Eaten by Foxes, Wolves, and Starving Dogs
Following Wholesome-Giving Bodhisattva and Māra-Subduing Sovereign King Bodhisattva, the bodhisattva gives away his own intestines, kidneys, liver, and lungs — but only after a contemplation unusually blunt even within this dedication: this body will soon decay, disgust whoever sees it, and be devoured by foxes, wolves, and starving dogs regardless of what he does with it now. Ten dedication-vows follow, each describing a body that no longer decays.
A Reason Drawn From Disgust
Rather than beginning from compassion or vow, this passage begins from a plain observation about decomposition: the body will be eaten by scavengers whether it is given away or not, so giving becomes the only way to make its inevitable loss mean something. "As though a good spiritual friend had come to protect him" then reframes the beggar himself — not as a threat asking for something valuable, but as the one making it possible for this loss to become a gift.
「佛子！菩薩摩訶薩若有乞求腸、腎、肝、肺，悉皆施與，如善施菩薩、降魔自在王菩薩，及餘無量諸大菩薩。行此施時，見乞者來，其心歡喜，以愛眼觀；為求菩提，隨其所須，悉皆施與，心不中悔。觀察此身無有堅固：『我應施彼，取堅固身。』復念此身尋即敗壞，見者生厭，狐、狼、餓狗之所噉食；此身無常，會當棄捨，為他所食，無所覺知。佛子！菩薩摩訶薩作是觀時，知身無常、穢污之極，於法解悟生大歡喜，敬心諦視彼來乞者，如善知識而來護想，隨所乞求無不惠施，以不堅身易堅固身。佛子！菩薩摩訶薩如是施時，所有善根悉以迴向：『願一切眾生得智藏身，內外清淨；願一切眾生得福藏身，能普任持一切智願；願一切眾生得上妙身，內蘊妙香，外發光明；願一切眾生得腹不現身，上下端直，肢節相稱；願一切眾生得智慧身，以佛法味充悅滋長；願一切眾生得無盡身，修習安住甚深法性；願一切眾生得陀羅尼清淨藏身，以妙辯才顯示諸法；願一切眾生得清淨身，若身若心內外俱淨；願一切眾生得如來智深觀行身，智慧充滿，雨大法雨；願一切眾生得內寂身，外為眾生作智幢王，放大光明普照一切。』是為菩薩摩訶薩施腸、腎、肝、肺善根迴向；為令眾生內外清淨，皆得安住無礙智故。
"Child of the Buddha! Whenever there is one who begs for his intestines, kidneys, liver, and lungs, the bodhisattva mahāsattva gives them all entirely, just as Wholesome-Giving Bodhisattva, Māra-Subduing Sovereign King Bodhisattva, and countless other great bodhisattvas have done. While practicing this giving, seeing the beggar come, his mind is joyful, and he gazes upon them with loving eyes; seeking bodhi, according to whatever they need, he gives it all entirely, his mind never regretting midway. He contemplates that this body has nothing firm about it at all: 'I should give it to them, and thereby obtain a firm body.' He further reflects that this body will soon decay and fall apart, that those who behold it will be filled with disgust, devoured by foxes, wolves, and starving dogs; that this body is impermanent, and will surely be discarded one day, eaten by others without any awareness at all. Child of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva mahāsattva contemplates in this way, knowing the body to be impermanent and utterly defiled, he gives rise to great joy through his understanding of the Dharma, and gazes with a reverent mind upon the beggar who has come, regarding them as though a good spiritual friend had come to protect him; according to whatever is begged, there is nothing he does not kindly give, exchanging an impermanent body for one that is firm and unbreakable. Child of the Buddha! When the bodhisattva mahāsattva gives in this way, he dedicates every one of his wholesome roots entirely: 'May all sentient beings obtain the body that is a treasury of wisdom, pure within and without; may all sentient beings obtain the body that is a treasury of merit, able to universally sustain and uphold the vow of omniscience; may all sentient beings obtain the supreme and wondrous body, its inner store holding wondrous fragrance, its outer light shining forth; may all sentient beings obtain the body whose belly does not protrude, upright from top to bottom, its every limb and joint in perfect proportion; may all sentient beings obtain the body of wisdom, nourished and made to flourish by the flavor of the Buddha-dharma; may all sentient beings obtain the inexhaustible body, cultivating and abiding securely in the profound Dharma-nature; may all sentient beings obtain the body that is the pure treasury of dhāraṇī, revealing every dharma through wondrous eloquence; may all sentient beings obtain the pure body, whether body or mind, entirely pure within and without; may all sentient beings obtain the body of the Tathāgata's own wisdom of profound contemplative practice, its wisdom filling it entirely, raining down the great rain of the Dharma; may all sentient beings obtain the inwardly tranquil body, becoming outwardly, for the sake of sentient beings, a wisdom-banner king, emitting great light that universally illumines all.' This is the bodhisattva mahāsattva's dedication of wholesome roots when giving his intestines, kidneys, liver, and lungs; it is so that sentient beings may be pure within and without, all abiding securely in unobstructed wisdom.
"The body whose belly does not protrude, upright from top to bottom, its every limb and joint in perfect proportion" is a strikingly physical wish to find in the middle of vows about dhāraṇī and the rain of the Dharma. Having just contemplated the body's own decay in such unflinching detail, the dedication does not abandon the body for something purely abstract — it wishes for one that is, quite simply, well made.
Part 299 Complete
This closes the section on giving the organs (施腸、腎、肝、肺) within the sixth dedication. Chapter 25 continues in Part 300 as the bodhisattva mahāsattva, following Dharma-Treasury Bodhisattva and Radiant King Bodhisattva, gives away the very bones of his own limbs and joints.