諸經要集 15.92

15.92

When first entering the Buddha's Dharma, a mind of faith must be foremost. It is, for example, like a person arriving at a mountain of jewels: if he lacks hands of faith, he will gain nothing and return empty-handed. Therefore a sūtra says: Foolish people do not recognize cause and effect; they falsely give rise to wrong views, slandering that there are no Three Jewels and no Four Noble Truths, that there is no misfortune and no blessing, and even that there is neither good nor evil, nor any karmic retribution for good and evil, nor any sentient beings in the present or future ages who undergo rebirth. Such people destroy the Dharma of good and evil; they are called those who have severed the roots of goodness, and will definitely fall into the Avīci Hell.