毘尼心 1.16

1.16

Upholding the precepts attains ten benefits: / First, gathering together the Saṃgha (if a junior upholds the precepts, he constitutes an assembly that accords with the Dharma and is counted among them). / Second, gladdening the Saṃgha (if a middling monk upholds the precepts, whatever he does pleases the minds of the assembly). / Third, bringing peace and happiness to the Saṃgha (if a senior monk upholds the precepts, he illuminates and adorns the deportment of the assembly and can also shelter and benefit disciples). / Fourth, causing those without faith to believe (with the virtue of precepts complete within, he externally inspires people's faith and reverence, becoming worthy to serve as a teacher and guide upon whom one relies to cross the world; therefore, those who have not gone forth develop faith and joy in going forth, receiving the precepts from him). / Fifth, causing those with faith to increase and broaden (having ordained disciples, he can also instruct and admonish them, causing them to guard, uphold, and advance their mental practice). / Sixth, causing those difficult to train to be trained (among disciples, if there are those of evil nature, coarse and scattered, who disobey teachings, violate prohibitions, and do not accord with deportment, he can also discipline and punish them according to the Dharma, crushing and subduing them to make them reform). / Seventh, causing those with shame to find tranquility (among disciples, if those with a mind for the path inadvertently commit an offense, constantly harboring shame and fear, reforming the past and cultivating the future, seeking to cleanse their faults, he can also rescue them and serve as a refuge). / Eighth, cutting off present outflows (having eliminated evils already arisen, body and mind become pure, and currently poṣadha and practice have no flaws or outflows). / Ninth, cutting off future outflows (never letting unarisen evils arise). / Tenth, causing the true Dharma to remain long (a person who upholds the precepts is pure in his own practice and can also cause others to uphold the precepts; maintaining the essential principles, he rectifies the assembly and benefits the times, teachings succeeding one another, raising up what has fallen). / Among these ten benefits, the first three seek liberation by relying on the assembly; the middle six constitute the perfection of practice that benefits both self and others; the last one can make the Three Jewels flourish. Only one who upholds the precepts attains these ten lines of benefits. There is also another explanation: within these ten benefits are the meanings of three sections. The first three lines explain obtaining benefits in the Dharma of the Saṃgha; the middle six lines explain obtaining benefits in the Dharma of practice; the last one line explains obtaining benefits in the Dharma of teaching. First, there are three for the Dharma of the Saṃgha: the first explains the external ordinary person nominal Saṃgha, which is gathered by the Vinaya teachings and counted among the ranks of the Saṃgha, hence called 'first, gathering together the Saṃgha.' The second explains the internal ordinary person harmonious Saṃgha, sharing one mind in upholding the Vinaya, with harmony as the basis, hence called 'second, gladdening the Saṃgha.' The third explains the noble status real Saṃgha, which acts according to the Vinaya without conflict or annoyance, hence called 'third, bringing peace and happiness to the Saṃgha.' Now this explains that if an external ordinary bhikṣu can uphold the precepts with pure seeing and hearing, he can enter into these three kinds of Saṃgha, share in their poṣadha and karman, and obtain this benefit of the Dharma of the Saṃgha. Next, explaining that there are six lines for the Dharma of practice: the first two lines explain lower maturation, meaning the benefit for the internal ordinary trainees of the Saṃgha who practice by faith and practice by Dharma. The next two lines explain middle maturation, meaning the benefit for noble Saṃgha trainees on the path of seeing and path of cultivation. The last two lines explain upper maturation, meaning the benefit of the merits of the noble fruit of an aśaikṣa with knowledge of exhaustion and knowledge of non-arising. The tenth line, the benefit of the Dharma of teaching, explains the maturation of others: preaching the Dharma, transforming people, flourishing and benefiting the world, continuing the true standard forever without interruption; hence called 'tenth, causing the true Dharma to remain long.' Tracing the Tathāgata's intention in establishing the precepts: originally it was not merely to rectify mental evils, but to open wide the correct path to nirvāṇa from afar, so that bhikṣus practicing in accordance with the Dharma would attain realization of the path, identical to the unexcelled, eternally abiding, forever tranquil resting Dharma attained by the Buddhas. Therefore it is said: 'Gathering the ten lines of meaning for the bhikṣus is the precept Dharma of all Buddhas.'