18. The ten self-imposed troubles
1. To enter the state of the householder without means of sustenance produceth self- imposed trouble as doth an idiot eating aconite.
2. To live a throughly evil life and disregard the Doctrine produceth self- imposed trouble as doth an insane person jumping over a precipice.
3. To live hypocritically produceth self- imposed trouble as doth a person who putteth poison in his own food.
4. To be lacking in firmness of mind and yet attempt to act as the head of a monastery produceth self- imposed trouble as doth a feeble old woman who attemteth to herd cattle.
5. To devote oneself wholly to selfish ambitions and not to strive for the good of others produceth self- imposed trouble as doth a blind man who alloweth himself to become lost in a desert.
6. To undertake difficult tasks and not have the ability to perform them produceth self- imposed trouble as doth a man without strength who trieth to carry a heavy load.
7. To transgrees the commandments of the Buddha or of the holy guru through pride and self- conceit produceth self- imposed trouble as doth a king who followeth a perverted policy.
8. To waste one’ s time loitering about towns and villages instead of devoting it to meditation produceth self- imposed trouble as doth a deer that descendeth to the valley instead of keeping to the fastnesses of the mountains.
9. To be absorbed in the pursuit of wordly things rather than in nourishing the growth of Divine Wisdom produceth self- imposed trouble as doth an eagle when it breaketh its wring.
10. Shamelessly to misappropriate which have been dedicated to the guru or to the Trinity(1) produceth self- imposed trouble as doth a child swallowing live coals(2).
These are The Ten Self- Imposed Troubles.
(1) The Buddhist Trinity is the Buddha, the Dharma ( or Scriptures), and the Sangha ( or Priesthood). Neither gurus nor priests in a Buddhist or Hindu community have a right to demand any form of payment in return for their performance of religious duties. Their disciples or laymen, however, being in duty bound to provide for their maintenance, make voluntary offerings to them, chiefly in the form of food and clothing, and sometimes in the form of property endowments to their ashramas, monasteries, or temples. According to the rule of buddhist monasticism, no member of the Sangha should touch money, but nowadays this rule is not usually observed; and the offerings commonly include money, often for expenditure in some pious work, such as building a stupa, making manuscript copies of the Scriptures, restoring an image, or to help in the building or repair of a shrine.
(2) The evil karma resulting from the act of impiety is for the devotee as painful spiritually as the swallowing of live coals is for the child physically.
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