasses this. If someone with a pure mind expounds the Dharma for others, and the listener reverently and sincerely seeks the Dharma, relinquishing offerings, one must then expound it for them to bring about their merit and wisdom. One must not, upon seeing the prior judgment, generalize sweepingly, reject everything, and mistakenly generate slander to obstruct the other's merit.