諸經要集 16.19

16.19

As the Zhidu lun states: All phenomena are empty and deceptive. Sentient beings in their folly do not recognize close from distant [relations]; they vent anger, revile, inflict harm, and even take life. Giving rise to these grave transgressions, they therefore fall into the three miserable destinies to undergo immeasurable suffering. For example, in a mountain there was a Buddhist monastery (stūpa/vihāra), within which there was a separate chamber. In the chamber was a ghost that came to frighten and trouble monks (daoren); thus the monks all abandoned the chamber and left. There was a visiting monk who arrived, and the karmadāna assigned him to dwell in this empty chamber, speaking to him, saying, 'In this chamber there is a ghost-spirit that likes to trouble people. If you are able to stay in it, stay.' The visiting monk, relying on the power of his precept-keeping and his broad learning, said, 'What can a petty ghost do? I can subdue it.' He then entered the room to stay. At dusk, another monk came seeking a dwelling place here, and the karmadāna also assigned him to stay in this room, likewise telling him that there was a ghost troubling people. That person also said, 'What can a petty ghost do? I shall subdue it.' The one who entered first shut the door and sat upright waiting for the ghost. The one who came later knocked on the door in the darkness of the night, seeking entry. The one inside thought it was the ghost and would not open the door for him. The one who came later knocked on the door with all his might, while the monk inside resisted him with his strength. The one outside gained the upper hand, pushed the door open, and managed to enter. The one inside struck him, and the one outside also struck back. When dawn broke and they saw each other, they turned out to be old friends and fellow students. Having recognized each other, they each felt shame and apologized. The multitude gathered like clouds, laughing and marveling at it. Sentient beings are also like this: the five aggregates are all empty; there is no self and no person. Grasping at signs, they quarrel and contend, willfully inflicting poisonous harm. If one lays them open on the ground, there is only bone and flesh; there is no person and no self. Therefore, the bodhisattva speaks to sentient beings, saying, 'Do not quarrel and contend over what is fundamentally empty. A human body is hard enough to obtain, how much more so meeting a buddha!'