梵網經菩薩戒本疏 3.5

3.5

第二、釋名者，染情逸蕩，耽滯專固，故謂之婬。約俗書，此字有二：水邊淫者，是為過咎也；女邊淫者，是為邪私也。故滯雨多者，名淫雨；滯書多者，名淫書。故皇甫士安讀書三年，經時不識春秋，乘馬不知牝牡。今情滯色欲，名婬欲，亦名婬色，亦名為婬荒。故《書》云：「內作色荒，外作禽荒。」約內典，名不淨行，謂愛染污心，名為不淨行。非法境污淨戒品，故云行，行即業也。亦名非梵行戒者，聖對斯過，立制遮防，故云戒也，從所制為名矣。又此經中，莫問在家、出家菩薩，俱絕婬欲，是故文中不簡邪正，一切皆斷。問：若爾，何故在家菩薩有妻子耶？答：在家有二類：若約初心人，則未受戒前先有妻子；若約得位已去，為化眾生現有妻子，是方便力。故《華嚴》中十行菩薩持淨戒時，有無量魔女惱亂菩薩，不生一念欲心淨如佛，除其方便教化眾生，寧捨身命不加惡於人。如是准之，故知并是方便實無欲想。又如《瑜伽戒本》許在家菩薩為化眾生方便從欲者，謂心淨如佛而行方便，猶尚不開出家菩薩，何況心淨不能同佛？

Second, regarding the explanation of the name: when defiled feelings run wild and one is indulgently fixated and rigidly attached, it is called sexual misconduct (yín). In mundane books, this character has two forms: that with the water radical signifies excess and fault; that with the female radical signifies illicit and improper lust. Therefore, when lingering rain is excessive, it is called "torrential rain" (yínyǔ); when lingering over books is excessive, it is called "excessive reading" (yínshū). Thus Huangfu Shi'an read books for three years, and during that time did not know the seasons of spring and autumn, and rode a horse without knowing whether it was male or female. Now, when emotion lingers over sensual desire, it is called "sexual desire," also called "lustful form," and also called "lewd dissipation." Thus the Book of Documents states: "Inwardly making a dissipation of women, outwardly making a dissipation of hunting." According to Buddhist texts, it is called "impure conduct"; defiling the mind with lustful attachment is called impure conduct. Unlawful objects defile the quality of the pure precepts, hence it is called "conduct" (xíng), conduct being karma. It is also called the "precept against unchaste conduct" (abrahmacarya); the sages, countering this fault, established the proscription to prevent and ward it off, hence it is called a precept, taking its name from what is proscribed. Furthermore, in this sūtra, whether lay or monastic bodhisattvas, both cut off sexual desire; therefore, the text makes no distinction between illicit and legitimate [sex], cutting off all entirely. Question: If so, why do lay bodhisattvas have wives and children? Answer: There are two kinds of laypersons: for those of initial aspiration, they already have wives and children before taking the precepts; for those who have attained ranks onward, appearing to have wives and children to transform sentient beings is through the power of expedient means. Thus, in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, when the bodhisattvas of the ten practices uphold the pure precepts, countless māra daughters come to harass and agitate the bodhisattvas, yet they do not give rise to a single thought of desire, being as pure as a Buddha; except for the expedient means of teaching and transforming sentient beings, they would rather give up body and life than inflict evil upon others. Reasoning by this, one knows that these are all expedient means and there is truly no thought of desire. Moreover, as the Śīlapaṭala of the Yogācārabhūmi allows lay bodhisattvas to follow desire through expedient means to transform sentient beings, this refers to having a mind as pure as a Buddha while practicing expedient means; yet it still does not permit monastic bodhisattvas to do so, how much less those whose minds are not pure like a Buddha?