天台菩薩戒疏 3.16

3.16

Forty-eighth: the precept against destroying the internal Dharma by oneself. A bodhisattva should by principle rely on the right Dharma; whatever one does should in every motion accord with the Sage's intent. If one now attaches oneself to superior persons, coveting fame and gain, falsely preaching the Buddha-Dharma by claiming that what should be prohibited is permitted, the damage done is extremely severe, hence one incurs guilt. It specifically comprises two conditions: (1) doing so oneself for fame and gain; (2) falsely preaching the precepts of the Buddha-Dharma before a king and so on, upon which one commits the offense. As for the text, there are three parts: first, explaining the person and Dharma capable of destruction; next, from "if receiving" down, citing the right to contrast the wrong; third, from "if intentionally" down, concluding with the offense of violating the regulation. First, "arbitrarily giving..." means falsely preaching the Buddha's precepts before a king and so on, crookedly flattering the king's mind by claiming that the Buddha allows canguing, imprisoning, beating, and binding monks and nuns; hence it says "arbitrarily doing things of binding" and so forth. "Like a lion..." is as the Sūtra on the Lion Mukha Padma: "The Buddha told Ānanda: 'Just as after a lion dies, no sentient beings in the sky, in the water, or on land eat the flesh of that lion; only worms born from the lion's own body eat the lion's flesh themselves. Ānanda! My Buddha-Dharma cannot be destroyed by others; it is destroyed only by the evil bhikṣus within my Dharma.'" Although non-Buddhists and heavenly māras destroy the Buddha-Dharma, people mostly [dis]believe them, hence it says "not [by others]." When members within the community defame and destroy it, people mostly give rise to faith in them, just like feeding on oneself. Next, under citing the right to contrast the wrong, "as if thinking of an only child" means just as a mother thinks of her child, following it at the cost of her life, and as one serves one's parents, so that there is no mockery or slander. Parents can give birth to the physical body, while the Buddha's precepts can give birth to the dharmakāya; when evil slander wounds the heart, what could match such pain? Therefore, being pierced by three hundred spears and entering hell to endure suffering for a hundred kalpas are cited to compare with hearing a single word of defamation. "How much more..." means doing it oneself and teaching others, causing others to destroy the Dharma; looking from others to oneself, self is the cause and others are the condition, hence it says "causes and conditions." Running counter to the Buddha's teachings is called "having no filial compliance." Concluding with the offense is as in the text.