起信論疏筆削記 18.38

18.38

[On the treatise's words,] "even to [the smallest]" and so forth: this illustrates the great by means of the small. The idea is: if one must still give rise to dread over small transgressions, how could one remain at ease over great offenses? Because it is an expression of leaping [from lesser to greater], it says "even to." When about to commit [a transgression], one feels dread; having committed it, one feels fear, because one fears falling into suffering. Feeling shame toward heaven and guilt toward humans is why it says "shame and guilt." Furthermore, "shame" (can) means honoring and respecting the virtuous and good, while "guilt" (kui) means despising and rejecting violence and evil. "Repenting and reforming" means reforming past errors and cultivating distinct wholesome karmas, regretting what was previously done with mindful remorse in one's heart. Regarding "must not take the precepts lightly": as stated in the *Bodhisattva Precepts*, if one commits an offense as minute as a speck of dust regarding the ten major precepts, one immediately cannot generate the bodhicitta, losing one's status as a monk, as a king, and even up to the status of a Buddha. Furthermore, for two or three kalpas one falls into the three evil destinies, not hearing the names of parents or the Three Jewels—how much more so if one violates all ten precepts completely! Thus the Precept Preface states: "Do not make light of small offenses, thinking they bring no calamity; though water drops are tiny, they gradually fill a great vessel; committing an offense in a single kṣaṇa brings calamity that drops one into the Avīci [Hell]." Thus in the *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra* there is the parable of the floating bladder; hence we know: regarding the precepts formulated by the Buddha, how could one take them lightly and transgress them? Commentary: "The [precepts of] embracing wholesome dharmas": relying on this restraint of the precepts, all wholesome dharmas are naturally embraced. "Guarding the precept-mind": it means being vigilant as if facing danger even at dusk, never parting from it even in moments of haste, guarding it like a pearl, without transgressing in the slightest.