毘尼心 1.25

1.25

A bodhisattva constantly practices the six recollections: First, recollection of the Buddha (possessing the ten powers and the fearlessnesses; one vows to pay homage, attend upon, and make offerings to him). Second, recollection of the Dharma (quenched and extinguishing all signs; one vows to read, recite, and contemplate its meaning). Third, recollection of the Saṃgha (a fertile field free from attachment; one vows to draw close to, revere, and serve them). Fourth, recollection of śīla (warding off wrongs and prohibiting evils; one vows to protect, maintain, and not violate it). Fifth, recollection of giving (capable of renunciation and eliminating stinginess; one vows to variously care for and rescue others). Sixth, recollection of the devas (pure and not of worldly phenomena; the unsurpassed fruit of Buddhahood, the dwelling place of peace and security, the heaven of the ultimate truth; I now vow to seek it and will certainly attain the supreme fruit). This comes from the Ekottarika-vinaya. / The six recollections of a śramaṇa: First, mindful awareness of the month and day (knowing whether the current month is long or short, reflecting on how many days have passed, that impermanence is swift, and that the time for poṣadha has arrived). Second, mindful awareness of the number of summer retreats (I received the upasampadā in such a year, month, day, and time; having now passed so many summer retreats, I grow old without accomplishments; and upon entering the assembly, knowing the senior and junior seats). Third, mindful reflection on transferring an invitation (if I previously accepted a prior invitation and now wish to accept a later invitation, I should transfer the food of the prior invitation to give to Bhikṣu So-and-so; that Bhikṣu So-and-so makes no claims against me, and I may eat freely; that Bhikṣu So-and-so who makes no claims against me refers to the donor of that prior invitation). Fourth, mindful reflection on maintaining the three robes, and if there is extra property, executing the purification [ritual]. Fifth, mindful reflection on not eating apart from the assembly (four or more people constitutes eating apart from the assembly; at mealtime, there are bhikṣus within the boundary). Sixth, mindful reflection that when ill one must quickly treat it, and when free from illness one relies on the assembly to practice the Path. / A sick person has five rules: 1. Not eating what should not be eaten. 2. Gladly taking medicine. 3. Speaking truthfully to the caregiver. 4. Walking when one should walk, and resting when one should rest. 5. Being able to endure when there is pain in the body, and doing whatever small tasks one can manage. / Furthermore, the fifth item [also means] being able to sit purely and contemplate: First, reflecting on repenting prior transgressions. Illness is a retribution of suffering brought on by evil; reflecting that if one does not repent, one is certain to fall into the evil destinies. The accumulated sins of past lives have residual retribution that is not yet exhausted; in this present life, from childhood to adulthood, the days spent doing evil are many and the times doing good are few. Contemplating the precepts of the five categories one by one, one has transgressed each of them; one must now repent. If one generates this mind, one's consciousness will be born in a pure place. Second, one should contemplate impermanence: the body is like an earthen vessel formed of provisional combinations, quickly rotting, easily broken, and unable to be preserved for long. When life itself cannot be preserved, why begrudge wealth? Do not keep robes and belongings in mind; one should relinquish them without needing to entrust them. After death, leave them to the saṃgha, without troubling to retain or hoard them. Third, one should practice the mindfulness of the Buddha samādhi, harmonizing the breath, settling the mind, and maintaining the object of concentration. Facing directly toward the west, contemplate the pure Buddha-land as if before one's eyes; in thought after thought, like flowing water poured out, go directly to the other shore. / Furthermore, a sick person should measure suitability according to three situations: First, in severe illness: if one obtains food and drink as desired, medicine according to the illness, and an attentive caregiver as desired—whether one obtains these three things or does not, this illness will result in death and cannot be cured; the karmic retribution of impermanence has run out and cannot be saved. At that time, the sick person should prepare for death and must not eat improper food or break the fast. Second, in mild illness: if one obtains food and drink as desired, medicinal soup according to the illness, and an attentive caregiver as desired—even if one does not obtain them, the illness will not be fatal; merely by resting a little, the illness will naturally be cured. At that time, the sick person must not, because of illness, indulge in eating and drinking, breaking the fast, or consuming alcohol. Third, in moderate illness: if one obtains food and drink as desired, the illness will then be cured; if one does not obtain them, the illness will certainly be fatal. At that time, the sick person should deliberate for himself and eat according to what is suitable for the illness. If he cannot regulate it himself, the caregiver should make the decision. Acupuncture, moxibustion, taking medicine, and determining measures are also like this; seeking a caregiver and whether to accept or decline provisions are also like this. However, a sick person has much irritation and anger, and should subdue himself. For another person to care for me with good intentions is already difficult to repay; how much worse to further afflict them with harsh words! If they see no benefit in caring for me, they might lose heart and no longer care for me, and I would then die. Therefore, one should feel shame before others, protect their feelings, and encourage and praise them. / A caregiver has five virtues: 1. Knowing what the patient can eat and cannot eat, and being able to provide what can be eaten. 2. Not being disgusted by or despising the patient's urine, feces, saliva, and vomit. 3. Having a mind of loving-kindness, not acting for the sake of clothing and food. 4. Being able to manage medicinal broths, even until recovery or until death. 5. Being able to explain the Dharma to the patient, causing the sick person to rejoice, while increasing wholesome qualities in oneself. / The Buddha said: 'When you were strong and healthy, you did not nurse others in their illness; now that you have fallen ill, who will nurse you?' He told the bhikṣus: 'For one who has left home not to nurse the sick brings no benefit. If one can make offerings to a sick person, it surpasses making offerings to the Buddha. Seeing suffering and impermanence with profound compassion is the foremost practice of the Path, obtaining immeasurable merit.' / Chewing a willow-branch tooth-stick has five benefits: 1. The breath does not stink. 2. One distinguishes tastes. 3. Heat phlegm is dissolved. 4. It stimulates appetite. 5. The eyes become clear. / Sweeping the ground has five rules of great merit: 1. Not going against the wind, but with the wind. 2. One should not turn one's back to elders. 3. Erasing footprints. 4. Removing dung. 5. Returning the dustpan and broom to their original place. / Walking meditation has five kinds of benefits: 1. One is able to travel far. 2. One is able to contemplate. 3. Few illnesses. 4. Food is digested. 5. One attains absorption that lasts. / Having a scattered mind and eyes has five faults: 1. Seeing bad dreams. 2. The devas do not grant protection. 3. The mind does not reflect on the Dharma. 4. Not fixing the mind on the perception of light. 5. Loss of impurity [nocturnal emission]. / There are four improper ways of sleeping: 1. Asura sleep: lying supine on one's back. 2. Sleeping face down on the ground. 3. Preta sleep. 4. Sleeping on the left side. / There are four proper ways of sleeping: 1. Lion king sleep: right side touching the ground, with both legs resting on each other. 2. Mouth closed, tongue pressed against the upper palate. 3. Right hand supporting the head, left hand resting straight along the body. 4. Not abandoning mindfulness and discernment, contemplating the perception of light. / Facing a fire has five faults: 1. It deprives one of good complexion. 2. It deprives one of physical strength. 3. It causes dimness of the eyes. 4. It causes noisy gatherings. 5. Much talk of worldly affairs. / A person without patience has five faults: 1. Ferocious and intolerant. 2. Later generating regret. 3. Disliked by many. 4. Bad reputation spreads. 5. At death, falling into the evil destinies. One ought to practice patience. / Cultivating the four deportments of the body: 1. The deportment of walking (restraining the body's posture and advancing straight forward). 2. The deportment of standing (standing upright with hands folded, looking straight ahead as appropriate). 3. The deportment of sitting (cross-legged, knees resting flat, body upright, eyes lowered). 4. The deportment of lying down (right side touching the ground, legs stacked, body bent, fixing the mind on the perception of light, mindful of rising early). Cultivating the four deportments of speech: 1. One should speak speech of the Dharma and true speech. 2. One should speak right speech and straightforward speech. 3. One should always speak harmonious speech and speech that quells dispute. 4. One should always speak gentle speech and speech that gladdens the heart and is pleasant to hear. / Cultivating the twelve dhūta practices. Dhū means few desires; ta means contentment. Shaking off afflictions and separating from lingering attachments is why it is called dhūta. What are the twelve? 1. Wearing pāṃśukūla robes (this person does not accept robes given as gifts). 2. Keeping the three robes (this person does not accumulate surplus property). 3. Keeping robes according to need (this person keeps only enough to cover the body, not accumulating surplus goods). 4. Always begging for food (this person does not accept invitations or eat saṃgha food). 5. Eating in one measure (one serving of each item, not adding a second time). 6. Eating at one sitting (once the posture is broken, not eating again). 7. Not eating food left over from a meal (morning congee and midday meal, not eating a main meal a second time). 8. Sitting under a tree (contemplating that the tree arises from conditions of all dharmas, and my body is likewise a dharma of arising and ceasing). 9. Sitting in a charnel ground (contemplating the impurity of corpses and the impermanence of white bones). 10. Sitting in the open air (contemplating that all dharmas are empty and non-existent). 11. Sitting wherever one finds oneself (contemplating that all dharmas are in flux without fixed nature, lacking self-mastery, hence selflessness; also seeking quietude, called an araṇya place). 12. Always sitting and never lying down (contemplating that sleep is indolence and causes one to fall into the evil destinies at death; if one does not sit upright with a correct mind, practice will never be accomplished). Among these twelve, keeping robes has three, eating rules have four, and sitting places have five. The practitioner's mind has no lingering attachment to clothing and food, but relying on conditions to generate the Path, cultivates progress ever more diligently; these are the ascetic practices. While sūtras and treatises have different terms, we provisionally preserve this one explanation. / Cultivating the five doors of meditation: 1. For those with much greed and desire: the contemplation of impurity. 2. For those with much anger: cultivating the contemplation of loving-kindness and compassion. 3. For those with much ignorance: cultivating the contemplation of the twelve links of dependent origination. 4. For those with much attachment to self: cultivating the contemplation of the emptiness of the eighteen elements. 5. For those with much discursive thought: cultivating the contemplation of counting the inhalation and exhalation of breath. / Cultivating the six doors of meditation: First, counting (for cold disorders, count the exhalations more; for hot disorders, count the inhalations more; fixing the mind at the nostrils right before the entrance, calmly and slowly counting from one to ten; completion of a breath makes one count; skipping, confusion, increasing, or decreasing are all improper). Second, following (the mind follows the breath going out and coming in, exhausting the root of the breath even unto having no mind at the door of regret). Third, stopping (the focused mind comes to rest, guarding the nostrils right before the entrance without letting it scatter). Fourth, contemplating (observing the length of the breath, the breath permeating the body, seeing the breath exit from the pores like beads strung on a thread). Fifth, turning back (reversing the focused counting of the mind, observing the mind with the mind; if the mind focuses on other objects, these are all disturbances; focusing it causes it to turn back and abide). Sixth, purification (clearing the mind on a single object without further disturbance, attaining entry into the pure-mind samādhi, where the marks of phenomena appear clearly). / Eight kinds of evil thoughts: 1. Thoughts of sensual desire. 2. Thoughts of anger. 3. Thoughts of harming. 4. Thoughts of immortality. 5. Thoughts of relatives. 6. Thoughts of country. 7. Thoughts of arrogance. 8. Thoughts of lineage. One who frequently contemplates these eight matters should employ the method of counting breaths as an antidote. / Eight tactile sensations: light sensation, heavy sensation, itchy sensation, painful sensation, rough sensation, smooth sensation, cold sensation, hot sensation. When these eight sensations arise in response, śīla can trigger absorption, or they may trigger illness; one should apply the antidote to eliminate them. / Three methods of harmonizing the mind: First, suppression (when vigorous effort is excessive, the mind becomes agitated; one should focus the mind and not let it scatter). Second, arousal (having guarded the object for long, the mind becomes sunken; one should urge it on and employ expedients to arouse the mind). Third, equanimity (when harmonization is balanced, one should maintain right mindfulness and enter the samādhi of emptiness). / Cultivating the four applications of mindfulness: 1. Contemplating the body as impure (from head to foot, the thirty-six components are all impure, a pouch of pus and foul stench like a dead snake or dead dog). 2. Contemplating sensations as suffering (fleeting worldly pleasures inevitably turn into ruin and distress the mind; they are all painful sensations). 3. Contemplating the mind as impermanent (the six consciousnesses arise and cease thought after thought, the preceding mind not being the succeeding mind, like flowing water or the flame of a lamp; therefore know human life is impermanent). 4. Contemplating phenomena as non-self (conceptual mind grasps provisionally, dharmas have no reality; the volition mind creates karma like an illusion; all that is made is false and lacking firmness; the dharmas taken as objects are all empty). / Cultivating the four right exertions: 1. For unarisen evil dharmas, employing expedients to prevent them from arising. 2. For already arisen evil dharmas, employing expedients to eliminate and cut them off. 3. For unarisen wholesome dharmas, employing expedients to cause them to arise. 4. For already arisen wholesome dharmas, employing expedients to cause them to increase. Evil arises from the mind and is also eliminated by the mind; good arises from the mind and also grows from the mind. One should constantly and diligently observe these four dharmas. / Cultivating the four immeasurable minds: 1. Cultivating the mind of loving-kindness (reflecting on all sentient beings and wishing to grant them happiness, contemplating the production of immeasurable clothing, food, and other items to bestow upon sentient beings; treating enemies and kin equally, granting supreme happiness to all; this is called cultivating loving-kindness). 2. Cultivating the mind of compassion (reflecting on all sentient beings and wishing to extract their suffering; this is called cultivating the mind of compassion). 3. Cultivating the mind of sympathetic joy (reflecting on all sentient beings: if they practice good, I rejoice and praise them all; if they commit evil, I encourage them to cut off evil; one should suppress evil and promote good). 4. Cultivating the mind of equanimity (maintaining complete equality toward all sentient beings, seeing neither enemy nor friend, equalizing them like empty dharmas). / Cultivating the six subtle practices: 1. Consciousness does not become intimate with form (clearly seeing blue, yellow, red, and purple without the mind becoming defiled or attached; practicing subtle conduct). 2. The ear does not attach to sound (only grasping the Dharma conveyed beneath the words, not loving or attaching to the sound). 3. The nose is not defiled by fragrance. 4. The tongue is not greedy for flavors. 5. The body does not attach to smooth and fine sensations. 6. The intellect does not contemplate evil dharmas. / Five pure virtues of a śramaṇa: 1. Generating the mind to leave the secular world in order to uphold the Path. 2. Ruining bodily beauty to accord with the robes of the Dharma. 3. Severing affectionate ties forever without partiality or distance. 4. Abandoning life and body to honor and revere the Path. 5. Aspiring to seek the Great Vehicle in order to deliver people. (From the Sūtra on the Field of Merit).