菩薩戒本疏 2.162

2.162

戒法祕密，非俗宜聞，理應愛護，同自子親。而於未信俗前，妄說佛戒祕要，反為行人繫縛，更起正法蕀刺，法衰人墜，莫不由此。故制令敬護，大小俱制，七眾同學。文中「以出家好心」者，謂本出家時，有愛法好心也。「而為名聞」下，乖本好心反從名利。「於國王百官前說佛戒」者，馳心臭餌贈以聖言也。「橫與比丘等繫縛」者，由俗聞佛戒非理撿挍，故橫作繫縛也。「如師子身中蟲」下，引喻重嘖破法，由自佛子不由外道天魔也。「若受佛戒者」下，勸令敬護。「而何況自破」下，違成犯也。

The Dharma of the precepts is esoteric; it is not suitable for the laity to hear. Reason dictates that one should cherish and protect it just as one would one's own child or parents. Yet, before unfaithful laypeople, to falsely preach the secret essentials of the Buddha's precepts, contrary [to the Dharma] binding practitioners and further raising thorns against the true Dharma—the decline of the Dharma and the fall of people invariably stem from this. Therefore, it is prohibited, ordering one to revere and protect [the precepts]; it is prohibited equally in both Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, and the seven assemblies are to train in it together. In the text, "with good intentions in leaving the household life" means that at the time of originally leaving household life, one had a good mind that cherished the Dharma. From "yet for the sake of fame..." onward means that one violates one's original good mind and instead pursues fame and profit. "Explains the Buddha's precepts before kings and officials" means that with one's mind racing after foul bait, one presents them with the holy words. "Arbitrarily imposing bindings upon monks and so forth" means that because the laity hear the Buddha's precepts, they examine and judge [the monastics] unreasonably, and thus arbitrarily impose bindings upon them. From "like worms within a lion's body" onward, a metaphor is drawn to severely reprimand the destruction of the Dharma: it comes from disciples of the Buddha themselves, not from non-Buddhists or heavenly demons. From "One who has received the Buddha's precepts" onward, it encourages one to revere and protect [the precepts]. From "how much more so breaking them oneself" onward, it shows that contravention constitutes an offense.