釋氏要覽 1.324

1.324

The Zhidu lun states: "In Sanskrit it is śīla; in the language of Qin it is rendered 'good by nature.'" The ancient masters said: "Śīla is rendered here as 'precept' (jie), having the meaning of stopping errors and preventing wrongdoing." The Zenghui ji states: "'Precept' means to admonish: to urge on and regulate the three karmas, keeping far away from occasions of wrongdoing." The Upāsaka-śīla Sūtra states: "Precept is called restraint, because it is able to restrain all unwholesome dharmas." The Bodhisambhāra-śāstra states: "Śīla has the meaning of cool freshness, because it frees [one] from the burning distress of the mind. It has the meaning of peace and security, because it can serve as the cause of bliss in future lives. It has the meaning of tranquil stillness, because it can establish calm and insight. It has the meaning of extinction, because it attains the cause of the bliss of nirvāṇa."