梵網經述記卷第一 1.44

1.44

Sūtra: "The causes of killing, conditions for killing, methods of killing, and acts of killing." / Commentary: Second, revealing the conditions. 'Methods of killing' refers to performing killing based on the teachings of former teachers. What does this mean? There are two kinds: first, there are non-Buddhist scriptures stating that slaughtering sheep to sacrifice to the gods leads to rebirth in the heavens, and so forth; second, there are non-Buddhist scriptures stating that various mortifications will surely lead to rebirth in the heavens, and so forth. As stated in the fifth fascicle of the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra: 'I once heard that there was a man of Bhāgali who went to the Central Realm of India. The king then appointed that man as a village head. In the village, there were many Brahmins who befriended him. For the village head, they recited the Bhārata scriptures, which stated that those who die in battle will be reborn in the heavens upon death, and that those who die by throwing themselves into fire will likewise be reborn in the heavens. They also spoke of the various pleasures of the heavens, speaking in such clever phrases that they agitated and stirred the village head's mind, so that he believed this must be true. He immediately dug a fire pit, gathered piles of fragrant firewood, and held an assembly of Brahmins. When the multitude gathered like clouds, the village head was about to throw himself into the fire. This village head had previously known a Śākya monk. The monk came to his home, saw the village head, and found his house decorated in various ways. The monk asked, "What do you wish to do?" The village head said, "I wish to be reborn in the heavens." The monk asked, "How will you go?" He answered, "If I throw myself into the fire pit, I will immediately attain rebirth in the heavens." The monk asked, "Do you know the path to the heavens in your own person?" He answered, "I do not know it." The monk asked, "If you do not know it, how can you go? Trāyastriṃśa Heaven is 3,360,000 li away from here. Without someone to guide you, how can you reach it? If heaven is joyful, that senior Brahmin is already old of years, impoverished of wealth, and his wife is also old; why do you not take him along to go to heaven together?" Having heard these words, the village head immediately pulled the senior Brahmin's hand forward, wishing to throw themselves into the fire together and ascend to heaven together. Then the Brahmin struggled and refused to go. Seeing that the Brahmin did not wish to enter the fire, the village head spoke a verse: