菩薩戒義疏 1.2

1.2

The bodhisattva precepts are the initial step in activating goodness and the vanguard in repelling evil; returning directly along this path, the source of birth can be exhausted. When the small practitioners of the śrāvaka vehicle still cherish and revere the prātimokṣa, how could great beings, harboring universal concern, not rigorously uphold the precept categories? Both the internal and external paths revere and observe them; from royal houses to the common multitude, all surrender themselves in pious devotion. This is indeed the supreme cause for advancing to the ultimate fruit, the wondrous karma that constitutes the bodhimaṇḍa. However, the precept aspects recorded in the sūtras and treatises are of many kinds, and the reception rituals delineated in records and traditions are not without differences. This is truly because capacities and awakenings are partial or perfect, and it is fitting to hear them in detail or in brief; words cannot express both at once, nor can matters proceed simultaneously. Now, carefully following the characteristics of the teachings set forth by Master Kumārajīva, they derive from the Vinayapiṭaka Chapter of the Brahmajāla-sūtra. Master Kumārajīva arrived in the Han region in the third year of the Hongshi era of the Qin. He illuminated the Mahāyāna, upheld the sacred teachings, and translated more than three hundred fascicles of sūtras and treatises. The single text of the Brahmajāla was the last he recited from memory, having vowed to propagate it far and wide; for this reason, he diligently repeated each word three times. Because its text and meaning are profound and hidden, and its purports deep and subtle, he directly instructed and illuminated it in the hall to make it easy for later generations to attain awakening. As for the sūtra being called "Brahmajāla" (Brahma's Net), this is to make clear that the teachings of the Buddhas are diverse, just like the meshes of the net of the Brahma King. As for the chapter being called "Cittabhūmi" (Mind-ground), the bodhisattva's saṃvara universally guards the three karmas; mind, mentation, and consciousness are different names for one essence. Among the three karmas, mental karma is primary, while body and speech are secondary; judging in terms of what is primary, it is therefore called the "mind-ground."