諸經要集 18.71

18.71

如起世經云。佛告諸比丘。有三天使在於世間。何等為三。一老。二病。三死。有人放逸三業惡行。身壞命終生地獄中。諸守獄者。應時即來。驅彼眾生。至閻王前白言。大王。此等眾生。昔在人間。縱逸自在不善三業。今來生此。唯願大王善教示之。王問罪人。汝昔人間。第一天使善教示汝。善呵責汝。豈得不見出現生耶。答言大天。我實不見。王重告言。汝豈不見。為人身時。或作婦女。或作丈夫。衰老相現。齒落髮白。皮膚緩皺。黑黶遍體。狀若胡麻。膊傴背曲。行步跛蹇。足不依身。左右傾側。頸細皮寬。兩邊垂緩。猶若牛胡。脣口乾枯。喉舌燥澁。身體屈弱。氣力綿微。喘息出聲。猶如挽鋸。向前欲倒。恃杖而行。盛年衰損骨肉消竭。羸瘦尫弱。趣來世路。舉動沈滯無復壯形。乃至身心恒常戰掉。一切支節疲懈難攝。汝見之不。答言。大天。我實見之。時王告言。汝愚癡人無有智慧。昔日既見如是相貌。云何不作如是思惟。我今具有如是老法。未得遠離。可作善業。使我長夜利益安樂。彼人復答言。大天。我實不作如是思惟。以心縱蕩行放逸故。王又告言。汝愚癡人不修善業。當具足受放逸之罪。此之苦報非他人作。是汝自業今還聚集受此報也。

As the Qishi jing states: The Buddha told the bhikṣus, “There are three divine messengers in the world. What are the three? First, old age; second, sickness; third, death. There are people who are indolent in the evil conduct of the three karmas. When the body breaks up and life ends, they are born in the hells. The wardens of the hells then come immediately and drive those beings before King Yama, reporting, ‘Great King, when these beings were formerly in the human world, they indulged in heedlessness and unwholesome actions of the three karmas. Now they have come and been born here. We only pray that the Great King will skillfully instruct and admonish them.’ The king asks the wrongdoer, ‘When you were formerly in the human world, did the first divine messenger not skillfully instruct and admonish you, skillfully reproaching you? Could you not have seen him appear?’ [The wrongdoer] answers, ‘Great Deva, truly I did not see him.’ The king tells him again, ‘Could you not have seen, when having a human body, whether as a woman or as a man, the signs of decrepitude and old age appearing: teeth falling out, hair turning white, skin loose and wrinkled, dark liver spots all over the body like sesame seeds, shoulders stooped and back bent, walking with a limp, the feet not supporting the body, tilting to left and right, neck thin and skin baggy, hanging down loose on both sides like a cow's dewlap, lips and mouth dry, throat and tongue parched, body frail and feeble, breath and strength faint, panting with a wheezing sound like the pulling of a saw, leaning forward as if to fall, walking relying on a cane, prime of life declined and lost, bones and flesh wasted away, emaciated and decrepit, heading on the road toward the next life, movements sluggish, no longer having the form of vigour, even body and mind constantly trembling, and all limbs exhausted and hard to manage? Did you see it or not?’ He answers, ‘Great Deva, truly I saw it.’ Then the king tells him, ‘You foolish person, without wisdom! In former days, having seen such appearances, why did you not reflect thus: “I now fully possess such a nature of old age and have not managed to escape it; I ought to perform wholesome karma so that throughout the long night I may attain benefit, peace, and happiness”? That person answers again, ‘Great Deva, truly I did not reflect thus, because my mind was unrestrained and I acted with heedlessness.’ The king tells him again, ‘You foolish person, you did not cultivate wholesome karma; you must fully receive the punishment for heedlessness. This retribution of suffering was not made by another; it is your own karma now gathering back for you to receive this retribution.’”