梵網經古迹記 2.37

2.37

Commentary: This is the third [section, on] the disciples who are addressed. Regarding "bhikṣu": they had previously received [the precepts of] the Śrāvaka [vehicle]. Some say: when they turn their minds and receive the [bodhisattva] precepts, these transform into bodhisattva precepts. This is incorrect. Those [former precepts] were established on the basis of the seeds of the other vehicle. The previous minor precepts merely provide great assisting power; they are produced from distinct seeds born of the bodhisattva vehicle's mind, and from that perfuming, a distinct unmanifest [form] arises. Regarding the "eighteen Brahma [heavens]": they are the assembly of the form realm. That is, each of the [first] three dhyānas has three heavens, and the fourth has nine, for it is accepted that the state of non-conception has mind at the beginning and the end. The Bodhisattva-śīla-sūtra says: one must first generate the bodhicitta, and only then can one receive the bodhisattva precepts. How then can [beings of] the Pure Abodes also receive the precepts? Some say: "eighteen" is a general term with particular reference, just as a single bhikṣu may be called [one of the] "group of six." Some say: excluding the non-conception [heaven] and the Pure Abodes, there are distinct eighteen Brahma [heavens]. As in the Benye jing, the lower three dhyānas each have four heavens, and the fourth has six. Some say: according to the fact, there are also those who attain buddhahood [there]. However, the Cheng weishi lun, having generally established that in the form realm there are those who turn their minds, incidentally remarks that dedicating [one's merit] toward bodhi has not yet been established. The Śrāvaka teachings say: if, relying on prajñā, they do not generate the great mind, then among the five Pure Abodes there are none who turn their minds; this does not mean that according to the definitive meaning there is also no turning of the mind. Among these, for now, relying on receiving the uncommon precepts, it is allowed that eunuchs and the like may also receive and obtain the precepts. If one comprehensively studies the practice and separately receives the [precepts of the] seven classes [of disciples], one should know that the impediments and obstacles are the same as for śrāvaka reception. Question: If eunuchs and the like also receive and obtain the precepts, why does the sūtra say: "If one says that without having received the upāsaka precepts, the śrāmaṇera precepts, or the bhikṣu precepts, one can obtain the bodhisattva precepts, there is no such possibility. It is just like a multi-storied tower: without climbing the first story, to reach the second story is impossible"? They themselves explain: it is necessarily by means of moral discipline that one subsequently obtains the two uncommon bodhisattva precepts; therefore this is said. It does not necessarily mean that the bodhisattva must first generate the small mind. Regarding "are all called the foremost in purity": as in the treatises, they surpass all arhats. Why is this so? As stated in the Prajñā[pāramitā-sūtras]: the wholesome roots of the two vehicles are like the light of a firefly, illuminating only one's own body, whereas the wholesome roots of the Great Vehicle are like the light of the sun, guiding all.