諸經要集 9.8

9.8

As the Nirvāṇa-sūtra says: 'The monk Ānanda said: "One who practices half of the brahmacarya is called a good spiritual friend (kalyāṇamitra)." The Buddha said: "It is not so. Only one endowed with the complete brahmacarya is called a good spiritual friend." It also says: 'A good spiritual friend speaks in accord with the Dharma and acts in accord with what they speak. What is meant by speaking in accord with the Dharma and acting in accord with the Dharma? One does not take life oneself, and teaches others not to take life, up to personally practicing right view and teaching others to practice right view. If one can be like this, then one may be called a true good spiritual friend. One cultivates bodhi oneself, and can also teach others to cultivate bodhi; by this meaning, one is called a good spiritual friend. One is personally able to cultivate faith, morality, dāna, extensive learning, and wisdom, and is also able to teach others to cultivate faith, morality, dāna, extensive learning, and wisdom; again by this meaning one is called a good spiritual friend. A good spiritual friend possesses good qualities. What are these? In whatever good matters they undertake, they do not seek their own pleasure, but constantly seek pleasure for sentient beings. Seeing others' faults, they do not speak of their shortcomings, and their mouths constantly proclaim purely good matters. By this meaning, they are called a good spiritual friend. Good sons, just as the moon in the sky gradually waxes from the first day to the fifteenth day, a good spiritual friend is also like this: they cause all learners gradually to depart from evil dharmas and increase in good dharmas. Good sons, if there are those who draw close to a good spiritual friend, even if they originally lacked concentration, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation, they immediately come to possess them; and those who have not perfected them will increase and expand them.' It also says: 'A good friend should observe: among this person's greed, dveṣa, delusion, and discursive thoughts, which one is particularly predominant? If they know this person has much greed, they should explain for them the method of the contemplation of impurity. If dveṣa is predominant, they explain maitrī-karuṇā for them. If discursive thoughts are predominant, they teach them to count breaths. If attachment to the self is predominant, they should analyze for them the eighteen elements (dhātu) and so forth. Having heard this, they cultivate, progressively attaining the contemplations of the four foundations of mindfulness: body, feelings, mind, and dharmas. Having attained these contemplations, they next contemplate the twelve links of dependent origination. Having contemplated in this way, they next attain the stage of warmth (uṣmagata). From attaining the stage of warmth, they gradually attain up to the fruit of an arhat, the fruit of a pratyekabuddha, and the Great Vehicle fruit of a bodhisattva and a Buddha. Arising in reliance on this, they have no further doubt or hindrance. Benefiting oneself and benefiting others without adding water to milk—this is called a true good spiritual friend. As for the position of a Dharma master, if they are not endowed with this, they are not a good spiritual friend; a teaching with water added cannot be relied upon.' Therefore, a verse from a sūtra cited in the Foxing lun (Treatise on Buddha-nature) says: