坐禪三昧經 1.55

1.55

"Whatever exists in the world is empty like a water bubble; how can you say that you will wait for a later time to enter the path? Who can bear witness and say that you will certainly reach old age and be able to practice the path? It is like a great tree on a precipitous cliff: above, there is a great wind; below, there are surging waters eroding the soil at its roots—who would trust that this tree could long remain? Human life is also like this; not even a brief moment can be trusted. The father is like a grain seed, the mother is like fertile soil, past-life causes and conditions of demerit and merit are like rainfall, sentient beings are like the grain, and saṃsāra is like the harvest. The diverse wisdom and virtues of sons of devas and human kings—just as a king of the devas aids the devas in battle to crush the asura armies, experiencing various pleasures, reaching supreme heights, greatness, and radiance—plunge right back into dark obscurity. For this reason, do not trust this living span, saying: 'Today I shall do this, tomorrow and the day after I shall do that.' By contemplating in this way in various manners, one eliminates the thought of immortality.