諸經要集 19.76

19.76

如長阿含經云。一切人民所居舍宅。皆有鬼神。無有空者。街巷道陌屠膾市肆。及諸山塚。皆有鬼神。無有空處。凡諸鬼神皆隨所依。即以為名。若人初生。皆有鬼神隨逐擁護。若人欲死鬼收精氣。行十惡人若百若千。共一神護。行十善者。猶如國王以百千人而侍衛之。又十方譬喻經云。天上天下。鬼神知人壽命罪福。當至未至。不能活人不能殺人。不能使人富貴貧賤。但欲使人作惡犯殺。因人衰耗而狂亂之。語其禍福。令人向欲得設祠祀耳（故知空祭鬼神欲求現福難可得力也）。

As the Dīrghāgama-sūtra says: In the residences and houses occupied by all the populace, there are ghosts and spirits everywhere; none are vacant. In streets, lanes, roads, avenues, butcheries, markets, and shops, as well as on mountains and burial mounds, there are ghosts and spirits; there is no empty space. All ghosts and spirits take their names according to whatever they rely upon. When a person is newly born, there are ghosts and spirits who follow and protect him. When a person is about to die, ghosts gather his vital essence. For persons who practice the ten unwholesome actions, a single spirit jointly protects a hundred or a thousand of them; while for those who practice the ten wholesome actions, it is like a king being guarded and attended by hundreds and thousands of men. Furthermore, the Shifang piyu jing states: Above heaven and below heaven, ghosts and spirits know people's lifespan, sins, and merits, and whether they are due to arrive or have not yet arrived. They cannot give life to people, nor can they kill people; they cannot make people wealthy, noble, poor, or lowly. They only wish to make people do evil and commit slaughter, and taking advantage of people's decline and exhaustion, they madden and confuse them, speaking to them of misfortune and fortune, simply to make people inclined to set up sacrificial offerings to them. (Thus we know that vainly sacrificing to ghosts and spirits in the hope of seeking present blessings can hardly yield any benefit.)