梵網經菩薩戒本疏 3.57

3.57

Eighth, cultivating and rectifying practice: this has three meanings: 1. A bodhisattva constantly reveals his own faults himself, causing others to hear and know of them, not conceiving a single thought of concealment, out of fear that they will increase and concern that they will be difficult to extinguish. Regarding his own merits, he constantly does not proclaim or explain them, not conceiving a single thought of showing himself off, out of fear that they will diminish and concern that they will not increase. 2. A bodhisattva should constantly not see evil in other sentient beings, but see only their good; therefore, he bears evil upon himself and attributes good to others, his mind being perpetually pure—this is constant practice. Question: If one has no evil oneself yet acknowledges it, and another has no good yet one attributes it to them, is this not flattery and false speech? Answer: Residing in one's own deficiency, how could one be without fault? To say that one is without fault belongs only to the Buddha alone, because his afflictions are exhausted. Furthermore, even if another lacks other good, they still possess the Buddha-nature, which is true goodness. If one's intention reaches this point in acknowledging and attributing, not only is there no flattery, nor is there false speech, but one fully gives rise to immeasurable roots of goodness, causing the precepts to be pure; therefore it is upholding [the precepts]. 3. A bodhisattva should constantly avoid dwelling where fame arises and where there are many material offerings, because of their harmfulness. A treatise states: 'Material offerings are like frost and hail, because they damage the sprouts of merit.' Furthermore, they are like a hair-rope, because the harm they inflict is severe; even when obtained according to the Dharma, one must still keep far away from them. A sūtra states: 'When material offerings arrive in abundance, avoid them three yojanas away.' How much more so when obtained improperly through praise and disparagement? Therefore, in principle a bodhisattva should not do this. The Sūtra of the Bodhisattva Protecting the Nation states: 'There are four dharmas that should be abandoned: 1. a bodhisattva abandons home life; 2. having gone forth, he does not crave material offerings; 3. he stays away from donors; 4. he does not spare body and life. These are the four dharmas that should be abandoned.' It should be understood in this manner.