梵網經菩薩戒本疏 4.11

4.11

Ninth, regarding the general and specific: according to the thirty-ninth [fascicle] of the Yogācāra[-bhūmi], there are briefly thirty kinds of non-giving without offense: 1. If one knows that various internal or external gifts will only bring pleasure to that sentient being but not benefit, or neither pleasure nor benefit, one does not give them. 2. If someone comes asking for oneself to be a companion with the desire to act improperly to coerce, harm, deceive, or delude others, one does not give one's body to them. 3. If bodhisattvas have a pure intention in practicing giving and see that immeasurable acts of benefiting sentient beings are presently manifest before them, even if someone comes asking for the limbs of their own body, they should not give them. 4. If members of Māra's retinue with minds bent on harassment come forward asking for limbs of the body, one should not give them, because in mind one reflects that they will incur superior guilt and, on the contrary, suffer harm. 5. If sentient beings who are insane and mentally distracted come asking for the bodhisattva's limbs, one should not give them. 6. If sentient beings, either to harm themselves or to harm others, come asking for poison, fire, swords, liquor, and the like, one should not give them. 7. One does not practice giving using another's property as if it were property given with their consent. 8. One does not act as a matchmaker by giving another's wife or concubine in charity. 9. One does not practice giving with food, drink, and the like that contain living insects. 10. If sentient beings come asking for various things that induce frivolous amusements or bring about what is meaningless, one should not give them, because it would cause them to practice much arrogance and evil conduct, falling into evil destinies after the destruction of the body. 11. One never gives items for hunting and the like to people. 12. If there are sentient beings who are about to kill, one never gives to them. 13. If someone comes asking for nets, snares, and traps to harm sentient beings or to learn how to do so, one does not give them. 14. If an enemy comes seeking out a grudge with the desire to scold, bind, murder, plunder wealth, or punish, one never gives to them. In brief, one does not give any instruments that oppress or harm sentient beings, or tools for frivolous amusement. 15. If a sick person comes asking for food and drink that are immoderate or unsuitable, one does not give them. 16. If sentient beings who are already satiated, being naturally greedy and gluttonous, repeatedly come asking for rare and delicate food and drink, one does not give them. 17. If someone comes asking for one's parents or teachers, one definitely does not give them. 18. Furthermore, bodhisattvas, regarding their own wives, children, male and female slaves, servants, relatives, and dependents, if they do not first explain with right words to make them rejoice, never forcibly coerce them to bring them sorrow and give them to requesters. 19. Even if one has first explained with right words to make them rejoice and generate willing desire, one does not give them to enemies, evil friends, poisoners, swordsmen, rākṣasas, and the like. 20. If someone who severely oppresses sentient beings and delights in committing various violent and evil acts comes asking for the throne, one never gives it. If that evil person already occupied the throne, a bodhisattva with power should even depose him, much less give it to him. 21. Furthermore, bodhisattvas never seize the possessions of their parents, wives, children, male and female slaves, servants, relatives, and dependents to use them in giving. 22. Nor do they harass parents, wives, children, male and female slaves, servants, relatives, and dependents by giving what is being given to requesters. 23. One does not practice giving unlawfully, recklessly, or by coercing and harming others. 24. Furthermore, if bodhisattvas have gone forth in the sacred teaching of the Buddhas, they never practice giving in transgression of any śikṣāpadas. 25. Furthermore, bodhisattvas never give improper items to requesters; that is, giving monks leftover, overnight food and drink, or what is mixed and defiled by excrement, urine, nasal mucus, spittle, vomit, pus, or blood, or without informing them or letting them know, like casting away [unclean] food when giving gruel and the like; that is, giving food mixed or tainted with onions to those who do not eat onions, giving food mixed or tainted with meat to those who do not eat meat, giving drink mixed or tainted with liquor to those who do not drink liquor—none of such things are given. 26. Furthermore, bodhisattvas never orally transmit any correct Dharma to tīrthikas who seek faults. 27. Nor do they give scriptures copied by them. 28. If one knows that someone is naturally very greedy, seeking scriptures and scrolls to hawk and sell them, one does not give to them. 29. If one knows they wish to keep them secret and hidden, one does not give to them. 30. If they do not seek superior wisdom, one does not give to them. It also says: Regarding all those to whom one does not give as explained above, the bodhisattva cannot bear to say directly, "I will not give to you," but must use skillful means to explain and dismiss them. All the property, utensils, and items kept by bodhisattvas, in order to make pure donations, have first been relinquished to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions. Just like a bhikṣu's rite of pure donation, if on observing the requester the time of giving accords with principle, one should think: "There is not the slightest thing that the Buddhas and bodhisattvas do not give to sentient beings." Knowing this, one takes the item and gives it. If on observing the time of giving it does not accord with the correct principle, one should then recall the rite of pure donation previously made and say: "This item belongs to another; I cannot give it to you." With gentle words one explains and skillfully dismisses them. Furthermore, the Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā states: although if a newly trained bodhisattva is asked by someone for their head, eyes, and the like and cannot yet give them, they should recite a verse saying: "I have just generated the mind of the Way, / My roots of goodness have not matured; / May I swiftly attain completion, / And later I will surely give them to you." (Examine the treatise text further.) Second, regarding the specific: if one merely examines oneself and has the slightest begrudging thought, one must immediately give; otherwise, one commits an offense. From the esoteric perspective, a bodhisattva should be extremely stingy, meaning that like a life-raft of precepts, not a speck of dust is surrendered, and one still harbors great fear even regarding minor offenses, and so forth.