釋氏要覽 2.131

2.131

The Vinaya says: 'There are two kinds of alcohol: first, that made of grain; second, tree alcohol, which is made of grass roots and fruits.' ○ The Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'Alcohol is the root of all unwholesome and evil things; if one can abandon and cut it off, one remains far from myriad offenses.' ○ The Tattvasiddhi-śāstra asks: 'Is alcohol an actual offense?' Answer: 'No. Why is this? Because drinking alcohol torments sentient beings, it is the cause of offenses. If a person drinks alcohol, it opens the gate to what is unwholesome, because it obstructs samādhi and all wholesome dharmas. It is like planting myriad fruit trees without an enclosing wall; if one drinks alcohol, it is like fruit trees without an enclosing wall.' ○ The Dharmaguptaka-vinaya says: 'Drinking alcohol has ten faults: first, poor complexion; second, little strength; third, impaired eyesight; fourth, manifesting anger; fifth, ruining agricultural livelihood; sixth, increasing illness; seventh, augmenting quarrels and lawsuits; eighth, spreading a bad reputation; ninth, diminishing wisdom; tenth, after the destruction of the body and the end of life, falling into the three evil destinies.' ○ The Śrāmaṇera Precept Sūtra lists thirty-six faults, extending to ruining the household, endangering the body, losing the Way, and forfeiting one's life—all stem from it. ○ The Fayuan zhulin says: 'If there is a person who tolerates alcohol, drinking it without getting drunk, without disordering his spirit, and without committing any transgressions, does drinking it incur an offense?' Answer: 'The formulation of precepts to guard against wrongdoing is originally to foster wholesomeness; precepts are true wholesomeness, with body and speech having no contradiction, and correctly ceasing [wrongdoing] in the midst of conditions. Abandoning both conventional prohibitions and natural offenses is termed the wholesomeness of the precepts. Now, although a person who tolerates alcohol does not disorder his spirit and has not broken the remaining precepts, drinking itself becomes a cause of offenses; by directly violating conventional prohibitions, an infraction arises within conditions, and hence it is called having an offense.'