法苑珠林 97.37

97.37

Furthermore, the Kośa-śāstra says: If a person gives rise to a mind of wrong view when on the brink of death, using past unwholesomeness as the cause and wrong view as the condition, this person falls into hell. A śāstra master says: All unwholesome deeds are causes of hell; the remainder of these unwholesome deeds leads to rebirth among animals and hungry ghosts. Furthermore, because of the preponderance of dharmic karma, one falls among animals: if lust is preponderant, one is born among doves, sparrows, and mandarin ducks; if anger is preponderant, one is born among vipers, adders, snakes, and scorpions; if delusion is preponderant, one is born among pigs, sheep, clams, and oysters; if arrogance is preponderant, one is born among lions, tigers, and wolves; if restlessness and frivolity are preponderant, one is born among monkeys; if stinginess and jealousy are preponderant, one is born among hungry dogs. If one has a small portion of the remaining merit from practicing giving, though born among animals, one will experience slight pleasure therein. Although the two karmas of body and speech are governed by the mind, yet those who receive retribution for their verbal karma are numerous. For instance, if one curses someone as frivolous and rash like a monkey, one is born among monkeys; if one says that someone is greedy and perverse like a crow, talks like a barking dog, is stupid like a pig or sheep, has a voice like a braying donkey, walks like a dromedary camel, is self-exalting like an elephant, is fierce like an untamed ox, is lustful like a bird or sparrow, is timid like a cat or wildcat, or is flattering like a wild fox—for such evil deeds, one receives retribution according to speech. Yet these have the three poisons as their root. Among the three poisons, greedy craving is the weightiest, just as grasping one end of a cloth causes the rest to follow entirely. Therefore the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra says: If craving is not severed, craving will moisten rebirth; therefore the four modes of birth all arise from craving. For example, it is said that having much lust leads to rebirth among birds and sparrows, and having much greed for flavours leads to taking rebirth in a latrine. Again, due to desirous craving there is egg-birth; due to greed for fragrances there is moisture-birth. According to whatever is craved, giving rise to earnest karma results in apparitional birth. If with an earnest mind one delights in committing sinful karma, at the time of death one falsely sees hell and takes apparitional birth therein. If one earnestly cherishes merit, one takes apparitional birth in the higher realms. Therefore the Satyasiddhi-śāstra says: Just as when the root of a tree is not uprooted, the tree still grows, so when the root of greed is not uprooted, the tree of suffering ever remains.