修華嚴奧旨妄盡還源觀 1.24

1.24

Second is the virtue of maintaining deportment with principled conduct. This refers to the four deportments of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. The Mahāyāna has eighty thousand and the Hīnayāna three thousand, which serve as models for maintaining [the teaching], regulate the disordered threads of the six harmonies, are the staircase for leaving the three realms, and the swift vessel for crossing the sea of suffering; for rescuing creatures and guiding the deluded, nothing surpasses this. Yet, because the golden countenance has hidden its radiance and the correct teaching has declined, transmissions have become corrupt and false, and people take their own views as their teachers, causing the teaching to lack principles, the pure stream to be contaminated, gains and losses to be put forward together, and delusion to be falsely mixed with true purity. Consequently, beginners run into error at every turn; not relying on the sūtras and vinaya, they confound worldly feelings, bringing ruin upon themselves and ruining others, which is deeply lamentable. Therefore, the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra says: 'Neither excessively sinking nor slightly floating, constantly abiding in correct mindfulness, with roots and retinue, purely cultivate the brahma-conduct.' The Avataṃsaka Sūtra says: 'Precepts are the foundation of unexcelled bodhi; one should completely maintain pure precepts.' The Brahmajāla Sūtra says: 'The assemblies of dust-mote-like bodhisattvas attain correct enlightenment through this.' The Awakening of Faith says: 'Because one knows that the essence of dharma-nature is free from transgression and prohibition, one follows dharma-nature and practices śīla-pāramitā—namely, not killing, not stealing, not engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying, and staying far away from greed, anger, deceit, flattery, and wrong views; one should also stay far away from commotion, have few desires and be content, and even feel great fear toward minor transgressions, not slighting the prohibitions and precepts instituted by the Tathāgata, constantly guarding against criticism and dislike, not causing sentient beings to falsely give rise to offenses.' One uses this deportment to maintain [the teaching], in order to transform sentient beings.