法苑珠林 99.53

99.53

As the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya states: Whenever one wishes to enter the saṃgha, one must possess five qualities. First, one should act with a mind of loving-kindness. Second, one should humble oneself like a dust cloth. Third, one should know the rules for sitting down and rising: if one sees a senior elder, one should not remain comfortably seated; if one sees a junior, one should not rise. Fourth, when arriving among that saṃgha, one must not engage in miscellaneous talk or speak of worldly affairs, whether speaking oneself or inviting others to speak. Fifth, if one sees displeasing matters in the saṃgha and one's mind cannot bear them with patience, one should abide in silence. Therefore the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra states: 'Because the noble disciples of the Buddha dwell in harmony, there are two kinds of practices: first, noble speech; second, noble silence.' (Nowadays, at vegetarian feasts, we see juniors arriving early and taking the finest seats. When they see senior elders and teachers arrive, they do not stand to receive them or defer their seats at all. The profundity of the Dharma’s decline is truly caused by such youths! Furthermore, we see them going to the homes of the noble and eminent, whether during recent bereavement and severe mourning, or when hosting a feast for the distant death anniversary of parents, the assembly of monks behaves licentiously and noisily, indulging in pleasure and disordering the community. How can they escape the worldly ridicule leveled against such eminent monks?) The Sūtra of Three Thousand Dignified Manners states: 'Whenever one wishes to mount a bed, one must possess seven rules: first, sit down on the bed slowly; second, one must not crawl up; third, one must not make the bed creak; fourth, one must not dust the bed vigorously so as to make noise; fifth, one must not click the tongue loudly, sigh, and brood over worldly affairs; sixth, one must not sleep huddled together like dogs; seventh, one must rise early according to the seasons.' The Bodhisattvabhūmi-śāstra states: 'If one sees sentient beings, one should console them with a joyful face, speaking first, looking directly with a gentle expression, with correct mindfulness present before oneself. If a bodhisattva knows that other sentient beings have actual merits, yet out of resentment does not speak of them to others, nor praises them, or when others praise them, does not say "Sadhu!", this is called a transgression against the community. Most such offenses are transgressions born of defilement.' The Liang translation of the Mahāyānasaṃgraha states: 'When a bodhisattva sees sentient beings, he should smile joyfully, speak first, and only then converse with them.'