釋氏要覽 3.84

3.84

The Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra states: "To deeply give rise to craving and attachment towards sense objects is called greed. Among all afflictions, greed is the most prominent." The Abhidharma-śāstra states: "As for greed, craving within the three realms is its substance; generating the multitude of sufferings is its activity (activity means function)." The Dharmaskandha-śāstra states: "The Buddha said: 'If you can forever eradicate one phenomenon, I assure you that you will definitely attain the fruit of non-returner. The one phenomenon is greed.'" The Sūtra of the Collection of the Six Perfections states: "When the Buddha was in the causal stage, he was once a king of pigeons; he admonished the pigeons, saying: 'Among all the precepts in the Buddha's sūtras, greed is the foremost. Those who obtain glory through greed are like a starving man gaining poisoned food: the pleasure of fulfilling his wishes lasts as briefly as lightning, but the multitude of sufferings that entrap him will persist for countless aeons.'"