釋氏要覽 3.100

3.100

Bodhisattva Siṃhanāda asked: "What is the distinction between few desires and knowing contentment?" The Buddha said: "Having few desires means not seeking and not grasping; knowing contentment means not regretting or resenting when obtaining little." The Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna-sūtra states: "Among the practices of a śramaṇa, the foremost and supreme is what is called knowing contentment." The Vibhāṣā-śāstra states: "The Buddha's Dharma takes few desires as its root; if it is for mundane gain, then the gain of the Way cannot be achieved." The Sūtra of the Buddha's Bequeathed Teaching states: "Monks should know that people of many desires seek much gain, and therefore their sufferings and distress are also many; people of few desires have no seeking and no grasping, and therefore are free from this affliction. Having few desires can generate all merits, and there is no flattery or crookedness to win people's favor. For those with few desires, the mind is candid without worry or fear, and in facing matters there is always a surplus. If monks wish to be free from all suffering and distress, they should contemplate the method of knowing contentment, which is indeed the abode of wealth, joy, peace, and security."