觀彌勒上生兜率天經贊 2.165

2.165

The Commentary says: This explains that even without wishing to be reborn [there], hearing the name is also beneficial. There are two parts: first, freedom from evil; second, possession of good. Freedom from evil has four points: First, not falling into dark places. If [defined by] the place being dark, it is called a 'dark place', namely the various hells and the intermediate space between the two realms [of form and formlessness, or between world systems]; if [defined by] a place of dark fruits, it is called a 'dark place', namely the three evil destinies and places in the intermediate space between the two realms where there is no Buddha-Dharma. Second, not falling into borderlands. The words 'not falling into' extend down to the next three clauses. If [defined by] the place being on the frontier, it is called 'border', namely the border regions far from the virtuous and worthy; if [defined by] conduct being marginal, it is called 'border', which encompasses border places and the realms of the mlecchas, dasyus, and the like. The former is not falling into the three bad paths, while this is not falling into the eight difficulties. Third, not falling into wrong views. If it is specifically wrong views, it refers only to the category of cutting off wholesome roots; if it means incorrect, it is called 'wrong views', which includes all evil views. Fourth, not falling into any evil discipline. 'Evil' means unwholesome, 'discipline' (lǜ) means rule, and 'bearing' (yí) means form; that is, non-discipline (asaṃvara). In the Abhidharmasamuccaya, fascicle eight, there are fourteen or fifteen non-disciplines: slaughtering sheep, raising chickens, raising pigs, catching birds, catching fish, hunting deer, trapping hares, committing robbery, executing criminals, slaughtering cattle, binding elephants, erecting altars to chant spells against nāgas, guarding prisons, slandering and taking pleasure in causing harm, and so forth. In the Nirvāṇa Sūtra, sixteen are taught: raising cattle, sheep, pigs, and chickens for profit, fattening them and then reselling them—these make four; buying them for profit and then slaughtering them makes another four, which together with the previous make eight; catching fish, catching birds, hunting, robbery, execution, double-tongued speech, being a prison guard, and chanting spells against nāgas make another eight, totaling the sixteen. The Yogācārabhūmi, fascicle nine, teaches twelve, adding one to the Abhidharmasamuccaya and omitting three from the Abhidharmasamuccaya. The Za xin lun teaches twelve: slaughtering sheep, raising pigs, raising chickens, catching birds, catching fish, hunting, thievery, execution, guarding prisons, chanting spells against nāgas, slaughtering dogs, and acting as a tracker in hunts—there are twelve in all. As to why the four texts differ: in the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra], 'hunting' subsumes the three of hunting deer, trapping hares, and binding elephants. The Abhidharmasamuccaya speaks of three according to the majority, while the intention of the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] generally includes catching pheasants and the like; the Abhidharmasamuccaya has taking pleasure in harm, which is absent in the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra]; because the Abhidharmasamuccaya is broader, while the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] differentiates the first eight into specific categories. Thus, the four of the Abhidharmasamuccaya are all born of that, so the slander in the Abhidharmasamuccaya is precisely double-tongued speech; the names differ but the meaning is the same. Therefore, the minor school of the Za xin lun both state that the grave ones are called non-discipline, as the others are minor. This evil discipline also encompasses all violation of precepts and evil deeds. Falling into wrong views and evil disciplines exists both when there is a Buddha and when there is no Buddha, and in both central and border regions. If one hears the name of Maitreya, one definitely will not fall into them, because of the power added by taking refuge with the three karmas, deep joy in the mind, and the past vows of the four immeasurables.