Lzh Mg Bu Vb Pc 61Intentionally Killing Living Creatures

– MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

– PĀCITTIYA RULES

– CLEARLY EXPLAINING THE EIGHTH SECTION OF THE 92 SINGLE EXPIATION RULES.

61. RULE: KILLING LIVING CREATURES.

When the Buddha was dwelling in the city of Vaiśālī, as explained in detail above. At that time, a man wearing armor and carrying a bow and arrows entered the monastery, then removed his armor and set down his bow, and sat resting at the foot of a tree. At that moment, in a sandy puddle in the courtyard in front of the monastery, a flock of doves was eating and playing. The Venerable Udāyin saw this and said to the man:

—Good sir (may you live long), lend me your bow and arrows so I may try shooting once.

—Very well.

Udāyin then took the bow and five arrows, nocked an arrow, shot five times, brought down five doves, plucked out all their feathers, skewered them on a piece of wood, and brought them to the Blessed One, saying:

—Blessed One, here is bird meat.

—Where did this come from?

—Blessed One, a man wearing armor and carrying a bow and arrows came to the courtyard in front of the monastery, then sat resting at the foot of a tree. I borrowed his bow and arrows to shoot at a few birds for practice. Since I had trained in archery before, I did not miss.

—You foolish man, this is an evil deed that should have been abandoned long ago, yet you still say that because you trained before you did not miss. Have you not heard Me use countless skillful means to reprove the taking of life and to praise the non-taking of life, that you now commit such an evil and unwholesome act? This is contrary to the Dharma, contrary to the Vinaya, contrary to my teaching, and cannot be used to nurture wholesome Dharma.

The monks then addressed the Buddha:

—Blessed One, one ought to give rise to a compassionate mind to protect and rescue living beings. Why then did Udāyin deprive them of their lives without any compassion?

—Not only does he fail to give rise to compassion today; he was the same in the past as well, as explained in the Jātaka sūtra concerning Śakra Devānām Indra.

Thereupon the Buddha instructed all the monks dwelling at Vaiśālī to assemble together, and for ten benefits he established this precept for the monks—let all who have heard it hear it again:

—If a monk intentionally deprives an animal of its life, he commits a Pācittiya offense.

Explanation

Monk: As explained above.

Intentionally: Having first created the means.

Depriving an animal of its life: Either by body, by bodily part, or by bodily means.

Body: This refers to the whole body. If one tramples upon the body of a living creature, or drags it, or presses it down intending for it to die, and it does indeed die, one commits a Pācittiya offense.

Bodily part: Intending to kill a living creature, one uses one of the following—a foot, a hand, a knee, an elbow, teeth, fingernails, and so forth—to kill; this is called a bodily part.

Bodily means: If one holds in one's hand such things as wood, sticks, bricks, or stones and strikes with them, or throws them from a distance intending for the creature to die, and it does indeed die, one commits a Pācittiya offense.

Pācittiya: As explained above.

Or if a monk intends to kill an animal by means of: a blade, medicine, ointment, causing vomiting, causing purging, or causing miscarriage—

1. Blade: Blades of all sizes, down to a single inch of iron—if a monk bears a mind to kill, when he takes up the blade he commits an offense of Duṣkṛta requiring mental acknowledgment and repentance; when it contacts the creature's body, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; when the creature dies, he commits a Pācittiya offense. This is called a blade.

2. Medicine: There are three kinds: natural, compounded, and poison.

—Natural: As in the land of Nirūha and the land of Ujjayinī, there is a poisonous plant called Kāla; this is called natural.

—Compounded: As hunters take various roots, stems, leaves, flowers, fruits, and various grasses, blend them together, and prepare a medicine; this is called compounded.

—Poison: The venom of a snake, the venom of a rat, of a wolf, of a cat, of a dog, of a bear, of a leopard, of a human being, and so forth—all such things are called poison.

Whether natural, compounded, or poison, all such things are called medicine.

If a monk gives rise to a mind of killing, intending to kill an animal, then when he prepares the medicine he commits a Duṣkṛta offense requiring mental acknowledgment and repentance; when the medicine contacts the creature's body, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if the creature dies, he commits a Pācittiya offense. This is called medicine.

3. Ointment: If a monk gives rise to a mind of killing, intending to apply medicine to the body of an animal, and while applying thinks: "I am applying it to its head, feet, or body so that it will wither and die," then when he takes up the medicine he commits a Duṣkṛta offense requiring mental acknowledgment and repentance; when it contacts the creature's body, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if the creature thereby dies, he commits a Pācittiya offense. This is called ointment.

4. Causing vomiting: If a monk gives rise to a mind of killing, prepares a medicine intending to cause an animal to vomit blood, pus, and its intestines and liver until it dies, then when he prepares the medicine he commits a Duṣkṛta offense requiring mental acknowledgment and repentance; when the medicine contacts the creature's body, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if the creature thereby dies, he commits a Pācittiya offense. This is called causing vomiting.

5. Causing purging: If a monk gives rise to a mind of killing, prepares a purgative medicine, intending to cause an animal to discharge blood, pus, and its intestines and liver until it dies, then when he prepares the medicine he commits a Duṣkṛta offense requiring mental acknowledgment and repentance; when the medicine contacts the creature's body, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if the creature thereby dies, he commits a Pācittiya offense.

6. Causing miscarriage: If a monk gives rise to a mind of killing, intending to cause miscarriage in a pregnant animal, then when he creates the means he commits a Duṣkṛta offense requiring mental acknowledgment and repentance; when the medicine contacts the creature's body, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if he intends to kill the mother but only causes the miscarriage of the fetus, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if he intends to cause miscarriage but the mother dies, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if he intends to kill the mother and the mother dies, he commits a Pācittiya offense; if he intends to kill the fetus and the fetus dies, he also commits a Pācittiya offense. However, if the animal is carrying a human fetus, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense. This is called causing miscarriage.

There are also the following cases: moving in a file, using the Vetāla incantation, using fine powder, spreading a net, setting a trap, digging a pit, the road, and the river.

1. Moving in a file: There are animals that move in a file—five, ten, or twenty of them—and if a monk intends to kill the one in front but kills one in the middle instead, or intends to kill one in the middle but kills one at the rear instead, or intends to kill one at the rear but kills one in the middle instead, or intends to kill one in the middle but kills one in front instead, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense in each case.

If he intends to kill the one in front and the one in front dies, intends to kill the one in the middle and the one in the middle dies, or intends to kill the one at the rear and the one at the rear dies, he commits a Pācittiya offense in each case. Or if he intends to kill whichever one it may be and that one dies, he commits a Pācittiya offense. This is called moving in a file.

2. Using the Vetāla incantation: If a monk intends to kill an animal and recites the Vetāla incantation—the spell that causes a corpse to rise up—then when he recites the spell he commits a Duṣkṛta offense requiring mental acknowledgment and repentance; when the creatures are terrified and their hair stands on end, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if they thereby die, he commits a Pācittiya offense. This is called using the Vetāla incantation.

3. Using fine powder: If a monk intends to kill an animal, and so grinds powder and scatters it over the creature's body intending to cause it to wither and die, then when he creates the means he commits a Duṣkṛta offense requiring mental acknowledgment and repentance; when the powder contacts the creature's body, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if the creature thereby dies, he commits a Pācittiya offense.

4. Spreading a net: If a monk gives rise to a mind of killing animals, and spreads a net in the places where they habitually walk, eat, or drink, then when he spreads the net he commits a Duṣkṛta offense requiring mental acknowledgment and repentance; when it contacts the creatures' bodies, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if they thereby die, he commits a Pācittiya offense. This is called spreading a net.

5. Setting a trap: If a monk gives rise to a mind of killing animals, and sets a trap in the places where they habitually walk, eat, or drink, then when he sets the trap he commits a Duṣkṛta offense requiring mental acknowledgment and repentance; when it contacts the creatures' bodies, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if they thereby die, he commits a Pācittiya offense. This is called setting a trap.

6. Digging a pit: If a monk gives rise to a mind of killing animals, and digs a pit in the places where they habitually walk, eat, or drink, then when he digs the pit he commits a Duṣkṛta offense requiring mental acknowledgment and repentance; when they fall into it, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if they thereby die, he commits a Pācittiya offense. This is called digging a pit.

7. The road: If a monk is walking along a path and sees animals coming, and thinks: "Now I will ensure that not a single one escapes death," and thereupon gives rise to a mind of killing and drives them toward where there are lions, tigers and leopards, places of danger, or places where the king hunts—then when he drives them, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense requiring mental acknowledgment and repentance; when they are made to suffer, he commits a Duṣkṛta offense; if they thereby die, he commits a Pācittiya offense. This is called the road.

8. River: If a monastery is situated near a river, and a bhikkhu who is walking in meditation along the riverbank sees animals approaching, then thinks: "Now I will ensure that not a single one of these creatures survives," and thereupon arouses a murderous mind and drives them toward an unsafe place—a steep bank with whirlpools, a place frequented by Timburu (?) creatures, a place where lions, tigers, and leopards dwell, or a place where the king hunts—then: at the moment of driving them away, he commits a Dukkaṭa offense requiring repentance by recollection of mind; when they suffer pain, he commits a Dukkaṭa offense; and if they die as a result, he commits a Pācittiya offense. This is called the case of the river.

When a bhikkhu arouses a murderous mind and takes up a knife, he commits a Dukkaṭa offense requiring repentance by recollection of mind; when they suffer pain, he commits a Dukkaṭa offense; and if they die as a result, he commits a Pācittiya offense. The same applies if there are two bhikkhus or many bhikkhus.

If a bhikkhu, wishing to kill animals, hands a knife to one person, two persons, or many persons, and sends them to carry out the killing, the same applies. If the one who is sent then sends another in turn, and so on through many persons, then: at the moment of handing over the knife, he commits a Dukkaṭa offense requiring repentance by recollection of mind; when they suffer pain, he commits a Dukkaṭa offense; and if they die as a result, he commits a Pācittiya offense.

The cases involving medicine, poison, ointment, inducing vomiting, inducing defecation, and causing miscarriage are the same as the case of the knife as explained above.

If a bhikkhu takes the life of an animal and all five factors are fulfilled, he commits a Pācittiya offense. These are: 1. An animal; 2. The perception that it is an animal; 3. A murderous intent; 4. The arising of bodily action; 5. The ending of its life. These are called the five factors. Therefore it is said (as above).

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Vietnamese translation: Thích Phước Sơn. MAHĀSĀṂGHIKA VINAYA

Chinese translation: TRIPIṬAKA BUDDHĀBHADRA OF INDIA

TOGETHER WITH ŚRAMAṆA FAXIAN, TRANSLATED DURING THE EASTERN JIN DYNASTY

Verification of meaning: Thích Đỗng Minh