諸經要集 6.50

6.50

如燈指經云。當知貧窮比於地獄。失所依憑。拪寄無處。憂心火熾。愁顇燋然。華色既衰。威容轉礙。身體尫羸。飢渴消削。眼目掐陷。諸節骨立。薄皮纏裹。筋脈露現。頭髮蓬亂。手足銳細。其色艾白。舉體皴裂。又無衣裳。至糞穢中。拾掇麁弊。連掇相著。纔遮人形。赤露四體。倚臥糞堆。復無席薦。諸親舊等見而不識。歷巷乞食猶如餓烏。至知友邊欲從乞食。守門之人遮而不聽。伺便輒入復為排辱。舍主既出欲加鞭打。俯僂曲躬再拜謝罪。舍主輕蔑聊不迴顧。設得入舍。輕賤之故既不與語。又不敷座。與少飲食。撩擲盂器。不使充飽。設值大會望乞殘食。以輕賤故不喚令座。反被驅走。貧窮之人。譬如林樹無華眾蜂遠離。被霜之草葉自焦卷。枯涸之池鴻雁不遊。被燒之林麞鹿不趣。由苗刈盡無人桾拾。今日貧困說往富樂。但謂虛談誰肯信之。由我貧窮所向無路。譬如曠野為火所焚。人不喜樂。如枯樹無蔭無依投者。如苗被霜捐棄不收。如毒蛇害人皆遠離。如雜毒食無有甞者。如空塚間無人趣向。如惡廁溷臭穢盈集。如魁膾者人所惡賤。雖說好語他以為非。若造善業他以為鄙。所為機捷復嫌輕躁。若復舒緩。又言重直。設復讚歎。人謂諂譽。若不加譽。復生誹謗。言此貧人常無好語。若復教授。復言詐為。若廣言說。人謂多舌。若默無言。人謂藏情。若正直說。復云麁獷。若求人意。復言諂曲。若數親附。復言幻惑。若不親附。復言驕誕。若順他所說。復言詐取他意。若不隨順。復言自專。若屈意承望。罵言寒賤。若不屈意。言是貧人猶故恃我。若小自寬放。言其愚癡無有拘忌。若自攝檢。言其空廉詐自端確。若復歡逸。言其譸張狀似狂人。若復憂慘。言其含毒初無歡心。若聞他語有所不盡為其判釋。言其命趣以愚代智。耐羞之甚若復默然。復言頑嚚不識道理。若小戲論。言不信罪福。若有所索。言其苟得不知廉恥。若無所索。言今雖不求後望大得。若言引經書。復云詐作聰明。若言語樸素。復嫌疎鈍。若公論事實。復言強說。若私屏正語。復言讒佞。若著新衣。復言假借嚴飾。若著弊衣。復言儜劣寒悴。若多飽食。復言飢餓饕餮。若少飯食。言腹中實餓詐作清廉。若說經論。言顯己所知。彰我闇短。若不說經論。言愚癡無識可使放牛。若自道昔日事業。言誇誕自譽。若自杜默。言門資淺薄。諸貧窮者。行來進止。言說俯仰盡是愆過。富貴之人。作諸非法都無過患。舉措施為斯皆得所。貧窮之人。如起死屍鬼。一切怖畏如遇死病。難可療治。曠野險處絕無水草。如墮大海沒溺洪流。如人禁咽不得出氣。如眼上瞖不知所至。如厚垢穢難可洗去。亦如怨家。雖同衣食不捨惡心。如夏暴井人入即斷氣。如入深泥滯不可出。如山暴水駛流吹漂樹木摧折。貧亦如是多諸艱難。夫富貴者。有好威德。姿貌從容。意度寬廣。禮義競興。能生智勇。增長家業。眷屬和讓。善名遠聞。以此觀之。一切世人。富貴榮華不足貪著。於諸人天尊貴。不應逸樂。當知貧窮是大苦聚。欲斷貧窮。不應慳貪。是以經中言。貧窮者為大苦。

As the Sūtra of the Lamp-Wick (Dīpāṅkura-sūtra) states: 'You should know that poverty is comparable to hell: one loses what one relies upon, having nowhere to dwell or turn to. The fire of anxiety blazes in one’s mind, and one is withered and parched with grief. One’s blooming complexion fades, and one’s dignified appearance turns wretched. The body becomes emaciated and frail, shriveled by hunger and thirst. The eyes are sunken deep, and the joints and bones protrude. Wrapped only in thin skin, veins and sinews are exposed. The hair is disheveled and tangled, and the hands and feet are skinny and frail, pale as mugwort, with the whole body chapped and cracked. Moreover, having no clothes, one goes into the filth and dunghills to pick up coarse, tattered rags, stitching them together merely to cover the human form, leaving the limbs bare, leaning and sleeping upon dung heaps without mats or bedding. Relatives and old acquaintances see him but do not recognize him. Begging for food through the alleys like a starving crow, he approaches friends hoping to beg food from them, but the gatekeeper blocks him and refuses entry. Waiting for an opportunity to slip in, he is then pushed back and insulted. When the master of the house comes out, wanting to whip him, he bows low and bends his waist, repeatedly bowing to apologize. The master scorns him and does not even look back. Even if he manages to enter the house, because of contempt, they do not speak with him, nor do they spread a seat for him; they give him a little food and drink, tossing the bowl down, never allowing him to be satisfied. If he encounters a great banquet and hopes to beg for leftovers, because of contempt he is not invited to sit, but instead is driven away. A poor person is like a forest tree without flowers, which bees shun from afar; like grass struck by frost, whose leaves wither and curl on their own; like a dried-up pond, where wild geese do not swim; like a burned forest, toward which deer do not run; and like a field where crops are completely harvested, which no one gathers from. When one who is now poor and destitute speaks of past wealth and joy, it is regarded as empty talk—who would believe him? Because of my poverty, wherever I turn there is no way forward: like an open wilderness burned by fire, in which no one takes delight; like a withered tree without shade, to which no one turns for shelter; like crops struck by frost, discarded and unharvested; like a poisonous serpent that harms people, so everyone stays far away; like food mixed with poison, which no one tastes; like an empty grave, toward which no one proceeds; like a foul privy, brimming with accumulated stench and filth; like an executioner, whom people detest and despise. Even if he speaks good words, others regard them as wrong; if he performs wholesome deeds, others regard them as base. If what he does is nimble and quick, he is disliked for being frivolous and rash; if he is slow and deliberate, they say he is sluggish and clumsy. If he offers praise, people call it flattering adulation; if he does not offer praise, they slander him, saying this poor man never has a good word. If he gives instruction, they say it is pretense; if he speaks at length, people call him loquacious; if he remains silent and says nothing, people call him secretive. If he speaks straightforwardly, they say he is coarse and abrasive; if he seeks to please others, they say he is obsequious. If he frequents and attaches himself to others, they say he is deceptive; if he does not attach himself, they say he is arrogant. If he complies with what others say, they say he deceitfully panders to their wishes; if he does not comply, they say he is willful. If he humbles his mind to please others, they revile him as wretched and base; if he does not humble his mind, they say this poor man still presumes upon us. If he lets himself relax slightly, they say he is foolish and unrestrained; if he restrains and disciplines himself, they say he is hollowly scrupulous and falsely upright. If he is joyful and merry, they say he is deceitful and behaves like a madman; if he is sorrowful and dejected, they say he harbors malice and has no joy in his heart. If he hears another's words left incomplete and explains them, they say he risks disaster by replacing wisdom with folly, showing extreme shamelessness; if he remains silent, they say he is stubborn and ignorant, not understanding reason. If he engages in a little playful talk, they say he does not believe in sin and merit; if he asks for something, they say he grabs unscrupulously without shame; if he asks for nothing, they say although he does not seek now, he hopes to gain greatly later. If his speech cites the classics, they say he feigns intelligence; if his speech is plain, they dislike him for being crude and dull. If he publicly discusses actual facts, they say he argues forcefully; if he speaks corrective words in private, they say he is slanderous and deceitful. If he wears new clothes, they say he borrows them for adornment; if he wears tattered clothes, they say he is pitiful, cold, and haggard. If he eats his fill, they say he is a starving glutton; if he eats little, they say his stomach is truly starving and he feigns frugality. If he expounds sūtras and treatises, they say he is displaying his own knowledge to expose our ignorance and flaws; if he does not expound sūtras and treatises, they say he is foolish and ignorant, fit only to herd cattle. If he talks of his past achievements, they say he boasts and flatters himself; if he remains solitary and silent, they say his background and resources are meager. For all poor people, in their movements and behavior, in their words and gestures, everything is regarded as a fault. As for rich and noble people, even when they commit unlawful acts, there is no blame, and whatever they undertake is deemed appropriate. A poor person is like a corpse-raising vetāla: all fear him, as if encountering a fatal disease that is difficult to cure; like a perilous wilderness utterly devoid of water and grass; like falling into a great ocean and drowning in the surging flood; like a person with a blocked throat unable to draw breath; like a cataract over the eye, not knowing where one is going; like thick grime that is difficult to wash away; and also like an enemy who, though sharing food and clothing, does not give up malice; like a sudden well in summer, entering which suffocates a person; like falling into deep mud, bogged down and unable to get out; like a flash flood from the mountains sweeping away and breaking trees—poverty is likewise fraught with many hardships. Indeed, the wealthy and noble possess good prestige and virtue, their countenance is relaxed, their magnanimity broad, and propriety and righteousness flourish among them; it can generate wisdom and courage, expand family enterprises, keep retinue harmonious and accommodating, and spread their good name far and wide. Viewed in this way, the wealth and honor of worldly people are not worthy of greed and attachment; in the noble stations of gods and humans, one should not be indolent. You should know that poverty is a great mass of suffering. If you wish to put an end to poverty, you should not be stingy and greedy. Therefore the sūtra says: 'Poverty is a great suffering.'"