Shurangama Sutra:
“The womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-
born come about in response: the egg-born come from
thought, the womb-born are due to emotion, the moisture-born
arise from union, and transformations occur through
separation.
Commentary:
“The womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformation-
born: these are four kinds of birth. The “womb-born” are
mammals. The “egg-born” are feathered vertebrates – birds and
the
like. The “moisture-born” are creatures born out of water.
The
“transformation-born” are beings that change form – they seem
to
be there and then disappear. They seem not to be there and
then
appear.
They “come about in response.” In every kind of birth there
is
a stimulus and a response. For instance, “The egg-born come
from
thought.” There must be four conditions present for birth
from
eggs to occur:
1. the condition of a father,
2. the condition of a mother,
3. the condition of individual karma, and
4. the condition of warmth.
With them, the egg-born come from thought. For example, a
mother hen sits on her eggs all day long; she gets unbearably
hot,
but she won’t get up. Once a day she leaves long enough to
defecate
and eat a little, and then she goes right back to sitting and
thinking,
“Come out, little chicks. Hatch, little ones.” That’s why it says
that
the egg-born come from thought.
“The womb-born are due to emotion, the moisture-born
arise from union.” Moisture-born beings can come about from
two
conditions:
1. the condition of sunlight, and
2. the condition of moisture.
“Transformations occur through separation.” These beings
are
created from karma alone and are changeable. They appear and
disappear; disappear and appear. Transformation is attributable to
a
strong desire for the new and a dislike for the old, hence it
occurs
through separation.
Sutra:
“Emotion, thought, union, and separation go through
further changes, and from all the karma received one either
rises or sinks. From these causes and conditions comes the
continuity of living beings.
Commentary:
“Emotion, thought, union, and separation go through
further changes.” There is a combined interaction involving
change, over and over again. “And from all the karma received
one either rises or sinks.” From the retribution undergone,
beings
vary from birds in the air to fish in the sea. “From these
causes
and conditions comes the continuity of living beings.”Living
beings are those receiving twelve kinds of rebirth:
1. those born from wombs,
2. those born from eggs,
3. those born from moisture,
4. those born by transformation,
5. those born with form,
6. those born without form,
7. those born with thought,
8. those born without thought,
9. those born not totally with form,
10. those born not totally without form,
11. those born not totally with thought, and
12. those born not totally without thought.
This is the ceaseless continuation of living beings. First we
discussed the continuity of the world. Next we have discussed
the
continuity of living beings.
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