天台菩薩戒疏 2.42

2.42

Thirty-fourth: the precept against binding one's thoughts to the Hīnayāna. A bodhisattva's mind maintains the four universal vows without interruption; if defiled and mixed with right and wrong, the Great Path is difficult to anticipate; therefore, an offense was instituted. It specifically comprises three conditions: 1. not diligently protecting the Great [Vehicle]; 2. focusing thought on the lesser school; and 3. abandoning the Great to delight in the lesser—committing an offense in a single thought. The text has two parts: first, indicating the name and establishing the prohibition; next, from "if one gives rise to" onward, determining the offense for violating the prohibition. First, regarding "protecting and upholding" and so forth: "protecting" means guarding; "upholding" means mindful retention. There are two kinds of upholding: by stopping evil, the precept-essence remains unbroken, which is called upholding by restraint; by practicing in accordance with the teaching, making the precepts luminous and pure, it is called upholding by action. The two upholdings are termed precepts, and both are accomplished through protection. Operating the three karmas together is called protecting and upholding the prohibitive precepts. Therefore, the bodily and mental [actions] are regulated according to the four deportments, and the mouth is restrained by reciting in the six periods. Aided externally by the rain of Dharma, the mind focused on the fundamental nature is firm and difficult to shake; hence it is compared to a vajra. The equal upholding of the great and small is like a floating bladder. The Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: For example, there is a person holding a floating bladder, desiring to cross the great sea. At that time, a rākṣasa in the sea comes to beg for the floating bladder. First he begs for the whole of it, and down to a speck of dust, yet none is given. This exemplifies the mark of equal upholding of the great and small. The two kinds of death—delimited and transformative—are deep and broad, like the great sea; witnessing the fruit of the three virtues is like the other shore. When the floating bladder of precepts is undamaged, reaching the other shore can be expected. If pierced like a needle hole, the water of craving and views gradually enters the body and mind; through the small leading to the great, one transmigrates in the six destinies and loses the life of wisdom, which is called drowning in the sea and dying. As for the monk bound by grass, this illustrates and accomplishes the above meaning: to protect a minor secondary rule, he would sacrifice his life rather than violate it. In the Zhuangyan lun, thieves stole royal property and, encountering a monk, feared their deed would be revealed. They consulted together, saying: "We have heard that monks do not destroy living grass," dragged him to the roadside, and bound him with grass. The king came out on a hunt and asked in a verse: "I observe this monk, / robust and possessing great strength; / for what cause and condition / does he remain bound by grass without turning?" The monk replied: "When I observe this grass, / this grass is extremely frail and brittle; / if I should turn over, / I fear violating the Tathāgata's prohibition." The king then untied him and vowed to protect the Dharma. "Not departing from the mind from thought to thought" means [never] letting go; thought following thought continuously without letting go for an instant, focusing on the single-essence Three Jewels, one arouses the four universal vows; hence it says "constantly giving rise to" and so forth. Next, in the determination of the offense, the word "non-Buddhist" means that the two vehicles are indeed non-Buddhist. Because they are outside the Perfect Path, they are called non-Buddhists.