天台菩薩戒疏 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

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Excised and supplemented by the Tiantai Śramaṇa Mingkuang (Cursive script corrupts the Dharma; transmitters must use regular script).

The Buddha-nature is eternal, yet the teaching arises from conditions. Because conditional appropriateness differs, the doctrines have broad and condensed forms. Some cite many commentaries to manifest differences; some refute past and present to prove [a view] not perfect; some employ ornate rhetoric to attract literary talent; some preserve unadorned substance to achieve profound purport. All of these serve to illuminate the cardinal tenets of the teaching and accord with the four siddhāntas as the times demand. Now, following my wish, I wield the brush straightforwardly to explicate the text; my selections and rejections have basis, not departing from earlier views. Thus, taking Tiantai as the central framework and using the detailed conditions of Tiangong to supply omissions and explain the text, my priority is to support the scripture. Thus, though drawing upon the various masters, I only fear omissions on my own part; how could I dare display this to others, heedlessly letting casual sight and hearing miss its conditions? Fortunately, one may know the source's intent.

Now, the bodhisattva precepts are the first chapter in setting wholesome [dharmas] in motion and the vanguard in turning back evil. If the small practitioners of the Śrāvaka still cherish and revere the mokṣa, how could great beings who cherish all not rigorously uphold the precept categories? Thus it comes about that the Lotus Treasury World hangs the sun and moon to shine down upon it, and the King of Bodhi Trees opens sweet dew to relieve the destitute. Amid a thousand flowers and tens of billions [of worlds], Rocana is the fundamental body; in the ten major and forty-eight minor [precepts], Śākyamuni is the terminal transformation. Ineffable Dharma reveals the mind-ground at the tip of a hair; inconceivable light raises bodily blossoms atop the form realm. Thereupon, the distinct and perfect [teachings] are practiced together by great beings; the eighty-thousand deportments are achieved equally by sages and worthies. How much more so the precept categories numerous as the Ganges' sands, which perfectly encompass the three cumulative precepts and fully subsume the six ranks! They are like Indra's net—identical yet not identical; they resemble the ocean of sarvajñā—distinct yet not distinct. Like the rain of jewels from a cintāmaṇi, they universally enrich the multitude of beings; likened to necklaces adorning the body, their merit completes wondrous enlightenment. Thereupon, among the bodhisattvas of the five ranks, none do not rely on this to perfect their causes; among the Tathāgatas of the three periods, none do not depend on this to fulfill their fruits. Since this is the direct path of the bodhimaṇḍa and the excellent model for right enlightenment, it is vast and magnificent, beyond what words can capture.

As for the title, *Brahmajāla Sūtra: Precept Chapter spoken by Rocana Buddha on the Bodhisattva Mind-Ground, the Ten Major and Forty-Eight Minor Precepts, the Tenth*: "Brahma" takes its name from the person, whose very substance is free from defilement. "Net" establishes its title by drawing on a metaphor to manifest its function, meaning to illuminate. The Buddhas set forth teachings according to capacities, with medicines and illnesses manifold, like the great Brahma king's Indra's net; hence it is called "Brahma Net." "Sūtra" means scripture, evaluating and distinguishing the eternal Buddha-nature; hence it is named "Sūtra." As for "Rocana" and so forth, the *Ratnarāśi Sūtra* translates it as "pure and full"; because the three delusions are頓 obliterated, it is called "pure," and because the myriad virtues are all complete, it is called "full." The wisdom of the full and pure self-awakens and awakens others; hence [he is] called "Buddha." Expounding with the eight tones of voice is called "spoken."

As for "bodhisattva" and so forth, this means this precept Dharma models the great beings in the causal stages prior to wondrous enlightenment; hence it is designated "bodhisattva." The bodhisattva's vinaya deportment universally guards against the three karmas; mind and volition are the principal, and citing the one subsumes the rest, just as the great earth contains and embraces the myriad things; hence it is called "mind-ground." As for "ten major" and so forth, this distinguishes the dharma to set apart the persons; although the prohibitive rules are many, they do not exceed the two classes of minor and major; hence it is said "ten major." As for "forty-eight minor precepts, chapter the tenth," according to the dharmas recorded by Master Kumārajīva, it comes from the "Vinayapiṭaka Chapter" of the *Brahmajāla Sūtra*. The full text of the *Brahmajāla* has one hundred and fifty-two fascicles and sixty-one chapters; only the ninth chapter thoroughly illuminates the bodhisattva mind-ground's minor and major deportments and hierarchical stages. That one chapter in two fascicles is one among them, and hence it is called "the tenth." Summing it up, it is the *Brahmajāla Sūtra: Precept Chapter spoken by Rocana Buddha on the Bodhisattva Mind-Ground, the Ten Major and Forty-Eight Minor Precepts, the Tenth*.

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In about to explain this text, there are seven sections of analysis: first, clarifying the name and essence; second, clarifying the central framework and application; third, clarifying the teachings that subsume [it]; fourth, clarifying the method of reception; fifth, clarifying the transmission and translation; sixth, briefly evaluating and resolving [difficulties]; seventh, explaining according to the text.

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The first section also has two parts: first, explaining the name; second, presenting the essence. First, in explaining the name: the single word "precept" is *śīla* in Sanskrit, and is also called *vinaya*, *prātimokṣa*, and so forth; here it is translated as "cool and refreshing." It eliminates the faults of the three delusions and secures liberation. Now, what is called a "precept" can guard the three karmas and halt the wrongs of the three delusions; hence it obtains this name. Broadly speaking, it does not exceed the four universal vows and the three cumulative precepts. Attaining the Way and knowing the Dharma is the precept of embracing wholesome dharmas; vowing to sever afflictions is the precept of restraint; vowing to liberate sentient beings is the precept of embracing sentient beings. How much more so in that each single vow is fully endowed with the three cumulative [precepts], and each single precept possesses these three minds! For instance, upholding non-killing halts evil from arising, universally freeing the essence from defilement—this is the precept of restraint, the cause of the dharmakāya; restricting [oneself] to practice wholesome deeds and the like, knowing the Dharma and realizing the truth, where karmic fruition naturally endures—this is the precept of embracing wholesome dharmas, the cause of the saṃbhogakāya; halting evil and practicing good, taking compassion as the root, and using the four siddhāntas to benefit beings—this is the precept of embracing sentient beings, the cause of the nirmāṇakāya.

These three cumulative precepts, according to the *Dazhidulun*, conceptually penetrate ten types: First, unbroken, which refers to upholding the natural precepts of the ten wholesome actions up to the ten major precepts; if violated and broken, one is unfit to receive and use them. Second, unbreached, and third, unpunctured, which refer to the forty-eight minor precepts; if violated, it is like a vessel cracked or punctured and leaking. Fourth, unmixed with thought, which is the non-arising of desire. Fifth, conforming to the Path, and sixth, unattached, which refer to seeing the principle of ultimate truth and leaving the delusions of view and thought within the three realms. Seventh, praised by the wise, and eighth, sovereign: these refer to the bodhisattva's benefiting of others being praised by wise persons. Ninth, conforming to concentration, and tenth, fully endowed: these refer to realizing the Śūraṅgama Samādhi of the Middle Way, not rising from the cessation absorption yet manifesting deportment, showing bodies in the ten realms, and transforming beings in accordance with their forms. These ten kinds prohibit and guard the three karmas, and all generally receive the name of "precept." They guide and transport body and mind to the shore of nirvāṇa, and are also collectively called a "vehicle"; hence there are the distinctions of the five vehicles such as humans and devas.

What is upheld at present penetrates principle through phenomena; in a single moment of mind, the ten precepts are fully present. The phenomenal upholding of the first four takes causes and conditions as its sphere; the principal upholding of the latter six realizes that the sphere is the Buddha-nature. The Middle Way is eternal, its essence being only the single mind, fully containing ordinary beings and sages, dependent and primary [retributions], causes and effects. Although fully contained, it is empty; nothing is not the dharmadhātu. This is called contemplation—namely, the threefold contemplation in a single mind. Emptiness is the contemplation of emptiness, contemplating the nature as ultimate truth, upholding the two precepts of sharing with the Path and being unattached. Full endowment is the contemplation of provisionality, contemplating the nature as conventional truth, upholding the two precepts of being praised by the wise and being sovereign. The dharmadhātu Buddha-nature is the contemplation of the middle, contemplating the nature as the Middle Way supreme truth, upholding the two precepts of conforming to concentration and being fully endowed. Thus the *Mūlamadhyamakakārikā* says: "Whatever dharma arises from causes and conditions, I declare that it is empty; it is also a provisional designation, and is also the meaning of the Middle Way." Sphere and wisdom are both mind; the grasper and grasped are darkly unified; unified yet not unified, the four and the six are distinctly apparent. Thus, grounded in the stage of verbal identity and the beginning of the stage of contemplation and practice, one upholds all ten precepts and is called a bodhisattva.

Next, in presenting the essence: when first generating the perfect aspiration, requesting and receiving [them] from a master, with body and speech dedicated and sincere, this is called the manifest precept, having form and mind as its essence. When the three karmans are completed, receiving the Dharma into one's bosom, the manifest action ceases and departs, [yet its efficacy extends] up to the future; this is called the unmanifest precept, having only the mind of the true mark as its essence. Thus the *Yingluo jing* says: "The precepts of all ordinary beings and sages entirely take the mind as their essence. Because the mind is inexhaustible, the precepts are also inexhaustible." The Mahāyāna sūtras have no third category, unlike the Śrāvaka vinaya which takes that which is neither form nor mind as the precept-essence.

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Second, in clarifying the central framework and application: first the central framework, then the application. What is called the "central framework" is the essential, the direction of intent. From beginning to end, guarding and upholding based on the essence, aiming toward the perfect fruit, is named the central framework. Next, in clarifying the application: girding one's body with the noble Dharma, fine virtues become manifest externally; when deportment and practice are perfected, pure and strict norms become awe-inspiring; by restraining the three delusions, one causes beings to take refuge in faith. Hence it is named application.

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Third, explaining subsumption by the teachings: The conversion taught throughout the lifetime of the Venerable Śākya, manifesting his body and expounding the Dharma from beginning to end, has four distinctions, namely the Tripiṭaka teaching, the shared teaching, the distinct teaching, and the perfect teaching. The Tripiṭaka [teaching] is fully detailed in the Abhidharmakośa and Mahāvibhāṣā. The stages of the śrāvakas have differences such as the seven worthy and seven noble [ranks]. Pratyekabuddhas have distinctions such as encountering a Buddha or not encountering a Buddha. Bodhisattvas cultivate the causes for the marks and signs for three asaṃkhyeya kalpas and a hundred kalpas, sharing the same study of the three piṭakas of vinaya, abhidharma, and sūtra. Then, beneath the bodhi tree, in a single thought-moment corresponding to the thirty-four minds, they sever the views and thought within the triple world, exhausting both [delusions] and their residual habit-energies, and are called Buddhas. They hold the poṣadha together with the Saṅgha, with no separate bodhisattva vinaya. Therefore, the Lotus Sūtra says not to draw close to practitioners of the Hīnayāna Tripiṭaka, and because they obtain the name ‘Tripiṭaka’, this is the inferior nirmāṇakāya. The manifestation in the Deer Park of a sixteen-foot golden form, and even the appearance of an elderly monk perceived by those of lesser capacity at the Vaipulya assemblies, is this Buddha. / Second, the shared teaching: As in the Vaipulya and Prajñāpāramitā, it explains that practitioners of the three vehicles traverse ten grounds together: 1. the ground of dry wisdom (outer worldlings); 2. the ground of nature (inner worldlings); 3. the ground of the eight persons; 4. the ground of vision (not emerging from contemplation, they jointly sever delusions of view, equal to the first fruit of the Tripiṭaka); 5. the ground of attenuation (the three persons jointly sever the six grades of delusions of thought of the desire realm, equal to the second fruit of the Tripiṭaka); 6. the ground of freedom from desire (severing the nine grades of delusions of thought of the desire realm, equal to the third fruit of the Tripiṭaka); 7. the ground of having completed what was to be done (completely severing views and thought in the three realms, equal to the arhats of the Tripiṭaka); 8. the ground of the pratyekabuddha (with deep and keen merit, able to assault residual habit-energies); 9. the ground of the bodhisattva (emerging from emptiness into provisionality, assaulting minor habit-energies and ignorance within the realms, and learning dharmas such as the Buddha's ten powers); 10. the ground of the Buddha (in a single thought-moment corresponding [to wisdom], habit-energies are permanently exhausted, equal to the Buddha of the Tripiṭaka). Among these ten grounds, there are no names of 'abidings', 'practices', or 'dedications' before them, nor are there ranks of equal enlightenment or wondrous enlightenment after them. Because the causes and fruits of the three persons are largely identical, it is called the shared teaching. He manifests an exalted nirmāṇakāya, stately and magnificent like the moon among stars, which is the mark of the shared [teaching's] Buddha. The bodhisattvas also share the deportment of the śrāvakas. / Third, the distinct teaching: As explained in sūtras such as the Yingluo jing and the Renwang jing, it clarifies fifty-two stages: before the grounds belongs to the worldling and is called 'worthy'; ascending the grounds belongs to the noble. Some say that at the seventh ground one enters purposelessness; the ten faiths frequently advance and retreat, and are called outer worldlings. The ten abidings enter emptiness, severing views and thought as well as the superior grade of delusions like dust and sand beyond the realms. The ten practices emerge into provisionality, severing the middle grade of delusions like dust and sand, universally knowing the medicines and illnesses of the four teachings and the ten realms. The stage of the ten dedications severs the lower grade of delusions like dust and sand. Subsequent to the dedications, they cultivate the Middle and subdue ignorance beyond the realms. Once a single fraction falls away, one enters the first ground. Demonstrating the eight aspects of attaining enlightenment, cause and fruit are distantly separated, and the number of kalpas is immeasurable. The contemplative practice passes through distinct [stages], differing beforehand and differing afterward; hence it is called 'distinct'. Manifesting the attainment of the saṃbhogakāya is its mark. / Fourth, the perfect teaching: One perfectly has faith that the three obstacles are themselves the three virtues: the obstacle of retribution is itself the dharmakāya, the afflictions are themselves prajñā, and bound karmas are themselves liberation. Based on faith, one initiates practice, perfectly cultivating the threefold contemplation without any interval between thought-moments; this is called the first stage of rejoicing. The second is receiving, upholding, reading, and reciting; the third is explaining and copying; the fourth is concurrently practicing the six perfections; the fifth is fully practicing the six perfections. These are detailed in the Lotus Sūtra. Disciples of these five stages perfectly subdue ignorance, which is the stage of outer worldlings. In the stage of the ten faiths, views and thought fall away first. Therefore, the Renwang jing says: 'A bodhisattva of the ten goods generates the great mind and forever departs the ocean of the wheel of suffering of the three realms.' This is the stage of inner worldlings, equal to the ten abidings of the distinct teaching and the Buddhas of the Tripiṭaka and shared teachings. At the final mind of the ten faiths, one breaks through one grade of ignorance beyond the realms and enters the stage of the first abiding, perfectly completing the eight aspects, as distinguished in the Avataṃsaka, equal in efficacy to the first ground of the distinct teaching. Only after comprehensively breaking through all forty-two grades of ignorance beyond the realms from beginning to end does one attain wondrous enlightenment. Distinct and yet not distinct, the wondrous principle is without duality; therefore it is called 'perfect'. For those of superior faculties, there is the possibility of entering the first abiding in a single lifetime. / In relation to the five periods, these four teachings have more or less [prominence]. The Avataṃsaka has the perfect teaching concurrent with the distinct; the Deer Park has only the single Tripiṭaka; the Vaipulya sets the half against the full, clarifying the four teachings, possessing all divisions; the Prajñāpāramitā brings the half along, clarifying the full, [containing] the three: shared, distinct, and perfect. Now this precept scripture was concluded at the Avataṃsaka assembly; hence it belongs to the distinct and perfect teachings, suddenly instituting the bodhisattva vinaya of major and minor [precepts]. The Lotus Sūtra directly clarifies the Buddha’s intent, folding up the provisional and returning to the real, with only the one perfect vehicle: persons and dharmas are both opened, and environment and person are non-dual. Thus it says: 'I am always in this Sahā world,' and 'What you are practicing is the bodhisattva path'; the five Buddhas all cause all sentient beings to open, reveal, awaken to, and enter the Buddha’s knowledge and insight. Although the Nirvāṇa Sūtra explains the four teachings, it is in order to settle faculties of provisional [capacity], supporting the vinaya and revealing the eternal, so that each and every one hears of the Buddha-nature. Therefore, the two sūtras share the same flavor, and both are likened to clarified butter (sarpi-maṇḍa). Now, following the Buddha's intent, we interpret it according to the perfect teaching.

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Fourth, explaining the method of receiving [the precepts]: Carefully relying on texts such as the Yingluo jing, the Bodhisattvabhūmi (Dichi), and Gaochang, we make an overall differentiation into twelve sections: first, opening to awakening; second, the three refuges; third, requesting the masters; fourth, repentance; fifth, generating the mind [for enlightenment]; sixth, revealing the marks and inquiring into impediments; seventh, bestowing the precepts; eighth, bearing witness; ninth, manifesting signs; tenth, setting forth holding and violating; eleventh, clarifying the broad vows; twelfth, instructing on upholding the precepts.

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First, opening to awakening: Now, the virtue of the precepts is difficult to measure; their merit is exalted above all phenomena, serving as the guide and raft for the nine vehicles, and operating as the ship and ferry for the Three Jewels. Therefore, a sūtra says: 'All sentient beings exist by relying on the precepts.' Hence the Satyaka Sūtra says: 'If one does not uphold the precepts, one cannot even obtain the body of a jackal, let alone a body of merit.' Furthermore, the Avataṃsaka says: 'The precepts are the foundation of unsurpassable bodhi; one must fully uphold the prohibitive precepts.' The Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'If one upholds this sūtra but does not uphold the precepts, he is called a member of Māra's retinue, not my disciple, and I do not permit him to receive and uphold this sūtra.' The Samādhirāja Sūtra also says: 'Though one possesses bodily beauty, high birth, and extensive learning, if one lacks the wisdom of the precepts, one is still like a beast; though one dwells in lowliness with little hearing or seeing, if one can uphold pure precepts, one is called a superior person.' / Moreover, the precepts have many paths: five, eight, ten, and the complete [precepts]. When strictly discussing merit and recompense, they follow the receiver's mind. Now, the recompense of the bodhisattva precepts is the perfect Buddha fruit, with boundless marks and signs, the three knowledges, the five eyes, the ten powers, and the fearlessnesses—all meritorious virtues. Having already generated the great mind, one receives the bodhisattva precepts with the highest grade of mind. The bodhisattva precepts are the vinaya of the perfect bodhisattva vehicle of the fifty-one stages. Therefore, the sūtra says: whether in the borderlands or the central realms, whether human or non-human, as long as they understand the Dharma master's speech, all may receive them. Every person must have right faith and generate a mind of sincere resolve: all Buddhas have completely realized and perfected the four virtues, dwell in the Light of Eternal Quiescence, and from the ground of the dharmakāya give rise to unconditioned compassion, equally regarding the multitude of living beings like infant children. We, ignorant and benighted, live day by day without knowing; cycling in the three realms, sinking in the four modes of birth, only the perfect wondrous enlightenment completely exhausts ignorance. Therefore, generating the perfect mind and aspiring to perfect practice, knowing the cause and feeling the fruit, startling normal worldly habits into wakefulness—this is called opening to awakening.

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Having completed opening to awakening, second, taking refuge in the Three Jewels: We briefly explain three kinds of Three Jewels as the objects of refuge: 1. the maintained [Three Jewels]; 2. the distinctly characterized [Three Jewels]; 3. the unitary [Three Jewels]. / 1. As for the maintained Three Jewels: Humans are capable of propagating the Way, transmitting it through myriad generations; the Way relies on humans for propagation, and the Three Jewels thereby abide eternally. Thus shaved heads and dyed robes are the Saṅgha Jewel; yellow scrolls and red rollers are the Dharma Jewel; clay, wooden, and painted images are the Buddha Jewel. / 2. As for clarifying the distinctly characterized Three Jewels: The dharmakāya, saṃbhogakāya, and nirmāṇakāya in the ten directions and three periods are the Buddha Jewel; the teachings expounded are the Dharma Jewel; the bodhisattvas and practitioners of the two vehicles, excluding wondrous enlightenment, are the Saṅgha Jewel. / 3. As for the unitary Three Jewels: The perfect principle of true mark is called unitary; being three while one, none is not the secret treasury, and like worldly precious treasures, they are universally called 'jewels'. How is that? The mind-essence being aware and knowing is called the Buddha; the nature-essence being free from thought is called the Dharma; the mind-essence being without dispute is called the Saṅgha. From beginning to end, among worldlings and sages, these three are complete. The Buddha has already cultivated and already verified them, manifesting forms in response to beings; the efficacy of the distinctly characterized and maintained [Three Jewels] arises from the unitary. For us, the principle is present just as ice is in water; if one wishes to melt the ice, skillful means are truly required; if one intends to advance toward the Buddha fruit, it cannot be accomplished without cultivation. Now, initially awakening and knowing this, we turn directly to these three as our place of refuge. / He instructs them to say: 'I, disciple [name], and others, vow from this body until the end of the future, to take refuge in the Buddha, the most honored among two-legged beings; to take refuge in the Dharma, the most honored among things free from desire; to take refuge in the Saṅgha, the most honored among communities.' (Say three times.) 'I, disciple [name], and others, vow from this body until the end of the future, having taken refuge in the Buddha, having taken refuge in the Dharma, having taken refuge in the Saṅgha.' (Say three times.) 'From now on, I name the Buddha as my master, and will never again take refuge in other demonic spirits or non-Buddhist teachings. I only pray that the Three Jewels with compassion embrace and accept me, out of pity.' (Bow to the Three Jewels.) Receiving the three refuges is complete.

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Third, requesting the masters: Whoever acts as master should possess five virtues: 1. firmly upholding the pure precepts; 2. possessing a full ten rains-retreats; 3. skillfully understanding the vinaya piṭaka; 4. receiving transmission from master to master; 5. having meditation and wisdom that fathom the profound. / The master should instruct them to say: 'I, disciple [name], and others, now seek to receive the bodhisattva precepts from the Venerable One. We only pray that the Venerable One will not begrudge the toil and hardship, out of compassionate pity.' (Three times.) / Next, request the upādhyāya: 'I, disciple [name], and others, respectfully invite the Tathāgata Śākya, the Worthy and Fully Enlightened One, to be our upādhyāya. Depending upon the upādhyāya, I can receive the bodhisattva precepts, out of compassionate pity.' (Make one prostration.) 'Mañjuśrī is invited to be the karman ācārya; Maitreya Bodhisattva is invited to be the instructing master; all Tathāgatas, Worthy and Fully Enlightened Ones, are invited to be the honorable witnesses; all bodhisattva-mahāsattvas are invited to be our fellow companions.' (Phrasing is the same as above.) / Next, they should be taught to beg for the precepts, saying: 'Venerable One! Now is the proper time; please bestow upon me the bodhisattva precepts.' / Next, the precept master should rise, announce it to the Buddhas, and proclaim: 'Respectfully I bow my head to all Buddhas of the ten directions and the Saṅgha of all bodhisattvas of the great earth. These bodhisattvas seek from me, [name], desiring to beg to receive the bodhisattva precepts from the Buddhas and the bodhisattva Saṅgha. These bodhisattvas are already genuine, able to generate deep faith and fulfill the vow of bodhi. We only pray that all Buddhas, out of pity, will bestow the bodhisattva precepts.' (Say three times.) / Requesting the sages as masters to bear witness is complete; the spiritual powers and the eye of the Way of the Buddhas of the ten directions all see and hear me, as if right before my eyes, to whom I now confess and repent.

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Fourth, Repentance. Now, the precepts are a pristine dharma; only when the bodily vessel is pure can one be fit to receive them. Therefore, one is first taught to repent and wash clean body and mind, just as an old garment must be laundered before it can take dye. However, nearly two thousand years have passed since the Tathāgata demonstrated parinirvāṇa; the true Dharma has sunk away and the winds of error blow far and wide. Sentient beings, having meagre merit, are born into such an era; even if they happen to hear [the Dharma], none can faithfully accept it. This is truly because obstacles of delusion are profound and heavy, and attachments to views are unyielding. If one does not turn away from what has gone before, there is no way for sin to be extinguished; and if sin is not extinguished, the precepts will not arise, so liberation can hardly be expected. Now, the method of repentance has three grades: in the superior repentance, one throws one's entire body to the ground like a great mountain collapsing, and blood flows from one's pores; in the middling repentance, one openly reveals what one has committed, weeping and shedding tears; in the inferior repentance, one follows the master's spoken words and sets forth one's past sins and faults. Now we invoke all the Buddhas and all the great bodhisattvas of the ten directions to serve as witnesses. The great compassion and vast vows of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas seek to make sentient beings no different from the Buddha. Yet practitioners must have their three karmic modes purified before they can obtain the precepts—just as, to invite a great king, one must first adorn the mansion, or just as the solar disc does not appear in turbid water. All Buddhas of the three periods have attained bodhi through these precepts. Therefore, one must first set in motion the ten reverse and direct minds to serve as the foundation of repentance. The master should instruct [them] to say: 'We, disciples named [so-and-so], together with all sentient beings throughout the dharmadhātu, respectfully bow our heads to all Three Jewels of the ten directions exhausting empty space; to Śākyamuni and to the future Maitreya; to the ocean of the tathatā-garbha of the twelve divisions of scripture; and to all great bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and śrāvakas. Bear witness to us disciples as we open our hearts in repentance. From beginningless time until this day, giving free rein to body, speech, and mind, internally clinging to self and other, externally abetted by evil friends, we have fully committed the ten unwholesome deeds, the five heinous sins, the four parajikas, slander of the true Dharma, and icchantika offenses; killing father and mother, killing arhats, disrupting the harmonious Saṅgha (in terms of when the Buddha was in the world, separately conducting the five dharmas, poṣadha, and karman), shedding the Buddha's blood, ruining the harmonious Saṅgha, burning scriptures and images, harming sentient beings through our four bodily postures, stealing the property of the Three Jewels and wealth belonging to other realms, engaging in inverted wrong sexual misconduct, defiling the pure life of celibacy, deceiving and deluding the Three Jewels, cheating all beings, eating blood and meat without a mind of compassion; or eating the five pungent roots and thereby reeking with stench before the Three Jewels, drinking liquor to madness and turmoil, destroying wholesome dharmas, encroaching upon the flower-garland goods of the Saṅgha, beating, reviling, and scolding monastics and householders, whether precept-holders or precept-breakers; or stripping off their kāṣāya robes, forcing them to return to lay life, conscripting and driving them to servitude, or cutting off their life-faculties, without rejoicing in even a hair's breadth of another's good. In our three karmic modes we have universally and extensively committed manifold sins; though the acts were not ubiquitous, the evil mind was spread everywhere, continuing day and night without interruption, concealing and denying our faults not wishing people to know them, arrogant and obstinate, not fearing the evil destinies, lacking shame and conscience, denying cause and effect, acting as icchantikas. Therefore, this day, before the Buddhas of the ten directions, having deep faith in cause and effect, producing deep shame and remorse, producing intense fear, we openly confess and repent, cutting off the mind of continuation, generating the bodhimind, severing evil and cultivating the good, diligently urging forward our three karmas, overturning our past grave errors, rejoicing in even a hair's breadth of good done by ordinary beings or sages, recollecting that the Buddhas of the ten directions possess great merit and wisdom, and knowing that all dharmas are originally empty and tranquil in their nature, able to pull us and all sentient beings out of the ocean of the two kinds of death and place us on the shore of the three virtues. We pray only that the Three Jewels will compassionately bear witness.' (Spoken once.) Repentance being completed, the bodily vessel is pure, fit to hold the Dharma-food.

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Fifth, Arousing the Mind. As for 'arousing the mind', it means generating the bodhimind. 'Bodhi' is a Sanskrit word; here it is translated as 'the Way'. While the phrase 'mind of the Way' is broad, we now arouse the perfect mind of the Way in reliance upon the perfect Buddha. As for the perfect mind of the Way: my mind, the Buddha's mind, and the minds of sentient beings—these three are without difference. Though in principle there is no difference, in phenomenal realization they are heaven and earth apart. Therefore, learning the Buddha's compassion and generating the Buddha's vast vows, extinguishing evil and giving rise to the good, the achievement lies solely in bodhi. Like the bowstring of lion's sinew, it is heard everywhere by all, generating all good. Like Nārāyaṇa's arrow, it pierces through the Cakravāḍa iron mountains, everywhere extinguishing all evils. Therefore the Mizang jing says: 'If one generates the provisional mind of the Way, the layers upon layers of the ten unwholesome deeds are extinguished entirely without remainder; how much more so if one generates the perfect mind!' The foremost of all generations, generating where there is nothing to generate, generating throughout the dharmadhātu—this is called the perfect generation. First, the vow to save boundless sentient beings, because one saves the sentient beings of the ten realms; second, the vow to sever countless afflictions, because one severs the three delusions of the ten realms; third, the vow to learn measureless Dharma doors, because right within delusion one achieves wisdom; fourth, the vow to attain the unsurpassable Buddha Way, because right within birth one accomplishes cessation. These four minds are the seeds of all Buddhas, continuing the lineage of the Three Jewels; all Buddhas equally realize the three bodies, and none do so without depending on this. Once generated, until reaching nirvāṇa, one vows never to fall back. Furthermore, there are four minds that a bodhisattva must generate: first, viewing sentient beings as the Buddha; second, as a sovereign; third, as father and mother; fourth, as the great assembly. Are you able to generate these minds?

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Having already generated the mind, next [the master] inquires about impediments and marks. The marks are the three cumulative [precepts]; the impediments refer to the seven impediments. As for the three cumulative [precepts], the Yingluo jing says: The precept of restraint refers to the ten pāramitās, which is stopping evil. The precept of embracing wholesome dharmas refers to the eighty-four thousand Dharma doors, which is practicing good. The precept of benefiting sentient beings refers to loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, bringing benefit and happiness to sentient beings. Having come to know the marks of the precepts, renewed the mind of the Way, and repented away sinful defilements, you are fit to receive the precepts. If there are the seven impediments, one is not within the limit of eligibility to receive them, and even through repentance they are not extinguished. I will now question you, and you must answer truthfully according to fact: Did you not shed the Buddha's blood? (Answer: 'I did not.') Second, did you not kill your father? Third, did you not kill your mother? Fourth, did you not kill your upādhyāya? Fifth, did you not kill your ācārya? Sixth, did you not disrupt a Saṅgha performing karman or turning the Dharma wheel? Seventh, did you not kill a holy person? (Meaning one who has realized the four fruits, etc. To all, answer: 'I did not.') If you are free of the seven impediments, you are fit to receive the precepts. Arouse a deeply solemn mind, listen with single-minded attentiveness, and do not let unrelated thoughts arise. Now is precisely the time of obtaining the precepts; you must concentrate your mind and revere the master, like an unbroken vessel receiving contents, without any extraneous thoughts. The impediments and marks have been inquired about.

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Seventh, Bestowing the Precepts. 'Listen attentively! You now, before me, seek to receive all the pure precepts of a bodhisattva, seek to receive all the bodhisattva training-rules—namely, the precept of restraint, the precept of embracing wholesome dharmas, and the precept of benefiting sentient beings. These pure precepts and these training-rules have already been received and understood, practiced and completed, by all bodhisattvas of the past; will be received and understood, practiced and completed, by all bodhisattvas of the future; and are now being received, studied, understood, and practiced by all bodhisattvas of the present, who will become Buddhas in the future. From this present body until the end of the future, between now and then you must not violate them. Are you able to uphold them?' (Spoken three times, asked three times, answered three times.) 'When the first round is completed, the wondrous and wholesome precept-dharmas of the worlds of the ten directions are poured into your bodies and minds. At the second round, these wondrous precept-dharmas completely fill empty space, gathering like clouds above your heads.' (Next speaks the second round.) When the second round is completed, speak it once more: 'They enter into your bodies and minds, pure and fully complete; have no extraneous thoughts. Yet this precept-dharma has no visible shape or color flowing in; your bodies and minds remain unaware and unknowing of any visible shape, like the sound of heaven collapsing and earth splitting.' (Next speaks the third round.) When the three karmans are completed, one is already endowed with the precept-dharma and is a bodhisattva. The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'Arousing the mind and the ultimate [attainment] are not two or different; yet of these two minds, the first mind is the more difficult.' (And so forth.) The obtaining of the precepts is concluded.

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Eighth, Evidencing the Marks. 'We, the assembly of disciples, respectfully bow our heads to all Buddhas and all great bodhisattvas of the ten directions, exhausting empty space and pervading the dharmadhātu: In this Sahā World, in Jambudvīpa, in the domain of the sovereign of men, in the Great Tang country, in such-and-such prefecture and county, in such-and-such monastery Saṅghārāma, before the Buddha image, there are numerous Buddha-sons who have now received the bodhisattva precepts before me. I have already served as witness. We pray only that all Buddhas and all great bodhisattvas will compassionately also serve as witnesses.' (Spoken three times.) The witnessing has been concluded.

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Ninth, Manifestation of Signs. If one receives and obtains the precepts with a mind of superior grade, various signs appear before the Buddhas of the ten directions: cool breezes, extraordinary fragrances, extraordinary sounds, and radiance. The respective bodhisattvas ask their respective Buddhas: 'By what causes and conditions do these signs appear?' Those Buddhas reply: 'As for the manifestation of these signs, in such-and-such direction and such-and-such place, numerous bodhisattvas have completed receiving the bodhisattva precepts through the three declarations before such-and-such a master; they are now requesting witnessing, and therefore these signs manifest.' Those bodhisattvas all rejoice, each and every one saying: 'In such an extremely evil place, that sentient beings endowed with afflictions and evil karma could arouse such an exceptionally supreme mind to receive the bodhisattva precepts is exceedingly rare!' Generating deep compassion, they arouse toward you a mind of firm pure conduct; you should indeed guard and uphold it with wholehearted determination, not begrudging physical life, never allowing it to be broken or violated.

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Tenth, Broadly Setting Forth Upholding and Violating, as explained below. First showing the ten major [precepts]: 'If bodhisattvas, having completed receiving the bodhisattva precepts through the three declarations before the precept master, should kill a human being themselves or instruct another to kill, they are not true bodhisattvas but nominal bodhisattvas; lacking shame and conscience, they commit a pārājika and will fall by retribution into hell and unpleasant destinies. From this present body until the end of the future, between now and then you must not violate it. Are you able to uphold it?' (Answer: 'I am able.') 'Stealing money to the value of five [māṣakas]; sexual misconduct; great lying; selling liquor; speaking to others of the faults of the famous and virtuous among the four assemblies of bodhisattvas and śrāvakas; praising one's own merits and disparaging others' excellence; reviling and insulting beggars; being stingy with Dharma and stingy with wealth; being angry at higher and middling objects and refusing to accept repentance; slandering the Great Vehicle and the Three Jewels before the multitude, whether slandering oneself or instructing others to slander.' (Phrasing the same as before.) Upholding and violating have been explained.

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Eleventh, instructing the generation of expansive vows. Above, the mind's generation of the four universal vows was explained. Receiving the precept of restraint is termed 'initiating practice'. Now, general and particular vows are made again, dedicating cause toward result and dedicating oneself toward others, to accomplish the virtues of a bodhisattva: 'May we, disciples such-and-such, dedicate the merit produced by receiving the precepts to bestow it upon the sentient beings of the dharmadhātu. For those who have not yet escaped suffering, may they be caused to escape suffering. For those who have not yet attained joy, may they be caused to attain joy. For those who have not yet generated bodhicitta, may they be caused to generate bodhicitta. For those who have not yet severed evil and cultivated good, may they sever evil and cultivate good. For those who have not yet attained buddhahood, may they quickly attain buddhahood. Furthermore, with the merit generated by such repentance and reception of the precepts, we vow to be reborn together with all sentient beings, having relinquished this body, before Amitābha Buddha in the World of Utmost Bliss, realizing the forbearance of the non-arising of dharmas, obtaining great spiritual penetrations, traversing the ten directions, serving all Buddhas, constantly hearing the unsurpassed right Dharma of the Mahāyāna, and bringing to full completion the practices and vows of all Buddhas. Furthermore, with the merit generated by this reception of the precepts and repentance, we vow together with all sentient beings, from this life onward, to be forever free from the bodies of the three evil destinies, forever free from base and lowly bodies, forever free from unfree bodies, and always to go forth into homelessness purely within the Buddha-Dharma, diligently cultivate pure conduct (brahmacarya), and act as great spiritual friends for all sentient beings. Furthermore, we vow that all sentient beings who hear our names will generate bodhicitta; those who see our forms will sever evil and cultivate good; those who hear our speech will obtain great wisdom; and those who know our minds will quickly attain buddhahood.' Having made the vows and having paid homage to the Three Jewels, making the vows is concluded.

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Twelfth, instructing in upholding the precepts, causing them to chant the prātimokṣa, and where there is lack of comprehension of the precepts, clarifying each and every point; mindful of the Buddha and reciting the sūtras, contemplating and cultivating, all as in the text below, explained in accordance with the precepts.

1.20

Fifth, explaining the period of transmission and translation: in the third year of Hongshi of the Great Qin, there was the Tripiṭaka master from the Western regions, Kumārajīva—translated here as Tongshou ('Youthful Life')—who arrived in the Han lands, glorifying the Mahāyāna and upholding the sacred teachings. In the Xiaoyao Garden (some say in Caotang Temple), he transmitted and translated over three hundred fascicles and more than fifty works of sūtras and treatises. From a single Sanskrit copy, the tenth chapter, 'Mind-Ground', was recited out last, forming a text in two fascicles. The upper fascicle explains the bodhisattva stages, and the lower fascicle explains the bodhisattva's vinaya deportment. Just as the translation was completed, the śramaṇas Huirong, Daoxiang, and over eight hundred others requested to receive the precepts from him. Rong and the others recorded them in writing, and all chanted and upheld them together. Furthermore, following the verses of the lower fascicle, it was made into an independent scroll. It itself states: 'These precept marks originate from within the "Vinaya Piṭaka Chapter" of the Brahmajāla Sūtra, wherein Rocana Buddha conferred the bodhisattva precept Dharma upon King Sublime Ocean and his one thousand sons.'

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Sixth, critical analysis. Question: The unmanifest precept-essence is solely the mind of the true mark. Upholding it by conditions, cause and effect, principle and purpose, are likewise solely the true mark. How do they differ? Answer: The essence is the fundamental principle of the teaching's doctrine; they are neither identical nor separate. It is like the empty space of a room compared with the beams, pillars, and so on: the empty space is an analogy for the essence, and the beams and so on are an analogy for the doctrine. Being neither identical nor separate can be seen upon reflection. One should know that the essence is the mental characteristic of being able to uphold and receive, while the doctrine is the precept Dharma that is upheld and received. Question: The categories and classes of precepts in the Nirvāṇa Sūtra are all the bodhisattva vinaya of the distinct teaching. Why then is it said that the bodhisattvas of the distinct and perfect teachings jointly receive these bodhisattva precepts? Answer: Bodhisattvas of the distinct teaching cultivate sequentially; among the Dharma gates of the four teachings, there are none they do not practice and learn. Therefore, the sequential five practices of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra serve as a model for someone of the distinct teaching who, in their initial mind weary of the world, goes forth into homelessness, first receiving the vinaya of the Tripiṭaka and shared teachings via the fourfold karman motion, and in order to restrain the three types of karmic actions, first explains the categories and classes of precepts, up to the ten precepts and five divisions termed the holy practice of precepts. Does this not gradually encompass the ten major and forty-eight minor precepts? Thus we know these two meanings apply to the vinaya piṭaka of bodhisattvas of both the distinct and perfect teachings. Question: If so, if those of sharp faculties within the teaching have the principle of entering the distinct and perfect teachings, should they also have a share in this vinaya? Answer: Provisionally speaking, regarding dull faculties within that teaching who have not yet received the precepts of Buddha-nature, they all rely upon the Tripiṭaka vinaya; those of sharp faculties are drawn in to enter the distinct and perfect teachings, and following that which draws them in, they are named persons of the distinct and perfect teachings. Or, because they possess the principle of being drawn in, stage names are established separately outside the four teachings. Question: Śrāvakas are restricted in body and speech, while bodhisattvas are restricted solely in mind; why do the three vehicles of the Tripiṭaka teaching jointly receive the five categories and seven classes? Answer: Both the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna vinayas restrict all three types of karmic actions; because of the difference between self-cultivation and transforming others, they obtain the names Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna. If the Hīnayāna precepts did not restrict the mind, from where would preparatory offenses and duṣkṛta arise? Although for bodhisattvas it is said that 'committing a transgression in a single kṣaṇa causes one to fall disastrously into Avīci', this merely states that a single kṣaṇa is the cause for Avīci; the ten major and forty-eight minor precepts are all without exception established through the full assembly of conditions of body and speech. Moreover, the bodhisattvas of the Tripiṭaka teaching are the 'great' within that 'small', so this critical analysis does not correspond at all. Question: If the vehicle and precepts are mutually pervasive as in the previous ten precepts, how does one distinguish them? Answer: What the teaching of restraint explains derives the name 'precept' from the aspect of prohibiting evil; what the teaching of transformation explains establishes the designation 'vehicle' from cultivating dhyāna and learning wisdom. This, then, is their distinction. As for their mutual pervasion: the three trainings are mutually dependent like eyes and feet, and both can transport one to where one is heading, so they both can be called 'vehicle'; both possess the ability to sever evil, so all ten are generally called 'precept'. Now, the bodhisattva precepts mutually encompass these three meanings: from the restraint that ceases evil, it is called a 'precept'; from restraint initiating practice with eternal compassion, it is a 'vehicle'. Therefore, each and every precept is fully endowed with both vehicle and precept. The precept is itself the dharmakāya; the vehicle is itself prajñā. Precept and vehicle being non-dual, with compassionate response and transformation, is itself liberation. The virtue of liberation has the contemplation of provisionality as its cause and the nirmāṇakāya as its result; the virtue of prajñā has the contemplation of emptiness as its cause and the saṃbhogakāya as its result; the virtue of the dharmakāya has the contemplation of the middle as its cause and the dharmakāya as its result. Thus we know that each precept mutually integrates the three cumulative precepts, and the three contemplations and three bodies are mutually identical. Since the three cumulative precepts and the three bodies have neither superiority nor inferiority, how could the forty-eight minor and ten major precepts, equally upholding the mind-nature, have shallowness or depth? Provisionally distinguishing the two names of vehicle and precept, each and every one is nothing other than the true mark; only then is it the perfectly integrated bodhisattva precept. Therefore, the preface states: 'All forms and minds, whatever is sentient and whatever is mind, all enter into the Buddha-nature precepts.' These words can be verified! Though not distinct, they are distinct, with the minor and major clearly defined. Ceasing evil is the primary subject, so the text is extensive; generating contemplation is secondary, so the words are brief. In terms of the predominant and primary aspect, from the aspect of vinaya prevention and restraint of the three karmas, it is named the bodhisattva precepts.

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天台菩薩戒疏 — Classical Chinese