廣弘明集 26.134

26.134

The edict further addressed Zhou She, saying: "When a śrāvaka receives the precepts of moral conduct, they were originally instituted for the seven branches of body and mouth. Once received, even during sleep, fainting, and the like, the moral conduct constantly arises, and from thought to thought one obtains never-before-attained moral conduct. Why is it so? Sleep and the like do not give rise to an evil mind; hence it is neither damaged nor lost, and even constantly arises. If one gives rise to a mind wishing to kill, although according to the śrāvaka dharma one does not lose the bodily and vocal precepts, the precepts are harmed; and this does not merely harm the precept against killing, but also defiles the other precepts. When it comes to using the hands to seize or the teeth to bite, mobilizing the karma of body and mouth, one loses the bodily and vocal precepts. At that time, the unmanifest moral conduct is severed and does not continue; having lost the precept against killing, it also harms and defiles the other precepts. Why is it so? When a caṇḍāla slaughters for meat, for what kind of person does he kill? It is precisely for the eater. If one eats meat, one shares a portion in killing, and in relation to the precept against killing, there is an impairment. If one asserts that while possessing the wholesome moral conduct one may incur a portion of killing without any impairment to the precept against killing, then if a person with unwholesome moral conduct keeps the eight precepts of the fast, that evil moral conduct should still continue. If when a person with evil moral conduct keeps the eight precepts of the fast, the evil moral conduct no longer continues, then one knows that when a person with wholesome moral conduct incurs any portion of killing, the precept against killing is immediately impaired, and the prātimokṣa precepts no longer bring liberation. As for a person with evil moral conduct, not to mention keeping the eight precepts of the fast, if they merely give rise to a single thought of a wholesome mind, the evil moral conduct is severed. If it were not severed in a single thought, it would also not be severed over many thoughts; if it is severed over many thoughts, one knows it is severed at the time of a single thought. The case of a person with wholesome moral conduct is also like this: not to mention incurring full portions of killing, if there is even a minor portion of killing, the moral conduct of not killing is immediately severed. Bodhisattvas uphold the precepts of the mind, so naturally there is no principle by which they would eat sentient beings. If one impairs the śrāvaka precepts, in the end one cannot avoid the sufferings of the hells and other [realms]."