梵網經古迹記 2.188

2.188

The commentary states: The great bodhicitta is the foundation of the myriad practices; the bodhisattva's pure precepts are the source of the three virtues. Therefore, firm adherence is mandated, and it should not be lost even for a moment. Regarding 'walking, standing, sitting, and lying down', this urges continuous momentum. As a verse in the Avataṃsaka states: 'Just as a person drilling for fire / Frequently rests before it appears, / The momentum of fire dies down accordingly; / The indolent are also like this.' 'Like vajra' means that the intention is firm and indestructible. 'Like wearing a floatation bladder': when seeing a minute offense, one gives rise to great dread, because the slightest leak easily causes one to sink and drown. As the Nirvāṇa[-sūtra] says: 'The bodhisattva guards the precepts just as one guards a floatation bladder. Suppose someone wearing a floatation bladder wishes to cross the great sea, and on the way encounters a rākṣasa who begs for the bladder; it cannot be divided and given away. In the great sea of saṃsāra, guarding the floatation bladder of precepts, when afflicted spirits demand it, not the slightest defect may be allowed, out of fear of drowning to death.' It is explained at length there. Regarding 'like the monk bound by grass': once fear has arisen, one will never violate them. As the [Mahāyānasūtrā]laṃkāra explains: There were monks stripped by bandits and lying naked on the ground, tied with grass that was still rooted; they lay through the night without turning over. The king went hunting and saw the naked figures in the grass, assuming they were non-Buddhists. A bystander replied: 'They are disciples of the Buddha.' 'How do you know?' 'Their right shoulders are completely dark, which is the mark of wearing the robe off one shoulder.' The king then asked in verse: 'Looking at you, you seem free from illness, / Plump, strong, and full of vigor; / How is it that, bound by grass, / Day and night you do not turn over?' At that time the monks answered in verse: 'This grass is very fragile; / How could breaking it be difficult? / It is only because of the World-Honored Buddha, / We are restrained by the vajra precepts.' The king gave rise to faith, untied them, gave them clothes, brought them to the palace, made new robes for them, and offered various kinds of reverence—how much more so for the bodhisattva precepts! Regarding 'if one gives rise to a single thought of the two vehicles and so forth, it is a duṣkṛta offense': because it causes regression from the root of the vehicle. As the Chapter on Precepts in the Mahāprajñāpāramitā[-sūtra] says: 'Even if a bodhisattva enjoys the five marvelous desires for kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Gaṅgā, this is not yet called a violation of the bodhisattva precepts; but if they give rise to a single thought of the two vehicles, that is termed a violation.'