Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Sk 19Well-Restrained

Source Status

This entry has descriptive information consisting of the code Lzh Sarv Bi Pm Sk 19, the Vietnamese title Well-Restrained, the English title Well-Restrained, the Pali title Susaṁvuta, belonging to the Comparative Sectarian Canon and the collection Comparative Vinaya — Chinese. The Vietnamese text is truncated in a passage describing a monastic who is “well guarded.” There is no full source text in the data and no direct comparison with the original text. Therefore, this section is an AI interpretation based on the descriptive information and the remaining final passage, not a verbatim translation.

Background

The title Susaṁvuta may be understood as “well restrained,” “well guarded,” or “well protected.” Based on the truncated ending, the previous piece focused on guarding the sense faculties, moderation in eating, not being indulgent in sleep, and maintaining mindfulness. These are familiar themes in Buddhist practice, but for that reason one is still not permitted to assign specific scriptural sentences to this entry if the data does not provide them.

In the context of the Comparative Vinaya, an item concerning “being well restrained” may be understood as a reminder of the fundamental bearing of one gone forth. The precepts do not only address actions that are clearly faulty, but also educate one in a measured way of living. A practitioner is not merely to avoid what is wrong, but to build a foundation of awareness in every gesture, every feeling, and every contact with the outer world.

Content That Can Be Determined from the Descriptive Information

It can be determined with certainty that this entry has a title meaning “well restrained” or “well guarded.” The truncated ending shows that the earlier interpretation emphasized three aspects: guarding the sense faculties, moderation in eating, and awareness with regard to sleep and rest. When eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind come into contact with their objects, if there is no guarding, the mind easily runs after liking and disliking. Restraint does not mean closing oneself off from life, but not allowing the mind to be dragged along in ignorance.

From the descriptive information, it cannot be determined whether this is an independent discourse, a specific training rule, or a passage within the legal system with its own originating circumstances. Nor can it be affirmed what persons appear, what the original wording is, or how the text proceeds. What can be said is that both the title and the ending point toward a quality of practice: the practitioner needs the capacity to guard oneself in body, speech, and mind.

Being well restrained also implies balance. If one eats excessively, the body becomes heavy and the mind easily falls into dullness; if one mortifies the body too much, the body becomes weak and practice is difficult to sustain. If one is lax in sleep and rest, mindfulness declines; if one rigidly resists the needs of the body, the mind may become tense. Therefore, “well” is important here: it is not merely restraint by force of will, but knowing how to regulate properly in accordance with the aim of liberation.

Meaning for Practice

For those gone forth, being well restrained is the foundation of deportment. Deportment is not a rigid outward appearance, but the expression of a mind that knows what it is doing. When walking, standing, sitting, lying down, eating, speaking, and meeting others, such a person does not let body and speech move ahead of mindfulness. This ordinary life illuminated by awareness is what gives rise to dignity.

For laypeople, the lesson is also very close. Modern life has many doors of stimulation: images, sounds, news, praise and blame, comparison, consumption, and desire. If one is not well restrained, the mind is easily fragmented. A student of the Buddha can begin with simple practices: knowing how to pause before reacting, eating in moderation, resting without heedlessness, and using speech that causes less harm.

Being well restrained does not make life poorer; on the contrary, it makes life clearer. When one does not run after every object, one has the chance to see feelings arise and pass away. When one does not nourish every desire, one recognizes the lightness of a mind not possessed. When one does not abandon oneself to habit, one begins to see that freedom does not lie in doing everything one likes, but in the power not to be commanded by what one likes.

Comparative Note

The full text at the source link or a related textual source must be verified before determining the details of the content, the position of the training rule, the corresponding Chinese terminology, and specific cases of application. This interpretation does not name a translator, establish the source text, or affirm that the details about the sense faculties, eating, or sleep and rest are all present verbatim in the source entry. It is a temporary interpretation that may be used to restore truncated content in a cautious spirit and should be revised when full comparative data is available.