梵網經述記卷第一 1.47

1.47

Sūtra: "Down to: must not intentionally kill any living being." / Commentary: Second, establishing the precept. However, those who are killed are of three grades, namely higher, middling, and lower. As stated in the fifteenth fascicle of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra: killing the higher grade means parents up to arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas of definite destiny; killing the middling grade means from ordinary beings up to anāgāmins—this is called middling killing; killing the lower grade refers to the three evil destinies. Herein, bodhisattvas of the ten resolves and above are called bodhisattvas of definite destiny; furthermore, those of the first bhūmi and above are called of definite destiny. If one kills [any of] the three grades, they are all defeats (pārājikas). Killing those of the lower three fruits and ordinary persons is grave, but not a heinous sin (ānantarya). As for the subsequent text stating that killing noble ones is called a heinous sin, it is because arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas of definite destiny are named noble ones. Killing beings of the three evil destinies has two explanations. One says: killing beings of evil destinies is not grave, just as the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya says that killing a human is a pārājika. Another says: killing animals and the like is a defeat. Why is that? Because bodhisattvas possess equal kindness and compassion toward all sentient beings, without distinction of superior and inferior. As the sūtra says: 'Down to any sentient living being.' Between these two explanations, the latter explanation is the better. The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya and the like are śrāvaka precepts, whereas here the bodhisattva precepts are being revealed; hence they do not contradict each other. As for 'living being', the Yogācārabhūmi states that because it is conjoined with lifespan and is presently alive, it is called a living being.