佛垂般涅槃略說教誡經 1.3

1.3

“You monks, having already established yourselves in the precepts, you must restrain the five sense faculties and not let them run loose into the five desires. It is like an oxherd holding a staff and watching [the herd], not allowing them to run wild and trample other people's crops. If you let the five sense faculties loose, not only will the five desires know no bounds and be impossible to control, but like an unruly horse unrestrained by a bridle, they will drag a person and plunge them into a pit. While the harm of being robbed lasts for only one life, the calamity caused by the thieves of the five faculties extends over multiple lifetimes; the harm is extremely grave, and one cannot fail to be cautious. For this reason, the wise restrain them and do not follow them, guarding them like thieves and not letting them run wild. Even if one were to let them loose, before long one would see them wear away and perish. Of these five sense faculties, the mind is their master. Therefore, you must control the mind well. The mind is more to be feared than poisonous snakes, savage beasts, or malicious bandits; even a great fire sweeping unchecked cannot serve as an adequate metaphor. It is like a person holding a vessel of honey who, moving recklessly and agitatedly, looks only at the honey and does not see the deep pit. It is like a mad elephant without a goad, or a monkey in a tree, leaping and bounding, difficult to curb and restrain. You must swiftly subdue it and not allow it to run loose. Letting this mind loose destroys a person's wholesome deeds; restraining it in a single place, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished. Therefore, monks, you should vigorously apply yourselves to subduing your minds.