諸經要集 8.95

8.95

如輪轉五道經云。佛言凡作功德隨身之行。燒香燃燈。得福甚多。燒香作福及以轉經。不得請人而不䞋願。如倩人食豈得自飽。燒香潔淨。然燈續明。燒香齋會。讀經噠䞋。以為常法。布施得福諸天接將。萬惡皆却眾魔降伏懈怠之人不能精進。一朝疾病又不吉利。便欲燒香方始作福。諸天未降。諸魔在前。競來嬈觸。作諸變怪。以是之故。常當精進。罪福隨人如影隨形。種殖福田。如尼俱類樹。本種一核稍稍漸大。收子無限。佛言阿難。施一得萬倍。言不虛也。佛說偈言。

As the Sūtra on Rebirth in the Five Destinies states: The Buddha said: 'Whenever one performs meritorious deeds as practices that follow oneself, burning incense and lighting lamps brings extremely great blessings. In burning incense to create merit and in reciting the sūtras, one must not invite others without offering dakṣiṇā and vows of dedication. It is just like hiring someone to eat: how could you yourself be satisfied? Burning incense to make it pure, lighting lamps to continue the light, holding vegetarian gatherings with incense, and reciting sūtras with dakṣiṇā should be the constant practice. Through giving, one attains blessings; the devas will support and lead them, all evils will be warded off, and all māras will be subdued. An indolent person cannot be diligent. When suddenly struck by sickness or bad fortune, they then wish to burn incense and only then begin to create merit. The devas have not yet descended, while all the māras are already before them, competing to disturb and torment them and cause various strange transformations. For this reason, one should always be diligent. Transgressions and blessings follow a person just as a shadow follows the form. Planting the field of merit is like the nyagrodha tree: originally one seed was planted, and gradually it grew larger, yielding limitless seeds.' The Buddha told Ānanda, 'Giving one brings a ten-thousand-fold return; these words are not false.' The Buddha spoke a verse, saying: