釋氏要覽 1.32

1.32

In Sanskrit: *bhikṣu*. In the language of Qin: 'mendicant' (*qishi*), meaning that above, he begs for Dharma from the Buddhas to nourish his life of wisdom, and below, he begs for food from donors to nourish his physical body. Dharma Master Zhao says: "There are three names according to cause and fruit: first, 'terrorizer of Māra' in the causal stage, because when he leaves the household life, the palace of Māra quakes, while in the fruition stage he is called 'slayer of thieves' [arhat] (some say: one who leaves the household possesses correct faith and correct cause, arouses a valiant mind, seeks the great bodhi of Buddhahood, and vows to deliver all sentient beings; only one with a genuinely great mind can shake the palace of Māra). Second, in the causal stage he is called 'mendicant', and in the fruition stage he is called 'worthy of offerings' [arhat]. Third, in the causal stage he is called 'breaker of evil' (meaning that upholding the precepts breaks evil), and in the fruition stage he is called 'non-arising' [arhat]." The *Nirvāṇa Sūtra* says: "Able to break afflictions; hence he is called a *bhikṣu*. Breaking the notion of self and the like, cultivating precepts, concentration, and wisdom, crossing over the three realms of existence and the four currents, and abiding peacefully in the path of fearlessness; hence he is called a *bhikṣu*." The *Mahālaṅkāra-śāstra* says: "Breaking the storehouse of ignorance; hence he is called a *bhikṣu*." The *Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra* says: "A *bhikṣu* is one who abandons domestic life, approaches homelessness, is endowed with the prātimokṣa discipline, and whose intrinsic nature is belonging to that common assembly; who is diligent regarding bodily appearance; who fears the evil destinies and guards himself; and who restrains without injury; hence he is called a *bhikṣu*." A verse in the *Mahāvibhāṣā-śāstra* says: / "Do not let hands or feet act recklessly; / Moderate your words and accord with proper conduct; / Always delight in guarding a concentrated mind— / This is called a true bhikṣu." / A verse in the *Saṃyuktāgama* says: / "One called a bhikṣu / Is not merely so by begging for food; / If one upholds the ways of a householder, / How can one be called a bhikṣu? / Free from both merit and demerit, / Cultivating correct conduct, / With a mind free of fear— / Such a one is called a bhikṣu." / In the *Mahābalavardhana-dhāraṇī-sūtra*, there was an elder named Xuanze who went to the Buddha to leave the household life. After his hair was shaved, the Venerable Upananda called out: "Elder Xuanze!" He answered: "Now that I have left the household and shaved my hair to become a bhikṣu, I am no longer an elder." Then Upananda said to him: "It is not merely by shaving the hair that one is called a bhikṣu." He then spoke in verse: / "If one cuts off desire and craving / And further exhausts all outflows, / Having no desire toward all dharmas, / Unspeakable as having dharmas, / Accords with and moves toward nirvāṇa, / Accords with and approaches dispassion, / Enters into faith and reaches the other shore— / Such a one becomes a bhikṣu." / There are four kinds of bhikṣus: first, the bhikṣu who has definitively reached the path, meaning an arhat; second, the bhikṣu who displays the path, meaning the noble ones of the three fruits; third, the bhikṣu who receives the path, meaning those directed toward the first fruit; fourth, the bhikṣu who defiles the path, meaning ordinary persons who break the precepts (because an ordinary bhikṣu who upholds the precepts conforms to faith and the vinaya rules, he must be named beneath 'receiving the path'. Question: Is a bhikṣu who defiles the path fit to be a field of merit? Answer: The *Mahāvibhāṣā* says that although a bhikṣu who defiles the path has broken precepts, he has not broken right view; although he has broken preliminary application, he has not broken his noble aspiration; he believes in causes and fruits—such correct views and aspirations are absent among the ninety-six non-Buddhist schools. If a donor arouses correct faith toward him without conceiving resentment or disdain, he naturally generates great merit).