四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 3.227

3.227

First, explaining the general name to reveal its virtues: The Samantapāsādikā states: "Dhūta in Chinese means 'shaking off.' It means shaking off afflictions and departing from all attachments." The Ārya-śubhacintī-brahma-deva-paripṛcchā-sūtra states: "Dhūta means shaking off greed, ill will, ignorance, the three realms, and the six sense spheres, each discussed separately." It also states: "I say that this person is capable of shaking off well. Shaking off like this, neither grasping nor rejecting, neither cultivating nor attaching—I say that this person can preach dhūta." The Ekottarika-āgama states: "Whoever reviles or praises any single one of the twelve dhūta practices reviles or praises me; I constantly praise the practice of this Dharma, and because it abides in the world, my Dharma will abide long in the world." The Daśacakra-sūtra states: "Breaking the prohibitions loses dhūta; because of committing rebellious acts, they are not my followers; as the past Buddhas declared, one who breaks the pure precepts is not counted among the Saṃgha." The Kuśalamūlasaṃparigraha-sūtra states: "Because Kāśyapa practiced the ascetic dhūta practices, when he came to the Buddha's dwelling, the Tathāgata shifted his body and shared his seat with him, but Kāśyapa declined and did not accept it." In the Saṃyuktāgama: The Buddha in person offered him half his seat, handed him his saṃghāṭī robe with his own hands, exchanging it for the great robe Kāśyapa was wearing, and praised the great practice of dhūta in the midst of the great assembly. The Dharmaguptaka-vinaya states: "The Buddha sat in seclusion for three months, allowing only one attendant; at that time, there were sixty dhūta practitioners who went to the Buddha's dwelling and were praised by the Buddha, being called 'persons who make offerings to the Buddha.'" The Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā states: "For an āraṇyaka bhikṣu, ten benefits are briefly stated, which should not be abandoned for the rest of his life: 1. freely coming and going; 2. freedom from self and what belongs to self; 3. unimpeded according to his will; 4. the mind delighting in frequenting empty places; 5. having few desires and few affairs at his dwelling; 6. not begrudging body and life in order to complete merits; 7. staying far away from noisy talk; 8. not seeking repayment of kindness though performing meritorious deeds; 9. being compliant with dhyāna and easily attaining single-mindedness; 10. residing in empty places and easily generating the thought of non-obstruction." If there are circumstances, he is permitted to enter stupas and monasteries; this has general allowances and specific restrictions, unlike the tīrthikas who spend their entire lives in empty places. This is explained extensively as in the "Dhūta Chapter." The name dhūta applies generally to villages and wild open spaces. An araṇya and a charnel ground are definitively outside towns and cities; the remaining ten practices apply equally to both noisy and quiet places.