法苑珠林 89.67

89.67

The Great Sage’s work of delivering people rests entirely upon the precepts. In discussing the precepts generally, there are three essential divisions: first, the precepts for the laity, which are the five precepts and the eight precepts; second, the precepts for the monastic order, which are the ten precepts and the two hundred and fifty precepts; third, the precepts common to both monastics and laity, which are the three clusters of pure precepts. Furthermore, these three clusters each have three aspects: first, the lineage of the precept, which is the gotra; second, the mind of the precept, which is the bodhicitta and the four immeasurables; third, the practice of the precept, which is the six perfections and the four means of attraction. Now, these perfections and means of attraction, if considered in terms of deportment, are called the three clusters; if according to stages of practice, they are designated as seven; if with respect to stages of virtue, they are then named the seven grounds and the thirteen abodes. All such explanations refer to distinctions within the Dharma of precepts. The above has briefly set forth the essential core of the essence of the precepts. What follows below broadly explains that once a practitioner has received the precepts, they must recognise the marks of the precepts, know the time of their reception, and fully understand their gravity or lightness and the extent of their functions and benefits, and should recite and maintain them all without letting them be forgotten or lost: ‘I, the bodhisattva-precept disciple so-and-so, from such-and-such a year, month, day, and hour, in the presence of master so-and-so, relying on the Bodhisattvabhūmi-śāstra, have received the bodhisattva’s three clusters of pure precepts. What are these three? The first is the precept of restraining deportment, which means leaving no evil unabated and giving rise to practices that realize the Way; this is the cause of the virtue of severance and ultimately brings about the dharmakāya; cessation is upholding, and action is transgression; one accords with the teachings and respectfully cultivates it, cautiously refraining [from evil]. The second is the precept of gathering wholesome dharmas, which means amassing no wholesome act undone and giving rise to practices that assist the Way; this is the cause of the virtue of wisdom and ultimately brings about the saṃbhogakāya; action is upholding, and cessation is transgression; one accords with the teachings and respectfully cultivates it to accomplish the virtue of practice. The third is the precept of benefiting sentient beings, which means leaving no living being unsaved and giving rise to non-abiding practices on the Way; this is the cause of the virtue of benevolence and ultimately brings about the nirmāṇakāya; action is upholding, and cessation is transgression.’ Regarding the precept of restraining deportment, its essentials are only four: first, one must not, for the sake of profit and offerings, praise oneself and defame others—a pārājika of shamelessness; second, one must not intentionally be stingy and withhold giving to another person—a pārājika of shamelessness; third, one must not, with an angry mind, beat or revile sentient beings and refuse to accept another’s repentance when they contritely apologize—a pārājika of shamelessness; fourth, one must not, with a deluded mind, slander the Mahāyāna—a pārājika of shamelessness. This broadly explains the faults to be abandoned in the three clusters. The entity capable of abandoning them is the volition of the karmas of body, speech, and mind. Regarding the precept of gathering wholesome dharmas: amassing no wholesome act undone refers to the wholesome actions of body, speech, and mind, the three wisdoms of hearing, contemplation, and cultivation, the ten pāramitās, and the eighty-four thousand practices assisting the Way; one accords with the teachings and respectfully cultivates them to accomplish the virtue of practice. Regarding the precept of benefiting sentient beings: the four immeasurables are the mind, and the four means of attraction are the practice. The four immeasurables are loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. Compassion can pull out all suffering completely; loving-kindness can bestow joy fully; sympathetic joy means rejoicing that sentient beings are free from suffering and that their ultimate joyful Dharma is fully complete; equanimity means only generating an equanimous mind once sentient beings practice where the Buddhas practice and reach where the Buddhas reach. As for taking the four means of attraction as practice, they are giving, affectionate speech, beneficial conduct, and identical actions. When a bodhisattva intends to attract beings, they first use material wealth to relieve their physical suffering; next, they use affectionate speech to awaken their minds and cause them to have faith and understanding in their words and deeds. Beneficial attraction means, relying on that prior faith and understanding, next causing them to give rise to practice; practice refers to morality, concentration, wisdom, and so forth, causing them to cultivate them completely—this is attraction through beneficial conduct. Identical actions means that once their cultivation is complete, through the ultimate āśrayaparāvṛtti, they accomplish the three bodies, identical with what the Noble Ones have realized. Therefore, the Bodhisattvabhūmi-śāstra states: ‘Through giving and affectionate speech, one causes those who have not aroused the mind to arouse it; through beneficial conduct, one causes those who are not mature to mature; through identical actions, one causes those who are not liberated to attain liberation.’ What is listed above should be recited by the recipient of the precepts, so that they know the time of receiving the precepts, receive instruction relying on the master, and briefly understand upholding and transgressing.