Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Dh Sk 20Well-Restrained

Source Status

This item has only descriptive information: the code Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Dh Sk 20, belonging to the Comparative Sectarian Scriptures tradition, within the Chinese Comparative Vinaya group, with the Vietnamese title “Well-Restrained,” the English title “Well-Restrained,” and the Pali title recorded as “Susaṁvuta.” The earlier Vietnamese body text has been truncated, leaving only an ending that speaks of restraint over body, speech, and mind.

Because no full source text is provided in the data, the original wording of the training rule, the context of promulgation, the persons involved, and the specific Chinese expression cannot be confirmed. Therefore, the section below is an AI explanation based on the descriptive information and the style of the truncated ending, not a translation of the original scripture.

Context

The content belongs to the sphere of Vinaya, so it should be read in light of monastic life and communal discipline. The training rules in the Vinaya are not only intended to establish external boundaries, but also to create conditions for practitioners to return again and again to observing themselves. The title “Well-Restrained” suggests a disciplined way of living, knowing how to guard the sense faculties, and knowing how to discipline bodily action, verbal action, and mental action in ordinary activities.

From the remaining ending, it can be seen that the previous explanation emphasized that restraint does not mean self-mortification or denial of the body. This point should be kept clear. In Buddhism, the body is not regarded as an enemy, but the body needs to be rightly understood; feeling is not regarded as something to be suppressed, but feeling needs to be illuminated by mindfulness. When unrestrained, the practitioner is easily drawn away by forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, praise and blame, or subtle reactions in the mind.

What Can Be Determined from the Descriptive Information

From the titles “Well-Restrained” and “Susaṁvuta,” it can be determined that the focus of the explanation is the quality of restraint, self-control, or proper guarding. Because this item belongs to the Chinese Comparative Vinaya and bears the designation Bi Pm Dh Sk, it may be understood as a training-rule item related to the conduct of bhikkhunis in the tradition recorded by the descriptive information. However, one should not speculate about the specific rule if the data does not provide it.

The truncated ending clearly mentions three dimensions: body, speech, and mind. The body should be kept in postures, actions, and contacts that are mindful. Speech should avoid heedlessness, haste, harm, or disturbance. The mind should be recognized when greed, hatred, conceit, distraction, or unease arises. The word “well” is important here: this is not mere repression, but skillful means for bringing life back to alertness.

Because the descriptive information does not provide the original content, it is impossible to say with certainty which specific action this training rule regulates. It can be said, safely, that this item points to the image of a monastic who knows how to guard themselves, does not allow outward expressions to diminish their dignity, and does not allow inner agitation to direct the life of practice.

Meaning for Practice

The meaning for practice of “Well-Restrained” lies first in the continuity of mindfulness. Practitioners do not practice only during chanting, sitting meditation, or listening to the Dharma, but also while walking, standing, sitting, lying down, receiving requisites, speaking, seeing sights, and dealing with daily conditions. A well-restrained mind is a mind able to stop before being swept away by habit.

Restraint is also the foundation of inner freedom. At first glance, the Vinaya may appear to be restriction, but in depth, the Vinaya helps practitioners become less dependent on immediate reactions. When the eye sees a form but does not hastily grasp it, the ear hears a sound but does not immediately love or hate it, and the mind contacts mental objects without constructing a story of self, the practitioner begins to taste the lightness of a mind not dragged away.

For laypeople, this spirit remains valuable. In modern life, heedlessness often comes through speed, information, the desire to consume, and the need to assert oneself. “Well-restrained” may be practiced by speaking more slowly, listening more deeply, using media with awareness, eating and drinking in moderation, and recognizing the motives driving one’s actions. There is no need to turn life into moral tension; what matters is to nourish the capacity to know what one is doing and why one is doing it.

Collation Note

Because there is no full source text in the data, the Pali title, Chinese version, English version, and specific content of the training rule cannot yet be collated. Terms such as mindfulness, alertness, and body, speech, and mind are used only as a general Buddhist interpretive framework, consistent with the remaining ending, not as confirmation that the original item contains all of those terms. When the source text is available, the scope of the training rule, the object of application, the Vinaya context, and the translation of the title should be checked again so that the explanation can be adjusted more closely.