四分律刪補隨機羯磨 1.3

1.3

Now, when the Great Hero governed the world, his intent was solely to rescue the individual; when the great teaching answered the times, its overall aim was to reveal the single principle. Yet because sentient beings cling to desires, and the root of desire is what is called the mind of self, he was able to accommodate their inclinations and reveal the methods for stilling the mind. Thus, the mind is the root from which desires arise; to extinguish desires one must still the source of the mind. Stilling the mind depends on luminous wisdom, and the arising of wisdom relies on the activation of samādhi. The work of activating samādhi cannot flourish without śīla; therefore, one must especially venerate śīla. Thus the sūtra says: “Śīla is the foundation of unexcelled bodhi; one should maintain pure śīla with single-minded devotion.” The mind that upholds śīla fundamentally follows only two paths: for prohibitive compliance, the Prātimokṣa is paramount; for active compliance, the karman procedures constitute the grand outline. Later learners and former practitioners have marvelously taken this Dharma as their guiding principle. Thus the Vinaya says: “If one does not recite the precepts and the karman, throughout one's life one must not leave niśraya.”