四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 2.97

2.97

Third, the precept against killing human beings. The conditions for transgression are five: first, it is a human; second, one conceives of them as a human; third, one gives rise to the intention to kill; fourth, one engages in preparatory expedients; fifth, their life is cut off. Regarding the first condition of being a human, the Vinaya states: from the initial consciousness until the final consciousness, cutting off their life (the initial consciousness refers to the first consciousness in the womb, which is still congealed and smooth, being that on which consciousness relies; up to the end of life, the very last thought, where one has not yet relinquished clinging, which disintegrates along with warmth). Its characteristics are easy to recognise, hence they are described briefly. The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya states: There are two kinds of killing: first, killing by oneself. This means bodily manifesting signs; verbally praising the signs of death; pitfalls, setting tripwires, arranging instruments of killing, administering poison, and the like. Second, instructing another to kill. Following upon the earlier envoy, whether instructing praise, instructing the dispatch of an envoy, an envoy going back and forth, a repeated envoy, an envoy passed along successive hands, seeking a man, instructing the search for a man, sending a letter, instructing the sending of a letter, and so forth. All are left to expedients, provided that they result in the cutting off of life; if it matches one's original expectation, within the three natures of mind, the one who can instruct incurs a grave offense; the rest is as in the later section. The Daśādhyāya-vinaya states: One must not harm oneself or disfigure the body, up to cutting off a finger; doing so incurs an offense. The Mātrikā states: A sick person does not wish to get up or stretch out, for if they get up they will die; if the one nursing the patient forces them to take food or medicine, and they die, it is a thullaccaya. If a boil is not yet ripe and is forcibly broken open, and life ends, it is also like this. If one does not give food and does not provide medical treatment, and they die as a result, it is also a thullaccaya. The Sarvāstivāda states: If a bhikṣu understands astrology, yin-yang, and auspicious or inauspicious signs; and through the bhikṣu's words, a foreign country is invaded and destroyed, and killing or seizing property occurs, he incurs both pārājikas of theft and killing. Upāsakas are treated similarly. The Daśādhyāya-vinaya states: If one digs a pit for a human, and a human dies, it is grave; if an animal dies, it is a thullaccaya. If one digs a pit for an animal, and an animal dies, it is as the Vinaya specifies; if a human dies, it is a duṣkṛta. If one's original intention was general and unspecified, it follows the gravity of the object. The Sarvāstivāda states: If one praises death to a person, and this person does not understand, but a bystander understands and dies using this method, there is no transgression. Nowadays many people burn themselves, and many among the foolish multitude of the seven assemblies praise such persons and cause them to feel joyful delight; all are reckoned as grave offenses according to the root Vinaya. Furthermore, if a bhikṣu is being executed by the authorities, and the executioner asks someone for a cloth or silk handkerchief to use as a halter or strangling cord, and ignorant members of the five assemblies give it, it is termed an instrument of killing, and when life ends, a grave offense is incurred. The Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya states: If parents are subject to royal law, and a bhikṣu says to the executioner, "Grant him a single stroke of the sword," and the executioner immediately acts on those words, it is also grave. The Pañcavargika and Dharmaguptaka state: For committing suicide it is a thullaccaya, meaning the offense is assigned to the preparatory expedients. Under non-offenses, the Vinaya states: If one throws a knife, staff, tile, stone, or timber, and mistakenly strikes another's body so that they die; or while supporting or holding a sick person they die; or through medicine or food; or by coming, going, entering, or exiting they die—in all cases where there was no harmful intent, there is no offense. Thus secular law says: "In cases of killing by negligence, it is treated by ransom" (meaning things that the eye did not see and the mind did not intend, carrying heavy objects together, climbing high or walking on danger, and the like).