諸經要集

Editor-in-Chief: Thích Nguyên Chơn
XVIII. THE SIX PARAMITAS

XVIII.1. Giving

This section consists of seven parts: Introduction, Miserliness and Deceit, Giving Material Possessions, Giving the Dharma, An Examination of Giving, Fields of Merit, and Relative Considerations.

XVIII.1.1. Introduction

Giving is the foundation of the myriad practices; it is set forth first among the six paramitas^[33] and mentioned foremost among the four means of embracing beings^[34]. Thus, Anathapindika covered the garden with gold without hesitation, and King Sudana gave away his precious elephant without regret. Moreover, to rescue others from dangers, hardships, and suffering, bodhisattvas forgot even their own bodies: [88b] a bodhisattva cast himself down to save a starving tigress, and King Sibi cut flesh from his thigh to provide food in place of a dove for a hawk... How much less should lands, wives, children, and the like be regarded as matters of concern! How could money and wealth be worth setting one’s heart upon?

Even secular books record: “Sharing one’s food and clothing, forgetting oneself for the sake of others, sharing horses, carriages, and garments, and partaking together of sweetness and bitterness.” These are all examples of those who esteem righteousness above wealth and honor the worthy and the learned.

Furthermore, wealth is inherently impermanent. What true connection does it have with a person that one should labor to store it up, and for what purpose? It is also beset by the four fears^[35] and contested by the five claimants^[36]; what wise person would delight in it?

In recent times, some foolish people have been seen greedily clinging to their property, unwilling to relinquish it even at the cost of their lives. Merely because they crave life and fear death, they cause discord between husband and wife, strife among siblings, separation among relatives, and estrangement among friends. Through the cause of miserliness, the conditions of miserliness, the means of miserliness, and the karma of miserliness, they oppose the mind of a bodhisattva, obstruct the path of compassion, give rise to no thought of rescue or protection, and entertain only intentions to cause harm.

The root of these transgressions is precisely greed and miserliness.

XVIII.1.2. Miserliness and Deceit

In the Sutra of the Bodhisattva Dwelling in the Womb, the Buddha spoke this verse:

Most people are deluded and foolish,

Stingy and unwilling to give;

They hoard thousands of millions,

Regarding them as their own possessions.

When their lives are nearing the end,

They behold fierce ghosts and spirits;

A cold wind rends their bodies,

And their lives are no more.

Greed may be wholesome or unwholesome,

Yet its recompense brings bitter suffering;

When one is about to reach the place of punishment,

How can regret avail one then?

The Sutra of the Nirgrantha Satyaka contains this verse:

The greedy amass abundant stores,

Yet never know contentment;

Their minds, inverted through ignorance,

Always harbor thoughts of harming others.

In this life they are hated and resented;

After death they go to realms of suffering.

Therefore, those endowed with wisdom

Should always know contentment.

Clinging to wealth and refusing to give,

They hoard it, fearing others may know;

After death they depart empty-handed

And suffer among the hungry ghosts.

Hunger, thirst, heat, and cold,

Sorrow and distress continually consume them;

The wise do not hoard possessions,

So that they may overcome greed and miserliness.

[88c] The Sutra on the Analysis of Karmic Retribution contains this verse:

One may widely practice giving,

Yet be irascible and full of anger;

Failing to abide in right mindfulness,

One will later take the body of a vicious dragon.

The Sutra of the Bodhisattva’s Original Practices states: “If, upon seeing someone come to ask for alms, one displays irritation and drives that person away, know that one is opening the gate to the realm of hungry ghosts.”

The Great Collection Sutra states: “There are four circumstances that obstruct the Mahayana. They are:

1. Taking no delight in giving

2. Regretting after giving

3. Finding fault with the recipient after giving

4. Giving without contemplating suffering.

There are also four circumstances:

1. Giving out of desire

2. Giving out of anger

3. Giving out of delusion

4. Giving out of fear.

There are yet another four circumstances:

1. Not giving wholeheartedly

2. Not giving with one’s own hands

3. Not giving directly

4. Giving with contempt.”

The Sutra on the Upasaka Precepts states: “The Buddha taught: When bodhisattvas practice giving, they free themselves from four evils: breaking the precepts, doubt, wrong views, and miserliness.”

They also free themselves from five circumstances:

1. When giving, they do not discriminate between those who possess virtue and those who do not

2. When giving, they do not discriminate between good people and bad people

3. When giving, they do not discriminate according to social class

4. When giving, they do not look down upon those who ask

5. When giving, they do not revile others with harsh words.

There are three causes for which giving does not yield a fine karmic result: at first intending to give much but later giving little; choosing inferior things to give others; and giving, then feeling regret.

There are eight causes for which giving does not yield the supreme karmic result:

1. After giving, seeing faults in the recipient

2. When giving, lacking an impartial mind

3. After giving, hoping the recipient will repay the favor

4. After giving, delighting in praising oneself

5. First saying that one will not give, then later giving

6. After giving, reviling others with harsh words

7. After giving, hoping to receive twice as much in return

8. After giving, giving rise to doubt.

Those who give with such a mind will not encounter Buddhas or sages and noble beings. Only when one gives to everyone impartially, fully providing forms, fragrances, flavors, tactile objects, and so forth, can it be called pure giving.

If someone gives solely for the sake of meritorious recompense and does not delight in giving regularly, that person will receive a fine karmic result in a future life but will not delight in acts of giving.

If someone regrets after giving, or seizes another person’s possessions to give them away, that person may possess wealth in a future life, but it will frequently be lost and cannot be preserved.

If someone oppresses, harasses, and causes sorrow to relatives in order to obtain possessions to give away, that person may receive a fine karmic result in a future life, but the body will frequently be afflicted by illness and pain.

[89a] If someone has previously failed to support their parents, has distressed their wife, children, and servants, yet forces themselves to practice giving, that person is an evildoer who merely bears the name of a giver and whose giving does not accord with the true meaning of giving. Such a giver has no loving-kindness and does not know how to repay kindness. Therefore, although that person may possess great wealth in a future life, it will frequently be lost and cannot be preserved; nor will the person be able to make use of it, and the body will be afflicted by much illness and pain.

The Sutra on the Upasaka Precepts states: “When people without wealth declare that they have nothing to give, this is incorrect. Why? Because everyone has access to grass, trees, rivers, and water.

Even an emperor may not necessarily be able to give, whereas even an impoverished person can still do so. Why? An impoverished person still has a portion of rice.

After eating and washing the bowl, if that person knows to give the bowl-rinsing water to creatures that need it, merit will thereby be gained. Or if that person gives bran flour to ants, immeasurable meritorious recompense will also be gained. Even the poorest person under heaven possesses at least a little bran flour!

And among those in utter poverty, who has no clothing to wear? If one has clothes, how could one not have a single thread or needle to give someone for binding a wound, or a scrap of cloth no larger than a fingertip to serve as a lampwick?”

Good man! Although people in the present world may be impoverished, they still possess this body. Since they possess a body, when they see others performing good works, they should go and help them sweep, sprinkle water, undertake strenuous tasks, and so forth; they will thereby also receive fine karmic results. Therefore, the Satyasiddhi Treatise states: “The meritorious recompense of sweeping monastery grounds throughout Jambudvipa does not equal that of sweeping an area around a Buddha stupa no larger than the palm of one hand.”

The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya^[37] and the Mahisasaka Treatise state: “Long ago, when the Buddha was still in the world, there was in the city of Bhaddiya a renowned householder named Mendaka. He possessed abundant gold, silver, and other riches, and wielded great influence; therefore, whatever people needed, he supplied in full.”

In his house there was an opening as large as a cart axle, from which grain and rice naturally poured forth without ceasing. His wife took eight sheng of rice and cooked it for the fourfold army and for people coming from every direction to eat; no matter how much they ate, it was never exhausted. His son took a thousand taels of gold and gave it to the fourfold army and to those who came begging from the four directions; he distributed it according to their needs, yet it was never exhausted. His daughter-in-law took a bar of fragrant ointment and gave it to the fourfold army and to those who came seeking it from every direction; she fully supplied them according to their wishes, yet the fragrance was never exhausted.

The male servant took a plow and plowed seven furrows, and the grain grew ever more abundant. The female servant took eight sheng of grain and cooked it for the men and horses of the fourfold army; no matter how much they ate, it was never exhausted. The noble and lowly members of the household disputed among themselves, each claiming that this was due to his or her own power of merit. Mân-trà went to the Buddha and asked:

– Whose power of merit brought this about?

The Buddha replied:

– It is the power of merit of everyone in the household.

The Buddha further said:

– In former times, in the city of Rajagriha, there lived a weaver. He had a wife, a son, a daughter-in-law, a male servant, and a female servant. One day, while the entire household was eating, a pratyekabuddha came to beg for alms. At that time, each of them wished to offer his or her own portion of food. [89b] The pratyekabuddha said, ‘If each of you gives up just a little, I will have enough to eat, and none of you will lack anything.’ The entire household followed his words. After receiving the meal, the pratyekabuddha manifested various kinds of miraculous transformations^[38] in the sky and then departed. Through the merit of this offering, when the weaver’s entire household later died, they were all reborn in the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings^[39] and successively as far as the Heaven of Freely Transforming Others’ Enjoyments^[40]. They ascended and descended through these heavens seven times. Through their remaining merit, they were born in this realm and received equal karmic rewards.”

The Sutra on Purifying Karmic Hindrances states: “If a bodhisattva contemplates stinginess and generosity as not being two distinct characteristics; moral discipline and the breaking of moral discipline, anger and patience, indolence and diligence, distraction and meditative concentration, ignorance and wisdom, and so forth, as not being two distinct characteristics, this is called eliminating all karmic hindrances.”

XVIII.1.3. Giving Material Possessions

The Maharatnakuta Sutra states: “There are five ways of giving material possessions:

1. Giving with sincerity

2. Giving with faith

3. Giving at the proper time

3. Giving with one’s own hands

4. Giving in accordance with the Dharma.”

The Treatise on the Bodhisattva Stages and Discipline^[41] states: “All possessions used for giving may, in brief, be divided into two kinds: internal possessions and external possessions. When a bodhisattva relinquishes the body as a gift, this is called internal giving. If, for the sake of beings who eat vomited food, a bodhisattva eats and then vomits it out to give to them, this is called internal-external giving. Apart from these two cases, all other giving is called external giving.”

A bodhisattva’s internal giving is practiced in two ways:

1. When beings wish to rely upon the bodhisattva’s strength to attain security, the bodhisattva relinquishes the body and gives it to them. For example, some people, for the sake of food and clothing, must become dependent upon others and serve them as servants. In the same way, a bodhisattva acts not for gain or support, but solely for unsurpassed bodhi, for the peace and happiness of beings, and for the perfection of the paramita of generosity. Thus, when beings wish to rely upon the bodhisattva’s strength to attain security, the bodhisattva relinquishes the body and gives it to them.

2. According to the needs of beings, if they require any parts of the bodhisattva’s body, the bodhisattva gives them all without exception.

A bodhisattva’s external giving is also practiced in two ways:

1. Whatever objects beings seek, use, or delight in, the bodhisattva joyfully gives to them.

2. In order to serve beings, the bodhisattva willingly gives everything.

Although the internal and external possessions given by a bodhisattva differ, the manner of giving is impartial toward all beings. Sometimes the bodhisattva gives, and sometimes does not give. If giving would cause beings to rejoice but not bring them well-being, or would bring them neither joy nor well-being, the bodhisattva does not give. If giving would not cause beings to rejoice but would bring them well-being, or would bring them both well-being and joy, the bodhisattva gives everything.

The Mahasamnipata Sutra states: “A bodhisattva practices generosity in four ways in order to perfect wisdom. They are:

1. Offering Dharma teachers paper, brushes, ink, and other materials for copying sutras and writing texts.

2. Offering Dharma teachers lofty and beautiful seats adorned with precious things.

3. Offering Dharma teachers the requisites needed for making offerings.

4. Praising Dharma teachers with a reverent and sincere mind.”

The Sutra on the Precepts for Upasakas states: “Those who give clothing will obtain a beautiful form. [89c] Those who give food will obtain boundless strength. Those who give lamps will obtain a pure Dharma eye^[42]. Those who give vehicles will always enjoy bodily ease and happiness. Those who give dwellings will obtain all necessary provisions in abundance.

Those who give pure and wondrous things will later obtain a beautiful form that everyone delights to behold; their good reputation will spread far and wide, all their wishes will be fulfilled, and they will be born into a noble class. Such a person is not called an evil person.

If someone acquires fine articles, such as clothing and other things, to adorn the body, and after acquiring them greatly delights in them but, before using them, gives them to others, that person will obtain a wish-fulfilling tree^[43] in a future life.

If someone makes a daily vow, ‘I shall first give food to others and only then eat,’ and, should that person violate this vow, feels ashamed, regarding it as stealing the Buddha’s property^[44], while faithfully observing it becomes a cause and condition for attaining supreme wisdom. This is the noblest form among all forms of generosity. Such a person is also called the greatest donor.

If someone gives clothing, food, and other things to his wife and children, male servants, and female servants with loving-kindness and joy, that person will obtain immeasurable merit in a future life. If, upon seeing many birds and mice damaging the grain and rice in granaries or fields, one constantly gives rise to compassion and thinks, ‘Through my grain and rice, these creatures are able to live,’ and because of this thought remains joyful and has no intention of killing them, it should be known that this person will receive immeasurable meritorious rewards.”

The Sutra of the Great Bodhisattva Treasury states: “Because bodhisattvas practice the paramita of generosity in order to realize unsurpassed bodhi, they obtain ten praiseworthy benefits. They are:

1. By giving the five pure and wondrous objects of desire^[45], great bodhisattvas fully perfect all pure moral discipline, meditative concentration, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge and vision of liberation.

2. By giving fine objects of amusement, bodhisattvas fully perfect all pure Dharma bliss and joyful play.

3. By giving all necessities in abundance, bodhisattvas fully perfect the meaning of all Dharmas and proceed toward the seat of bodhi.

4. By giving their hands, bodhisattvas fully perfect all pure Dharma-hands and save beings.

5. By giving their ears and noses, bodhisattvas fully perfect the complete attainment of all faculties.

6. By giving the parts of their bodies, bodhisattvas fully perfect all the bodily marks of a Buddha, majestic, pure, and undefiled.

7. By giving their eyes, bodhisattvas fully perfect all pure and unobstructed Dharma eyes and clearly see all beings.

8. By giving their blood and flesh, bodhisattvas fully perfect an enduring body and life, protecting and nurturing the true roots of virtue of all beings.

[90a] 9. By giving their marrow and brains, bodhisattvas fully perfect the indestructible vajra body.

10. By giving their heads, bodhisattvas fully realize the unsurpassed, supreme, and perfect wisdom of omniscience, transcending the three realms^[46].”

O Shariputra! In order to attain unsurpassed bodhi, great bodhisattvas practice giving in this way and therefore accomplish bodily marks corresponding to such practice. Through the paramita of giving, they bring the Buddha-Dharma to perfection and fully accomplish praiseworthy benefits and supreme merit.

At that time, the Buddha spoke this verse:

Giving seeks neither wealth nor beauty,

Nor heavenly or human recompense;

It is solely for unsurpassed bodhi—

Though the gift be small, its merit is boundless.

XVIII.1.4. Giving the Dharma

This section explains the relative superiority and inferiority of giving material wealth and giving the Dharma.

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom records: “The Buddha taught:

– The giving of Dharma is the highest of all forms of giving. Why is this? Material giving can be measured, whereas Dharma giving cannot be measured. Material giving brings blessed recompense in the Desire Realm, whereas Dharma giving brings blessed recompense transcending the three realms. Material giving cannot eliminate the outflows, whereas Dharma giving completely ends the outflows and reaches the shore of liberation. Material giving brings only the blessed recompense of the heavenly and human realms, whereas Dharma giving brings the blessed recompense of all three vehicles. Material giving can be practiced by both fools and the wise, whereas Dharma giving is limited to the wise. In material giving, only the giver receives merit; Dharma giving benefits both the giver and the recipient. Material giving can be received by fools and animals alike, whereas Dharma giving is limited to the wise. Material giving benefits only the physical body, whereas Dharma giving benefits the mind. Material giving causes greed to increase, whereas Dharma giving completely eradicates the three poisons^[47].”

Therefore, the Great Collection Sutra records: “Even the giving of a great abundance of precious treasures cannot equal wholeheartedly reading, reciting, accepting, and retaining a single verse. The giving of Dharma is the most excellent, surpassing even food and drink.”

The Sutra of Unprecedented Events records: “Shakra, Lord of the Devas, asked the jackal^[48]:

– What merit is gained from giving food and from giving the Dharma? Please explain this to me.

The jackal replied:

– Giving food and drink sustains bodily life for only one day. Giving precious possessions helps one escape poverty and hardship for one lifetime, yet it still increases one’s bonds. Teaching the Dharma to guide and transform others is called the giving of Dharma; it can enable sentient beings to transcend the three realms.”

The Treatise of the Great Man records: “Material giving can be practiced by everyone; Dharma giving can be practiced only by those who possess great compassion. Material giving removes sentient beings’ physical suffering, whereas Dharma giving removes the painful afflictions of their minds. To those with much craving and attachment, give material possessions; to those with much delusion, give the Dharma. [90b] Those who give material possessions obtain inexhaustible wealth; those who give the Dharma obtain boundless wisdom.

Those who give material possessions enjoy bodily ease and happiness; those who give the Dharma enjoy peace and joy of mind. Those who give material possessions are loved by sentient beings; those who give the Dharma are revered by sentient beings. Those who give material possessions are favored by fools; those who give the Dharma are admired by the wise.

Those who give material possessions bring sentient beings joy in the present life; those who give the Dharma bring them the joy of the heavenly realms and nirvana. As the verse says:

The Buddha’s wisdom pervades empty space;

Clouds of great compassion spread everywhere.

Dharma giving, like beneficent rain,

Fills the pools of skandhas^[49] and dhatus^[50].

The four means of embracing are skillful means,

Causes of the peace and joy of liberation;

By practicing the Noble Eightfold Path,

One shall attain the fruit of nirvana.

The Moon-Lamp Samadhi Sutra records: “The Buddha taught:

– If bodhisattvas practice the giving of Dharma, they will obtain ten benefits. They are:

1. They eliminate evil deeds.

2. They constantly perform wholesome deeds.

3. They abide in the Dharma of the noble ones.

4. They purify Buddha lands.

5. They accomplish the mind of bodhi.

6. They relinquish desires.

7. They subdue the afflictions.

8. They bestow merit upon sentient beings.

9. They constantly arouse loving-kindness toward sentient beings.

10. They see the path and attain peace and joy.”

The Treatise on the Bodhisattva Stages records: “If a bodhisattva knows that a person holds wrong views and seeks to find faults in the Dharma, the bodhisattva should not impart that Dharma or give that person scriptures. If a person is greedy for wealth and habitually sells scriptures, the bodhisattva should likewise not give them to that person. If a person who receives scriptures merely stores them away without reading them, the bodhisattva should likewise not give them to that person.

If the doctrine is not something that person needs to understand, the bodhisattva should likewise not impart it. If it is a doctrine that the person needs to understand and the bodhisattva has already understood it, the bodhisattva should explain it according to that person’s inclinations. If that person still does not understand the doctrine, the bodhisattva should encourage that person to study and cultivate it personally.

Furthermore, if the bodhisattva knows that another person possesses such scriptures, the bodhisattva should indicate where they may be found or copy them and then give the copies to the seeker. The bodhisattva should examine their own mind. If they discover even the slightest stinginess concerning the Dharma, they should give away the scripture; this is called the giving of Dharma.

Even in the present life, I must give the Dharma to foolish, mute, or inarticulate people and others in order to remove their afflictions; how much more should I provide them with the skillful means of wisdom for future lives?”

The Sutra on the Precepts of the Upasaka records: “Any bhikshu, bhikshuni, upasaka, or upasika who fully possesses moral discipline, generosity, extensive learning, and wisdom, and is capable of teaching and transforming others—whether by providing paper and ink and asking others to make copies, or by personally copying the Buddha’s scriptures and then giving them to others to read and recite—is said to practice the giving of Dharma. [90c] Those who give in this way will be born in the heavenly realms in future lives and possess beautiful bodies. Why is this?

When sentient beings hear the Dharma, they eliminate anger; through this cause and condition, they obtain beautiful bodies in future lives. When sentient beings hear the Dharma, their loving-kindness expands and they refrain from killing living beings; through this cause and condition, they obtain long lives in future lives. When sentient beings hear the Dharma, they do not steal others’ possessions; through this cause and condition, they possess abundant gold, silver, and wealth in future lives.

When sentient beings hear the Dharma, they joyfully resolve to practice giving; through this cause and condition, they obtain healthy bodies in future lives. When sentient beings hear the Dharma, they cease to be heedless; through this cause and condition, their bodies enjoy peace and ease in future lives. When sentient beings hear the Dharma, they eliminate anger and delusion; through this cause and condition, they obtain unobstructed eloquence in future lives.

When sentient beings hear the Dharma, their faith becomes steadfast; through this cause and condition, they obtain unwavering faith in future lives.

The same applies to moral discipline, generosity, extensive learning, wisdom, and so forth. Therefore, one should know that giving the Dharma is superior to giving material possessions.”

Question: Since it is known that giving the Dharma is superior to giving material possessions, would it be acceptable for sentient beings to learn only the giving of Dharma and refuse to practice material giving?

Answer: Because they do not clearly understand the meaning of material giving, sentient beings give with deluded minds, vainly seeking the favorable material rewards of the heavenly and human realms; it is feared that they may fall into the three realms of suffering and fail to accomplish the path of liberation. Therefore, the Buddha earnestly taught the Dharma so that sentient beings might clearly understand that the true nature of the giver, the recipient, and the gift is emptiness, and on that basis practice material giving, thereby swiftly accomplishing the excellent fruit of bodhi and nirvana. The remaining practices among the six paramitas and myriad deeds, such as moral discipline and patience, must likewise be guided by wisdom in order to be brought to perfect fulfillment.

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: “Among the six paramitas, the first five are like a blind person, while the sixth paramita, wisdom, is like a person with sight. If one practices the first five paramitas without the guidance of wisdom, one will fall into realms of suffering and be unable to attain liberation. Upon hearing that the gift of Dharma surpasses the gift of material possessions, a foolish person, failing to understand, may cling tightly to his wealth and delight only in reading and reciting scriptures. To practice in this way is inferior to an understanding person’s gift of a single coin, which is still more excellent than a deluded person’s reading and reciting hundreds of thousands of myriads of scripture scrolls.

Therefore, the Tathagata expounds the Dharma principally so that sentient beings may understand and practice it. If one merely understands but does not practice, that is empty understanding and is of no benefit. If one merely practices but does not understand, that is an inferior and insipid undertaking.

Thus, only when both understanding and practice are complete can one reach the shore of liberation. Merely understanding without practicing is like having eyes but no legs: one cannot travel far. Merely practicing without understanding is like having legs but no eyes: one cannot see the road.

Furthermore, merely understanding without practicing is like an illusory flower in empty space, which can never bear fruit. Merely practicing without understanding is like fruit that has not arisen from a flower. Therefore, understanding and practice must proceed together for the fruit of Buddhahood to be attained.”

XVIII.1.5. Discerning the Appropriate Measure of Giving

Among those who practice giving, some are wise and others foolish. [91a] When a wise person practices giving, he should examine the recipient. If the gift will be beneficial, he should give; if it will not be beneficial, he should not give.

Therefore, the Sutra on the Upasaka Precepts states: “When encountering a poor and suffering person, one should first ask: ‘Can you take refuge in the Three Jewels^[51] and undertake the fasting precepts^[52]?’ If he says, ‘I can,’ one should first transmit to him the teaching of the Three Refuges and the fasting precepts, and only afterward give him material possessions. If he says, ‘I cannot,’ one should ask further: ‘Can you repeat after me that all phenomena are impermanent and without self, and that nirvana is quiescent cessation?’ If he says, ‘I can,’ one should instruct him and only afterward give him material possessions. If one has no possessions oneself, one should encourage those who do possess wealth to give to him.

A foolish person greedily clings to wealth and does not understand impermanence. Although both person and possessions will ultimately belong to others, he still clings to them with greed and miserliness. A bodhisattva sees that such material possessions provide no benefit and may even cause the abandonment of one’s cultivation of the path, and therefore tells him to relinquish and give them away quickly.”

The Treatise on Adornment states: “Things that cause one affliction should not be stored up but must be relinquished, even if they make one wealthy and honored. Just as a bee gathers honey only for others to benefit while gaining nothing for itself, so too is it with material possessions.

Furthermore, among possessions used for giving, some are acquired in accordance with Dharma and others contrary to Dharma. Even when possessions acquired contrary to Dharma are given away, the merit gained is very slight; when possessions acquired in accordance with Dharma are given, the merit gained is very great.”

The Maharatnakuta Sutra states: “There are five kinds of material things that should not be given:

1. Material possessions acquired through improper means should not be given, because they are impure

2. Alcohol and poison should not be given, because they disturb the minds of sentient beings

3. Traps and fishing nets should not be given, because they cause sentient beings suffering

4. Knives, clubs, bows, and arrows should not be given, because they harm sentient beings

5. Music and women’s charms should not be given, because they destroy the pure minds of sentient beings.”

The Treatise on the Bodhisattva Grounds states: “A bodhisattva should not give food or drink that is contrary to Dharma. Examples include food or drink kept overnight by monastics; food contaminated with feces, urine, phlegm, saliva, blood, or pus; and rice or grain of unknown origin. Foods contrary to Dharma that should be discarded include those mixed with pungent, foul-smelling onions or chives, foods containing meat, and drinks mixed with strong alcohol.... Such things contrary to Dharma should not be given to either people or animals.”

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: “If a person obtains possessions by every manner of beating, torturing, capturing, and binding others and then gives those possessions away, in a future life he will be born among elephants, horses, or cattle. Although he takes the body of an animal, constantly bears heavy loads, and is frequently beaten, tethered, used to carry burdens, and ridden, he will have good shelter and delicious food and will be loved and cared for by people.

An evil person whose heart is filled with anger and who is deceitful and unrighteous, yet practices giving, will in a future life fall into the realm of dragons, where he will dwell in a palace made of the seven treasures, eat delicious food, and possess a beautiful form.

An arrogant and conceited person who gives with an angry mind will in a future life fall into the state of a garuda^[53]. He will always be able to act as he wishes, possess a necklace of wish-fulfilling jewels, have everything he needs in abundance, [91b] exercise inconceivable transformations, and accomplish whatever he undertakes.

If, for example, a prime minister extorts possessions from the people in violation of the laws of the state and then gives away that wealth, in a future life he will fall into the state of a kumbhanda spirit^[54], able to transform the five sense objects into all manner of things for his own enjoyment.

A person who is extremely angry and violent, delights in eating meat and drinking alcohol, yet practices giving, will in a future life fall into the state of an earth-traveling yaksha^[55], where he will constantly enjoy every kind of pleasure, music, food, and drink.

An overbearing and domineering person who gives horses and carriages to those traveling on foot will in a future life fall into the state of a sky-traveling yaksha^[56], possessing great strength and moving as swiftly as the wind.

Furthermore, a person who harbors jealousy and is prone to quarrels, yet knows to give houses, rooms, beds, fine clothing, and delicious food and drink, will in a future life be born as a flying yaksha^[57], dwelling in palaces and towers, fully provided with comfortable food and lodging, and enjoying every kind of pleasure.

If a person causes others grief and suffering, oppresses them to seize their possessions, and then uses those possessions to create merit, he will incur wrongdoing. It would be far more beneficial for him to preserve a pure mind and cultivate his own character.”

The Treatise on the Bodhisattva Grounds states: “If, in giving, a bodhisattva causes others suffering, or is coerced by them, or is treated with contempt by them, or is petitioned in a manner contrary to Dharma, then neither giver nor recipient gains any benefit. For the sake of sentient beings, a bodhisattva would rather relinquish his own body and life than give in accordance with their cravings. Even when pressured, he still should not give, because this is not an occasion for a bodhisattva to practice pure giving.

As for external things a bodhisattva should not give: if someone comes to request things contrary to Dharma, such as poison, fire, knives, or alcohol, or asks him to act as a matchmaker, provide amusements, and so forth, the bodhisattva should not give them. If the bodhisattva gives such things, he enables them to commit many transgressions, causing them to fall into realms of suffering from which they cannot gain liberation. If someone comes to request parts of the bodhisattva’s body, however, he should give them at once without deliberation, lest that person become discouraged.”

The Sutra on the Upasaka Precepts states: “If a person harasses his relatives in order to obtain possessions to give away, then although he may receive favorable karmic recompense in a future life, his body will constantly be afflicted by illness, pain, and suffering. If a person has previously failed to support his parents and has distressed his wife, children, and servants, causing them suffering, and then practices giving, he is an evil person; his giving exists in name only and does not accord with the true meaning of giving.

Such a giver has no loving-kindness and does not know how to repay kindness. Although he may possess great wealth in a future life, it will frequently be lost; he will be unable to preserve or use it, and his body will be afflicted by much illness, pain, and suffering.”

This passage demonstrates that one who forcibly seizes the possessions of others in order to create merit will reap the karmic recompense of suffering. What benefit could there be in that?

In this present age of the decline of the Dharma, both monastics and laypeople have deteriorated. They vie with one another in expounding fasting and precepts, coercing people into providing money and possessions with which to erect monasteries and build stupas. Such conduct does not accord with the scriptures; on the contrary, it incurs karmic retribution. It would be better to sit quietly, cultivate and rectify one’s mind and nature, practice the supremely excellent Dharma^[58], and remain far removed from craving and attachment so as not to commit this fault.

[91c] If one who teaches the Dharma does so with a pure mind, and those who listen wholeheartedly seek the Dharma and relinquish possessions as offerings, then the Dharma should be taught to them so that they may perfect merit and wisdom. One must not, upon seeing the judgment above, indiscriminately reject everything, give rise to disparagement, and obstruct the creation of merit.

Venerable Asvabhava’s^[59] Commentary on the Mahayana-samgraha states: “If a bodhisattva sees that another person places great value on wealth and status, the bodhisattva should not give to that person, lest the gift become fruitless and yield no meritorious reward. Even if a gift were offered, the other person would not accept it. What, then, would be the purpose of giving? As the verse says:

Like a mother nursing her child,

Throughout the month without weariness,

If the child is unable to suckle,

What can the mother do?

Better to lack wealth and status,

And stay far from evil paths and unwholesome deeds;

Do not let riches and honor disturb the mind,

Bringing much painful retribution in future lives.”

The Ekottarika Agama Sutra states: “At that time, the Buddha told the bhiksus:

– There are five circumstances in which giving is said to be timely and beneficial. They are:

1. Giving to one who has come from afar.

2. Giving to one who is traveling far away.

3. Giving to one who is ill.

4. Giving in a time of distress.

5. When fruits and crops such as wheat and rice have just been harvested, one should first give to those who diligently uphold the precepts, and only afterward partake of them oneself.

Therefore, in these five circumstances, one should remember to give according to the appropriate time. If the giver is pure and gives at the proper time, that person will receive timely karmic results; that is, whenever giving is appropriate, one gives with purity. When the weather is cold, give warm shelter, woolen blankets, firewood, hot rice, and so forth.

When the weather is hot, give such things as cool shelter, light clothing, water, fans, and so forth. When people are thirsty, provide drinking water; when they are hungry, offer food; when there is wind and rain, escort and transport them; when the weather is fine, invite the Sangha. In this way, if one responds to their needs at the proper time and enables them to find peace and happiness, one will gain merit in future lives and receive excellent karmic results.”

XVIII.1.6. Fields of Merit

The Upasaka Precepts Sutra states: “If one gives to animals, one receives a hundredfold meritorious reward. If one gives to a person who breaks the precepts, one receives a thousandfold meritorious reward. If one gives to a person who upholds the precepts, one receives a hundred-thousandfold meritorious reward.

If one gives to a non-Buddhist ascetic who has abandoned sensual desire, one receives a millionfold meritorious reward. If one gives to a person whose mind is directed toward the Buddha Way, one receives a hundred billionfold meritorious reward. If one makes offerings to a stream-enterer, one receives immeasurable meritorious reward.

If one makes offerings to a once-returner, one likewise receives immeasurable meritorious reward; and even if one makes offerings to one who has attained Buddhahood, one also receives immeasurable meritorious reward.

I shall now distinguish the various kinds of fields of merit^[60] so that you may clearly understand them.

If a person, with wholehearted compassion, gives to animals, the meritorious reward is equal to that of one who, with utmost sincerity and reverence, makes offerings to all Buddhas.

To say that one ‘receives a hundredfold meritorious reward’ means that one who gives to animals will, in a future life, receive a hundredfold measure of longevity, beauty, strength, happiness, and eloquence. According to the particular recipient of the gift, the meritorious reward increases progressively until it becomes immeasurable.

[92a] As I stated in the sutras: ‘I give to Sariputra, and Sariputra also makes offerings to me, but it is I who gain the greater meritorious reward, not Sariputra.’

Some say: ‘If the recipient of a gift commits evil, the offense also affects the donor.’ This interpretation is incorrect. Why? When the donor gives, it is to relieve the other person’s suffering, not to cause that person to commit offenses. Therefore, the donor will receive an excellent karmic result, while the recipient who commits evil personally incurs the corresponding retribution, which has nothing to do with the donor.

Question: If making offerings to a noble one produces extremely great merit, why does the sutra state: ‘When a wise person practices giving, that person does not discriminate among fields of merit’?

Answer: This meaning may be explained in several ways. Among givers, a distinction is made between the wise and the foolish; among recipients of giving, a distinction is made between fields of compassion^[61] and fields of reverence^[62].

Compassion means giving to the poor and distressed. Reverence means making offerings to the Three Jewels. In compassionate giving, the field of merit is inferior, but the mind is great. In reverential giving, the field of merit is great, but the mind is small. If one uses a great mind to make offerings to a Buddha, the resulting meritorious reward is not equal to that gained by giving to the poor and distressed.”

Therefore, the Sutra on Resolving Doubts During the Semblance Dharma states: “Some sentient beings see others gathering money and possessions to create merit solely for the sake of fame, and so they too exhaust all the wealth in their households in order to give. Yet when they see destitute and solitary people come to beg, they curse and drive them away without giving them even a single coin. Such people are said to practice goodness in an inverted manner. To create merit in such a foolish and inverted way is called creating merit improperly. Such people are truly pitiable! They give away a great deal of wealth, yet gain very little merit.

Good man! On one occasion, I told the great assembly:

– If a person makes offerings to all the Buddhas of the ten directions, the bodhisattvas, and the assembly of sravakas for asamkhya^[63] kalpas, this still does not equal the merit of giving an animal a handful of rice or a mouthful of water. The meritorious reward of the latter exceeds that of the former by hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of myriads of billions, immeasurably and boundlessly. Even giving to hungry dogs, worms, ants, and so forth brings the same meritorious reward. Therefore, the field of compassion is supreme.”

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: “Sariputra once offered the Buddha a bowl of rice. The Buddha immediately turned and gave it to a dog, and then asked Sariputra:

– Who gained the greater merit?

Sariputra replied:

– According to my understanding of the meaning of the Buddhadharma, the Buddha gained greater merit by feeding the dog.”

If considered in terms of revering the Dharma, honoring persons, and stages of cultivation, then the field of reverence is superior. Therefore, the Upasaka Precepts Sutra states: “If one gives to animals, one receives a hundredfold meritorious reward; but if one makes offerings to a stream-enterer, one receives immeasurable meritorious reward. Making offerings to an arhat or a pratyekabuddha still does not equal making offerings to a Buddha, much less does giving to other kinds of beings.”

If one practices giving with a mind of equality, then whether the recipient is a field of compassion or a field of reverence is not considered. Whenever one gives with a mind of equality, one gains extremely great merit. Therefore, the Vimalakirti Sutra states: “Divide it into two portions: offer one portion to the Buddha, Tathagata Durdharsa, and give the other portion to the lowliest beggar in the city. These two fields of merit are equal.”

[92b] The Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish states: “After the Blessed One renounced the household life, his maternal aunt, Mahaprajapati, personally wove silk and made it into a yellow robe. Her heart was ever filled with longing as she waited only for the Buddha to return so that she might offer it to him. Thus, when she finally met the Buddha, his maternal aunt was overjoyed and immediately presented the robe as an offering.

At that time, the Buddha told Gautami:

– Maternal Aunt, you should take this robe and offer it to the Sangha!

Prajapati again said to the Buddha:

– Ever since the Blessed One renounced the household life, I have lovingly thought of you day and night. Therefore, I personally wove this silk while longing and waiting for you. I humbly beseech the Blessed One to have compassion and accept this robe!

The Buddha told his maternal aunt:

– I know that you wholeheartedly wish to make this offering to the Tathagata. However, an offering made out of affectionate love does not yield great meritorious reward. If you offer it to the Sangha, you will gain greater merit. The Tathagata clearly knows this, and therefore advises you in this way.”

The Sutra on the Householder’s Invitation of the Sangha as a Field of Merit states: “To invite five hundred arhats individually is not equal to inviting and making offerings to a single ordinary member of the Sangha according to the proper order. In My teaching, there is no practice of accepting individual invitations. If anyone invites members of the Sangha individually, that person is not My disciple, for this is the practice of the six non-Buddhist teachers and is something that all seven Buddhas of the past^[64] rejected.

Therefore, one should know that giving is practiced in three ways, and they cannot all be said to be the same.”

XVIII.1.7. Comparative Cases

There are five sets of comparative cases:

1. The field of merit and the offering, with four cases:

a. The field of merit is great, but the offering is small: as when a boy offered sand to the Buddha, and so forth.

b. The offering is abundant, but the field of merit is inferior: as when precious objects are given to the poor, and so forth.

c. Both the field of merit and the offering are great: as when precious objects are offered to the Buddha, and so forth.

d. Both the field of merit and the offering are inferior: as when grass is given to animals, and so forth.

2. Weighty and slight, with four cases:

a. The breadth of mind is great, but the offering is small: as when a poor woman offered a piece of cloth to the great assembly and thereby gained immense merit.

b. The offering is abundant, but the breadth of mind is narrow: as when a king’s consort offered precious objects to the Sangha with a heart full of arrogance and therefore gained very little merit.

The latter two cases may be understood accordingly.

3. Empty and existent.

a. The mind apprehends emptiness, but the object is not relinquished: as when a person, though studying the contemplation of “emptiness,” remains attached to and miserly with possessions and refuses to give; that person will instead undergo the karmic result of poverty and deprivation.

b. The object is relinquished, but the mind does not apprehend emptiness: as when a person knows that giving possessions will bring wealth and therefore greatly delights in giving; consequently, that person’s meritorious reward becomes even greater.

The latter two cases may be understood accordingly.

4. Much and little

The Dharmapada Sutra states: “There are four cases of giving. They are:

a. Giving much and gaining little merit: as when foolish people arrange sacrificial rites, drink

liquor, sing, dance, and so forth, thereby wasting wealth without gaining merit, virtue, or wisdom. This is giving much but gaining little merit.

b. Giving little and gaining much merit: as when a person makes offerings to the Sangha with a mind

of loving-kindness, and after eating, the Sangha diligently practices and studies. This is giving little but receiving an exceedingly great meritorious reward.

[92c]c. Giving little and gaining little merit: as when gifts are made to two kinds of foolish persons:

those who are greedy, miserly, and malicious, and non-Buddhists who hold wrong views. This is giving little and likewise gaining little merit.

d. Giving much and also gaining much merit: as when a virtuous person clearly understands that life is impermanent and therefore gladly spends wealth to build stupas, monasteries, viharas, and gardens, and offers the Three Jewels such necessities as robes, blankets, footwear, beds and mats, food, drink, and so forth. The meritorious reward of such offerings is like five great rivers flowing into the vast ocean. Merit continues to flow in this way, life after life, without end. This is giving much and likewise receiving a great meritorious reward.”

5. Defiled and pure

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: “Within the Buddha’s teaching, there are four cases of giving:

a. The giver is pure, but the recipient is impure.

b. The giver is impure, but the recipient is pure.

c. Both the giver and the recipient are pure.

d. Both the giver and the recipient are impure.

Here only one case will be explained; the remaining cases may be understood accordingly.

What does it mean for both to be pure? When a Buddha makes an offering to a Buddha, both are pure. Another example is when flowers obtained through the power of the merit of Buddha Ratnakuta in the eastern direction are sent to Bodhisattva Universal Radiance,^[65] who abides at the tenth stage with a Dharma body, to be scattered as offerings to Buddha Sakyamuni. One should know that the Buddhas of the ten directions are the greatest fields of merit. In this case, both are pure.”

The Sutra on the Upasaka Precepts states: “The Buddha taught:

—If a person possessing wealth sees a beggar approaching and immediately refuses, saying, ‘I have nothing,’ one should know that this person has planted the cause of poverty and meager virtue in a future life. Such a person is called heedless, and the claim of having no possessions is untrue. Why is this?

Because everyone has access to grass, trees, rivers, and water. Even an emperor may not necessarily be able to give, while even an impoverished person can still practice giving. Why?

An impoverished person also has a portion of rice. After eating and washing the bowl, if that person knows to give the bowl-rinsing water to creatures that can use it, merit and virtue will still be gained. Or if bran flour is given to ants, immeasurable meritorious rewards will also be gained.

Among the poorest people in the world, who does not have even a little bran flour? Who does not eat three balls of rice each day to sustain life? Therefore, everyone should give half a portion of their rice to those who beg.

Good man! Even among the utterly impoverished, who possesses this body yet has no clothes to wear? If one has clothing, could one truly have no single thread to give someone for binding a wound, or no tiny piece of cloth the size of a fingertip to use as a lampwick?

People in the present world, though impoverished, still possess this body. Since they have a body, when they see others performing good deeds, they should go and assist them joyfully and tirelessly. This is also called giving one’s life, and it likewise yields merit and virtue. Sometimes one gains a portion of their merit, sometimes an equal share, and sometimes even more. [93a] Therefore, when receiving food from King Prasenajit, I also made an aspirational blessing. In this way, the king and the poor gained equal merit and virtue, without any difference.

There are four kinds of incense: anointing incense, powdered incense, scattered incense, and burning incense. Those who touch it, those who buy it, those who sell it, and so forth all smell its fragrance equally, yet none of the fragrances is diminished in the slightest. The practice of giving is likewise: whether the gift is much or little, coarse or fine; whether one comes to assist with a sympathetic and joyful heart; or whether, upon seeing or hearing of it from afar, one’s heart gives rise to joy. Because these states of mind are alike, the resulting rewards are without difference.

If a person without possessions sees others giving but has no faith, does not rejoice sympathetically, and instead harbors doubts about the field of merit, this is called poverty. If a person possesses abundant wealth and can use it freely, and also encounters an excellent field of merit, but personally has no faith and does not know to give or make offerings, that too is called poverty. Therefore, a wise person examines himself thus: Even if eating one additional ball of rice would mean living and giving it away would mean dying, he should still give it, how much more so when he possesses an abundance!

A wise person further contemplates that in this world there may be people who observe the precepts, are learned, and even attain the fruit of arhatship, yet still cannot escape the suffering of hunger, thirst, and so forth; or there may be people for whom houses, clothing, food, drink, beds and mats, medicines, and other necessities are difficult to obtain. All of this is because they did not plant the causes of giving in past lives.

If a person who breaks the precepts delights in giving, then even upon falling among hungry ghosts or animals, that person will constantly have enough and never experience deprivation.

Though people may be wealthy and honored and enjoy the highest pleasures of the heavenly and human realms, they still do not know contentment. Therefore, I practice giving for the sake of unsurpassed bliss, not for the pleasures of the heavenly and human realms. Why? Because such pleasures are impermanent and limited.

If those who give do so joyfully and without regret and associate closely with good people, they will later be born into noble families, enjoy wealth, honor, freedom, and the pleasures of the heavenly and human realms, and ultimately attain unsurpassed bodhi, forever leaving behind all the bonds of affliction.”

If donors personally give alms with their own hands, they will later be born into an eminent family, encounter善 spiritual friends, possess abundant wealth and a full retinue, and be able both to enjoy their wealth and to give it away. All sentient beings will delight in looking upon them and, whenever they meet them, will show them reverence and respect and sing their praises.”

The Treatise on the Great Man states: “Even mud and earth are valued more highly than gold and jewels by a miserly person. A person possessed of great compassion, however, regards even the giving of gold and jewels as more trifling than giving grass and wood. Those whose hearts are deeply miserly suffer immeasurable grief when they lose their wealth.

Those who give bring joy to the recipients and therefore rejoice along with them. Suppose they have delicious food: if they do not give any away but eat it alone, they will not find it delicious. [93b] If, however, they have inferior food and first give some away before eating, the joy within their hearts will make it taste exceedingly delicious. After giving, they partake of what remains, their minds ever joyful as though they had attained nirvana. How could those without faith believe these words?

Some people, though possessing inferior food and seeing a hungry person standing before them, will not give it away, much less anything delicious. Others, though standing beside a great river, will not even draw a little water to give to sentient beings, much less give any other fine thing. In this world, filthy earth is easier to obtain than water, yet when greedy, miserly people hear someone ask them for even filthy earth, they still begrudge it; how much more so their wealth.

Consider two people: one is exceedingly rich, while the other is exceedingly poor. When a beggar comes to them, both experience distress. The wealthy person fears that the other has come to ask for something. The person without possessions thinks, ‘What can I do to obtain even some small thing to give them?’ Although these two people experience the same distress, their karmic recompense differs. Through the compassion in their heart, the poor person is born among gods and humans and enjoys immeasurable happiness. Because of greed and miserliness, the rich person is born among hungry ghosts and undergoes immeasurable suffering.

A bodhisattva’s compassionate heart alone is sufficient; how much more so when the bodhisattva gives even a small amount of material wealth. With a compassionate heart, the bodhisattva wishes to give but possesses nothing. Upon seeing a beggar, the bodhisattva cannot bear to say, ‘I have nothing,’ and can only grieve and shed tears. If merely hearing them lament their suffering is already unbearable to the bodhisattva, how could the bodhisattva see their suffering with their own eyes and fail to offer aid? Such a thing is impossible.

When compassionate people see sentient beings suffering from poverty but have no possessions to give them, they experience immeasurable grief and anguish. A bodhisattva aids sentient beings and, seeing them endure suffering, must sorrowfully shed tears. From those tears, one may know how deeply grieved the bodhisattva’s heart is.

There are three circumstances that cause a bodhisattva to shed tears:

1. Seeing someone create merit, the bodhisattva sheds tears out of esteem and affection.

2. Seeing sentient beings who suffer and possess no merit, the bodhisattva sheds tears out of compassion for them.

3. When practicing vast generosity, the bodhisattva sheds tears from overwhelming emotion.

If all the tears that bodhisattvas have shed from the past until now were gathered together, they would exceed the waters of the four great seas. Even all the tears shed by sentient beings throughout this world as they grieve over separation from loved ones cannot equal the tears of bodhisattvas.

When bodhisattvas see sentient beings suffering from poverty but possess nothing to give them, they sorrowfully shed tears. Upon hearing a beggar’s voice, a bodhisattva also sheds tears. When the beggar sees the bodhisattva weeping, although the bodhisattva has not said, ‘I shall give,’ the beggar should know with certainty that something will be received.

When seeing a beggar approach, the bodhisattva experiences immeasurable distress. Only when the beggar receives material goods and joy arises in their heart does the bodhisattva’s distress cease. Upon hearing the beggar’s lament, the bodhisattva sorrowfully sheds uncontrollable tears. Only when the beggar says, ‘That is enough,’ can the bodhisattva restrain those tears.

After practicing generosity and ensuring that sentient beings have all they need, the bodhisattva enters the mountains and forests to cultivate meditation and eradicate the three poisons. [93c] At that time, material goods become many times more abundant, yet there are no beggars to whom they may be given. The bodhisattva then thinks, ‘I have now gone forth into homelessness and severed all fetters.’”

XVIII.2. Observance of the Precepts

XVIII.2.1. Introduction

I have humbly heard that the precepts are the teacher of humankind and should be reverently observed by monastics and laity alike. The mind is the master of actions and must be disciplined by ordinary beings and sages alike. Truly, through the protective blessing of the Three Jewels, all four modes of birth^[66] receive their beneficent influence. Thus the scripture says, “Whether the True Dharma abides or perishes depends upon this very point.”

Therefore, the merit of observing the precepts has been clearly revealed in the Great Scripture^[67], and the venerable nature of goodness has been fully explained in the Great Treatise^[68]. The precepts are compared to the radiant sun and moon and likened to a precious jewel. In principle, they resemble fragrant ointment; in effect, they resemble precious water.

Because the precepts possess the power to cross the great ocean, they are called “the sturdy vessel.” Because they also possess the power to nurture the sprouts of goodness, they are called “the level ground.” Thus bodhisattvas reverently observe them without the slightest deficiency, not even one as small as a particle of dust, while arhats guard them without committing even an offense as tiny as a mustard seed. They would rather die of thirst than drink water containing living creatures; they would rather be bound and lose their lives than harm a blade of grass.

The Book of Documents states, “To establish oneself, cultivate the Way, and make one’s name illustrious in later generations, one must constantly cherish faithful and trustworthy words and deeds.” How then could one allow the mind to run wild like a horse without reins or whip, or let it roam at will like an ape swinging from branch to branch, without restraint? Once the buoyant raft has been punctured, the way ahead becomes obscure; once the vessel of merit has shattered, wholesome conditions are cut off. Some associate with evil people and befriend the fierce and cruel, joining them in disorderly conduct and committing every kind of transgression without the least shame or remorse, sinking lower day by day and drifting on without end.

Those who violate the precepts are like hemp and mugwort, whose branches and leaves are all bitter; they are also like the haritaki tree^[69], whose entire body possesses no sweetness. From dawn until dusk, such people have no day of deliverance. They wander through many kalpas, enduring immeasurable pain that is truly difficult to bear.

Consequently, they must endure iron cauldrons filled with furiously boiling water, whose poisonous vapors surge to the heavens; charcoal furnaces in which savage flames blaze, scorching and splitting the earth; molten copper poured into their mouths, destroying their intestines and dissolving their livers; and red-hot copper pillars that burn their bodies until flesh and bones disintegrate. They writhe and scream—what words could describe it!

All such suffering results from violating the prohibitive precepts.”

XVIII.2.2. Exhortation to Observe the Precepts

The Treatise on the Great Adornment states: “Those who sincerely resolve to observe the precepts, even at the cost of their lives, will receive karmic recompense in this very life. I once heard that in the city of Nandivardhana there lived two brothers who were upasakas, both of whom had undertaken the Five Precepts. At that time, the younger brother was suddenly afflicted with pain in his back and was near death. The physician told him:

– You must eat the flesh of a freshly killed dog and drink wine; then your illness will be cured.

The sick man replied:

– I can buy dog meat at the market and eat it, but as for drinking wine, I would rather die than violate the precept.

[94a] Seeing that his younger brother’s condition was extremely critical, the elder brother brought him wine and said:

– You should relinquish the precept and drink the wine so that your illness may be cured!

The younger brother replied:

– Although I am gravely ill, I vow to relinquish this body rather than violate the precept by drinking wine.

The younger brother then spoke this verse:

How strange! As my life nears its end,

You would destroy my precious precept.

With precepts adorning my body,

I need no burial garments.

A human body is already hard to gain;

To encounter the precepts is harder still.

I vow to relinquish a hundred thousand lives

Rather than violate the prohibitive precepts.

Only now, after immeasurable hundreds of thousands of kalpas,

Have I encountered the precepts;

Within this realm of Jambudvipa,

A human body is exceedingly difficult to gain.

Although I have obtained a human body,

To encounter the true Dharma is harder still;

Now that one has encountered the precious Dharma,

The foolish do not safeguard it,

While the wise know how to discern it;

This is harder still.

Having undertaken the precious precepts,

Why would anyone seek to take them away?

Such a person is an enemy,

Not a loved one.

After hearing the verse, the elder brother said to the younger:

– I speak out of love for you, not because I want you to break the precepts.

The younger brother replied:

– That is not loving me, but harming me.

The younger brother then spoke this verse:

I wish to attain a wholesome realm;

Breaking the precepts brings descent into ruin.

Relinquishing the precepts is likewise;

How can that be called love?

I uphold the fundamental precepts,

Yet you tell me to violate them.

Among the five precepts I undertook,

The precept against intoxicants is most important.

Now you compel me to break a precept;

That cannot be called love.

The elder brother asked him:

– Why do you say that the precept against intoxicants is fundamental?

The younger brother answered with a verse:

If, with regard to the precepts,

One does not wholeheartedly safeguard them,

One will betray the mind of great compassion.

Even liquor equal to the tip of a blade of grass

I would not dare to taste;

Therefore, I know

That liquor is a cause of the lower realms.

The scripture for householders

Speaks of the evil retribution of liquor.

Only the Buddha knows it clearly;

Who else could fathom it?

The Buddha spoke of evil conduct

[94b] Through the three karmas of body, speech, and mind,

But liquor is their root,

Causing one to fall into the lower realms.

In ancient times, an upasaka^[70],

Because of the condition of drinking liquor,

Thereupon broke all four other precepts;

This is a cause of evil conduct.

Liquor brings the fruit of heedlessness;

By not drinking, one blocks the path to evil.

One gains a mind of joyful faith,

Ends craving, and practices giving.

When Sura heard the Buddha's teaching,

He gained exceedingly great benefit;

My resolve is likewise.

If you still wish me to violate the precept,

I shall state the matter briefly thus:

I would rather relinquish a thousand lives

Than disobey the Buddha's teaching.

I would rather let my body wither away

Than ever drink this liquor.

Suppose that by violating the precept

I could live for a hundred thousand years;

That would not equal observing the precepts

Even if my body perished at once.

Even if I knew for certain my illness would be cured,

I would still resolutely refuse to drink,

How much more so now, when it is not clear

Whether I shall be cured or not.

His resolve being thus unwavering,

Great joy arose in his mind.

He immediately beheld the truth,

And his illness was dispelled at once.

The Treatise on the Great Adornment records: “Once, as I heard, some bhiksus accompanied merchants into the sea in search of precious jewels. Just as they reached the middle of the sea, their ship was wrecked. At that time, a young bhiksu managed to seize a plank, while the senior bhiksu, unable to grasp one, was about to sink beneath the water. Greatly alarmed and afraid of being swept away, the senior bhiksu said to the young bhiksu:

– Do you not remember the Buddha's teaching that one should honor one's seniors? You should bring me the plank you have seized!

The young bhiksu then thought: ‘The Buddha indeed gave this teaching: whatever is beneficial should first be offered to the senior.’ He further thought: ‘If I yield this plank to the senior, I will surely sink and be swept away by the swirling current. The great sea is immensely broad and deep and filled with danger; it will be exceedingly difficult to preserve my life. Moreover, I am still young, have only recently left the household life, and have not yet attained the fruits of the path. This is what grieves me. Yet now is truly the right time to risk relinquishing this body in order to save the senior.’ Having reflected in this way, the young bhiksu spoke this verse:

Should I save myself,

Or obey the Buddha's teaching,

[94c] Thereby gaining immeasurable merit

And renown throughout the ten directions?

This body is exceedingly base;

How could I disobey the sacred teaching?

I have now undertaken the Buddha's precepts;

Even unto death, I shall firmly uphold them.

To obey the Buddha's teaching,

I shall offer the plank and relinquish my life.

If one does not accomplish what is difficult,

One cannot attain Buddhahood.

If I disobey the Buddha's teaching,

I shall lose the benefits of gods and humans,

And even the fruit of nirvana,

The unsurpassed peace and bliss.

After speaking this verse, the young bhiksu brought the plank and offered it to the senior bhiksu. As soon as the young bhiksu released the plank, the sea deity, moved by his sincerity, conveyed him to the shore. The sea deity then joined his palms and addressed the bhiksu:

– I now take refuge in one who strictly observes the pure precepts. Although you encountered such danger, you were still able to uphold the Buddha's precepts. The sea deity then spoke this verse:

You are truly a bhiksu,

Truly an ascetic practitioner.

To call you a sramana^[71]

Is indeed worthy of that name.

How could I, at this very moment,

Fail to grant you further protection?

For one who has seen the truth to uphold the precepts

Is not difficult at all;

For an ordinary person not to violate the precepts

Is what is truly difficult to accomplish.

This bhiksu lived peacefully,

Purely guarding himself.

He relinquished what he cherished

To safeguard the prohibitory precepts.

He accomplished what is difficult to accomplish;

This is truly exceedingly rare.”

The Treatise on the Great Adornment records: “Once, as I heard, in ancient times a bhiksu went on his alms round in due order. Reaching the house of a pearl-stringer, he stood outside the door. At that time, the craftsman was stringing a mani jewel for the king. The red hue of the bhiksu's kasaya was reflected upon the jewel, making the jewel appear red as well. The pearl-stringer then went inside to bring out food as an offering to the bhiksu. At that moment, a goose saw the red jewel, which resembled a lump of flesh, and came forward and swallowed it. The pearl-stringer brought out the food and offered it to the bhiksu, but afterward he searched for the jewel and could not find it anywhere. Because the jewel was extremely precious, the pearl-stringer became angry and asked:

– Did you take my jewel?

The bhiksu feared that the craftsman would kill the goose to recover the jewel, so he sought a way to save it from this calamity and spoke this verse:

I now safeguard the goose's life,

Though my own body must endure suffering.

There is no other way;

I can only give my life in exchange!

[95a] If I say that it swallowed the jewel,

That cannot be done;

If I say that it is innocent,

I shall become one who speaks falsely.

I now relinquish my own life

To save this goose.

Through the condition of my keeping the precepts,

May liberation be accomplished.

Although he had heard this verse, the pearl-stringer still said to the bhiksu:

– If you refuse to return it, you will have to endure suffering. I will not spare you!

The bhiksu looked all around but knew of no one upon whom he could rely. Like a deer surrounded on every side with no path of escape, so too was the bhiksu without anyone to rescue him. The bhiksu then straightened his body and adjusted his robes. The pearl-stringer said to him:

– Now you and I shall fight!

The bhiksu replied:

– I shall not fight with you! I fight only against my own fetters!

The bhiksu then spoke this verse:

When I relinquish my life,

And fall to the ground like dry wood,

I shall be worthy of people's praise,

For giving up my body for the goose.

The pearl-stringer then tightly bound the bhiksu's hands and head and beat him with a staff. The bhiksu looked in all four directions but did not know what to say. He then thought: ‘All the sufferings within the cycle of birth and death are just like this!’

The bhiksu then spoke this verse:

I relinquish this transient body

In exchange for the body of liberation.

I wear robes made from discarded rags,

And make alms-seeking my livelihood;

I rest beneath the roots of trees.

For what cause or condition

Would I become a thief?

You should consider this carefully.

The pearl-stringer then said to the bhiksu:

– What need is there for so many words?

Thereupon, he bound him even more tightly and beat him still more severely. The cords were wound so tightly that blood flowed from the bhiksu's ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. The goose then ran over and licked the blood. In anger, the craftsman struck the goose dead. Seeing this, the bhiksu asked:

– Is the goose still alive, or is it dead?

The craftsman replied:

– Whether it is dead or alive, what concern is that of yours that you should ask?

At that moment, looking toward the goose and seeing that it had died, the bhikkhu was grieved and shed tears, then spoke this verse:

I endure every suffering,

Hoping that the goose might live;

Now my life has not yet ended,

But the goose has died before me.

I wished to save your life,

And bear this extreme suffering;

Why did you die before me,

Leaving my aspiration unfulfilled?

[95b] The pearl-stringer asked the bhikkhu:

– After all, what relation was that goose to you that you grieve so deeply?

The bhikkhu replied:

– Because my aspiration was not fulfilled, I am unhappy.

The pearl-stringer asked again:

– What was your aspiration?

The bhikkhu answered with this verse:

In the past, a bodhisattva once

Gave up his body to save a dove.

My intention was likewise:

To give my life in place of that goose.

I wished the goose to remain alive,

Long-lasting and ever at ease;

But because you killed it,

My aspiration was not fulfilled.

After hearing the bhikkhu’s full explanation, the pearl-stringer cut open the goose’s belly and recovered the pearl. The moment he saw it, he burst into tears and said to the bhikkhu:

– Venerable sir, you protected the goose’s life without cherishing your own body, yet I caused you to undergo this wrongful treatment!

The pearl-stringer then spoke this verse:

You secretly cultivated merit,

Like fire buried beneath ashes.

Because I was ignorant and deluded,

I shall suffer for hundreds of thousands of kalpas.

You are truly well accorded

With the virtues of a Buddha.

Because I was foolish and deluded,

I failed to examine carefully.

Scorched by the fire of delusion,

I beg you, Venerable sir, to remain here

And allow me to repent,

Just as one who has stumbled and fallen

Leans upon the earth to rise again.

I bow to your pure conduct;

I bow to the keeper of the precepts.

Though encountering this peril,

You steadfastly upheld the precepts.

For the goose, your body endured suffering,

Yet you never transgressed the prohibitions.

This is truly difficult to accomplish.”

The Treatise on the Great Adornment records: “Some bhikkhus were traveling through the wilderness when bandits stripped them of all their clothing. At that time, the bandits feared that the bhikkhus would run to inform the nearby villagers, so they intended to kill them all. Among the bandits was one who had formerly gone forth. He said to his companions:

– There is no need for us to kill them! The disciplinary precepts of bhikkhus prohibit them from harming grass and trees. We need only bind the bhikkhus with grass. Because they fear harming the grass, they will not break free and go inform anyone!

Hearing this, the bandits immediately bound the bhikkhus with grass and departed. Bound with grass and fearing that they might violate the precepts, the bhikkhus did not dare break free. Their bodies were without clothing, so they were scorched by the sunlight and bitten and stung by mosquitoes, gnats, flies, ants, and other creatures. They remained bound from morning until evening, all the way until nightfall. When night came, wild beasts prowled in pursuit—truly a terrifying situation! An elder bhikkhu admonished the younger bhikkhus with this verse:

[95c] If a person possesses wisdom

And steadfastly upholds the prohibitions,

He will receive rewards according to his aspirations:

Birth among devas and humans, and nirvana.

The dragon king Elapatra,

Because he violated this prohibition

And harmed grass and trees,

Life The bhikkhus endured much suffering, yet, fearing that they might harm the grass and trees, they dared not bend, stretch, or move. Single-mindedly upholding the precepts, they would rather die than transgress them. The elder bhikkhu then spoke this verse:

Since time immemorial,

I have committed evil karma.

Whenever I was born as a human,

I committed theft and sexual misconduct.

While alive, I suffered the nation’s laws;

The instances were too numerous to count.

After death, I fell into the hells;

These occasions, too, were impossible to reckon.

Even if the sunlight

Should scorch my body until it is dry and charred,

I will still uphold the Buddha’s precepts

And will never transgress them midway.

Even if I encounter savage beasts

That seize and tear apart my body,

I will never dare violate

The precepts of the Honored Shakya.

I would rather uphold the precepts and die

Than violate them and live.

After death, one falls into rebirth as a dragon.

After hearing the elder bhikkhu speak this verse, all the bhikkhus stood perfectly upright and did not dare move, like great trees when there is no wind, whose branches and leaves remain entirely still. It happened that the king of that country was out hunting and gradually came to the place where the bhikkhus were bound. Seeing them from afar, the king became suspicious and thought they were naked Nirgrantha ascetics. He therefore sent someone to investigate and learned that they were bhikkhus. Upon hearing the report, the king found it extraordinary. He immediately approached the bhikkhus and spoke this verse:

Their hands are bound with green grass,

Like the wings of parrots,

And like goats offered in sacrifice to heaven;

They neither move nor stir.

Though knowing they are in a perilous place,

They stand still and do not harm the grass,

Like a forest consumed by fire,

Or a yak ^[72] that dies for the sake of its tail.

After speaking the verse, the king went forward and asked the bhikkhus:

Your bodies are free from illness,

Strong and healthy like mighty warriors;

[96a] For what cause and condition

Do you not move when bound with grass?

Surely you know

That your bodies are strong and healthy!

Have you been bewildered by a spell,

Or are you practicing asceticism,

Or have you grown weary of these bodies?

Tell me at once.

The bhikkhus immediately answered the king with this verse:

Because we uphold the prohibitions,

We dare not break the grass or trees.

The Buddha said that grasses and trees

Are dwelling places of spirits.

We dare not disobey his teaching;

Therefore, we do not break them.

It is like a place where spells are recited

And a boundary is drawn for snakes;

Through the power of the sacred spell,

Venomous snakes dare not cross it.

The Muni has demarcated the bounds,

And we dare not pass beyond them.

The Buddha possesses skillful means

That bring the supreme benefit.

How could a person of wisdom

Shatter the vessel of the virtue of precepts?

After hearing the verse, the king was exceedingly delighted. He immediately untied the bhikkhus and spoke this verse:

Excellent! Steadfastly you uphold

The precepts of the Honored Shakya.

You would rather relinquish your own bodies

Than violate the precepts you preserve.

I now reverently bow

To those who proclaim the wondrous Dharma.

I take refuge in the Muni,

Who is liberated and free from afflictions.

I now reverently bow

To those who steadfastly uphold the precepts.”

XVIII.3. Patience

XVIII.3.1. Introduction

It has been said that patience is an exceedingly noble virtue, with which observance of the precepts and ascetic practices cannot compare. Therefore, although the bhikkhu Kshanti^[73] was subjected to cruel punishment, he felt no regret. Although the Patient Sage^[74] had his hands and feet severed, he felt no anger.

Moreover, the path of loving-kindness and compassion regards deliverance as foremost, while the bodhisattva’s fundamental aspiration is to make compassion his work. Therefore, bodhisattvas frequently manifest throughout the hells to suffer in place of sentient beings, liberating all living beings and bestowing peace and happiness upon them. How, then, could sentient beings become angry over a slight contact?

They may merely glare at one another and exchange angry words before immediately fighting, thereby creating enmity. Sometimes fathers and sons or elder and younger brothers harm one another, while friends and relatives inflict injuries upon each other. Their violence surpasses that of owls and hawks, and their malice exceeds even that of bees and scorpions.

Thus their hostility continues kalpa after kalpa, life after life, without end.

XVIII.3.2. Exhortation to Patience

[96b] The Treatise on the Establishment of Truth ^[75] records: “A petty person cannot endure abuse or humiliation, just as a bird cannot withstand a hailstorm. A great person can patiently endure insults and humiliation, just as an elephant receives a shower of flowers. Therefore, practitioners should constantly contemplate the causal origins of the person before them.

Perhaps in a past life that person was our father or mother. In raising and nurturing us, they did not calculate whether it would bring transgression or merit, yet we have never repaid their kindness—how could we become angry with them? Perhaps they were our siblings, spouses, children, or relatives; perhaps they were noble beings or good spiritual friends.

Yet because we possess the minds of ordinary beings, we fail to recognize them. Why, then, should we revile them?”

The Compendium Treatise records: “By contemplating five circumstances, one can eliminate anger.

1. Contemplate that all sentient beings are my benefactors

2. Contemplate that all sentient beings are subject to destruction in every kshana; who is the one who causes harm, and who is the one harmed?

3. Contemplate that there are only dharmas and no sentient beings; then who causes harm, and who is harmed?

4. Contemplate that all sentient beings must endure suffering; why would one wish to make them suffer even more?

5. Contemplate that all sentient beings are my children; why, then, give rise to the intention to harm them?”

The Sutra on Requiting Kindness states: “Even if a red-hot iron band were placed upon one’s head, one should never give rise to an evil intention because of this suffering.”

The Treatise on the Establishment of Truth records: “Those who cultivate loving-kindness dwell in peace and security whether asleep or awake. They do not have nightmares, are protected by devas, are loved by everyone, are not harmed, do not perish by weapons, and do not die by drowning or fire.”

The Four-Part Vinaya contains this verse:

Patience is the foremost practice;

The Buddha proclaimed the unconditioned supreme.

One who has renounced the household life yet troubles others

Is not called a shramana.

The Sutra of the Bequeathed Teaching^[76] records: “Those who practice patience are called people of strength.” The same sutra also states: “When seeing another’s faults, one must not speak of them. When one has committed a fault oneself, one must disclose it.”

A Confucian text records: “On hearing another person’s faults, regard them as though hearing the names of your parents. The ears may hear them, but the mouth must not speak of them.”

A sutra states: “Praise the virtues of others; do not boast of your own good deeds.”

[96c] A Confucian text records: “A noble person praises the good in others and does not undermine the good in others.”

A sutra states: “When giving, do not seek repayment. If another repays you, whether with little or much, you should offer a blessing and accept it with a sense of humility and shame.”

A Confucian text records: “When you bestow kindness upon others, please forget it! When others bestow kindness upon you, please do not forget it!”

It also records: “When giving to others, do not keep it in mind! When receiving from others, remember it forever and never forget.”

A sutra records: “Just as you pardon yourself, do not kill or strike others!”

A Confucian text states: “What you do not desire for yourself, do not impose upon others.”

One should know that Buddhism and other teachings are fundamentally alike. Although their outward forms differ, the practices they establish are not different. Those who contravene this principle are no different from the ignorant; how could this depend upon whether a teaching is internal or external? A sutra states: “The Buddha teaches the Dharma to sentient beings so that they may eliminate the delusion of ignorance^[77], just as a skilled physician prescribes medicine according to the illness. This is called the internal teaching.”

A Confucian text states: “The principle of Heaven is distant; only benevolence is near.” This is called the external teaching.

Furthermore, if those who have renounced the household life skillfully contemplate suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self^[78], distance themselves from samsara, and resolutely seek liberation from worldly life, this is called relying upon the internal teaching. If they act contrary to this practice, they are no different from followers of non-Buddhist paths. If laypeople know to become disenchanted with the world, esteem lofty aspirations, wholeheartedly revere the Three Jewels, preserve the four virtues, and practice filial piety and fraternal respect, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, chastity, harmony, affection, and reverence, they too are in accord with the internal teaching.

If they act contrary to these principles, they are certainly no different from followers of non-Buddhist paths.

If people in the world know to rely upon the internal teaching, they will thoroughly comprehend the truth, their minds will realize the principle of the Way, and they will gradually advance along the path of liberation until they proceed directly to the fruit of bodhi.

Those who understand this and also wish to practice patience need only humble themselves and praise the virtues of others, just like a cloth that wipes away dust, gathering the dirt upon itself and leaving cleanliness to others. Therefore, a sutra states: “To gain by taking one step back—this is the Buddha Way.”

Thus, a Confucian text records: “For a noble person to gain through reverence and deference—this is righteousness.” Therefore, one should always esteem others and continually know to reproach oneself.

XVIII.3.3. Benefits of Patience

The Maharatnakuta Sutra^[79] records: “Patience^[80] has ten benefits:

1. Not clinging to self or to what belongs to the self.

2. Not discriminating among social classes.

3. Destroying the mind of arrogance.

4. Though harmed by evil people, not taking revenge.

5. Contemplating impermanence.

6. Cultivating loving-kindness and compassion.

7. Keeping the mind free from heedlessness.

8. Remaining unconcerned with hunger, thirst, suffering, pleasure, and so forth.

9. Eliminating anger.

10. Cultivating wisdom.

Those who accomplish these ten qualities are able to cultivate the practice of patience.”

[97a] The Samadhi of the Moon Lamp Sutra^[81] records: “The Buddha taught:

– If a bodhisattva abides in the practice of benevolent patience, that bodhisattva will gain ten benefits:

1. Fire cannot burn them.

2. Blades cannot stab or cut them.

3. Poison cannot harm them.

4. Water cannot sweep them away.

5. They are protected by nonhuman beings.

5. They obtain the adornment of excellent bodily marks.

7. They block the paths to the evil destinies.

8. They are reborn in the Brahma heaven according to their wishes.

9. They always dwell in peace and security, day and night.

10. Their body enjoys ease and happiness.”

The Siha Samadhi Sutra records: “The Buddha taught:

– Patience has six benefits through which omniscience^[82] may be attained. They are:

1. The body possesses extraordinary strength.

2. One’s speech possesses persuasive power.

3. One’s resolve is directed toward Buddhahood.

4. The power of miraculous abilities is sovereign and unobstructed.

5. One possesses the power to attain the fruit of Buddhahood.

6. One’s wisdom has the capacity to destroy afflictions.”

The Sutra of the Collection of the Six Paramitas^[83] records: “There are four circumstances in which patience must be practiced for wisdom to become complete. They are:

1. When seeking the Dharma, patiently enduring the insults of others.

2. When seeking the Dharma, patiently enduring hunger, thirst, cold, heat, wind, and rain.

3. When seeking the Dharma, obediently following the teachings of the upadhyaya^[84] and acharya^[85].

4. When seeking the Dharma, realizing the three gates of liberation: emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness.”

The Sutra of the Bhikshu Who Avoided a Woman’s Slander contains this verse:

Though hearing many evil accusations,

The ascetic patiently endures them;

One should not lament one’s suffering,

Nor should one become distressed.

Creatures that are frightened upon hearing sounds

Are beasts dwelling in the forest;

To disturb sentient beings

Is not the Dharma of renunciation.

Benevolent one, you should patiently endure

Every evil accusation;

One who keeps the mind steadfast—

This is the Dharma of renunciation.

It is not because others say so

That you become a robber;

Nor is it because of their words

That you become an arhat.

If you yourself know the truth,

The devas will also know it.

The Five-Part Vinaya^[86] records: “The Buddha told the bhikshus:

– In a past age, beside a pond in an aranya^[87], two wild geese befriended a tortoise. After some time, the water in the pond dried up. The two geese discussed the matter together: ‘Now that the water in this pond has dried up, our tortoise friend must surely be suffering greatly!’ After discussing it, they said to the tortoise:

– The water in the pond has dried up, and you cannot survive here! Now bite onto the middle of a branch, while each of us takes hold of one end in our beak. We shall carry you to a place with abundant water, but while biting the branch, you must not speak!

Thereupon, they took hold of the branch as planned. As they passed over a certain village, the children saw them and cried out:

– Oh! The geese are carrying a flying tortoise! The geese are carrying a flying tortoise!

Hearing this, the tortoise became angry and said:

– What business is it of yours!

[97b] The moment the tortoise opened its mouth, it slipped from the branch, fell to the ground, and died. On this occasion, the Buddha spoke this verse:

For those who live in the world,

An axe lies within the mouth;

The reason they cut themselves down

Is their evil speech.

They praise what deserves blame,

And blame what deserves praise;

They bring calamity upon themselves

And never attain peace or happiness.

The Buddha said:

– That tortoise was none other than Devadatta. In the past, because anger caused him to open his mouth and speak, he suffered the pain of losing his life. Today, once again, because he angrily reviles the Tathagata, he falls into the great hell.

The Sutra of Parables from the Dhammapada records: “Long ago, before Rāhula^[88] attained the path, he was mischievous by nature and seldom spoke truthfully. Seeing this, the Buddha told Rāhula:

– Go and stay at the Hiền Đề monastery. Be diligent in guarding your speech and restraining your mind, and assiduously recite the sutras and uphold the precepts.

Rāhula obeyed, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, and departed.

After staying there for ninety days, Rāhula felt ashamed and personally practiced repentance day and night without rest. One day, the Buddha came to the monastery. When Rāhula saw him, he joyfully ran forward and bowed at his feet. The Buddha told Rāhula:

– Bring a basin of water and wash the Tathagata’s feet!

Obeying the Buddha, Rāhula brought water and washed his feet. Afterward, the Buddha asked Rāhula:

– Can this water be used for cooking or drinking?

Rāhula said to the Buddha:

– This water cannot be used again! It was originally clean, but now that it has been used to wash feet, it has become filthy and therefore cannot be used.

The Buddha told Rāhula:

– You are likewise. Although you are the son of the Tathagata and the grandson of a king, have renounced worldly glory and become a śramaṇa, if you are not diligent in controlling your deeds and guarding your speech, and your heart remains filled with the defilements of the three poisons, then you are like this basin of dirty water and cannot be put to use again. Although the water has been poured out, the basin still cannot hold food, because it once contained filth. You are now the same: your mouth does not speak truthfully, your nature is stubborn, and you refuse to practice diligently. Having already acquired a bad reputation, you are no different from a basin used for washing feet, which cannot be used to hold food!

The Buddha then tipped over the basin with his toe and asked:

– Do you regret the loss of this basin?

Rāhula said to the Buddha:

– I do regret it, but I am not grieved at all!

The Buddha told Rāhula:

– It is likewise with you. Although you have become a śramaṇa, you do not know how to restrain body and speech and have offended many people. After your life ends, your consciousness will revolve through the three evil destinies, and the sages and saints will feel no regret for you, just as you have said.

Hearing these words, Rāhula felt ashamed. He resolved to exert himself, engraved the lesson upon his bones, and never forgot it. Diligent and gentle, always forbearing like the earth, he attained the fruit of arhatship on the spot.”

The Sutra of Rāhula’s Forbearance records: “At that time, Rāhula went to the home of a brahmin without faith to beg for food. This brahmin was so miserly that not only did he give him nothing, but he also struck Rāhula until his head split and bled, then scooped up sand and put it into Rāhula’s alms bowl. [97c] Rāhula endured this without retaliating. Silently carrying his bowl to the river, he washed his head and bowl and reflected: ‘I went alone to beg for food, never expecting that, without cause, they would violently strike me.

I suffer pain only briefly, but I fear that he will have to endure suffering for a very long time. It is like a sharp sword cutting a putrid corpse: the corpse feels no pain, but this does not mean that the sword is not sharp. It is also like offering the heavenly flavor of amṛta to a foolish pig: the pig refuses to eat it and runs away, but this is not because the amṛta is not delicious.

I bring the Buddha’s true words to instruct foolish and vicious people in the world, yet fools do not know how to reflect upon them. Is this not just the same?’

Rāhula returned and reported the matter to the Buddha. The Buddha taught:

– That man has harmed himself! After his life ends, he will fall into Vô Trạch Hell, where the hell wardens will inflict agonizing punishments upon him and myriad sufferings will assail him. Only after eighty-four thousand years will that life come to an end. He will then take the body of a python, whose own venom will turn back and harm him. Afterward, he will take the body of a cobra and constantly eat earth and sand; only after ten thousand years will that life end. Because this man became angry with one who upheld the precepts, he must take the body of a venomous serpent. Because he put earth and sand into an alms bowl, life after life he will eat earth and sand until he dies. When his transgression has been exhausted, he will be born as a human being. While he is in the womb, his mother will contract a grave illness, and the family’s wealth will diminish day by day. The child will be born dull-witted and without hands or feet. Terrified, his parents will both say, ‘What sort of demon has come here? This is an ill omen,’ and will immediately abandon the child at a crossroads. Passersby will all be horrified and compete to seize tiles, stones, knives, and sticks, striking and pelting his head until his brain is crushed. Only after enduring extreme pain for ten days will he die. After death, his consciousness will again be born as a dull-witted human being, as before. Only after five hundred lives will that grave transgression be exhausted. He will then again be born as a human being, but will constantly suffer from headaches and will be born where he cannot encounter the Buddha’s Dharma; thus he will continue revolving through the three evil destinies.”

The New Vibhāṣā Treatise records: “I once heard that, in a past age during this Auspicious Eon, there was a king named Kali. At that time, there was a seer named Forbearance who lived in the forest and devoted himself to ascetic practices.

One day, the king and his palace retinue entered the forest for an excursion, but he allowed no men to accompany them. After traveling for a long while, the king grew weary and fell asleep. At that time, delighting in flowers and fruits, the palace women wandered throughout the forest.

From afar, they saw the seer sitting upright, alone and silently contemplating, and together they approached him. Having arrived, they bowed at his feet and sat around him. The seer then explained to them the faults of sensual desire.

After hearing him, the women developed revulsion toward it. When the king awoke and did not see the women, he thought, ‘Could someone have enticed my women away?’ Having thought this, the king drew his sword and searched everywhere. Suddenly, he saw the women sitting around the seer.

Becoming extremely angry, the king thought, ‘What demon is this who has seduced my women?’ He then approached the seer and asked:

– Who are you?

The seer replied:

– I am a seer.

The king asked again:

– What are you doing sitting here?

The seer replied:

– I am cultivating the path of forbearance.

The king thought, ‘This man sees that I am angry, so he claims to cultivate the path of forbearance. I will now test him to see what he is truly like!’

[98a] The king asked again:

– Have you attained the concentration of the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception?

The seer replied:

– No!

In this way, the king questioned him successively until he asked:

– Have you attained the first dhyāna?

The seer replied:

– No!

The king became even more enraged and said:

– You have not yet become free from desire, so why do you recklessly gaze upon my women?

The seer replied:

– I am one who cultivates the path of forbearance.

The king said:

– Stretch out one arm and let us see whether you can endure!

The seer then stretched out one arm, and the king used his sharp sword to sever it, making it fall to the ground as though he were cutting a lotus root. The king again demanded:

– Who are you?

The seer replied:

– I am one who cultivates the path of forbearance!

The king then ordered him to stretch out his remaining arm and cut it off as well. The king questioned him as before, and the seer answered as before. In this manner, the king successively cut off both his legs, then cut away both ears and sliced off his nose. Each exchange of question and answer was the same as before. Only when all seven parts of the seer’s body had fallen to the ground, leaving seven wounds, was the king’s anger appeased. The seer then said:

– Great King, why have you wearied and exhausted yourself today? Even if you were to mince my body into pieces as small as mustard seeds, or even motes of dust, I would not give rise to a single angry thought, nor would my mind be disturbed in the slightest.

The seer then made this vow:

– Today, though I am truly without fault, you have severed seven parts of my body, leaving seven wounds. In a future life, when I attain anuttara-samyak-sambodhi^[89], moved by great compassion and without waiting for you to ask, I will first cause you to cultivate the sevenfold path^[90] so that you may eliminate the seven latent tendencies^[91].”

It should be known that the sage who cultivated the practice of patience at that time was none other than Śākyamuni Buddha, and King Kali was the Venerable^[92] Kauṇḍinya^[93]. After Kauṇḍinya perceived the noble truths^[94], the Buddha used his spiritual power to dispel the obscuring darkness for him, enabling him to recall the events of his past life. Having heard this, Kauṇḍinya was deeply ashamed; he respectfully joined his palms and bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet.

XVIII. 4. Diligence

There are three sections: Introduction, Laziness, and Dedicated Practice.

XVIII.4.1. Introduction

Merely cultivating the practice of patience is not enough, for the ultimate purport has not yet been revealed. Therefore, one must be diligent so that the mind does not become lazy.

The scripture states: “Bhikshus, you must be courageous and diligent. The sun of wisdom of the One Possessing the Ten Powers^[95] has set, and you will be shrouded in ignorance.”

It also states: “An icchantika^[96] lies stretched out all day like a corpse. To say that such a person can accomplish the path is utterly unreasonable.”

The Treatise Commentary^[97] states: “When a householder is lazy, he loses his worldly benefits. When one who has gone forth is lazy, he loses the treasure of the Dharma. Therefore, the courageous diligence of Sena was praised by the Buddhas, and the diligence of Kāśyapa^[98] was affirmed by the Tathagata.”

[98b] The Confucian writings state: “Only one who stays up late and rises early, exerting himself and forgetting his own person, may be called a loyal minister and worthy of being deemed a filial child.” It should therefore be known that one who is heedless and lazy is respected by no one, whereas one who is diligent and hardworking always attains accomplishment. Why remain forever heedless, foolish, unrestrained, and arrogant, causing the seeds of wholesome roots to be unable to sprout and the branches of bodhi to wither more each day?

Moreover, this body must eventually depart. King Yama will call one’s name and drag one into the underworld, where one will forever lose one’s provisions for the path. When the prison officials interrogate you, what will you offer in reply?

By then, how could regret possibly come in time!”

Therefore, practitioners today are urged to prepare provisions for the path while they are still healthy and strong. Throughout the six periods of the day and night, they should constantly watch over the three kinds of karma and not allow themselves to transgress. Each morning and evening—from dawn until noon, from noon until afternoon, from afternoon until night, from night until dawn, down to every hour and moment, every thought and every kṣaṇa—the practitioner must watch over the three kinds of karma and clearly know: how many thoughts perform good, how many perform evil; how many thoughts are filial and obedient, how many are rebellious and disobedient; how many thoughts renounce wealth and sensual beauty, how many cling to wealth and sensual beauty;

how many thoughts sow the wholesome karma of the heavenly and human realms, how many create the unwholesome karma of the three evil destinies^[99]; how many thoughts abandon fame, profit, and attachment to self, how many seek fame and cling to self; how many delight in cultivating the supramundane teachings of the Three Vehicles^[100], and how many disparage the Three Vehicles and cling to the world.

Since wholesome and unwholesome thoughts oppose each other in this way throughout day and night, practitioners must constantly watch over themselves, never allowing heedlessness or falling into the net of wrong views. They should remain ever mindful of the three kinds of karma, continually admonishing and alerting one another. Mind and mouth should always remind each other. The mind reminds the mouth: “You should speak what is wholesome; do not speak what is contrary to the Dharma.” The mouth in turn instructs the mind: “You should contemplate the true Dharma; do not think of what is contrary to the Dharma.” The mind then says to the body: “You should be diligent and not lazy.”

In this way, my mind disciplines itself, my mouth exercises caution by itself, and my body restrains itself. Only by admonishing oneself in this manner is one worthy of being called a complete person. Why trouble others to remind and admonish one, thereby giving rise to further mutual resentment?

Therefore, the scripture states: “If the body performs wholesome deeds, the mouth speaks good words, and the mind entertains good thoughts, one will certainly be born in a good destiny. Conversely, if the body performs evil deeds, the mouth speaks harsh words, and the mind entertains deviant thoughts, one will certainly be born in an evil destiny. It is like a fine horse that runs as soon as it sees the shadow of the whip, unlike an inferior horse that waits until it is lashed before moving. People are the same. If they do not admonish themselves but wait for others to rebuke them, their afflictions will instead increase and their offenses will become even graver.

XVIII.4. 2. Laziness

The Scripture on the Bodhisattva’s Past Practices states: “The Buddha told Ānanda:

– Laziness obstructs everything. If householders are lazy, they will not have enough food to eat or clothing to wear, and their wealth will be deficient. [98c] If those who have gone forth are lazy, they cannot escape the suffering of birth and death. It should be known that all undertakings flourish through diligence.

At that time, Śakra spoke this verse:

If one seeks the path of liberation,

One must not begrudge one’s body or life;

Cast off the body like filthy earth,

And clearly comprehend that there is no real self.

To give precious possessions in generosity

Is not at all difficult;

Only those courageous and diligent

Can swiftly attain Buddhahood.”

The Ekottarika Āgama Sutra^[101] states: “If a person is lazy and sows unwholesome karma, it will harm his undertakings. Diligence alone is supreme. Therefore, the bodhisattva Maitreya must pass through thirty kalpas before attaining Buddhahood. Through the power of diligence and a courageous mind, I attained Buddhahood before Maitreya. Therefore, you must always be diligent and must not be lazy.”

The Sutra of Parables states: “During the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, there were two brothers who both became śramaṇas. The elder brother always upheld the precepts, cultivated meditative concentration, and single-mindedly sought the path, but he did not practice generosity. The younger brother practiced generosity and cultivated merit, but frequently broke the precepts.

The elder brother later went forth under Śākyamuni Buddha and attained arhatship, yet he lacked sufficient clothing and food. The younger brother, meanwhile, was reborn as an elephant. Because he was powerful and capable of defeating enemies in battle, the king cherished him, granted him several hundred villages, and provided him with gold, silver, precious jewels, necklaces, and other treasures; whatever the elephant desired was supplied in abundance.

At that time, a famine occurred. The elder brother, now a bhikshu, went everywhere seeking alms for seven days without obtaining any food. At last, he received a small amount of poor food, barely enough to preserve his life.

Through contemplation, the bhikshu knew that the elephant had been his younger brother in a previous life, so he approached, leaned close to the elephant’s ear, and said: ‘Formerly, both you and I committed faults.’ The elephant pondered the bhikshu’s words and recalled the causes and conditions of his former life. He became sorrowful and refused to eat or drink. The elephant keeper grew afraid and went to report the matter to the king.

The king asked him:

– Did anyone previously offend the elephant?

The elephant keeper replied:

– There was no one else. Only a śramaṇa approached the elephant briefly and then departed.

The king immediately sent someone to find the śramaṇa and ask what he had said beside the elephant. The śramaṇa replied:

– I said to the elephant, ‘Both you and I committed faults.’

The śramaṇa then recounted the events of their former lives in full to the king. The king understood and immediately released the śramaṇa.”

The Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on the Eight Traits of Horses as Analogies for People states^[102]:

– The Buddha told the bhikshus: “Horses have eight bad habits. They are:

1. When their reins are loosened, they immediately want to pull the cart and run

2. When they are harnessed to the cart, they rear up and try to kick people

3. They raise both forelegs while pulling the cart

4. They kick the wheels

5. When a person places the yoke upon them, they jerk the cart backward

6. They bolt about recklessly

7. They pull the cart at a gallop, but when they encounter mud, they stand stubbornly still and refuse to move

8. When the feeding trough is hung before them, they merely stare at it and refuse to eat; but when the owner leads them away to harness them to the cart and puts the iron bit in their mouths, they cannot eat even if they wish to.”

The Buddha taught:

– Human beings likewise have eight bad habits. They are:

1. Upon hearing the Buddha’s sutras expounded, they immediately leave, not wishing to listen, just as a horse, when its reins are loosened, pulls the cart and runs.

2. When they hear the meaning of a scripture explained but do not understand it or comprehend its essential purport, they become angry, leap up, and refuse to listen, like a horse that, when harnessed to a cart, rears up and tries to kick people.

3. Upon hearing a scripture expounded, they immediately oppose it and refuse to accept it, like a horse that raises its two front legs and pulls the cart away.

[99a] 4. When hearing a scripture expounded, they revile the speaker, like a horse kicking the wheels of a cart.

5. Upon hearing a scripture expounded, they immediately rise and leave, like a horse that, when a person places a yoke upon its body, jerks the cart backward.

6. When a scripture is being expounded, they refuse to listen, turn their heads to look around, and engage in private conversation, like a horse that bolts and runs wildly.

7. Upon hearing a scripture expounded, they seek to dispute every point, posing difficult questions so that the other person cannot answer; they also interrupt and speak recklessly, like a horse that encounters mire and stands stubbornly still, refusing to move.

8. When hearing a scripture expounded, they refuse to listen and instead think of sensual desire, seeking all manner of things and refusing to receive the teaching. After death, they fall into an evil realm; even if they wish to study and practice the Path, they will be unable to do so. Such a person is like a horse that, when a feed trough is hung before it, merely stares and refuses to eat; but when its master leads it away to harness it to a cart and makes it take the iron bit, then even if it wishes to eat, it can no longer do so.

The Buddha taught:

– I say that a horse has eight bad habits, and human beings likewise have these eight faults. After hearing the Buddha’s teaching, the bhiksus joyfully bowed to the Buddha and withdrew.

XVIII.4.3. Exhortation to Practice

The Sutra of Parables records: “There was a sramana in Rajagrha who practiced meditation and made this vow: ‘If I do not attain the Path, I will never rise from this seat.’ Therefore, he carved an eight-inch wooden awl. Whenever he was about to grow drowsy, he stabbed both thighs with it, causing himself pain so that he would not fall asleep. After one year, he attained the Path.”

The Bakkula Sutra records: “Bakkula^[103] said:

– It has been eighty years since I left the household life, and I have never lain down to rest; my side has never touched a mat, nor has my back leaned against a bed.”

The Sutra of the Bequeathed Teaching records: “Bhiksus! If you practice with courageous diligence, nothing will be difficult. Therefore, you must always be diligent. [99b] It is like a tiny stream of water that, by flowing continuously, can wear away even stone. If a practitioner’s mind is continually indolent, it is like stopping while drilling wood for fire before the flame has appeared; even if one wishes to obtain fire, it will be impossible.”

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom records: “Physical diligence is a minor matter; diligence of mind is the greater matter. Diligence in performing external tasks is a minor matter; diligent contemplation of one’s own body is the greater matter.”

Furthermore, the Buddha taught that the power of mental karma is extremely great, just as the anger of a seer once caused a great nation to perish. Moreover, one who commits the five heinous offenses through body and speech undergoes retribution for one kalpa in Avici hell.^[104] Yet through the power of mental karma, one may be born in the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception and live for eighty thousand great kalpas, and may also be born in Buddha lands throughout the ten directions with an immeasurable lifespan.

Therefore, diligence of body and speech is a minor matter; diligence of mind is the greater matter. All the sutras praise the practice of diligence. If one maintains single-minded right mindfulness, one will soon attain the fruit of the Path; it is not necessarily required that one study widely and hear much.

The Vibhasa Treatise records: “A slow-running horse. Although one rides a slow-running horse, because one set out first, one arrives at the destination first. Likewise, a person liberated through faith who diligently cultivates the practice will reach nirvana first. Thus, both attain the same perfect result.”

The Sutra of the Six Paramitas records: “There are four forms of diligence through which wisdom is perfected. They are:

1. Diligence in extensive learning^[105]

2. Diligence in comprehensive retention^[106]

3. Diligence in joyful exposition^[107]

4. Diligence in right conduct^[108]”

The Collection Sutra of the Six Paramitas records: “The Buddha told his disciples that they must listen, read, and recite with courageous diligence. They must not be indolent and thereby become obscured by the five skandhas^[109] and the five hindrances.^[110] I recall that innumerable kalpas ago in the past, there was a Buddha named King Who Liberates All. At that time, among the assembly were two bhiksus who heard the Dharma together.

One was named Diligent Eloquence, and the other was named Virtuous Delight in Stillness. Upon hearing the sutra, Diligent Eloquence gave rise to joy and at that very moment attained the stage of avaivartika,^[111] becoming fully endowed with supernormal powers. Virtuous Delight in Stillness, however, was lost in sleep and lacked awareness, so he attained nothing at all.

Diligent Eloquence then said to Virtuous Delight in Stillness, ‘Brother, you must be diligent. Why do you keep sleeping?’ Upon hearing this admonition, Virtuous Delight in Stillness began walking meditation, but he again fell asleep while standing and could not concentrate his mind. Later, he went to the bank of a stream and sat in meditation, but once again grew drowsy.

At that time, wishing to employ skillful means to guide him to liberation, Diligent Eloquence transformed himself into a queen bee and flew over to alight upon his eye, as though about to sting him. Fearing that the queen bee would sting him, Stillness sat alert, but after a short while he fell asleep again. The bee then flew into his armpit and stung him on the chest and abdomen.

Delight in Stillness became frightened and no longer dared to sleep. [99c] At that time, many beautiful flowers grew around the stream. The queen bee flew over, alighted upon a flower, and drank its nectar. Delight in Stillness sat upright watching the queen bee, fearing that it might fly over and sting him, and thus he did not dare to sleep.

The queen bee, engrossed in drinking the flower’s nectar, refused to fly away. A little later, the queen bee nodded off and fell into the mud. After washing its body, it flew back and alighted upon the flower.

At that time, Delight in Stillness spoke this verse to the queen bee:

Your body has been fully nourished,

By drinking the nectar of flowers;

Should you not carry some home,

For your wife and children as well?

Why did you fall into the mud,

And soil your own body?

Therefore, if you are wise,

Abandon this flower’s nectar.

Nor should you remain for long,

Within that blossom;

When the sun sets, the flower will close,

And though you wish to leave, you cannot.

You must wait until the following dawn,

Before you can fly out,

Throughout the long and dark night—

How truly painful and arduous!

At that time, the queen bee replied to Delight in Stillness in verse:

The Buddha’s Dharma is like amrta;

Though heard endlessly, it never wearies.

You must not give rise to indolence,

Which brings benefit to no one.

The ocean of birth and death in the five destinies,

Is like falling into filthy mire;

Foolish and deluded people,

Are bound by craving and desire.

When the sun rises, the flower opens—

This symbolizes the Buddha’s physical form;

When the sun sets, the flower closes—

This is like the World-Honored One’s nirvana.

When you encounter an age in which a Buddha appears,

You should diligently cultivate the practice;

Cast off the hindrance of sleep,

And do not think the Buddha will remain forever.

The essential purport of the wondrous Dharma,

Does not lie in outward appearances;

The attachment I have manifested,

You should understand as skillful means,

Skillfully employed to bring you to liberation,

So that you may gain true benefit.

This transformation I now manifest,

Is also for the sake of all beings.

At that time, upon hearing this verse, Virtuous Delight in Stillness immediately attained patience with regard to the non-arising of dharmas,^[112] and through this attained dharani.”

The Buddha told the Venerable Ananda:

– Diligent Eloquence at that time was I, and Virtuous Delight in Stillness was none other than the bodhisattva Maitreya. [100a] At that time, Maitreya and I heard the Dharma together, but because Maitreya was lost in sleep, he did not realize the Path. Had I not employed skillful means to assist him, the bodhisattva Maitreya would even now remain within birth and death, not yet liberated.

The Sutra of Parables from the Dhammapada records: “Long ago, in a foreign land, there was a lay devotee^[113] who wholeheartedly made offerings to the Three Jewels. At that time, there was a śramaṇa who, together with his fellow practitioners, had attained supernatural powers and brought birth and death to an end. This lay devotee then fell gravely ill, and although every kind of medicine was administered, he did not recover.

His wife stood beside him, weeping sorrowfully, and said: ‘We are husband and wife, so why must you alone endure such suffering? If you die, upon whom shall I rely? As a solitary woman, to whom could I turn for support?’ Hearing this, the husband was overcome with grief and died on the spot.

His consciousness was reborn as a maggot inside his wife’s nostril, while she continued weeping without cease.

At that time, the śramaṇa came to visit her. Knowing that the deceased husband had been transformed into a maggot inside her nostril, he wished to admonish her so that her sorrow might diminish. When she saw the śramaṇa arrive, she became even more grief-stricken and said:

– Venerable Master, what am I to do? My husband has died!

At that moment, tears and mucus streamed from the wife’s eyes and nose, and the worm in her nostril fell to the ground. Ashamed, she was about to crush it beneath her foot, but the śramaṇa immediately stopped her:

– Do not, do not! Do not kill it! Your husband has been reborn as this maggot.

The wife said to the śramaṇa:

– My husband diligently recited the sutras and observed the precepts beyond compare. Why, after his death, did he fall into rebirth as this maggot?

The śramaṇa replied:

– Because you loved him, wept, and lamented, your husband remained attached to you. Therefore, after death, he fell into rebirth as a maggot.

The śramaṇa taught the Dharma to the maggot, saying: ‘You should have been born in the heavens or in the presence of the Buddhas, but because of sensual attachment, you have fallen into rebirth as a maggot. How truly shameful!’ Hearing these words, the maggot’s mind awakened. It reproached itself and died at that very moment, whereupon it was born in a heavenly realm.”

Therefore, we must remain vigilant! As human beings, we must not be negligent and thereby harm our future lives.

XVIII.5. Meditation

XVIII.5.1. Introduction

Supreme supernatural powers cannot arise without meditation. Uncontaminated wisdom cannot unfold without serenity. Therefore, the sutra states: “By concentrating on the cultivation of meditation, one will attain the five supernatural powers; when the mind takes a single object as its condition, this is the characteristic of samadhi.” The Confucian writings also state: “Let the body be like a withered tree and the mind like cold ashes; do not submit before wealth and rank, nor lose heart amid poverty and hardship; abide spiritually in stillness and leave the body beyond the dust of the world.”

Therefore, gathering the mind in one place is a forest of merit, while allowing the mind to scatter for even an instant is the rakshasa^[114] of affliction. Thus, the disciple of the Śākya, Tan Guang, subdued a ferocious tiger and made it kneel before him, while the sage Loa Kế^[115] allowed birds to build a nest upon his head. [100b] One should know that a great being^[116] constantly cultivates meditation, entering nirvana without severing afflictions and manifesting the conduct of an ordinary person without abandoning the Dharma of the Way.

Furthermore, a practitioner must skillfully contemplate this body: from head to foot, it consists of thirty-six substances and contains eighty thousand colonies of microorganisms. Therefore, this body is inherently impure, impermanent, suffering, empty, and not-self^[117]. Yet the mental nature of sentient beings is like monkeys and apes, running, leaping, climbing, frolicking, and heedlessly indulging themselves.

If one does not know how to close the eyes, restrain the body, guard the mind, and gather one’s thoughts, the mind will be unruly and difficult to train, obstinate and resistant to admonition. Accustomed to chasing the five sense objects, it revolves through the three realms, falls into the snares of non-Buddhist paths, and is caught beneath the staff of the celestial māra. One then remains submerged in the ocean of suffering and falls forever into the deepest hells.

All this arises from allowing the spirit to run unrestrained and the mind to become scattered and disordered, like a lamp flame before the wind or moonlight upon waves, continually swaying, trembling, rising, and falling. If the reflection is unclear, how can it illuminate anything? Thus, every evil arises from this, while the myriad virtues are thereby extinguished.

Because one does not cultivate the practices that eliminate the contaminants, greed and anger constantly arise. Having not yet brought ignorance under control, one merely craves pleasant sensations, allowing the contaminants to rush in competitively and obstruct meditation, while manifold conditions vie to gather and undermine serenity. The five hindrances conceal the mind, the gateway to meditation is tightly shut, and the six sense objects bind one’s attention as deluded thoughts pursue one another—like a maddened elephant without a goad or a wild ape that has found a branch.

Therefore, one must constantly remain vigilant over the mind at each thought, just as it arises. How could one, upon seeing that a preceding thought is evil, strive to calm the mind, yet when a subsequent thought is wholesome, carelessly follow one’s inclinations and commit evil?

For this reason, the treatise praises those who remain composed throughout the four seasons, while the sutra commends those who abide in right concentration in every thought. Only then can right mindfulness transcend ordinary emotions. If one acts contrary to this principle, even a sage can do nothing to help.

Now, things cannot give rise to contact by themselves; they must rely upon the sense faculties, and only when thoughts arise within the mind does sensation occur. How can this be known? Only when there is a perceiving mind within do external objects arise, or, through taking external objects as conditions, the mind becomes defiled.

One should therefore know that mind and objects arise in mutual dependence, while internal and external factors function upon each other and come into being. Mind and consciousness are like a king and his ministers; neither can be dispensed with. Therefore, the sutra records: “When the king of the mind is upright, the six ministerial consciousnesses are not corrupt.

When the mental consciousness is dull and drowsy, the mind-king lacks clarity.” Now I admonish the six ministerial consciousnesses: everyone must know shame, restrain the six sense faculties, and not allow them to race about in distraction.

XVIII.5.2. Characteristics of Meditation

The Chapter on Mind in the Dhammapada Sutra records: “Long ago, when the Buddha was still in the world, there was a practitioner cultivating beneath a tree beside a river. Although twelve years passed, his craving had still not ceased. His mind roamed restlessly, thinking only of the six desires: his eyes clung to forms, his ears delighted in sounds, his nose was tainted by odors, his mouth craved flavors, his body delighted in sensations, and his mind took mental objects as its conditions. Although his body sat motionless, his mind never rested, and thus, even after twelve years, he had still not attained the Way.

[100c] The Buddha knew that the time had come to deliver him, so he transformed himself into a śramaṇa and sat down beside him. A little later, the moon rose, and a turtle crawled out of the river toward the foot of the tree. A hungry dog also came searching for food. Seeing the turtle, the dog intended to eat it, but the turtle withdrew its head and tail and concealed its four legs within its shell, so the dog could not devour it. After the dog had gone only a short distance away, the turtle again extended its head and legs and continued on its way as before. The dog could do nothing, and the turtle escaped danger.

The practitioner then asked the śramaṇa:

– This turtle was protected by the shell covering its body, and therefore the dog could not eat it, is that not so?

The śramaṇa replied:

– I think that people in this world are not the equal of this turtle. Unaware of impermanence, they heedlessly follow the six sense faculties^[118] and are consequently disturbed by external demons. When the spirit departs from the body, birth and death continue without end. Revolving through the five paths, they endure ceaseless suffering and affliction, all of which are caused by the mind. Therefore, everyone must diligently seek the peace and bliss of nirvana.”

The śramaṇa then spoke this verse:

Conceal the six faculties like a turtle,

Guard the mind as one guards a city;

Use wisdom to vanquish māra,

Resolve to triumph, free from fear.

The Mahāratnakūṭa Sutra records: “A bodhisattva’s cultivation of meditation differs from that of the Two Vehicles in ten ways. They are:

1. When a bodhisattva cultivates meditation, the bodhisattva no longer clings to a self, because the bodhisattva is fully endowed with the various meditative absorptions of the Tathagata

2. When a bodhisattva cultivates meditation, the bodhisattva is no longer attached, eliminates the defiled mind, and does not seek happiness solely for themself

3. When a bodhisattva cultivates meditation, the bodhisattva is fully endowed with supernatural powers and clearly knows the mental activities of sentient beings

4. When a bodhisattva cultivates meditation, the bodhisattva clearly knows the various kinds of minds and delivers all sentient beings

5. Bodhisattvas cultivate meditative concentration and practice great compassion in order to eliminate the afflictions and fetters of sentient beings.

6. Bodhisattvas cultivate meditative concentration, accomplish the various samadhis, and skillfully know how to enter and emerge within the three realms.

7. Bodhisattvas cultivate meditative concentration, always attain mastery, and are endowed with all wholesome dharmas.

8. Bodhisattvas cultivate meditative concentration, their minds attain quiescence, far surpassing the dhyanas and samadhis of those of the Two Vehicles.

9. Bodhisattvas cultivate meditative concentration, always attain wisdom, transcend the world, and reach the shore of awakening.

10. Bodhisattvas cultivate meditative concentration and are able to cause the true Dharma to flourish and perpetuate the Three Jewels without allowing them to be cut off.”

Because bodhisattvas cultivate meditative concentration in this way, they differ from shravakas^[119] and pratyekabuddhas^[120].

The Buddha taught:

– If bodhisattvas delight in practicing the dhutanga^[121] discipline of seeking alms, they will gain ten benefits. These are:

1. They break the banner of self-conceit.

2. They do not seek affection.

3. They have no concern for fame.

4. They abide in the lineage of the noble ones.

5. They are neither deceitful nor flattering, display no extraordinary appearances, and are neither arrogant nor haughty.

6. They do not exalt themselves.

7. They do not disparage others.

8. They put an end to thoughts of affection and aversion.

9. If they enter another’s home, it is to bestow the Dharma, not for food or drink.

10. All the teachings they expound are accepted with faith by everyone.

[101a] The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom records: “There are two kinds of samadhi: the samadhis of Buddhas and the samadhis of bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas attain mastery only in the samadhis of bodhisattvas; they do not attain mastery in the samadhis of Buddhas.”

The Sutra of the Essential Collection of the Buddhas records: “At that time, Manjushri^[122] wished to go and behold the Buddhas, but was unable to do so. After the Buddhas had returned to their respective places, Manjushri went to the place where the Buddhas had assembled and saw a woman seated beside the Buddha, absorbed in meditation. Manjushri approached, bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet, and said:

– Why is this woman permitted to sit near the Buddha, while I am not?

The Buddha told Manjushri:

– Cause this woman to emerge from meditation, and then ask her yourself.

Manjushri immediately snapped his fingers to awaken her, but she still did not emerge from meditation. He called out loudly, but she did not emerge; he took her hand and pulled, but she did not emerge. He then employed his supernormal powers to shake the great trichiliocosm, yet she still did not emerge from meditation. Manjushri said to the Buddha:

– World-Honored One! I am unable to cause her to emerge from meditation.

At that time, the Buddha emitted a great ray of light. From a buddha-land in the lower direction, a bodhisattva named Dispeller of All Obscurations appeared. He came before the Buddha, bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet, and stood to one side. The Buddha told the bodhisattva Dispeller of All Obscurations:

– Awaken this woman!

Obeying the Buddha, the bodhisattva Dispeller of All Obscurations snapped his fingers, and the woman immediately emerged from meditation.

Manjushri said to the Buddha:

– For what reason was I unable to cause this woman to emerge from meditation even when I shook the entire great trichiliocosm, whereas the bodhisattva Dispeller of All Obscurations merely snapped his fingers once and she immediately emerged?

The Buddha told Manjushri:

– It was through this woman that you aroused the mind of bodhi, while this woman aroused the mind of bodhi through the bodhisattva Dispeller of All Obscurations. Therefore, you could not cause her to emerge from meditation. You have not yet perfected the merits of the samadhis of the Buddhas, whereas the bodhisattva Dispeller of All Obscurations has attained mastery in samadhi. You have entered only slightly into the samadhis of the Buddhas and therefore have not yet attained mastery.”

Only a few passages from the sutras have been cited here to praise the practice of meditative concentration. Those who wish to understand clearly the methods of seated meditation and the contemplative rites of the Mahayana and Hinayana will find them fully recorded in the ten-fascicle Collection on the Gates of Contemplation. Students should seek it out and consult it themselves, for it cannot all be presented here.

XVIII.6. Wisdom

XVIII.6.1. Introduction

Of the two kinds of adornment^[123], wisdom is supreme. Among the three successive stages^[124], wisdom is Non-Delusion. [101b] Therefore, a sutra records: “If the preceding five paramitas lack wisdom, they resemble a foolish or blind person. Prajna^[125] far surpasses all worldly dharmas because it has the power to destroy all forms of existence^[126].”

The Treatise of the Exegete further records: “The Buddha is the mother of sentient beings, and prajna is the mother of the Buddhas.” Thus, wisdom is the grandmother of all sentient beings. Therefore, the non-Buddhist writings^[127] record: “Intelligence, wisdom, humility, and discernment are truly the virtues of Fangxun^[128]. Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom are indeed the Way of Xuanni^[129].”

Therefore, this Dharma of wisdom must be studied and cultivated, and this cause of liberation must be nurtured. Wisdom has the power to dispel the darkness of ignorance, just as the full moon can illuminate all three evil destinies; it can also eradicate the three poisons, just as the maki medicine^[130] can overcome all harmful poisons. How, then, could practitioners allow themselves to remain submerged in the deluded paths of birth and death, letting minds attached to appearances bind them, thoughts clinging to self perpetually fetter them, sensual craving run rampant, and ignorance grow dense?

How could they neither understand the principle of causes and conditions nor eliminate their afflictions, thus allowing the mountain of self-conceit to tower like Mount Song^[131] and Mount Hua^[132], and the surging river of craving to become as vast and deep as the ocean?

Some mistakenly cling to annihilationism^[133] or eternalism^[134]; some discuss only the principle of identity and separation^[135]; some cling to a golden spirit or a white spirit^[136]; and some give rise to the notions, “I see” and “I know.”

Some constantly practice the austerities of non-Buddhist paths, such as standing on one leg, casting themselves into fire^[137], eating grass like cattle, or swallowing excrement like dogs.

Some discuss only conventional truth^[138]; how could they know the principle of the Middle Way^[139]?

Some cling rigidly to the four Vedas^[140]; how could they comprehend the purport of the Mahayana?

Some maintain that primordial matter gives rise to intellect, and so forth^[141]; apart from these twenty-five principles, they see no need to know anything further, regarding them as the highest truth in the world.

Others say that attaining the Sphere of Neither Perception constitutes the realization of nirvana^[142]; or they maintain that the Lord of Self-Mastery^[143] is capable of creating the world, and so forth.

People of these kinds are all foolish, deluded, arrogant, and difficult to instruct. They know only to embrace a tree and wait for a rabbit, and they mistake the finger for the moon. Since they cannot yet distinguish fragrant grass from foul grass, how could they distinguish beans from grain?

Though they know how to laugh and take pleasure, how are they different from savages? If they know only empty words, how are they different from orangutans? This is all because they do not clearly understand the principle of emptiness and constantly dwell in ignorance.

These are inverted states of mind, all called erroneous views. The afflictions of the five abiding grounds^[144] have never diminished by so much as a hair’s breadth. Thus, the one hundred and eight fetters^[145] continually arise without cease.

Therefore, in the hope of hearing eight words^[146], a great being does not begrudge even body or life, yet still fears regressing when encountering adverse circumstances and obstructive conditions. Hence, each person must subdue their own mind so that their resolve becomes ever firmer.

XVIII.6.2. Seeking the Dharma

The Avatamsaka Sutra records: “Because a bodhisattva sought the Dharma, upon hearing someone who bestowed the Dharma ask:

– If you can cast yourself into a fire pit seven ren^[147] deep, I will teach the Dharma to you.

The bodhisattva rejoiced exceedingly and thought: ‘In seeking the Dharma, I do not begrudge body or life. In the past I endured immeasurable suffering in evil destinies such as the Avici hell. Why should I shrink from this small fire pit in the human world if by entering it I may hear the Dharma?’”

[101c] The Sutra of the Samadhi That Gathers All Merits^[148] records: “In the distant past, Buddha Shakyamuni was an immortal sage who had attained the five supernormal powers and was named Supreme Victory.”

The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom further records: “When Śākyamuni Buddha was still a bodhisattva, he was named Delight in the Dharma. At that time, he lived in an age without a Buddha and could not hear the wholesome Dharma. The bodhisattva traveled everywhere seeking the Dharma, striving diligently without indolence, yet he was entirely unable to encounter it.

At that time, Māra, the king of demons, transformed himself into a brahmin and said to the bodhisattva: ‘I have a verse spoken by the Buddha. If you can use your skin as paper, your bones as a brush, and your blood as ink to write down this verse, I will recite it for you.’ Delight in the Dharma immediately thought: ‘Throughout lifetime after lifetime, I have relinquished countless bodies and lives, yet never gained such benefit.’ Having thought this, the bodhisattva stripped off his skin and laid it in the sun to dry.

Just as he was about to write the verse, Māra vanished. At that moment, knowing the sincerity of the bodhisattva, a Buddha manifested from the region below and expounded the wondrous Dharma to him. The bodhisattva immediately attained the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas.”

The Nirvana Sutra records: “In seeking the Dharma, the bodhisattva hollowed out his body to make a lamp, wrapped it in cloth to form a wick, poured oil and fat into it, and then set it alight. While enduring such extreme suffering, the bodhisattva still said to himself: ‘Compared with the suffering in hell, this pain does not amount to even one part in hundreds of thousands of millions. Throughout immeasurable hundreds of thousands of kalpas, this body has endured extreme pain without gaining any benefit.

If I cannot endure this small measure of suffering, how could I rescue the suffering beings in hell?’ When the bodhisattva-mahasattva contemplated in this way, his body felt no pain, and his mind neither retreated, wavered, nor was shaken. The bodhisattva then clearly knew: ‘I will certainly attain the fruit of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.’

At that time, although the bodhisattva had not yet completely eliminated the afflictions, in seeking the Dharma he gave sentient beings his head, eyes, marrow, brain, hands, feet, blood, and flesh; allowed nails to be driven into his body; cast himself from cliffs; and surrendered his body into pits of fire. Although the bodhisattva endured immeasurable sufferings such as these, his mind neither retreated, wavered, nor was shaken. The bodhisattva understood: ‘Now that my mind does not retreat, I will certainly attain the fruit of Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi.’”

The Great Collection Sutra records: “For the meaning of a single word or sentence, the bodhisattva offers the jewels of worlds throughout the ten directions to the Dharma King; for a single verse, he relinquishes even his body and life. Though he may practice giving throughout immeasurable kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, this does not compare with hearing the Dharma of awakening for but a moment and giving rise to joy. Because he delights in hearing and expounding the true Dharma, he receives the protection of the Buddhas and devas. Through the blessing of their spiritual power, the practitioner comprehends all the scriptures, writings, and treatises in the world.”

[102a] The Great Skillful Means Sutra on the Buddha’s Repayment of Kindness records: “The bodhisattva constantly seeks a good spiritual friend so that he may hear the Buddha-Dharma. If he hears even one sentence, one verse, or one meaning, all his afflictions within the three realms are extinguished. When seeking the Buddha-Dharma, the bodhisattva is so earnest that he does not spare his body or life; even if he must enter masses of red-hot iron or raging flames, he is unafraid.

For the sake of a single verse, the bodhisattva does not spare even his body or life, much less for the twelve divisions of scripture; for the sake of a single verse, he does not spare even his body or life, much less his possessions. By hearing the teachings, his body gains ease and joy, his faith becomes steadfast, his mind is upright, and his understanding is correct. When he encounters a Dharma master, the bodhisattva rejoices as though meeting his own parents, and his mind is free from arrogance.

For the sake of sentient beings, the bodhisattva listens to the Dharma wholeheartedly, not for offerings or gain, nor for his own benefit. For the sake of the true Dharma, the bodhisattva fears no danger, whether from kings, hunger, thirst, cold, heat, tigers, leopards, wild beasts, bandits, or the like. The bodhisattva first subdues his own afflictions and disciplines his faculties; only then does he listen to the Dharma.”

The Flower Garland Sutra records: “When the bodhisattva seeks the Dharma in this way, he neither values nor clings to any jewels he possesses, nor does he think them difficult to relinquish. If he hears a single sentence of Dharma that he has never heard before, it surpasses obtaining jewels filling the three-thousandfold world-system; hearing a single verse surpasses attaining the position of a wheel-turning sage king, Śakra Devānām Indra, or Brahmā Heaven King.

The bodhisattva thinks: ‘If I could hear a single sentence of Dharma, I would be able to cast myself into a great fiery pit as vast as the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world-system, with flames rising as high as the Brahmā Heaven; how much more could I endure a small flame? To seek the Dharma, I would even endure all the sufferings of hell; how much less a small measure of suffering in the human realm?’ In seeking the Dharma, the bodhisattva arouses such a resolve.

After hearing the Dharma, his mind is always joyful, and he will certainly attain right contemplation.”

The Ekottarika Agama Sutra records: “Unless one abandons these six things, one cannot eliminate defilement and attain the pure Dharma eye. They are:

Not delighting in hearing the Dharma

2. Although hearing the Dharma, not listening attentively.

3. Not listening to the Dharma for the sake of understanding

4. Not diligently seeking Dharma that one has not yet heard.

5. Not skillfully preserving the Dharma one has heard

6. Not accomplishing Patience in Accord^[149].

Conversely, by abandoning these six things, one can eliminate defilement and attain the pure Dharma eye.”

The Sutra of Unprecedented Events records: “Long ago, on Mount Tỉ-đà in the kingdom of Tỳ-ma, a jackal was pursued by a lion and fell into a well on a deserted mound. After three days, joyfully accepting death, the jackal spoke this verse:

All things are impermanent;

I regret I cannot give myself to the lion.

Why, when the body meets peril,

Cling to life and die in vain?

[102b] My useless anger has passed,

Yet I have polluted another’s well.

I repent before the Buddhas of the ten directions;

Please look upon my heart.

May the evil karma of past lives

Be repaid in full in this life.

From now on, may I meet an enlightened teacher

And practice forever until attaining Buddhahood.

When Śakra heard this verse, he immediately came to the well with eighty thousand devas and said:

‘For a long time, we have not heard the sacred teaching and have remained continually in darkness. The verses just spoken are truly profound. Please expound them once more for us.’

The jackal replied:

‘Śakra is truly discourteous and knows nothing of proper conduct. The Dharma master is below while you remain above. You show no respect at all, yet demand instruction in the essential meaning of the teaching.’

Hearing this, Śakra immediately lowered a celestial robe, pulled the jackal out of the well, bowed his head, and repented. Śakra recalled that in the past he had seen people in the human realm first prepare a high seat and only afterward invite the Dharma master.

The devas then removed their precious robes and piled them up to form a high seat. The jackal ascended the seat and said:

‘There are two great causes and conditions. First, by expounding the Dharma and teaching devas and humans, one gains immeasurable merit. Second, by repaying the kindness of one who has given food, one gains immeasurable merit.’

Śakra asked:

‘I rescued you from danger in the well, and the merit of that deed is very great. Why does that kindness not compare?’

The jackal replied:

‘Life and death depend upon each person’s views. Some cling to life, some delight in death, and some are foolish and do not know that after death they will be reborn in another existence. Thus they do not live in accordance with the Buddha-Dharma and do not encounter an enlightened teacher. Such people cling to life and fear death, and after dying they fall into hell. Wise people take refuge in and revere the Three Jewels, encounter an enlightened teacher, abandon evil, and practice good. Such people detest life and delight in death, and after dying they are reborn in heaven.’

Śakra said:

‘According to your teaching, my saving your life has no merit. We therefore ask to hear about the giving of food and the giving of Dharma.’

The jackal replied:

– Giving food and drink can save a life for one day; giving precious jewels can relieve deprivation for one lifetime, but these merely prolong the cycle of birth and death. One who expounds the Dharma and teaches others can lead sentient beings beyond the path of birth and death, enable them to attain the fruits of the Three Vehicles, escape the three evil destinies, and enjoy peace and happiness among gods and humans. Therefore, the Buddha taught that the gift of Dharma brings immeasurable merit.

Shakra asked:

– Is the jackal form you now bear a body resulting from karma, or a transformation body manifested in response to circumstances?

The jackal replied:

– It is a body of retribution for wrongdoing, not a response body.

Shakra said:

– I thought that you were a noble sage. I have just heard that this body is the result of karma, but I do not yet know its cause. Please tell me.

The jackal replied:

– Long ago, I was the son of a poor kshatriya family living in the city of Paduma in the kingdom of Varanasi. From childhood, I was intelligent and eager to learn. At the age of twelve, I entered the mountains to seek a teacher and study the Way, diligently practicing without wasting any time. After fifty years, I had mastered all ninety-six kinds of scriptures and treatises, and this was due to the kindness of my preceptor. That kindness was truly difficult to repay. Because I had cultivated wisdom in the past, I came to know my former lives. Having once been a king who was deeply attached to sensual pleasures, when my merit was exhausted and my life ended, I fell into hell, the animal realm, and so forth.

[102c] At that time, Shakra and eighty thousand gods requested to undertake the ten wholesome deeds, and together they said:

– We shall now return to the heavenly palace. When will the preceptor relinquish this body of retribution for wrongdoing and be reborn in heaven?

The jackal replied:

– Perhaps seven days from now I shall relinquish this body and be reborn in Tushita Heaven. You too may be reborn there. Most of the gods in that heaven receive Dharma teachings and guidance from bodhisattvas.

Seven days later, the jackal died and was reborn in the palace of Tushita Heaven, where he still knew that in a former life he had practiced the ten wholesome deeds.”

Furthermore, the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish records: “In a forest in the kingdom of Varanasi, the Buddha expounded the wondrous Dharma for the gods and the fourfold assembly. At that time, a flock of five hundred wild geese in the sky heard the sound of the Buddha teaching the Dharma. Delighted, they circled overhead and wished to descend to listen.

Just then, a hunter spread a net. The entire flock of geese fell into the net and was killed by the hunter. The geese were reborn in the Trayastrimsha Heaven, emerging from the knees of their parents already as large as eight-year-old children.

Their bodies were beautiful beyond compare and shone as brilliantly as a mountain of gold. The geese thought, ‘Through what causes and conditions have we been reborn here?’ Learning that they had obtained this fortunate reward because of their devotion to the Buddha-Dharma in their former lives, the flock took flowers and flew down to Jambudvipa. They came before the Blessed One, bowed their heads at his feet, and addressed the Buddha:

– Because we heard the sound of your Dharma teaching, we were reborn in this sublime heaven. We beseech you to teach it to us once again.

The Buddha expounded the doctrine of the Four Noble Truths. After hearing it, they attained the fruit of stream-entry and then returned to heaven.

There is a verse that says:

Boats and rafts, bridges and fords,

Are means for crossing rivers.

Those wishing to escape birth and death

Must first rely on merit and wisdom.

Wisdom penetrates the three spheres^[150],

Knowledge stills the six bounds^[151].

A fine horse is tamed by the reins,

Pure gold is perfected through refining,

And objects are cleansed by water.

The grass-bound bhikshu^[152],

The five kinds of patience^[153] as steps,

And the four right efforts^[154], practiced single-mindedly:

The waves of the mind settle into clarity,

The dust of the heart is swept away,

Karmic conditions have been exhausted—

The place of enlightenment is here.”

Notes:

^[33] Six paramitas 六度 (S: ṣaḍ-pāramitā, ṣaṭ-pāramitā): the six consummate practices that a Mahayana bodhisattva must fulfill to attain Buddhahood. They are generosity, moral discipline, patience, diligence, meditative concentration, and wisdom.

^[34] Four means of embracing 四攝法 (S: catvāri saṃgraha-vastūni): four methods used by bodhisattvas to embrace sentient beings, inspiring affection and trust in them and guiding them onto the Buddha-path so that they may attain awakening. They are giving, loving speech, beneficial conduct, and cooperation.

^[35] Four fears (the original reads “tormented by the convergence of four fears” 四怖交煎): the four kalpas of formation, abiding, destruction, and emptiness.

^[36] Contention and seizure by five parties (五家爭奪): five destructive forces. They are being swept away by water, burned by fire, plundered by bandits, squandered by wayward children, and confiscated by kings and officials.

^[37] Dharmaguptaka Vinaya (四分律): a Vinaya collection in sixty fascicles, jointly translated by Buddhayashas and Zhu Fonian in Chang’an during the Later Qin dynasty in China, around 410–412. This monastic code was transmitted by the Dharmaguptaka school, which belonged to the Sthavira tradition in India, and is included in volume 22 of the Taisho Tripitaka.

^[38] Miraculous transformation 神變 (S: vikurvaṇa): the manifestation of supernormal powers. In order to guide sentient beings, Buddhas and bodhisattvas use inconceivable powers surpassing the human realm to manifest various outward forms and actions.

^[39] Heaven of the Four Great Kings (四天王天): the first of the six heavens in the Desire Realm.

^[40] Heaven of Freely Enjoying the Creations of Others (他化自在天; S: Para-nirmita-vaśa-vartin): the sixth of the six heavens in the Desire Realm.

^[41] Treatise on the Bodhisattva Stages (菩薩地持論): according to the Taisho Revised Tripitaka, this is the Sutra on the Bodhisattva Stages, not a treatise.

^[42] Dharma eye 法眼 (S: dharma-cakṣu): the eye of wisdom capable of seeing the true characteristic of all dharmas and of clearly penetrating the principle of dependent arising underlying their distinctions.

^[43] Wish-fulfilling tree (如意樹): according to legend, a wish-fulfilling tree produces articles for everyday use, such as clothing, blankets, and bedding.

^[44] Property of the Buddha 佛物: articles reserved exclusively as offerings to the Buddha, such as halls, fragrant flowers, banners, and canopies.

^[45] Five supremely exquisite sensual pleasures (上妙五欲): forms, sounds, scents, tastes, and tangible objects. These are five conditioned objects whose intrinsic nature is suffering; however, because the desirous minds of ordinary beings experience them as pleasurable, they are called the five supremely exquisite sensual pleasures.

^[46] Three realms (三界; S: trayo dhātavaḥ): the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm.

^[47] Three poisons (三毒): the three afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion.

^[48] Jackal 野干 (S: śṛgāla): an animal resembling a fox but smaller, with yellowish-blue fur like that of a dog. It lives in packs and at night howls like a wolf.

^[49] Aggregate 陰 (S: skandha): the gathering together of many things. It refers to conditioned dharmas. For example, material dharmas such as the five sense faculties and the five sense objects gathered together are called the form aggregate.

^[50] Element 界 (S: dhātu): a term denoting classified categories, meaning that things differ from one another without becoming confused. According to the Consciousness-Only school, the seeds of all dharmas are dhatus, in the sense of elements or causes.

^[51] Taking refuge in the Three Jewels 歸依三寶: turning toward and relying upon the three jewels of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

^[52] Fasting precepts 齋戒 (also called the eight fasting precepts; S: Aṣṭāṅga-samanvāgatōpavasa): the eight fasting precepts, training rules established by the Buddha for lay disciples practicing in preparation for renunciation. Those who undertake them temporarily leave their homes for one day and one night, reside within the Sangha, and learn the way of life of monastics. These precepts are: not to kill living beings; not to steal; not to engage in sexual activity; not to speak falsely; not to drink intoxicants; not to adorn the body with perfumes or flowers, nor watch or listen to singing and dancing; not to sit or lie on broad, high, luxurious beds; and not to eat at improper times.

Of these eight observances, the first seven are precepts, while the last, refraining from eating at improper times, is the fast; together they are called the eight fasting precepts.

^[53] Garuḍa 金翅鳥 (S: garuḍa): a bird resembling a hawk in Indian mythology. It is a mythologized bird, enormous and fierce, and belongs to the class of celestial birds.

^[54] Kumbhāṇḍa 鳩槃荼 (S: Kumbhāṇḍa): a type of demon that consumes the vital essence of human beings, moves as swiftly as the wind, and possesses limitless powers of transformation. It dwells in desolate forests and wildernesses and governs other kinds of demons.

^[55] Earth-dwelling yakṣa 地行夜叉: a kind of yakṣa that lives upon the earth.

^[56] Space-dwelling yakṣa 虛空夜叉: a kind of yakṣa that lives in space.

^[57] Palace-dwelling flying yakṣa 宮觀飛行夜叉 (also called: palace flying yakṣa): a kind of flying yakṣa that lives in palaces.

^[58] Intermediate excellence 中勝: the intermediate sphere of excellence, one of three supramundane meditative teachings that help one become free from all direct causes and indirect conditions leading to craving in the three realms.

^[59] Asaṅga 無性: another name for Venerable Asaṅga.

^[60] Field of merit 福田 (S: puṇya-kṣetra): a field capable of producing and increasing merit. Revering the Buddha, the Sangha, and one’s parents, or showing compassion toward the poor and suffering, generates merit, just as a farmer who sows and cultivates a field obtains a harvest.

^[61] Field of compassion 悲田: a field of merit cultivated by giving to the poor and sick with a compassionate mind.

^[62] Field of reverence 敬田: a field of merit cultivated by making offerings to the Three Jewels with a reverent mind.

^[63] Asaṃkhya 阿僧祇 (S: Asaṃkhya): an Indian numerical unit denoting an exceedingly vast, incalculable number.

^[64] The Seven Buddhas of the Past (the seven past Buddhas 過去七佛): seven Buddhas of past ages, namely Śākyamuni Buddha and the six Buddhas who appeared before him. They are Vipaśyin Buddha, Śikhin Buddha, Viśvabhū Buddha, Krakucchanda Buddha, and Kāśyapa Buddha.

^[65] Bodhisattva Universal Radiance, whose Dharma body abides at the stage of the Ten Abodes 十住法身普明菩薩: Bodhisattva Universal Radiance, who attained the Dharma body at the stage of the Ten Abodes.

^[66] Four modes of birth (四生; S: catasro-yonayaḥ): the four different modes by which sentient beings in the six realms of the three realms are born. They are birth from an egg, birth from a womb, birth from moisture, and birth by transformation.

^[67] Great Scripture 大經: an essential scripture that reveals the ultimate meaning. Each school, however, identifies a different scripture as the Great Scripture. The Tiantai school, for example, regards the Nirvana Sutra as the Great Scripture, while the Pure Land school regards the Infinite Life Sutra as the Great Scripture.

^[68] Great Treatise 大論 (also called: Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom): a treatise in one hundred fascicles composed by Bodhisattva Nāgārjuna and translated by Kumārajīva during the Later Qin dynasty in China. It is included in volume 25 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka.

^[69] Haritakī tree (呵棃勒樹; S: haritakī): the fruit of this tree is medicinal, has numerous uses, and can be employed in treating every kind of illness.

^[70] Upāsaka 優婆塞 (S: upāsaka): a male lay Buddhist who draws near to and serves the Three Jewels and observes the Five Precepts. He belongs to one of the two lay assemblies and is one of the fourfold or sevenfold assemblies of the Buddha’s disciples.

^[71] Śramaṇa 沙門 (S: śramaṇa): a renunciant who shaves his beard and hair, abandons evil, skillfully disciplines body and mind, and diligently performs wholesome deeds in the hope of attaining nirvana.

^[72] Yak 犛牛: a species of long-tailed ox.

^[73] Bhikṣu Kṣānti (Kṣānti Bhikṣu; also called: 羼提比丘): a name of the Blessed One in a past life, when he was practicing the bodhisattva path and perfected the practice of patience.

^[74] The patient sage (忍辱仙; S: Kṣānti-vādi-ṛṣi): a sage who practiced patience in Vārāṇasī, India, in a past age. He was a former incarnation of Śākyamuni Buddha while the Buddha was still cultivating the causes of awakening.

^[75] Treatise on the Establishment of Truth (成實論; S: Satyasiddhi-śāstra): a treatise in sixteen or twenty fascicles, composed by Harivarman and translated by Kumārajīva around 411–412 during the Yao Qin dynasty. It is included in volume 32 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. This is a foundational text of the Satyasiddhi school.

^[76] Sutra of the Bequeathed Teaching (遺教經): a scripture in one fascicle, translated by Kumārajīva during the Later Jin dynasty and included in volume 12 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. It recounts the events preceding the Parinirvāṇa of the World-Honored Śākyamuni beneath the twin śāla trees in the forest of Kuśinagara. He instructed his disciples to take the precepts as their teacher, restrain the five faculties, and abandon anger, pride, and heedlessness so that they might advance diligently in the work of the path.

^[77] Ignorance 無明 (S: avidyā): another name for affliction. It is mistaken knowledge and perception, a mental state of delusion regarding phenomena, a failure to comprehend the truth, and an inability to understand clearly the characteristics of phenomena and their principles.

^[78] Suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self 苦空無常無我: the four aspects of conditioned karmic results subject to outflows; that is, the four aspects of the Truth of Suffering among the sixteen aspects of the Four Noble Truths. These four arise through contemplation of the objects encompassed by the Truth of Suffering.

^[79] Mahāratnakūṭa Sutra (大寶積經; S: Mahā-ratnakūṭa-sūtra): a scripture in one hundred and twenty fascicles, translated by Bodhiruci during the Tang dynasty in China and included in volume 11 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. Its contents discuss the principal Dharma methods of Mahayana Buddhism.

^[80] Patience under insult 忍辱: forbearance or enduring humiliation; it means bearing pain and humiliation without harboring thoughts of retaliation or vengeance.

^[81] Moon-Lamp Samādhi Sutra (月燈三昧經; S: Samādhi-rāja): a scripture in ten fascicles in which the Buddha teaches the youth Candraprabha that, through cultivating a mind of equanimity, a mind intent on rescuing beings, an unobstructed mind, a mind free of malice, and immeasurable samādhis at the causal stage—or through knowing, exactly as it is, the essential nature of all dharmas—one realizes bodhi. By perfecting the practices of generosity, observance of the precepts, and patience, one attains the samādhi called “The Equality and Nonconceptuality of the Essential Nature of All Dharmas.”

^[82] Knowledge of all things 一切智 (S: sarvajña): the wisdom that clearly knows all internal and external characteristics of dharmas.

^[83] Sutra Collection of the Six Perfections 六度集經: a scripture in eight fascicles, translated by Kang Senghui during the Wu kingdom of the Three Kingdoms period in China and included in volume 3 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. This scripture contains ninety-one stories of the Buddha’s former lives.

^[84] Upādhyāya 和尚 (S: upādhyāya): a teacher of lofty wisdom and virtue. Because an upādhyāya serves as an exemplary teacher for those receiving the precepts, the Huayan, Tiantai, and Pure Land schools commonly call such a teacher a “Precept Upādhyāya.”

^[85] Ācārya 阿闍棃 (translated meaning: teacher of proper conduct; S: ācārya): one who instructs disciples so that all their actions are dignified and accord with the Dharma. Because the ācārya is personally worthy of being an exemplary teacher whom disciples may follow, such a person is also called a spiritual guide.

^[86] Five-Part Vinaya (五分律): a Vinaya text in thirty fascicles, transmitted by the Mahīśāsaka school and brought back in its Sanskrit version from the Lion Kingdom (Sri Lanka) by Venerable Faxian. Because this Vinaya consists of five parts, it is called the Five-Part Vinaya. It prescribes 251 precepts for bhikṣus and 370 precepts for bhikṣuṇīs.

^[87] Araṇya 阿練若 (S: araṇya): a secluded place suitable for practitioners; that is, a solitary place approximately 2.5 kilometers from a village.

^[88] Rāhula 羅雲 (also called: La-hầu-la; S: Rāhula): one of the Buddha’s ten great disciples.

^[89] Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi 阿耨菩提 (S: Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi): the highest awakening, encompassing all things. Here, anuttara means “unsurpassed,” while samyak-sambodhi is translated by meaning as “correct and universal knowledge,” referring to the Buddha’s wisdom of awakening, which is impartial and perfect.

^[90] Seven factors of the path 七種道 (also called: the seven factors of awakening): seven dharmas that enable the wisdom of bodhi to develop.

^[91] Seven Latent Tendencies 七隨眠: the seven latent tendencies. Among the six latent tendencies of greed, anger, delusion, conceit, doubt, and views, the latent tendency of greed is divided into two kinds: sensual greed and greed for existence, making seven latent tendencies in all.

^[92] Venerable 具壽 (S: Āyuṣmat): one endowed with virtue and wisdom who is respected by all.

^[93] Kauṇḍinya 憍陳那 (also: Ājñāta Kauṇḍinya; S: Kauṇḍinya): one of the five bhikshu disciples whom the Buddha delivered when he first turned the Dharma wheel.

^[94] Noble Truth 聖諦: the realm of complete quiescence realized and known by noble ones; it is a fundamental great principle of Buddhism and the ultimate profound meaning within dharmas that are inseparable from the mundane world.

^[95] Ten Powers 十力 (S: daśa balāni): here, this refers to the Buddha.

^[96] Icchantika 闡提: a person who has entirely lost their roots of goodness and lacks the conditions for attaining Buddhahood.

^[97] Exegetical Treatise 釋論: a treatise explaining the scriptures; here, it refers to Nāgārjuna’s Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra, which explains the Larger Prajñāpāramitā Sutra.

^[98] Kāśyapa 迦葉 (Ch. trans.: Light-Drinker; S: Mahākāśyapa): an eminent disciple renowned for practicing the dhuta austerities more rigorously than any other disciple of the Buddha.

^[99] Three Evil Destinies 三塗: synonymous with the three evil paths of hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals. They are the path of fire, the path of blades, and the path of blood—realms produced by the evil karma of body, speech, and mind.

^[100] Three Vehicles 三乘 (S: trīṇi yānāni): three conveyances, a metaphor for the three Dharma paths that carry sentient beings beyond birth and death to the shore of nirvana. They are the Śrāvaka Vehicle, Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and Bodhisattva Vehicle.

^[101] Ekottarika Āgama Sutra (Ekottarika Āgama Sutra 增壹阿含經; S: Ekottarikāgama): a scripture in fifty-one fascicles, translated by Gautama Saṅghadeva during the Eastern Jin dynasty in China and included in volume 2 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. It is one of the four Āgama collections of the Northern tradition.

^[102] Sutra Spoken by the Buddha on the Eight Traits of a Horse as Analogies for People (佛說馬有八態譬人經): a scripture in one fascicle, translated by Zhi Yao during the Later Han dynasty. It describes eight bad traits of a spirited horse to illustrate the bad habits of bhikshus.

^[103] Vakkula 薄拘羅 (S: Vakkula, Bakkula, Bakula, Vakula): a disciple of the Buddha. In childhood, Vakkula survived five attempts by his stepmother to kill him. From the time he entered monastic life until his passing, he always enjoyed good health and never fell ill. He lived to the age of one hundred and sixty and was honored by the world as foremost in longevity.

^[104] Avīci Hell (Avīci Hell 阿鼻地獄; S: Avīci): the Uninterrupted Hell, one of the eight hot hells.

^[105] Great Learning 多聞 (S: bahuśruta): extensive study and hearing of the Buddha’s scriptural teachings.

^[106] Retention 總持 (S: dhāraṇī): the Dharma method of comprehensive retention, the power of mindfulness and wisdom capable of gathering and retaining the immeasurable Buddhadharma without allowing it to be forgotten.

^[107] Delight in Exposition 樂說: delighting in teaching the Dharma and expounding it in accordance with the inclinations of sentient beings.

^[108] Right Practice 正行 (S: Samyak-pratipatti): correct and exemplary conduct taught by the Buddha, or the true cause for rebirth in the Pure Land.

^[109] Five Aggregates (five skandhas 五陰; S: pañca-skandha; also: five aggregates): the five categories in which all conditioned dharmas are accumulated. They are form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness.

^[110] Five Hindrances (五蓋; S: pañca āvaraṇāni): five afflictions that obscure the nature of the mind and prevent wholesome dharmas from arising. They are sensual desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, and doubt.

^[111] Avaivartika 阿維越致 (also: Avaivartika): the stage of non-retrogression.

^[112] Patience Regarding the Non-Arising of Dharmas 不起法忍 (also: Patience Regarding the Non-Arising of Dharmas; S: anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti): patience regarding non-arising, one of the three kinds of patience; that is, contemplating the principle that dharmas neither arise nor cease, clearly realizing that principle, and abiding with an unmoving mind.

^[113] Male Lay Devotee of Pure Faith 清信士 (also: male lay devotee of pure faith; S: Upāsaka): a man who receives the Three Refuges and Five Precepts and has pure faith in the Buddhadharma.

^[114] Rākṣasa 羅刹 (S: rākṣasa): a kind of evil demon in Indian mythology, first recorded in the Ṛgveda, the oldest scripture of Indian Brahmanism. Tradition holds that rākṣasa was originally the name of an indigenous people of India. After the Aryans conquered India, rākṣasa became a general term for evildoers and gradually came to be used as the common name for evil demons.

^[115] Conch-Coiled-Hair Seer (Conch-Coiled-Hair Seer 螺髻仙人): a former incarnation of Śākyamuni Buddha. According to fascicle 17 of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra, Śākyamuni was a seer named Shangsheli. Because he had a spiral-shaped topknot on the crown of his head, he was called the Conch-Coiled-Hair Seer.

^[116] Great Being 大士 (S: mahāpuruṣa): here, this refers to bodhisattvas.

^[117] Not-Self 非我: later translators rendered this as “no-self.”

^[118] Six Faculties (六情): the six sense faculties. Older translations of the scriptures mostly rendered them as the “six faculties.” Because the six faculties—the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—each possess sensory consciousness, they are called the six faculties.

^[119] Śrāvaka 聲聞 (S: śrāvaka): monastic disciples who attain realization by hearing the sound of the Buddha’s teachings.

^[120] Pratyekabuddha 辟支佛 (S: pratyeka-buddha): a noble one who awakens by oneself without a teacher.

^[121] Dhuta 頭陀 (S: dhūta): ascetic practices undertaken to relinquish attachment to clothing, food and drink, dwelling places, and so forth, thereby disciplining body and mind.

^[122] Mañjuśrī 文殊尸利: namely, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī.

^[123] Two Kinds of Adornment (二種莊嚴): the adornment of wisdom and the adornment of merit.

^[124] Sequential Order of Three Categories (三品次第): the three disciplines of undefiled learning—moral discipline, concentration, and wisdom.

^[125] Prajñā 波若 (also: prajñā; S: prajñā): true wisdom manifested through cultivating the Noble Eightfold Path and the six pāramitās. This wisdom is lofty and profound and clearly perceives all phenomena and principles; therefore, it is called prajñā.

^[126] All Forms of Existence 諸有: the myriad differentiated phenomena of the deluded realms. All karma created by sentient beings bears fruit from its causes; these causes, conditions, and karmic results truly exist and are not false. Therefore, they are called “existence.”

^[127] Non-Buddhist Writings 外書: in Buddhism, books outside the Buddha’s scriptures are called non-Buddhist writings; here, the term refers to Confucian books.

^[128] Fangxun 放勛: the name of Emperor Yao.

^[129] Xuanni 宣尼: a name of Confucius.

^[130] Magi 摩柢: a type of medicine capable of subduing venomous snakes.

^[131] Mount Song (Songshan 嵩山): a famous mountain situated a little more than five kilometers north of Dengfeng County, Henan Province, China.

^[132] Mount Jiuhua (Jiuhuashan 九華山): a mountain located twenty kilometers southwest of Qingyang County, Anhui Province. It is one of the four great and renowned Buddhist mountains of China.

^[133] Annihilationist View 斷見: the view maintaining that worldly dharmas and the self are all subject to complete annihilation.

^[134] Eternalist View 常見: the view maintaining that the world abides eternally and unchangingly and that the human self is indestructible; after death, this self does not perish but is capable of being reborn and perpetually repeating the present continuity. In other words, it holds that the self abides eternally.

^[135] Identity and Difference 即離: the nondual Dharma method. The nonduality of phenomena and principle is “identity,” while the distinction between phenomena and principle is “difference.” The Tiantai school uses this distinction between “identity and difference” to differentiate the relative profundity of the Separate Teaching and the Perfect Teaching.

^[136] Yellow Deity and White Deity (yellow deity, white deity 神黃神白): the kṣatriya deity is yellow, the brāhmaṇa deity is red, the vaiśya deity is white, and the śūdra deity is black (according to fascicle 9 of the Record of the Profound Meaning of the Four Treatises of the Mahāyāna).

^[137] Going into the fire 赴火 (original text: prolonged roasting on five sides 五邊長炙): an ascetic practice of non-Buddhist traditions in ancient India, in which practitioners roasted their bodies over fire or exposed their nostrils to heat, willingly enduring the scorching heat as a cause for attaining the Way.

^[138] Conventional truth 俗諦 (S: saṃvṛti-satya): the principle of arising and cessation explained in accordance with worldly understanding.

^[139] Middle Way 中道 (S: madhyamā-pratipad): the true and balanced path that abandons extremes and inclines neither to any one side nor to any particular viewpoint or method. The Middle Way is a fundamental standpoint of Buddhism, valued by both the Mahayana and the Hinayana.

^[140] Veda 違陀 (also translated: Phệ-đà; S: Veda): the foundational sacred scriptures of Indian Brahmanism.

^[141] From the Primordial Principle arises intellect (the original text reads: “from the Primordial Principle arises intellect” 明初生覺): the first of the twenty-five principles of the Samkhya school in ancient India.

^[142] Neither perception nor non-perception is the realization of nirvana (非有想是證涅槃): one of the sixty-two views held by non-Buddhist traditions in ancient India. This is a kind of eternalist view arising from attachment concerning a future existence.

^[143] Maheśvara Heaven 自在天 (full translation: Great Maheśvara Heaven; S: Maheśvara): a guardian deity of Buddhism who dwells in the heaven of the fourth dhyana; also Shiva, one of the three chief deities of Brahmanism.

^[144] Five abiding grounds of affliction 五住煩惱: the five afflictions known as the abiding ground of views concerning all things, the abiding ground of desire-realm craving, the abiding ground of form-realm craving, the abiding ground of craving for existence, and the abiding ground of ignorance. Because these five delusions are the basis and abiding place of all afflictions and are capable of producing afflictions, they are called “abiding grounds.”

^[145] Bonds and agents 結使: another name for the afflictions. “Bonds” are the afflictions that bind sentient beings and prevent them from escaping birth and death; “agents” are the afflictions that drive and torment sentient beings.

^[146] The eight characters (八字): “When arising and cessation have ceased, quiescent cessation is bliss.” This sentence means that once arising and cessation have ceased, quiescent cessation is bliss.

^[147] Ren 刃: an ancient Chinese unit of length, equal to eight Zhou-dynasty chi, approximately six chi, four cun, and eight fen in later measurement.

^[148] Sutra of the Samadhi That Gathers All Merit 集一切功德三昧經: according to the Taisho Tripitaka, this is the Sutra of the Samadhi That Gathers All Blessings and Virtues.

^[149] Conformity-patience 順忍: refers to bodhisattvas from the fourth to the sixth bhumi. Bodhisattvas at these stages conform to the fruit of bodhi and advance toward the realization of non-arising.

^[150] Three spheres 三輪: the giver, the recipient, and the gift. When practicing giving, the practitioner must abide in the contemplation of emptiness; that is, the mind must not cling to any of these three.

^[151] Six obscurations 六蔽: six unwholesome states of mind that obscure the pure minds of sentient beings: stinginess and greed, violation of the precepts, anger, indolence, distraction, and delusion.

^[152] Grass-bound bhiksu 草繫比丘: a bhiksu bound with grass, an illustration of a bhiksu who strictly upholds the prohibitory precepts.

^[153] Five kinds of patience 五忍: the five kinds of patience—subduing, faith, conformity, non-arising, and quiescent cessation:

1. Patience of subduing: refers to the three ranks of the worthy before the ten bhumis. At these stages, practitioners have not yet eliminated the afflictions by means of the unconditioned path, but they can restrain the afflictions and prevent them from arising.

2. Patience of faith: refers to bodhisattvas from the first through the third bhumi. Bodhisattvas at these stages have attained uncontaminated faith and conform to the Dharma-nature without doubt.

3. Patience of conformity: refers to bodhisattvas from the fourth through the sixth bhumi. Bodhisattvas at these stages conform to the fruit of bodhi and advance toward the realization of non-arising.

4. Patience regarding the non-arising of dharmas: refers to bodhisattvas from the seventh through the ninth bhumi. Bodhisattvas at these stages have eliminated all delusive obstructions and clearly know that all dharmas are entirely unborn.

5. Patience of quiescent cessation: refers to bodhisattvas of the tenth bhumi and to the fruit of Buddhahood. Those who have attained these stages have eliminated the delusions, are pure and unconditioned, serene and eternally quiescent.

^[154] Four right efforts 四勤 (full translation: four right exertions; S: catvāri prahāṇāni): diligently exerting oneself to eliminate unwholesome states that have already arisen; diligently exerting oneself to prevent unwholesome states that have not yet arisen from arising; diligently exerting oneself to cause wholesome states that have not yet arisen to arise; and diligently exerting oneself to further increase wholesome states that have already arisen.