諸經要集

Chief Editor: Thích Nguyên Chơn

XXX. MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS

Comprising thirteen parts: Introduction, Suffering and Affliction, Eight Sufferings, Repeated Exhortations, Five Pungent Plants, Foul Breath, Urination and Defecation, Maintaining Purity, Sounding the Bell, Entering the Assembly, Signs of Decline, Sleep and Dreams, Miscellaneous Practices.

XXX.1. Introduction

[184b] The principle in its essence has no sound, yet relies upon words to express its meaning. Words leave no trace, yet rely upon written characters to convey their sounds. Thus, written characters are instruments for revealing words, and words are means for expressing principles.

When sound and meaning correspond without error, written characters can be employed everywhere. Although traces fill the scriptures, the principle still accords with the essence of mind. Yet because the sutras and treatises are abundant, it is difficult to record them all; biographies and records are also intricate, with each matter treated either extensively or briefly.

The reason the Way has spread everywhere and provided instruction for later students is that the traces of the causes and conditions through which the Teaching was established remain clear and complete, while the origins of the work of transforming the world remain intact. Therefore, I have gathered and examined the various chapters and provisions, extracted their essentials, compiled them into a written work, and recorded them fully in the preceding chapters.

Other miscellaneous matters that can presently be practiced to guide and assist people are recorded below. May the clouds of obscurity and darkness be swept away, so that the lamp of the True Dharma may shine brightly throughout the myriad realms!

XXX.2. Suffering and Affliction

The Madhyama Agama Sutra records: “At that time, the Blessed One taught the bhikkhus:

– Since beginningless time, sentient beings have continually wandered through the long night of birth and death, without knowing the source of suffering. What do you think, bhikkhus? If all the grasses and trees upon this great earth were cut into counting sticks, each four finger-widths long, the number of those sticks would still be insufficient to equal the number of fathers and mothers upon whom you have depended throughout beginningless kalpas of birth and death. Bhikkhus! Such is the long wandering of sentient beings through birth and death!

The Buddha told the bhikkhus:

– In the cycle of birth and death, you have drunk more mother’s milk than there is water in the Ganges and the four seas. Why is this? Throughout the long night of birth and death, when you were born among elephants, you drank the milk of elephant mothers in countless and immeasurable quantities. Or when you were born among animals such as camels, horses, cattle, donkeys, and so forth, the milk you drank from mothers of those species was likewise beyond reckoning. Throughout the long night of birth and death, when you relinquished your lives and bodies in charnel grounds, the blood and pus that flowed from them were also of such quantity. Or when you fell into the hells or were born as hungry ghosts or animals, the blood and marrow that flowed were likewise immeasurable.

The Buddha told the bhikkhus:

– Throughout the long night of wandering in birth and death, the blood that has flowed from my bodies has also been beyond measure, exceeding even the water in the Ganges and the four seas. During that long night of birth and death, you were once born among elephants and had your ears, noses, heads, tails, and four legs severed, causing immeasurable blood to flow. Or you took bodies as animals such as horses, camels, cattle, donkeys, and so forth, and your bodies were mutilated—your ears, noses, heads, legs, and other parts being cut off—causing an incalculable amount of blood to flow. Or when your bodies decayed and your lives ended, your corpses were abandoned in charnel grounds, and the blood and pus that flowed were likewise measureless and boundless. Or when you fell into the hells or were born as hungry ghosts or animals, your bodies disintegrated and your forms perished, and the blood that flowed was likewise immeasurable! Throughout the long night of wandering in birth and death, [184c] the tears you shed when parting from fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, friends and relatives, or when mourning the loss of wealth and possessions, were also immeasurable, exceeding even the water in the four seas.

The Buddha told the bhikkhus:

– If you encounter sentient beings living peacefully and happily, you should reflect: ‘Throughout the long night of birth and death, I too have experienced this happiness in immeasurable measure.’ If you encounter sentient beings undergoing great suffering, you should reflect: ‘Throughout my wandering in the long night of birth and death from the distant past until now, I too have undergone such suffering in immeasurable measure.’ If you encounter sentient beings and become frightened, shuddering with your hair standing on end, you should reflect: ‘In the past, we must certainly have killed or harmed them or acted as their evil spiritual friends, and thus we have wandered through the long night of birth and death since beginningless time, without knowing the source or bounds of suffering.’ If you encounter sentient beings and feel joy and affection, you should reflect: ‘In past lives, we were once one another’s fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, children, relatives, teachers, and good friends. We have wandered through the long night of birth and death until now, yet because we are obscured by ignorance and bound by defiled attachment, we do not know the source of suffering.’ Therefore, you should train yourselves in this way, diligently employing skillful means to eradicate suffering and affliction at their very roots, and not allow them to increase.

Then the Blessed One spoke these verses:

If the bones of one person,

Accumulated throughout one kalpa,

Were preserved without

Being allowed to decay,

Their heap would equal Mount Vipula.^[8]

The noble disciples,

With right wisdom, realize the truths:

Suffering and the cause of suffering,

And the peace attained by leaving suffering behind.

Cultivating the Noble Eightfold Path,

They proceed directly toward nirvana;

Within no more than seven existences,^[9]

Passing between heavenly and human realms,

They cast off every fetter

And cross beyond the shore of suffering.

The Buddha told the bhikkhus:

– Since beginningless time, sentient beings have continually wandered through the long night of birth and death, without knowing the source of suffering. There is no place where I have not previously been born and died. Nor is there any place where I have not had fathers and mothers, brothers, a wife and children, relatives, clan members, and teachers.

It is like a great rain in which bubbles upon the water suddenly form and suddenly vanish. In the same way, sentient beings, obscured by ignorance and bound by defiled attachment, revolve through the long night of birth and death without knowing the source of suffering.

It is like a great rain that inundates every place in the east, west, south, and north. In the same way, [185a] the formation and destruction of immeasurable lands throughout the four directions are like rain falling everywhere without leaving a single place untouched. The suffering of birth and death through which sentient beings revolve in the long night is likewise without bounds.

It is like throwing a staff into the air: its upper end may strike the ground first, its lower end may strike first, or it may fall sideways upon the ground. In the same way, sentient beings have been submerged in the long night of birth and death since beginningless time, falling sometimes into the hells, sometimes among animals, and sometimes among hungry ghosts.”

The Sutra of the Contemplation of the True Dharma records: “At that time, the heavenly king of the Yama Heaven said to the heavenly assembly:

– The heavenly and human realms, which belong to the fortunate destinies, contain sixteen kinds of suffering: existence in the intermediate state, dwelling in the womb, birth, seeking food and drink, meeting those one hates, separation from those one loves, heat and cold as the seasons change, illness, being ordered about by others, the toil of seeking, associating with evil spiritual friends, calamities befalling one’s relatives, hunger and thirst, being despised by others, aging, and death.

These are the sixteen great sufferings of the human world, and even at death there remain other sufferings. Existence within birth and death is truly unbearable! In the conditioned realm there is not the slightest pleasure; everything is impermanent, and everything is subject to destruction. At that time, the heavenly king of the Yama Heaven spoke these verses:

Within this world,

Where there is a body, there is suffering;

Where there is birth, there is cessation;

Where there is cessation, there is birth.

When taking on an intermediate-state body,

One suffers according to one’s karma;

Throughout the dark and lengthy night,

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

It is like falling into a cesspit,

Or like fire burning the body;

While dwelling within the womb,

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

Because one craves delicious flavors,

The mind continually seeks after them,

Giving rise to myriad sufferings;

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

Ordinary beings continually seek,

Their craving never satisfied,

Giving rise to every affliction;

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

Meeting those one hates

Is like a poisonous flame,

Giving rise to countless torments;

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

Separated from those one loves,

The heart suffers boundless anguish;

[185b] How could one possibly endure it?

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

When the seasons are unseasonable,

They also give rise to myriad sufferings;

Though one does not wish it, one must endure them—

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

Illness afflicts the human body,

A messenger of the god of death;

Sentient beings endure this suffering—

How could it ever be fully described!

Ordered about by others,

Deprived of all freedom,

One endures countless bitter hardships—

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

The fire of sensual desire burns the body,

Yet one still seeks it and suffers;

Gradually, the day of death draws near—

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

Associating closely with evil people,

One suffers without end;

They lead one toward the evil destinies—

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

Seeing one’s loved ones in sorrow and suffering,

One’s own heart is filled with grief;

It is even worse than dwelling in hell—

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

Tormented by hunger and thirst,

As though fire were burning one’s entrails,

Both body and mind are ravaged—

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

When scorned by friends and relatives,

And despised by everyone,

One’s heart becomes sorrowful and weary—

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

When at last old age arrives,

The body grows thin and the mind declines;

One must lean on a staff to walk or stand—

How could this suffering ever be fully told!

The god of death seizes human lives,

Sending them from this life into another;

This is the greatest suffering—

How could words ever express it!

XXX.3. The Eight Sufferings

The Sutra of the Five Kings^[10] records: “The Blessed One taught the five kings:

– Once people are born into this world, their bodies must endure myriad sufferings. I shall now briefly explain eight kinds of suffering; listen attentively. They are birth, aging, illness, death, separation from those one loves, not obtaining what one seeks, encountering those one hates, and anxiety and sorrow.

XXX.3.1. What Is the Suffering of Birth?

When a person dies, the consciousness does not know where it will go. Before finding a place of rebirth, it must assume an intermediate-state body. During a period of twenty-one days, it waits until the father and mother engage in intercourse, whereupon it enters and is conceived.

Within the womb, during the first seven days it resembles diluted milk; [185c] during the second seven days, curdled milk; during the third seven days, thickened milk; during the fourth seven days, a lump of flesh; and during the fifth seven days, the fetus takes form. At that time, a cool wind enters the mother’s abdomen and blows upon the fetus, causing the six sense faculties to form. Within the mother’s womb, the fetus lies beneath the organ containing undigested food^[11] and above the organ containing digested food^[12].

When the mother eats a bowl of hot soup, the fetus feels as though it were lying in a cauldron of boiling water. If the mother drinks a bowl of cold water, the fetus feels as though ice were scraping against its body. When the mother eats her fill, the fetus is tightly compressed and suffers indescribable pain.

When the mother is hungry and her stomach is empty, the fetus feels as though it were hanging upside down and undergoes immeasurable suffering. When the time of birth arrives, its head points downward toward the birth canal, as though crushed between clefts in a rocky mountain. During childbirth, the mother is in peril, the father is fearful, and the newborn infant’s body is so tender and frail that even contact with a blade of grass hurts like the cut of a knife, causing it to cry aloud!

Is this suffering or not?

The five kings replied:

– It is indeed exceedingly painful!

XXX.3.2. What Is the Suffering of Aging?

Parents nurture their child until maturity, exhausting all their strength, heedless of hardship and toil. Then the body grows old; vigor departs and decline arrives. The hair turns white, the teeth loosen, the eyes grow dim, the ears become deaf, the skin sags, the face wrinkles, the bones and joints ache, and walking becomes difficult. Whether standing or sitting, one sighs; the heart is filled with sorrow, the faculties decline, and one alternately remembers and forgets. As the day of death approaches, one must rely on others to stand or sit. Merely speaking of it truly brings tears to one’s eyes! Is this suffering or not?

They replied: It is indeed exceedingly painful!

XXX.3.3. What Is the Suffering of Illness?

A human being is formed through the harmony of the four great elements. If one element becomes disordered, one hundred and one illnesses arise; if all four elements are out of harmony, four hundred and four illnesses arise simultaneously. When the earth element is disordered, the entire body becomes heavy.

When the water element is disordered, the entire body becomes swollen. When the fire element is disordered, the entire body burns with heat. When the wind element is out of harmony, the entire body is thrown into agitation, and the bones ache as though beaten with a staff.

When the four great elements are disordered, the hands and feet tremble, one’s strength is exhausted, and one must rely on others to stand or sit. The lips and mouth become dry, the sinews rupture, the nose becomes blocked, the eyes cannot see forms, and the ears cannot hear sounds. The body discharges filth, and one lies in it, the heart filled with anguish, crying out in grief!

Relatives remain nearby, tending the sick person day and night without rest. Even delicious food becomes bitter as soon as it enters the mouth. Are such things suffering or not?

They replied: It is indeed exceedingly painful!

XXX.3.4. What Is the Suffering of Death?

When a person is dying, four hundred and four illnesses arise simultaneously. The four great elements are about to disintegrate, and the consciousness is unsettled. As death approaches, a cold wind, sharp as a knife, blows upon and cuts the body, causing immeasurable pain.

Sweat then pours forth, and both hands grasp about helplessly. Loved ones on either side weep bitterly, their grief penetrating to the marrow, unable to restrain themselves. The dying person’s breathing ceases, [186a] strength comes to an end, warmth disappears, and the body grows stiff and cold.

At death, the wind element departs first, followed by the fire element; only then does the consciousness leave the corpse, and the body becomes insentient. After about a week, the entire body swells, and the blood and flesh decompose and stink so foully that no one dares approach. The corpse is abandoned in an open field, where birds consume its flesh.

Once the flesh is gone, dry bones lie scattered here and there. Is this suffering or not?

They replied: It is indeed exceedingly painful!

XXX.3.5. What Is the Suffering of Separation from Those One Loves?

Families, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, children, and relatives on both the paternal and maternal sides gather together and cherish one another. Then one day they are separated, carried off by others and scattered in different directions: the father to the east, the mother to the south, the son to the west, and the daughter to the north, no longer dwelling in one place. Some are forcibly enslaved and can do nothing but grieve and lament. Blood relatives are torn apart and lose all news of one another, separated by vast and obscure distances, not knowing when they will ever meet again. Are such things suffering or not?

The five kings all replied:

– It is indeed exceedingly painful!

XXX.3.6. What Is the Suffering of Not Obtaining What One Seeks?

Some people use their family wealth to purchase official positions, hoping to attain riches and honor. They therefore devote themselves constantly to seeking them. When they finally obtain an official post in a border region, before long they greedily seize the people’s property and are denounced. One day, the authorities send a prison cart for them. They suffer immeasurable anguish, not knowing when death will come. Is this suffering or not?

The five kings replied:

– It is indeed exceedingly painful!

XXX.3.7. What Is the Suffering of Encountering Those One Hates?

Ordinary people in the world dwell amid sensual desire. Contending over trivial matters, they kill one another without end and thus sow enmity. Though they avoid one another, there is nowhere to escape. They therefore sharpen their knives, whittle arrows, carry bows, and grasp staves, standing guard and taking precautions. They greatly fear meeting one another, yet when enemies meet on a narrow path, how can they avoid each other? Thus, with knives, swords, bows, and arrows, they attack and kill one another. Before it is known who will triumph and who will be defeated, they experience immeasurable fear. Is this suffering or not?

The five kings all replied:

– It is indeed exceedingly painful!

XXX.3.8. What Is the Suffering of Anxiety and Sorrow?

People in this world, if long-lived, may reach one hundred years; if short-lived, they may die in the womb. Even if a person lives to one hundred, nighttime takes up half of it, leaving fifty years. Of these, five years are lost to drunkenness, illness, and periods when one is insensible to one's humanity.

From childhood until the age of fifteen, one is foolish and does not yet understand propriety and righteousness. After the age of eighty, one becomes dull and witless, no longer lucid, with deaf ears and dim eyes, forgetting even the proper rules of conduct; thus another forty years are lost. Altogether, ninety years are lost.

In the remaining ten years, there are countless causes for sorrow and anxiety: one worries when the realm is in turmoil; one worries about drought, floods, cold frost, and failed harvests; one worries when children and grandchildren, both paternal and maternal, fall ill; when conducting business, one worries about losing one's property; [186b] before the authorities even arrive to collect taxes, one already worries; when a family member is imprisoned and no one knows when they will be released, one worries; when brothers travel far away and have not returned in time, one worries; when the family is poor and lacks sufficient food and clothing, one worries; when something happens in the neighborhood, one worries; when one has not fulfilled one's duties to the country, one worries;

when someone in the household dies and there is no money for burial, one worries; when the sowing season arrives but there is no ox to plow the fields, one worries.

In this way, each matter brings its own anxiety, and there is never a moment of happiness. When a festival day arrives and people gather together, though they ought to rejoice, they instead look at one another and weep in sorrow. Are such things suffering or not?

Answer: They are indeed exceedingly painful!

Furthermore, the Sutra of King Golden-Colored records: “A heavenly maiden spoke this verse to King Golden-Colored:

What condition is suffering?

It is poverty and lowliness.

What suffering is the greatest?

It is poverty and lowliness.

The suffering of poverty and the suffering of death—

These two are alike.

I would rather endure the pain of death

Than endure a life of poverty!

XXX.4. The Abode of Worms

The Sutra on the Essential Secrets of Meditation records: “Furthermore, Sariputra! When a practitioner enters meditative concentration and a sensual thought^[13] arises, the wind of lust is stirred, causing the four hundred and four blood vessels extending from the eye faculty to the body faculty to move simultaneously. The faculties become obstructed, agitating the wind of the mind and driving the mind into madness. Because this madness arises, one becomes possessed by demons and spirits. Therefore, day and night, one must reflect upon this and swiftly treat lust as though extinguishing a fire burning on one's head.

The method for treating a lustful mind is to instruct the practitioner to contemplate the uterus. The uterus lies beneath the raw organ and above the cooked organ. It has ninety-nine layers of membrane, resembling the womb of a dead pig.

The four hundred and four vessels in the uterus branch out like tree roots and spread throughout all the faculties, like a sac filled with filthy excrement. One thousand nine hundred joints are distributed like the leaves of a banana plant, and eighty nests of worms surround them. One hundred and four vessels and the uterus resemble a horse's intestines, extending directly downward to the birth passage like bracelets, thick in some sections and thin in others, round above and pointed below, resembling cowrie shells.^[14] Within the ninety-nine layers, between each layer are four hundred and four worms, each worm having twelve heads and twelve mouths.

When a person drinks water, the essence of the water permeates the vessels and is distributed among all the worms; it then enters the head of the Pila worm and descends directly to the birth passage. Every half month, impure fluid is discharged. All the worms spew out fluid as though a pus-filled sac had burst, and it flows into the mouths of ninety other worms. [186c] From the six openings of twenty worms there is further discharged a substance resembling red fluid, within which are still smaller worms as tiny as the tips of hairs.

Good men! Because of evil offenses committed in past lives, the four hundred and four blood vessels branch out from the eye faculty into the four limbs, then pass into the intestines and reach the region beneath the raw organ and above the cooked organ. On both sides of the vessels of the lungs, spleen, and kidneys, each vessel contains sixty-four worms.

Each worm likewise has twelve heads and twelve mouths. They wind around one another in coils like rings and are filled with blue-green pus resembling the semen of a wild boar, with a stench so foul it is unbearable. Upon reaching the genital organ, they divide into three branches.

The two upper branches spread out like the leaves of a banana plant and contain ten thousand two hundred vessels. Within each vessel there arise extremely minute Wind Worms, resembling the beak of a Pilanda bird. These worms in turn produce worms called Sinew-Colored.^[15] Seventy-eight thousand worms wind around and envelop one another, forming a shape like many bracelets stacked together, resembling the eyes of a Kusila bird.^[16] Ninety-eight vessels rise directly into the heart and extend to the crown of the head.

Good men! When the eyes encounter the form of a woman, the Wind Worms become agitated and reach the heart, causing the four hundred and four vessels to move without cease. Eight hundred thousand worms open their mouths simultaneously. Pus is discharged from the eyes and flows into the vessels until it reaches the heads of the worms. The worms then burst apart, causing one to become frenzied and unable to control oneself, desiring to touch the female organ. The semen of a man, bluish white in color, is the tears of the worms; the sexual fluid of a woman, rosy red in color, is the pus of the worms. The ninety-eight latent tendencies^[17] are dharmas that perfume and cultivate the mind, while the eighty nests of worms arise through the action of earth, water, fire, and wind.

The Buddha said:

—Sariputra! If members of the fourfold assembly wear the robe of moral shame and drink the medicine of moral shame, wishing to seek liberation and rescue the world from suffering, they must learn this Dharma as though drinking amrita. Those who study this Dharma should first contemplate the uterus and then the female and male organs, seeing that they all contain worms, large and small, opening their mouths, baring their teeth, glaring with their eyes, and spewing pus.

Next, they should turn both palms upward and place them properly upon the left knee, using the contemplation of counting the breaths to steady the mind, and contemplate this one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine times. Once this contemplation has been accomplished, they should move to the right knee and contemplate in the same way. They should then place the hands palm-down upon the crown of the head and visualize the impure substances of all the worms flowing first into both eyes, then reaching the ears, nose, and mouth, leaving no place untouched.

Having contemplated this, when they see the beautiful form of a woman or a man, or even that of a heavenly prince or heavenly maiden, it will be as though they were seeing worms in the Nali sores of a leper, shaped like the Pantala ghosts and spirits in the Hell of Arrows, or like the fiercely blazing flames of the Avici Hell. Practitioners should carefully contemplate their own bodies and the bodies of others, recognizing that the bodies of all sentient beings in this Desire Realm are impure.

Sariputra! You should know that the fundamental seeds forming the bodies of sentient beings are all impure, [187a] beyond complete description. One should simply employ the method of counting the breaths and contemplate them with a single-pointed mind.

Whoever can drink this medicine is a great person, a teacher of gods and humans, a Tamer, one who has escaped the mire of craving and is no longer tossed and submerged in the river of sensual attachment. Those addicted to lust who fail to recognize the danger posed by the demon of love and its illusory forms should be known as people who have not yet escaped birth and death. The fragrance of one who cultivates purity is like that of the utpala flower.

Such a person is a fragrant elephant, a dragon king, and a mighty champion among humankind; even the god Mahesvara cannot compare with them. Such a person is a great and powerful being whom gods and humans must revere.

The Buddha further said:

—Sariputra! You should carefully receive and uphold this teaching and expound it to the fourfold assembly. Do not forget or omit it!

At that time, Sariputra, Ananda, and the others, having heard the Buddha's teaching, rejoiced and respectfully followed it.”

Furthermore, the Sutra of Mindfulness of the True Dharma records: “A bhiksu engaged in cultivation must see the body clearly, just as it truly is, contemplating it sequentially from head to foot. He then uses wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye to observe that within the skull there is a worm that moves about, called Brain-Coursing. This worm moves within the bones and lives in the brain; whether moving or remaining still, it constantly feeds upon the brain.

There are also worms within the skull that either move about or feed, and in turn consume the skull. There is also the Hair Worm outside the bones, which eats the roots of the hair; when the worm becomes angry, the hair falls out. There is also the Ear Worm, which lives within the ear and eats the flesh inside it; when the worm becomes angry, a person’s ear aches or becomes deaf.

There is also the Nose Worm, which lives within the nostrils and eats the flesh inside the nose; when the worm becomes angry, it sucks away all the fluid secreted by the brain, causing a person to find no savor in food or drink. There is also the Fat Worm, which lives in fat and constantly consumes human fat; when the worm becomes angry, it causes a person to suffer headaches. There is also the Sinew Worm, which lives between the joints.

The Body Worm enters the blood vessels; when it becomes angry, it causes pain in a person’s vessels as though they were being pierced by needles. There is also the Saliva-Eating Worm at the root of the tongue; when the worm becomes angry, it causes a person’s mouth to become dry and hot. There is also the Tooth-Root Worm beneath the roots of the teeth; when this worm becomes angry, it causes toothache.

There is also the Vomiting Worm; when a person consumes unsuitable food, this worm causes vomiting.

This is internal cultivation, in which the practitioner contemplates the body in sequence. First, he contemplates the ten kinds of worms within the head, using either wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye. He first observes that in the throat there is the Saliva-Eating Worm. When food is chewed, it becomes like vomit, mixed with saliva; when swallowed, it mingles with the viscous fluid from the brain. The Saliva Worms in the throat consume this food together, thereby sustaining themselves. If the worms multiply, they cause a person to cough and suffer pain. If one consumes much fatty food, much unclean food, pungent and spicy food, [187b] sour food, or cold water, the worms immediately multiply, causing pain in the throat.

Again, using wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye, he observes the Saliva-Digesting Worm living in the throat. If a person does not consume the fatty, spicy, and other foods mentioned above, the worm remains at ease and helps eliminate saliva, together with the delicious flavors secreted from the ten vessels. If a person has excessive saliva, the worm becomes ill; because the worm is ill, it causes the person to secrete insipid saliva and suffer tightness in the chest. Having thus contemplated the Saliva-Digesting Worm, he sees the body clearly, just as it truly is.

Again, using wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye, he observes the Vomiting Worm living within the body. This worm dwells within the ten vessels and moves from place to place. When a person eats or drinks, this worm leaps upward from the lower vessels and rushes into the throat, causing the person to vomit. There are five kinds of vomiting: wind, warmth, saliva, mixed, and fly.

If this worm remains at ease, one can enjoy one’s food and drink.

Again, using wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye, he observes that a fly which has fed upon filth may fly into the throat and agitate the Vomiting Worm, causing the person to vomit.

Again, using wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye, he observes the Flavor-Intoxicated Worm. This worm lives at the tip of the tongue and extends as far as the blood vessels, within which it either moves or remains still. It is tiny and has no legs. When one eats delicious food, the worm becomes intoxicated with enjoyment and grows increasingly; otherwise, it gradually weakens. If one does not eat, the worm becomes ill and uneasy. Having thus contemplated the Intoxicated Worm, he sees the body clearly, just as it truly is.

Again, using wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye, he observes the Negligence Worm atop the head. When this worm moves into the region of the brain, it causes illness; when it is at the nape, it causes boils to arise; when it enters the throat, it causes an unpleasant itching sensation like ants crawling. If the worm remains still, it causes no illness. Having thus contemplated the Negligence Worm, he sees the body clearly, just as it truly is.

Again, using wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye, he observes the Six-Flavors Worm. Whatever flavor this worm likes or dislikes, one likewise likes or dislikes. If one suffers from a fever ^[18], the worm has already contracted this illness beforehand. For this reason, a sick person finds no savor in food or drink. Having thus contemplated the Flavor Worm, he sees the body clearly, just as it truly is.

Again, using wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye, he observes the Breath-Storing Worm. When this worm becomes angry, it bores into and consumes a person’s brain, causes pain in the throat, or creates an obstruction. Thus, although still alive, one suffers as though dying. This worm and all the other worms living in the throat disturb one another and produce every kind of suffering. The Breath Worm is constantly surrounded by saliva. This kind of worm is short and small, with a face and legs. Having thus contemplated the Breath Worm, he sees the body clearly, just as it truly is.

[187c] Again, using wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye, he observes the Flavor-Hating Worm within the throat. Why does this worm cause one to become painfully ill or remain at ease? This worm detests every flavor and likes only one, whether sweet, sour, or another flavor. Whatever flavor this worm likes or dislikes, one likewise likes or dislikes. The vessels at the tip of the tongue respond according to the flavor, causing the tongue to become dry and hot. When the worm becomes angry, it first causes slight pain in the tongue, which then swells, or it causes pain in the throat. If the worm remains at ease, none of the foregoing ailments arise. Having thus contemplated the Flavor-Hating Worm, he sees the body clearly, just as it truly is.

Again, using wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye, he observes the Sleep-Loving Worm. This worm is as small as a mote of dust. It lives within all the vessels and moves to places where flavors are present, or it dwells within the marrow, flesh, bones of the head, cheekbones, teeth, bones of the neck, ears, eyes, nose, and sideburns, moving everywhere in accord with the breath.

When the worm becomes ill or weary, it remains in the heart. The heart resembles a lotus blossom, opening by day and closing at night. The worm conceals itself therein, occupying many places.

When the faculties become weary, the worm sleeps and rests; at that time, the person does likewise. All sentient beings, without exception, take rest. If this worm becomes weary during the day, the person also becomes drowsy.

Having thus contemplated the Sleep Worm, he sees the body clearly, just as it truly is.

Again, using wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye, he observes the Swelling Worm. This worm moves throughout the body and is extremely tiny in form. Wherever it sucks blood, that place swells slightly and then aches. This worm may dwell on the face, atop the head, in the throat, or in the region of the brain; wherever it dwells, swelling occurs. If it dwells within the sinews, however, it causes no illness. Having thus contemplated the Swelling Worm, he sees the body clearly, just as it truly is.

Again, using wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye, he observes ten kinds of worms that move into the liver and lungs and cause illness. These ten are:

1. The Hair-Eating Worm.

2. The Cavity-Coursing Worm.

3. The Chan-do-ma-la Worm.

4. The Red Worm.

5. The Fluid-Eating Worm.

6. The Hair-Lamp Worm.

7. The Blood-Anger Worm.

8. The Flesh-Eating Worm.

9. The Gathering Worm.

10. The Rabbit Worm.

These worms are extremely tiny in form, having neither legs nor eyes. They move within the blood, causing a person pain and itching.

[188a] Again, using wisdom born of hearing or the divine eye, he observes the Hair-Eating Worm. When this worm becomes angry, it eats the body hair and the hair of the head, causing them to fall out, so that the person becomes bald.

Again, he observes the Cavity-Coursing Worm. When this worm becomes angry, it moves through the blood, causing the body to become rough and the mind to grow numb and dull.

Again, he observes the Chan-do-ma-la Worm. This worm moves through the blood and enters the nose or mouth, producing an unpleasant foul odor.”

Again, contemplate the Xích worm. When this worm becomes enraged, it moves through the blood and causes boils to arise in the throat.

Again, contemplate the Thực Trấp worm. When this worm becomes enraged, it moves through the blood and causes illness, making the body pale, darkened, or sallow.

Again, contemplate the Mao Đăng worm. When this worm becomes enraged, it moves through the blood and gives rise to illnesses such as boils, fever, and sores.

Again, contemplate the Sân Huyết worm. When this worm becomes enraged, it moves through the blood and causes a person to suffer from red discoloration; in women, it causes bleeding, bodily itching, purulent abscesses, and ulcerating sores.

Again, contemplate the Thực Nhục worm. When this worm becomes enraged, it causes painful illness, makes the head reel, and causes boils to arise in the throat, mouth, and anus.

Again, contemplate the Tập Tập worm. This worm moves through the blood and gives rise to illnesses, causing the body to become weary and weak and making one disinclined to eat or drink.

Again, contemplate the Thố worm. When this worm becomes enraged, it likewise causes people to contract the illnesses described above.

Again, contemplate the ten kinds of worms that move through the body: the Sinh Sang worm, the Thích worm, the Bế Cân worm, the Động Mạch worm, the Thực Bì worm, the Động Chỉ worm, the Hòa Tập worm, the Xú worm, the Thấp Sinh worm, and the Nhiệt worm.

Again, using wisdom acquired through hearing, or using the divine eye, contemplate the Sang worm. Wherever there is a wound, this worm gathers around it and gnaws at it; it may also live in the throat and cause boils to arise there.

Again, contemplate the Thích worm. When this worm becomes enraged, it causes dysentery with obstruction, burning heat as though scorched by fire, constant dryness of the mouth, and indigestion. When a person is distressed, the worm rejoices. Because this worm bites the blood vessels, the person becomes weak or suffers from low blood pressure and dysentery.

Or contemplate the Bế Cân worm. This worm moves through both the large and small sinews. When a person feels the worm moving through the sinews, there is pain; otherwise, there is none. Consequently, all the bones and flesh deteriorate and waste away, and pain arises throughout the body. When the worm becomes enraged, it prevents the person from eating. If it lives in the sinews and sucks blood, it weakens the person’s strength; if it eats the flesh, it makes the person thin and feeble.

Again, contemplate the Động Mạch worm. This worm travels throughout all the vessels. Because it is small, it moves very easily and without obstruction. If the worm is in the esophagus, it causes an illness that makes the body dry and feverish and causes aversion to food and drink. If the worm is in the Water vessel, it makes the[188b] mouth dry. If it is in the sweat glands, it prevents all the pores from secreting sweat. If it is in the urinary tract, the person suffers from painful urination,^[19] or it depletes the vital essence, causing great suffering. If the worm becomes enraged, it moves down to the anus, obstructing defecation and causing suffering as though one were about to die.

Again, contemplate the Thực Bì worm. When a person eats excessively, the worm becomes enraged and makes the person’s complexion ugly. It may cause the illness called pháo,^[20] itching, redness, sallowness, or ulcerating sores; the hair and nails may fall out; severe illnesses may arise; or the skin may crack and the flesh may decay.

Again, contemplate the Động Chỉ worm. This worm lives in the fat. If a person eats or sleeps excessively, the worm becomes enraged and ceases to assist in digesting food. It may cause sores, inflammation of the hair follicles, tumors, abdominal distension, constipation, bodily odor, or sweating while eating.

Again, contemplate the Hòa Tập worm. This worm has two bodies: a sentient body and an insentient body. The sentient body comprises the skin, flesh, and cheeks; the insentient body comprises the hair, nails, and teeth. When a person eats and drinks to excess, the worm becomes weak; consequently, the person also loses strength, cannot walk with agility, frequently has dreams while sleeping, or develops a fever. The skin, flesh, bones, blood, vital essence, and marrow all deteriorate.

Again, contemplate the Xú worm. This worm lives in the flesh, feces, and urine. When a person eats and drinks excessively, the worm becomes enraged, causing the flesh, feces, urine, tears, and saliva all to smell foul and causing purulent abscesses in the nose. Wherever the worm goes, that place becomes foul-smelling, including clothing, sitting mats, food, and the roots of the teeth. Because this worm is foul-smelling, everything else also becomes foul, even to the point that the tongue has many filthy, putrid vessels and the body itself smells foul.

Again, contemplate the Thấp Hành worm. This worm moves along the back. When it knows that food has been digested, it enters the three openings at the waist and processes the person’s impure substances: the foul liquid becomes urine, and the dregs become feces, causing them to be expelled from the body.

Furthermore, the practitioner contemplates and, in sequence, examines the inner body, observing ten kinds of worms moving within it. All human beings depend upon these for their existence. The ten kinds are: the Tập Tập worm, the Chuyết Chuyết worm, the Miêu Hoa worm, the Hỏa Diễm worm, the Hắc worm, the Đại Thực worm, the Noãn Hành worm, the Tác Nhiệt worm, the Hỏa worm, and the Đại Hỏa worm.

All these kinds of worms live within the five viscera.

Again, using wisdom acquired through hearing, or using the divine eye, contemplate the Tập Tập worm. Because a person eats excessively, the worm becomes enraged and eats the eyelashes, causing the eyes to water and discharge rheum.[188c] This worm is tiny and red. If it moves within the eye, it causes many illnesses and may even cause blindness. If it enters the pupil, a white film forms over the eye. If the worm does not become enraged, it causes no illness.

Again, contemplate the Chuyết Chuyết worm. This worm lives in the human body and moves through the stomach and large intestine. If this worm enters the bones, it causes the person to feel burning heat. If it moves through the flesh, the flesh and limbs remain hot throughout day and night. If it enters the skin, the body breaks out in sweat.

Again, contemplate the Miêu Hoa worm. This worm moves within the stomach. It has a pointed beak and short legs, and its body resembles a mass of fire. It causes the person to have no desire for food or drink. Wherever the worm goes, that place becomes intensely hot, and the body’s temperature increases until it burns with heat. If the worm moves about naturally, it causes no illness.

Again, contemplate the Hỏa Diễm worm. This worm moves within the stomach and is sometimes at ease and sometimes not. Because a person eats excessively, the worm becomes enraged and moves throughout the body from head to foot, causing all the heated blood in the body to produce abscesses, or causing the ears, mouth, and stomach to bleed. If the worm is not enraged, these illnesses do not arise.

Again, contemplate the Hắc worm. This worm moves within the stomach and is sometimes at ease and sometimes not. Because a person eats excessively, the worm becomes enraged and causes the facial skin to wrinkle. It may also cause numerous black, yellow, or red moles to appear; make the body smell foul; redden the eyes; and cause boils to arise inside the mouth and around the organs of defecation and urination. If the worm is not enraged, these illnesses do not arise.

Again, contemplate the Đại Thực worm. Because a person eats excessively, this worm becomes enraged. The Đại Thực worm dwells in the stomach and absorbs digested food, causing the functions of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and the other parts of the body all to decline. If the worm is not enraged, it causes no illness.

Again, contemplate the Noãn Hành worm. This worm delights in hot food and dislikes cold food. If a person eats cold food, the worm becomes enraged, causing the mouth to secrete copious fluid, or causing the person to become lazy and drowsy, the mind hazy, the body wracked with severe pain, saliva to become abundant, and illness to arise in the throat. If the worm is not enraged, these illnesses do not arise.

Again, one contemplates the Heat worm living within the body. Because a person eats excessively, many kinds of illness arise, obstructing the respiratory passages; the body becomes coarse and heavy, the throat is blocked, both feces and urine contain a white fluid, and the person dislikes cold and does not wish to eat bland food.

Again, one contemplates the Digestive Fire worm living within the body. This worm moves about in the stomach. When the weather is cold, it becomes joyful and causes the person to crave food and drink; but when the weather is hot and the temperature rises, the worm becomes weak and causes the person to have no desire to eat. Thus, during the cold of winter, the stomach is cool, whereas in hot weather, the stomach is feverishly hot.

Again, one contemplates the Great Fire worm. If a person has an unbalanced disposition and forces himself to eat excessively, this worm will become enraged and devour the other worms within the body, causing stabbing pain in the person’s intestines, hands, and feet. Wherever it devours a worm, pain arises in that place. If this worm is not enraged, none of these symptoms occur.

[189a] Furthermore, a practitioner, using wisdom acquired through hearing or the divine eye, contemplates ten kinds of worms within the bones. These ten are the Feces worm, Bone-Biting worm, Joint-Biting worm, Red-Mouthed Stinking worm, Festering worm, Red-Mouthed worm, Tou-tou-mo worm, Skin-Eating worm, Wind-Blade worm, and Blade-Mouthed worm.

These ten kinds of worms move about within the bones. If their wishes are thwarted, they become enraged and injure the body. The matter is recorded in full in the Sutra on the Foundations of Mindfulness of the True Dharma.

Furthermore, a practitioner, using wisdom acquired through hearing or the divine eye, contemplates ten kinds of worms moving within the urine. They are the Birth worm, Needle-Mouthed worm, Discharging worm, Footless worm, Scattered-Fluid worm, Triple-Burner worm, Gut-Rupturing worm, Obstructing worm, Fair-Colored worm, and Filthy-Orifice Sore worm.

These ten kinds of worms are ugly in color and live in feces and urine. If their wishes are thwarted, they become enraged and injure the body. The matter is recorded in full in the Sutra on the Foundations of Mindfulness of the True Dharma.

Furthermore, a practitioner, using wisdom acquired through hearing or the divine eye, contemplates ten kinds of worms moving within the marrow and semen. These ten are the Hair worm, Black-Mouthed worm, Feeble worm, Great-Pain worm, Affliction worm, Fire worm, Slippery worm, Downward-Flowing worm, Arouser of the Bodily Faculty worm, and Joyful-Recollection worm.

If the wishes of these ten kinds of worms are thwarted, they become enraged and injure the body. The matter is recorded in full in the Sutra on the Foundations of Mindfulness of the True Dharma.

XXX.5. The Five Pungent Plants

The Lankavatara Sutra^[21] records: “The Buddha said: O Mahamati! It is indeed so. All such things as onions, chives, and garlic are foul-smelling and impure. They obstruct the noble path^[22] and defile the pure abodes among devas and humans; how much more, then, the pure lands of the Buddhas. The same applies even to intoxicating liquor.”

The Mahaparinirvana Sutra records: “Eating such things as onions, chives, garlic, and shallots, all of which are foul-smelling and impure, causes one to be born in painful and filthy places. They obstruct the noble path and defile the pure abodes among devas and humans; how much more, then, the pure lands of the Buddhas. Intoxicating liquor is likewise able to obstruct the noble path, damage wholesome karma, and give rise to transgressions.”

[189b] The Samyukta Agama Sutra^[23] records: “One must not eat the five pungent plants: onions, scallions, garlic, shallots, and hingqu.”^[24]

The Brahma’s Net Sutra^[25] records: “A disciple of the Buddha must not eat the five pungent plants: onions, scallions, garlic, shallots, and hingqu.”

The Sutra on the Retributions for Consuming the Five Pungent Plants records: “The sevenfold assembly^[26]… must not eat meat, drink intoxicating liquor, or consume pungent plants. If people consume them and then read or recite sutras, they commit an offense. If illness makes their consumption necessary, the Buddha permits their use, but those who use them must leave the grounds of the monastery and go to a layperson’s house. After recovering from the illness, they must bathe in fragrant water for a full forty-nine days; only then are they permitted to read and recite sutras. In this way, they do not commit an offense.”

The Mahasanghika Vinaya,^[27] the Sarvastivada Vinaya,^[28] the Mahisasaka Vinaya,^[29] and other Vinaya texts all state: “If there is no other means of curing an illness, the use of the five pungent plants is permitted, but for seven days the person must remain alone in a small room. The person must not lie upon the beds or mats of the Sangha, go to the Dharma hall, enter the communal latrine, or accept an invitation to take a meal together with the Sangha.

The person must not approach to pay homage to the Buddha but must remain downwind and bow in homage from afar. After the full seven days have elapsed, the person must bathe thoroughly and fumigate and perfume the robes before being allowed to rejoin the assembly. If someone suffers from festering sores and the physician says that incense must be used for treatment, that incense must first be offered to the Buddha.

Only afterward may it be applied to the sores, whereupon the person must return to a secluded place and proceed as described above.” (Even pure monastics observe such practices; how, then, could defiled worldly people consume these things as they please?)

XXX.6. Sneezing

The Mahasanghika Vinaya says: “If one is on monastery grounds and feels the need to sneeze, one must not make a loud sound but should restrain it and cover the nose with one’s hand. If one cannot suppress it, one should cover the nose with a hand and then sneeze, taking care not to spray saliva or nasal discharge and soil those nearby. If a person seated upon the Dharma seat sneezes, that person should say, ‘I respectfully pay homage,’ while those below should remain silent.”

The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya records: “When the Blessed One sneezed, the bhiksus wished him ‘Long life.’ At another time, while a layperson was paying homage to a bhiksu, the layperson sneezed. The Buddha instructed the bhiksus to offer the blessing, ‘Long life.’”

The Mahasanghika Vinaya records: “The Buddha taught: If someone is about to pass wind and cannot restrain it, that person must move behind the others and must not remain in front and freely expel it. Even when traveling along a road with merchants, one must not casually pass wind in front of them. If the wind cannot be restrained, one must move to the roadside, downwind, and release it there.”

The Vinaya-Matrka Sutra^[30] records: “There are two kinds of bodily gas: belching and passing wind. When belching, one must not open one’s mouth in front of others but should turn toward a place where no one is present. When about to pass wind, one must not remain among the assembly [189c] but should find a way to go outside to a place where no one is present, release the wind there, and only then return.

One must not give the assembly cause to criticize one as filthy. When entering a stupa, one must not pass wind. Nor may one pass wind inside a stupa, beneath a tree, or amid the great assembly.

One must also not pass wind audibly in the presence of one’s original preceptor, a greatly virtuous one, or a senior monk. If compelled by illness, one should go outside and not cause others to give rise to thoughts of impurity.”

XXX.7. Defecation and Urination

The Sutra of King Upakki records: “Anyone who defecates or urinates at will upon monastery grounds will fall into the Babo Hell for five hundred lifetimes. For twenty minor kalpas, that person’s hands will constantly clutch the filthy ground upon which they urinated, continuing until death.”

The Vinaya-matrika Scripture records: “In front of the bhiksus’ quarters, urine was found everywhere, giving rise to an unbearably foul stench. The Buddha became aware of this and instructed the bhiksus: ‘From now on, bhiksus must not urinate indiscriminately within the monastery grounds. They should gather in a secluded place to urinate, or urinate into an earthenware vessel, a bamboo tube, a reed tube, or an earthen pit.

After urinating, they must cover it so that no foul odor arises.’ When going to the latrine, one must first take cleansing sticks or grass, then go to the latrine door and snap one’s fingers three times, so that any human or nonhuman being inside will know. If there are no cleansing sticks, one must not wipe oneself against the wall, nor against a plank or a latrine post. One must not use stones, fresh grass, fine earth, soft bark, leaves, or unusual kinds of wood.

Only wood, bamboo, or reeds may be made into cleansing sticks. Their maximum length is one span, and their minimum length is four finger-joints. A used stick must not be tossed about so as to soil the clean sticks, nor may it be hung together with the clean sticks.

This is the proper method for using cleansing sticks after relieving oneself.

A latrine has two areas: the place for defecation and urination, and the place for washing with water. Upon reaching the washing area, one must gather one’s robes and garments neatly when sitting down and standing up. All the remaining procedures are the same as those for the place where cleansing sticks are used. A vessel of clean water must be hung outside the latrine door, together with an additional small water vessel. Those who have their own vessels should use them. Those who have none should use the small water vessel. They must not use the Sangha’s large vessel and thereby defile it. This is the proper method for using water at the latrine.

Before a stupa, the Sangha, an upadhyaya, or an acarya,^[31] one must not blow one’s nose or spit in such a way that saliva or mucus falls upon the ground. If one wishes to spit or blow one’s nose, one must go to a secluded place and not let others see something repulsive. This is the proper method for spitting and blowing one’s nose.”

The Three Thousand Rules of Deportment records: “If a bhiksu defecates or urinates and does not wash himself, he commits a duskrta offense.^[32] [190a] He may not sit upon the Sangha’s sitting mats or bow to the Three Jewels. Even if he bows to the Three Jewels, he gains no merit.”

Furthermore, there are twenty-five rules for going to the latrine behind the Sangha’s quarters:

1. When one needs to defecate or urinate, one must go immediately. On the way, one must not bow to a senior monk.^[33]

2. One must not accept another person’s bow.

3. While walking, one should lower one’s head and look at the ground.

4. Upon arriving, one must snap one’s fingers three times.

5. If someone responds by snapping their fingers, one must not urge them to hurry.

6. When one arrives and stands snapping one’s fingers, one’s body must be upright.

7. When sitting, one must also sit upright in the proper position.

8. One must not sit with one foot ahead of the other.

9. While sitting, one must not lean the body against anything.

10. One must gather one’s robes and garments neatly and not let them hang down into the latrine.

11. One must not strain so forcefully that one’s face turns red.

12. One must look straight ahead and not deliberately listen to anything.

13. One must not soil the wall.

14. One must not bend down to look into the latrine hole.

15. One must not look at one’s private parts.

16. One must not hold one’s private parts with the hand.

17. One must not use grass to draw upon the ground.

18. One must not use grass to write upon the wall.

19. When using water, one must not waste it.

20. One must not splash water about and cause defilement.

21. When using water, one hand must not obstruct the other.

22. If earth is used, it must be applied three times.

23. Soap must be used.

24. Water may be used three times.

25. If one sees that the water, grass, or earth has run out, one must tell the monk on duty; better still, one should replenish it with one’s own hands.

The Mahasanghika Vinaya records: “If a bhiksu has finished defecating or urinating but does not wash himself clean with water, and then uses the Sangha’s sitting mats, blankets, or sleeping mats, he commits an offense.”

The Sarvastivada Vinaya in Ten Recitations records: “If one has finished defecating or urinating but has not washed oneself clean, one must not sit or lie upon the Sangha’s sitting mats. If one lies upon them, one commits an offense.”

The Matrka Treatise records: “If one has finished defecating or urinating but has not washed oneself clean, one must not bow. Exceptions are when there is no water in that place, when nonhuman beings are enraged, when a water deity is enraged, or when washing is prohibited because one is taking medicine. In such cases, the Buddha permitted it, and no offense is committed.”

The Scripture of Miscellaneous Parables records: “There was a bhiksu who entered to defecate and urinate without first snapping his fingers to give warning. He soiled the face of a ghost-spirit. The ghost-spirit became angry and wanted to kill the bhiksu, but because the bhiksu observed the precepts with purity and strictness, the ghost had no opportunity to harm him.” (Knowing this, when one goes to the latrine, one must first snap one’s fingers audibly three times to give warning.)

The Scripture of the Wise and the Foolish records: “In ancient times, when the Buddha was still in the world, there lived in the city of Sravasti a man named Nidhi. He was destitute and made his living carrying away excrement. The Buddha knew that Nidhi’s faculties had matured and wished to liberate him, so he led Ananda to the place where Nidhi was.

At that moment, Nidhi was carrying excrement outside the city to discard it. Because the container of excrement had broken and soiled his entire body, when he saw the Blessed One approaching from afar, he felt ashamed and did not dare face him. [190b] Knowing this, the Buddha went directly to Nidhi and taught him the Dharma. After listening, Nidhi gave rise to faith and wished to leave the household life.

The Buddha told Ananda to lead him down to the river to bathe and cleanse himself, and then bring him back to the Jeta Grove Monastery. The Buddha again taught the Dharma to Nidhi. After listening, he attained the fruit of stream-entry.

After leaving the household life, he attained arhatship. At that time, when the king and the people of the realm heard that Nidhi, a destitute man of the lowest class, had been permitted to leave the household life, they all became extremely angry and said: ‘Why did the Buddha permit this man to leave the household life?’ King Prasenajit immediately went to the Buddha to prevent this. When the king arrived, he encountered Nidhi sitting and mending his robe upon a great boulder before the gate of the Jeta Grove Monastery, while seven hundred devas scattered flowers as offerings to him.

Seeing this, the king gave rise to joy and asked Nidhi for permission to enter and see the Buddha. Bhiksu Nidhi concealed his body within the rock and passed freely into and out of it. After Nidhi had reported the matter to the Buddha, the king came before the Buddha and asked:

‘Blessed One! What is the name of that bhiksu?’

The Buddha replied:

‘He is none other than Nidhi, the destitute man in your kingdom who made his living carrying excrement.’

When the king heard the Buddha say this, he no longer harbored contempt or slander. He immediately went to Nidhi, bowed at his feet, and sought forgiveness through repentance. He then asked the Buddha:

‘Blessed One! What karma did Bhiksu Nidhi create in a past life that he must now endure such a lowly body?’

The Buddha replied:

‘In the distant past, after Buddha Kasyapa had entered nirvana, there was a bhiksu who managed the affairs of the Sangha. One day, although suffering only a slight illness, he was too lazy to go to the latrine. He therefore urinated into a basin and ordered a disciple to carry it away and empty it. That disciple had attained the fruit of stream-entry. Because of this cause and condition, the bhiksu wandered through birth and death, repeatedly becoming a person of lowly station, and for five hundred lifetimes made his living carrying excrement. Because he had formerly left the household life and possessed the merit of observing the precepts, he has now encountered the Buddha, left the household life to cultivate the path, and attained awakening.’”

(For this reason, one must not urinate inside one’s room; otherwise, one will incur karmic retribution. It is often seen that worldly people, out of laziness and unwillingness to walk back and forth, place a basin in their room, urinate into it, and empty it on another day. Such people will certainly fall into hell in a future life. Even after emerging from hell, they will still fall into rebirth as pigs, dogs, ferocious cattle, or insects that feed upon filthy excrement in latrines.)

The Scripture Spoken by the Buddha on Eliminating Calamities records: “The Buddha said to Ananda:

– In the past, during the time of Kasyapa Buddha, human beings had a lifespan of twenty thousand years. When his work was complete, the Buddha entered nirvana. At that time, King Good Prospect wished to venerate his relics^[34], so he built a seven-story stupa one yojana high. All beings came to the stupa to light lamps and offer flowers, incense, and silk, paying homage and worshiping.

At that time, a group of women wished to make offerings to the stupa, so they went together to sweep the grounds of the stupa^[35]. When they arrived, they saw that dog excrement had defiled the place. One woman scooped it up with her hands and removed it. Seeing this, another woman spat and mocked her:

– Your hands are now filthy; you must not approach the stupa!

The first woman retorted:

– You wicked harlot! Water can wash my hands clean. The Buddha is the teacher of gods and humans and must always be revered.

After removing the filth, the woman washed her hands, circumambulated the stupa, and prayed: ‘Now that I have swept clean the grounds of the stupa, [190c] may the afflictions and defilements accumulated throughout my many lives all be eliminated, leaving me pure and undefiled.’

The women who swept the stupa at that time are precisely the women now present in this assembly. Because, while sweeping the stupa grounds, they made a vow to cast off the defilements^[36], they came to drink the flavor of the ambrosial Dharma.^[37] The woman who removed the dog excrement at that time is now none other than the Woman of the Amra Grove.^[38] At that time, she vowed to be born in a pure place. Through the merit of this, she was not born from an impure womb but was always born from a flower. However, because she had called the other woman a harlot, she now had to bear the name Courtesan. She encountered the Buddha, heard the Dharma, and attained the fruit of stream-entry.”

The Sutra of the Miscellaneous Treasure Storehouse^[39] records: “According to the customs of Southern India, when there is a woman in a household, she must rise early in the morning to sweep and clean the house. At that time, the daughter of an elder was sweeping away rubbish early one morning when she encountered the Buddha passing by. Joy arose in her heart, and she gazed intently upon the Buddha.

Just then, her lifespan came to an end, and she was immediately reborn in a heavenly realm. Ordinarily, whenever someone is reborn in a heavenly realm, that person recollects three things: What kind of body did I previously have? She immediately knew that she had possessed a human body.

Where have I now been born? She immediately knew that she was in a heavenly realm. What karma did I formerly create that caused me to be born here?

She then knew that it was through the wholesome karma of encountering the Buddha and giving rise to joy that she had been born there. Moved by gratitude for the Buddha’s kindness and virtue, the celestial maiden went to make offerings to him. The Buddha then taught her the Dharma.

After hearing it, the celestial maiden attained the fruit of stream-entry.”

The New Vibhasa Treatise^[40] records: “Long ago, in the kingdom of Taksasila^[41], a woman went to the place where King Candraprabha had given away a thousand heads and paid homage at the sacred shrine built by King Asoka. The woman saw a pile of dog excrement before the Buddha’s seat and thought: This is a pure place; why should dog excrement be allowed to defile it? She then scooped it up and removed it with her hands, after which she scattered powdered incense there. Through this wholesome karma, her entire body emitted a fragrance like sandalwood^[42], and her breath was as fragrant as blue lotus blossoms.

Because beings do not know how to preserve the purity of the three kinds of karma, they are afflicted by defilements; inwardly, these bring forth all manner of outward impurities. The verse states:

Weeds in the world

Make fertile fields barren;

So too does the mind of greed

Defile sentient beings.

Weeds in the world

Make fertile fields barren;

So too does the mind of anger

Defile sentient beings.”

The Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish records: “While the Buddha was in the world, beside the city of Rajagrha there was a deep pool into which the townspeople emptied mud, excrement, and urine, making it extremely foul. In it lived a large creature whose body resembled a snake’s but also had four legs. It swam about everywhere, [191a] sometimes diving beneath the surface and sometimes emerging above it. For many years it remained there, undergoing immeasurable suffering. At that time, the Blessed One led the bhiksus to that deep pool and asked:

– Do you know what karma this creature created in a former life?

None of the bhiksus knew.

The Buddha said:

– During the time of Vipasyin Buddha, a caravan of merchants entered the sea in search of treasures. They found a great many and returned safely. They selected precious treasures and offered them to the Sangha to provide food and drink. After accepting them, the Sangha entrusted them to the steward.^[43] Later, when their provisions were exhausted, the members of the Sangha went to ask the steward for them, but he refused to give anything. The Sangha continued to plead with him. In anger, the steward said: ‘Go eat excrement! These treasures belong to me, so why do you keep demanding them?’ Because he spoke maliciously, reviling and disparaging the Sangha, after his life ended he fell into the Boiling Excrement Hell^[44] for ninety-one kalpas. After emerging from hell, he fell into this deep pool, where he has remained in this form from the time of the Seven Buddhas^[45] until now. He must continue to bear this body even until the thousand Buddhas appear in the Auspicious Kalpa^[46], still undergoing the same suffering.”

Furthermore, the Sutra of a Hundred Conditions records: “When the Buddha was staying in the Kalanda Bamboo Grove at Rajagrha^[47], before taking their meals, Venerable Sariputra and Maudgalyayana would always contemplate the three realms of hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals, and only afterward would they eat. Maudgalyayana saw a hungry ghost whose body resembled a burning copper pillar, whose belly was as large as Mount Tai, whose neck was as thin as a needle, and whose body was covered with hair as sharp as keen blades. Fire issued from between all its joints. Groaning and wailing, the ghost ran everywhere searching for excrement to eat, but although it sought painfully throughout the day, it found none. Maudgalyayana asked the ghost:

– What karma did you create that now causes you to undergo such suffering?

The ghost replied:

– Where the sun is present, what need is there to light a torch? The Blessed One is now present in the world; you may go and ask him. I am now consumed by hunger and thirst and cannot answer you.

Maudgalyayana then went to the Blessed One and asked:

– What karma did that ghost create that causes it to undergo such suffering?

The Blessed One replied:

– Listen attentively, and I shall explain it clearly to you! During the Auspicious Kalpa, in the city of Sravasti, there lived an elder whose wealth was incalculable. He regularly ordered his servants to press sugarcane juice and sell it to wealthy households. At that time, a pratyekabuddha suffered from a feverish illness^[48]. A physician told him that his condition would improve only if he drank sugarcane juice. The pratyekabuddha therefore went to the elder’s house to ask for some. When the elder saw him coming, joy arose in his heart, and he told his wife, named Punaki:

– I have urgent business and must go out. Remain at home and offer sugarcane juice to this pratyekabuddha!

[191b] His wife replied:

– Go ahead; I will give it to him!

As soon as her husband had left the house, she took the pratyekabuddha’s bowl to a secluded place, urinated into it, poured sugarcane juice over the urine, and brought it out to give to him. The pratyekabuddha knew what she had done, so he poured everything onto the ground and returned with the empty bowl. After her death, she fell into hell, where she was constantly tormented by hunger and thirst. Because of that evil karma, she now undergoes such suffering.

The Buddha told Maudgalyayana:

– The elder’s wife at that time is now none other than the hungry ghost Punaki.

After hearing the Buddha’s teaching, the bhiksus completely abandoned stinginess and greed and became disenchanted with samsara. Some attained the four fruits^[49], some aroused the aspiration for pratyekabuddhahood, and some aroused the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi. All the bhiksus rejoiced and faithfully practiced the teaching.”

XXX.8. Maintaining Purity

The Ten Recitations Vinaya records: “How should one rinse one’s mouth?

The Buddha taught:

– Take water into the mouth and swirl it three times, thereby cleansing the mouth.”

The Mahasanghika Vinaya records: “At that time, the Blessed One was teaching the Dharma in a great assembly. A bhiksu who had foul breath sat downwind. Although the Buddha knew the reason, he deliberately asked:

– Why is that bhiksu sitting alone?

– Blessed One! Because the Blessed One established a precept forbidding the use of tooth-cleaning sticks, my breath is foul. Fearing that it might affect others, I have had to sit downwind.

The Buddha taught:

– From now on, the use of tooth-cleaning sticks is permitted. At most, they should be sixteen finger-joints long, and at least four finger-joints long. When cleaning the teeth, one must wash one’s hands thoroughly and go to a secluded place. Afterward, one must wash the tooth-cleaning stick before discarding it. The water used while cleaning the teeth must not be swallowed. If a bhiksu is ill and a physician says that he must swallow it, this is permitted. If someone has no teeth, that person should use ashes, salt, earth, brick, ginger, stone, grass, or wood to clean the mouth before eating.

When one wishes to pour water during a meal, one should first use clean water to wash one’s hands and bowl, and only then pour the water. If one’s hands are dirty, one must place a leaf beneath the bowl. When drinking, one must not close one’s mouth around the bowl, nor allow the bowl to touch one’s forehead.

One should drink with the lips resting against it. One must not drink all the water, but should leave a little with which to rinse the mouth and then spit it out. The person pouring the water must carefully keep the water bowl clean.

If one sees that the rim of the bowl has been enclosed by someone’s mouth or has touched someone’s forehead, one must set it apart and mark it with grass so that others will know that the water bowl is unclean. If water is poured at an improper time, the procedure is likewise as described above.”

The Mahasanghika Vinaya records: “Upon rising early in the morning, a bhiksu must wash his hands thoroughly and must not wash them carelessly. He should first wash the five fingertips. He must not wash as far as the armpits, but only from the wrists downward.

He must not wash hastily or rub too vigorously, causing bleeding. [191c] He should wash with stone, grass, or ashes. If ashes or soap are used, he must scrub until a sound is produced. After washing his hands, if they still feel greasy when rubbed together, they are not yet clean and must be washed again.

Before a meal, a bhiksu must keep his hands clean. If he scratches his head or handles his robe and so forth, he must wash his hands again. (If even bhiksus must do so, laypeople must do likewise.) The same applies when reciting sutras or receiving a meal. Even with clean hands, one must still act in this way; how much more so when one’s hands habitually kill living beings, one consumes blood and flesh, one’s body and mouth are foul-smelling, and one heedlessly transmits the Dharma—how could one’s mind be pure!”

The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya records: “At that time, the bhiksus feared that there was a foul odor in the room. The Buddha taught: ‘You should sprinkle water and sweep the room. If it still smells, scatter fragrant powder. If the odor still remains, hang incense in the four corners of the room.’”

The Sarvastivada Vinaya records: “At that time, a bhiksu’s breath was foul because he did not clean his teeth, so he went and reported this to the Buddha.

The Buddha taught:

– Bhiksus are permitted to clean their teeth. Cleaning the teeth has five benefits:

1- The mouth is not bitter

2- The mouth does not smell foul

3- It dispels wind ailments

4- It dispels heat ailments

5- It dispels phlegm.

There are also five further benefits:

1- It dispels wind ailments

2- It dispels heat

3- One can clearly distinguish flavors

4- Food is appetizing

5- The eyes are bright.”

The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya records: “Not cleaning the teeth has five faults:

1- The mouth smells foul

2- One cannot distinguish flavors

3- Feverish illness does not subside

4- Food is not appetizing

5- The eyes are not bright.”

The Mahisasaka Vinaya records: “After cleaning the teeth, one must wash the tooth-cleaning stick thoroughly before discarding it, lest worms consume it and die.”

The Three Thousand Rules of Deportment records: “There are five things one must know when using a tooth-cleaning stick:

1- It must be of the proper dimensions

2- It must be discarded in accordance with the Dharma

3- The frayed tip must not exceed three fen

4- If the teeth are widely spaced, one should clean between them three times

5- One must wash it oneself.”

There are five rules for scraping the tongue:

1- One must not scrape more than three times.

2- If the tongue bleeds, one must stop.

3- One must not swing the hand and thereby soil the sanghati robe or the feet.

4- One must not discard the tongue scraper on a pathway.

5- It must be discarded in a concealed place.

XXX.9. Sounding the Bell

The Sutra on the Transmission of the Dharma Treasury records: “At that time, there was a king named Kaniska who was greedy, violent, tyrannical, and devoid of the Way. He constantly led armies to conquer other countries, compelling the people to perform burdensome labor without respite. Wishing to unify the realm, the king stationed his army beyond the frontier, causing relatives to be separated, with no one knowing when their suffering would end.

Therefore, the officials and people united in resolving to eliminate the king so that they might live in peace. [192a] Taking advantage of the king’s grave illness, they covered him with a blanket and sat upon him. A short while later, the king ceased breathing. Because he had previously heard the bhiksu Asvaghosa^[50] teach the Dharma, he was reborn in the great ocean as a fish with a thousand heads.

This fish’s heads were continually severed by swords. Whenever they were cut off, they grew back, only to be severed again. It endured innumerable cycles of their arising and being cut off; in an instant, its heads filled the entire great ocean.

One day, the fish addressed an arhat^[51] who served as the karmadana^[52] in a monastery:

– When I hear the sound of the ghanta, the revolving swords immediately stop cutting, and at that moment my suffering temporarily ceases. I humbly beseech the venerable one, out of compassionate mercy: whenever you strike the ghanta, please make it sound for a very long time.

Out of compassion, the arhat sounded the ghanta for a very long time. After seven days, the fish was freed from the suffering of its transgression and was reborn in the monastery. Because of the story of this king, it was subsequently handed down that when the ghanta is struck, it must be made to sound for a very long time; this practice continues to the present day.”

Commentary: According to the meaning of the sutra, the bell is sounded to relieve the suffering of sentient beings and also to summon the Sangha to assemble. When the karmadana sounds the bell, he joins his palms solemnly and makes a vow to benefit sentient beings. Upon hearing the bell, sentient beings turn their thoughts toward goodness and bring all suffering to an end.

The Ekottarika Agama Sutra records: “When sounding the bell, one should vow that all suffering in the evil destinies will cease. If one hears the sound of the bell and this verse, the grave offenses of birth and death accumulated over fifty billion kalpas will be removed.

Destroy the power of hostile Maras,

Bring every affliction wholly to an end;

In an open place, sound the ghanta,

And when bhiksus hear it, they assemble.

Those who hear this Dharma

Will transcend birth and death;

Upon hearing this wondrous sound,

Come swiftly and assemble.”

A Miscellaneous Sutra contains this verse:

Hearing the bell, yet lying down and not arising,

The benevolent spirits who protect the Dharma grow angry;

In this life, one’s conditions for merit become meager,

And in the next life, one falls into rebirth as a snake.

The very moment the bell is heard,

If lying down, one must sit upright;

Join the palms and give rise to a wholesome mind,

And all sages and saints will rejoice.

The great bell resounds throughout ten thousand places,

Awakening sentient beings to escape the worldly realm;

Through the long night of birth and death, with all its sins and suffering,

Upon hearing the bell, every affliction diminishes.

The six consciousnesses^[53], deluded and obscured, suffer without end;

Ignorance conceals the myriad paths of delusion;

Hearing the bell by night and day, one awakens to enlightenment,

With a joyful heart, one attains spiritual powers in the Pure Land.

XXX.10. Entering the Assembly

[192b] The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya records: “A bhiksu who wishes to enter the assembly must possess five qualities:

1- He must have a mind of loving-kindness

2- He must be humble, regarding himself as a cloth used to wipe away dust

3- He must know the proper rules for sitting and standing. If he sees a senior monk arrive, he must rise; if he sees a junior monk, he may remain seated

4- After entering the Sangha assembly, he must not engage in miscellaneous conversation or discuss worldly affairs. He should either teach the Dharma himself or invite someone else to teach it

5- If he sees something improper within the Sangha and cannot patiently endure it, he should nevertheless remain seated in silence.”

Therefore, the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom records: “The Buddha’s disciples, living together in harmony, must practice two things: speak as the sages and saints speak, and remain silent as the sages and saints remain silent.”

(Nowadays, at vegetarian assemblies, one often sees junior students arriving first and occupying the finest seats; when they see senior monks or instructors arrive, they neither rise to welcome them nor yield their seats. Truly, the decline of the true Dharma is caused by young monastics! Whether visiting the homes of the powerful and noble or attending funerals and death-anniversary observances, monastics and laypeople alike recklessly indulge in laughter and conversation, creating an uproar throughout the assembly and causing worldly people to disparage even virtuous monks.)

The Sutra of the Three Thousand Rules of Deportment states:

When getting onto a bed, one must observe seven things:

1- Sit down on the bed gently and unhurriedly.

2- Do not crawl on the bed.

3- Do not move so forcefully that the bed makes a noise.

4- Do not wipe or sweep so forcefully that the bed makes a noise.

5- Do not lament sorrowfully or think about worldly affairs.

6- Many people should not lie together.

7- One should rise early according to the climate of each season.

The Treatise on the Bodhisattva Grounds^[54] states: “When a bodhisattva sees sentient beings, he should inquire after their well-being. Before speaking, his countenance should be cheerful, his expression harmonious, his gaze direct, and his right mindfulness guarded. If a bodhisattva knows that a sentient being possesses merit but, because he resents and is angry with that person, does not make it known to others and does not praise that person—or, when someone else offers praise, does not say, ‘Very good’—this constitutes a transgression among the numerous offenses^[55]. This transgression arises from a defiled mind.”

The Compendium Treatise^[56] states: “When a bodhisattva sees sentient beings, he should first adopt a cheerful manner and only then speak with them.”

The Five-Part Vinaya states: “A person without a patient and forbearing mind will incur five faults:

1- Being vicious and intolerant

2- Feeling remorse afterward

3- Being disliked by many people

4- Having an ill reputation spread everywhere

5- Falling into an evil realm after death.”

XXX.11. Signs of Decline

The Sutra on Distinguishing the Conditions Giving Rise to the Supreme Dharma Gate^[57] states: “The Blessed One taught that an elderly person undergoes five forms of decline:

1- Decline of the beard and hair, because their color deteriorates

2- Decline of the body, because both physical form and strength waste away

3- Decline of activity. When speaking, one must draw breath and pants rapidly; the body trembles. One stands stooped because the spine lacks sufficient strength to provide support; when sitting, the back bends close to the ground because the body is feeble; one needs a staff to walk or stand because the body has grown weak; thought and recognition become sluggish, and memories become confused.

4- Decline in enjoyment. [192c] Even favored things can no longer be enjoyed. In relation to sensory objects, the faculties can no longer respond keenly and clearly, or they cease to function altogether.

5- Decline of lifespan. Life is about to end, and death draws near. Upon encountering even a minor adverse condition, one cannot withstand it.”

The Agama Sutra states: “There are four causes for the hair to turn white: heat, excessive worry, frequent illness, and heredity.

There are four causes of emaciation: eating little, worry, sorrow, and illness.

There are four things that people can neither know in advance, avoid, nor refuse: white hair, old age, illness, and death.

All flavors are included within eight kinds: bitter, astringent, pungent, salty, bland, sweet, sour, and mixed flavors.”

XXX.12. Sleep and Dreams

The Samantapasadika Vinaya Commentary^[58] states: “Dreams arise from four causes:

1- Disharmony of the four great elements^[59]

2- Something seen previously

3- A message from a deva

4- Conception

Dreams caused by disharmony of the four great elements include dreaming that mountains collapse, that one’s body soars into the sky, or that one is pursued by tigers, wolves, lions, or bandits. Such dreams are not true.

Dreams caused by something previously seen occur when one sees during the day such appearances as black or white colors, men, women, and so forth, and then dreams of the same things at night. Such dreams are also not true.

Dreams that are messages from devas occur when a person who cultivates wholesome deeds moves devas to reveal auspicious dreams, thereby causing that person’s wholesome roots to increase. Likewise, a person who commits evil deeds may have devas reveal ominous dreams. Such dreams are true.

Dreams caused by conception occur because the dreamer created abundant merit or committed many evil deeds in a previous life. Those with abundant merit see auspicious dreams, while those burdened by many karmic obstacles see ominous dreams. For example, before the mother of Prince Siddhartha conceived the prince, she dreamed that a white elephant with six tusks flew down from the Heaven of the Thirty-Three and entered her right side. This was a dream caused by conception. Dreaming of such deeds as paying homage to the Buddha, reciting sutras, observing the precepts, or practicing generosity is also called a dream caused by conception.

Are dreams wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate?^[60] Dreams may be wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate. For example, dreaming of paying homage to the Buddha, hearing the Dharma, or expounding the Dharma is a wholesome dream. Dreaming of killing, stealing, or sexual misconduct is an unwholesome dream. Dreaming of colors such as blue, yellow, red, or white is an indeterminate dream.

Does one undergo karmic retribution for dreams? One does not undergo karmic retribution! Why? Because the mental karma is weak and therefore does not attract karmic retribution. [193a] Thus, the Vinaya texts state: “One commits no offense in a dream.”

The Katyayana Treatise^[61] states:

Question: Are drowsiness and sleep always associated with one another?

Answer: Drowsiness is not necessarily associated with sleep. Before falling asleep, when body and mind are not at ease, body and mind are heavy, body and mind are sluggish, body and mind are obscured, and body and mind are sleepy, one is bound by drowsiness. Therefore, this is called drowsiness not associated with sleep.

Question: What is sleep not associated with drowsiness?

Answer: Sleeping soundly with an undefiled mind.

Question: What is drowsiness associated with sleep?

Answer: Sleeping soundly with a defiled mind.

Question: What is neither sleep nor drowsiness?

Answer: Cases other than those described above.

Question: Is sleep wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate?

Answer: Sleep may be wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate.

Question: What is called wholesome sleep?

Answer: Sleeping with a wholesome mind.

Question: What is called unwholesome sleep?

Answer: Sleeping with an unwholesome mind.

Question: What meritorious deeds performed during sleep are recollections?

Answer: Performing such deeds as generosity, observing the precepts, or observing the fast in a dream is sleeping with a wholesome mind; the mind is recollecting meritorious deeds previously performed.

Question: What unmeritorious deeds performed during sleep are recollections?

Answer: Seeing oneself perform such deeds as killing or stealing in a dream is sleeping with an unwholesome mind; the mind is recalling unmeritorious deeds.

Question: What meritorious and unmeritorious deeds during sleep are not recollections?

Answer: When, during sleep, the mind does not recollect meritorious or unmeritorious deeds—that is, when one sleeps with an indeterminate mind—meritorious and unmeritorious deeds will not reappear.

Question: What kind of dharma is a dream said to be?

Answer: It is ignorance, one of the five hindrances.

The Ten-Recitation Vinaya states: “During the period of meditation, a bhiksu became drowsy. The Buddha said, ‘It is permitted to sprinkle water on his head.’ However, when a bhiksu sprinkles water on another person’s head, he must know five things:

1- It is done out of compassion

2- It is not done to disturb the other person

3- The person is drowsy

4- His head is leaning against a wall

5- He is sitting with his legs extended.

If one still dozes, touch the person’s body with the hand. If the person remains asleep, the Buddha permitted the use of a meditation ball^[62]. If the person still does not awaken, the Buddha permitted the use of a meditation staff.^[63] The person holding the meditation staff must give rise to a mind of reverence and use both hands to place the meditation staff upon the head.

If one is still drowsy, one should rise and walk around to inspect. If anyone is sleeping, gently tap that person with the meditation staff to awaken them, and then return to one’s seat. If no one is dozing, return the meditation staff to its original place and then go back and sit.

If one still dozes, the Buddha permitted the use of a meditation weight^[64] to awaken oneself. A meditation weight is a small wooden tablet with a hole bored through it for a cord. A loop at the end of the cord is hooked around the ear, and the tablet is placed upon the head, four finger-joints from the forehead. [193b] If the meditation weight falls while one is sitting, the Buddha taught: “One should rise and practice walking meditation, proceeding serenely like a goose.”

XXX.13. Miscellaneous Practices

The Four-Part Vinaya records: “The bhiksu Bhadra-Nanda was traveling along a road beneath a large, round parasol. Seeing him from afar, laypeople thought that he was a king or high minister and fearfully moved aside to clear the road. When they looked closely, they realized that it was the bhiksu Bhadra-Nanda. The bhiksus reported this to the Buddha. The Buddha taught: ‘When traveling, a bhiksu must not carry an ornate umbrella or parasol, nor may he use one when it rains.’

“Within a monastery, a canopy should be made from bark, leaves, or bamboo. One must not carry a large fan like a king. When bhiksus traveling along a road encountered hot weather, they reported it to the Buddha. The Buddha permitted them to use leaves, branches, or other objects as fans. At that time, some bhiksus feared that insects, dust, grass, and mist would be blown onto their bodies and soil them, so they reported this to the Buddha.

“The Buddha taught:

“- Fly-whisks may be made. They may be made from grass, bark, or leaves, from bound fibers, or from scraps of silk cut and sewn together.

“At that time, a bhiksu found an animal’s tail and used it to whisk away dust. The Buddha permitted its use. Young, newly ordained bhiksus became confused when calculating various matters, so the Buddha also permitted them to use tally sticks for calculation.”

The Four-Part Vinaya records: “At that time, the bhiksus played music or blew conch shells as offerings. The Buddha taught: ‘You must not do this.’ The bhiksus did not dare to do so and instead instructed laypeople^[65] to play music as an offering.”

At that time, no one knew who was permitted to consume food after it had been offered to a stupa.

The Buddha taught:

“- Bhiksus, sramaneras, upasakas, and those who built the stupa may eat it.”

The Sarvastivada Treatise records: “When monastics go to the market to purchase goods, they must not bargain down the price. If they bargain down the price, they commit a duskrta offense.

“Before a robe belonging to the Sangha has been offered for bidding three times, one may raise the bid. Once it has been offered three times, the bid may no longer be raised, nor may the Sangha give the robe to another, because it already belongs to someone. After the price has been called three times, the person who receives the robe must not change their mind. Even if that person regrets the purchase, they may not return it or bid again.”

The T'an Vibhasa Treatise records:

Question: Between ordinary beings and noble ones, who experiences fear?

Answer: Ordinary beings experience fear, whereas noble ones do not. Why? Because noble ones have transcended five fears:

1- Fear of destitution

2- Fear of ill repute

3- Fear when standing before the awe-inspiring dignity of the assembly

4- Fear of death

5- Fear of falling into the evil destinies.

The Sutra of the Storehouse of Miscellaneous Treasures records: “The Buddha taught: The wish-fulfilling jewel^[66] is obtained from the brain of a makara fish.^[67] The fish’s body is two hundred and eighty thousand miles long. This jewel is called Adamantine Firmness and has three functions:

1- When people who have been poisoned see it, [193c] or when its light shines upon their bodies, all the poison is dispelled

2- When people suffering from illnesses of heat see it, or when its light shines upon their bodies, all their illnesses of heat are eliminated

3- When people who have many enemies and creditors obtain this jewel, those enemies and creditors become friendly toward them.

“A single fingernail of a deva is worth the entire realm of Jambudvipa.”

The Four-Part Vinaya records: “A snake crawled into a room, frightening bhiksus who had not yet become free from sensual desire. The Buddha permitted them to drive it away, confine it in a bamboo tube, or tie it with a cord and then take it away and release it.

“A mouse entered a bhiksu’s room.

“The Buddha taught: ‘Catch it in a cage, take it away, and release it.’

“Scorpions, centipedes, and worms entered bhiksus’ rooms. The Buddha taught: ‘Wrap them up in a coarse object or mud, bundle them securely, and take them away to release them.’

“At night, the bhiksus were afraid of bats, while during the day they feared swallows flying into their rooms. The Buddha permitted them to weave loose-meshed nets as barriers or to install latticework over the windows.

“An elderly, ill bhiksu caught lice and placed them on the ground. The Buddha taught: ‘You should not do this.’ The Buddha permitted the use of a container or cotton in which to keep them. If the lice crawled out, they should be kept in a tube, which must be covered. (According to whether the weather is hot or cold, suitable food should be provided to sustain them.)

“At that time, the group of six bhiksus recited various spells for determining auspicious and inauspicious matters and for arranging homes, such as spells concerning bodily details, spells of the ksatriyas, spells for discerning whether a person would live or die and whether matters were favorable or unfavorable, and spells for comprehending all kinds of sounds. The Buddha taught: ‘You must not recite them.’ The bhiksus then taught them to others. The Buddha said: ‘You must not do so, because they will use these as a means of livelihood.’

“The Blessed One was residing in the country of Vaisali. At that time, some Licchavis^[68] arrived riding elephants, horses, and carriages. They left their swords and blades outside the monastery gate and entered to pay their respects to the Blessed One.

“At that time, laypeople brought swords and blades and asked the bhiksus to keep them on their behalf. The bhiksus were apprehensive and did not dare accept them, so they reported the matter to the Buddha. The Buddha taught: ‘You are permitted to keep them on behalf of donors.’”

The Sutra of Five Hundred Questions records: “One must not use one’s mouth to blow dust from sutras or sacred images. If sutras or images are old, they should be restored. Even writings that are not genuine sutras must still be treated with respect. Scriptures must not be burned. If one burns them, one incurs a grave offense like that of burning one’s own parents. A person who does so unknowingly commits a minor offense.”

The Mahasanghika Vinaya records: “Kindling a fire has seven harmful consequences:

1- It injures the eyes

2- It damages one’s complexion

3- It makes the body dry and emaciated

4- It soils one’s robes

5- It damages bedding and sitting materials

6- It creates occasions for violating the precepts

7- It leads to discussions of worldly affairs.”

The Sutra of the Maiden Candrottara^[69] states: “Vimalakirti’s wife was named Vimala. After carrying her child for nine months, [194a] she gave birth to a daughter named Candrottara.”

The Sutra of the Maiden Vimala’s Offering^[70] records: “King Prasenajit had a daughter named Vimaladatta, translated into Chinese as ‘Vimala’s Offering.’ By the age of twelve, she possessed extraordinarily beautiful features and exceptional intelligence.”

The Sutra on Transforming the Female Body states: “The wife of the elder Sudatta was named Pure Sun. She gave birth to a daughter named Stainless Light.

Verse:

Reduce the doing of purposeless deeds,

And thus grow distant from all afflictions;

Cultivate the myriad practices with steadfast diligence,

And only then may the six sense objects come to an end.

With mind and wisdom pure and radiant,

With dignified bearing beautiful and resplendent,

One is like a precious jewel of fine jade,

Crystal-clear and utterly without blemish.”

Notes:

^[8] Vipula 毘富羅 (S: Vipula; Ch: Mount Broad and Extensive): the name of a mountain in the country of Magadha. Because this mountain was commonly seen by everyone, the Buddha used it as an analogy.

^[9] The seven realms of existence (七有): hell beings, animals, hungry ghosts, humans, devas, karma, and intermediate existence.

^[10] Sutra of the Five Kings (五王經): a sutra in one fascicle whose translator’s name has been lost. Its content concerns the Buddha’s teaching on the eight sufferings of the world. After hearing it, the five kings all requested ordination.

^[11] Raw organ 生藏: the small intestine.

^[12] Digested organ 熟藏: the large intestine.

^[13] Thought of sensual desire 欲覺: sensual craving; within the desire realm, one does not give rise to seeking. It is one of the three unwholesome thoughts: thoughts of sensual desire, thoughts of anger, and thoughts of harming.

^[14] Shell teeth 貝齒: the dental shells of animals.

^[15] Sinew-colored fluid (筋色): semen whose form resembles a sinew-like strand connected to the womb, capable of stimulating the vessels to absorb and discharge reproductive essence. Male reproductive fluid is bluish-white, while female reproductive fluid is rosy red.

^[16] The Cù-sư-la bird (Cù-sư-ca bird 瞿師羅鳥): a species of bird with a very beautiful song.

^[17] The ninety-eight propensities (九十八使): ninety-eight kinds of latent tendencies, comprising the total number of afflictions of view (eighty-eight latent tendencies) and afflictions of thought (ten latent tendencies) in the three realms, as established by the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma school.

^[18] Heat illness (熱病): one of the nine illnesses of sentient beings, arising when oppressive heat throws the body out of balance.

^[19] Strangury (淋病): an illness in which a person passes cloudy urine resembling rice-washing water, while the lower abdomen becomes painfully rigid, with the pain extending to the area around the navel.

^[20] Malignant blister disease (惡皰): chickenpox; when afflicted by this illness, large, fluid-filled pustules resembling blisters arise all over the body.

^[21] The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra (楞伽經; S: Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra): a scripture in four fascicles, translated by Guṇabhadra in 443 and included in volume 16 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. “Laṅkā” is the name of a mountain, while “avatāra” means “entry”; thus, this is the precious scripture spoken by the Blessed One on Mount Laṅkā. It is one of the six scriptures upon which the Yogācāra school is based.

^[22] The noble path (聖道): the virtuous and true path practiced through uncontaminated wisdom.

^[23] The Saṃyuktāgama Sūtra (雜阿含經; S: Saṃyuktāgama): a scripture in fifty fascicles, translated by Guṇabhadra during the Liu Song dynasty in China and included in volume 2 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. It is one of the four Āgama collections of the Northern tradition.

^[24] Hiṅgu (興渠; S: Hiṅgu): a plant with a foul odor resembling garlic, found in regions such as Khotan, Xinjiang Province, Tibet, and India.

^[25] The Brahmā’s Net Sūtra (梵網經; S: Chos-kyi rgya-mo saṅs-rgyas rnam-par snaṅ-mdsad-kyis byaṅ-chub sems-dpaḥi sems-kyi gnas bśad-pa leḥu bcu-pa): a scripture in two fascicles, traditionally said to have been translated by Kumārajīva during the Later Qin dynasty in China and included in volume 24 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. This scripture discusses the stages of attainment, the ten major precepts, and the forty-eight minor precepts of bodhisattvas.

^[26] The seven assemblies (七眾): the seven assemblies of the Buddha’s disciples: bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, śrāmaṇeras, śrāmaṇerīs, śikṣamāṇās, upāsakas, and upāsikās.

^[27] The Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya (僧祇律; S: Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya): a Vinaya text in forty fascicles, jointly translated by Buddhabhadra and Faxian during the Eastern Jin dynasty in China and included in volume 22 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. This is the Vinaya of the Mahāsāṃghika, one of the early Buddhist schools. The entire work is divided into two parts: the precepts for bhikṣus in the first thirty-five fascicles and the precepts for bhikṣuṇīs in the final five fascicles.

^[28] The Ten Recitations Vinaya (十誦律): a Vinaya text so named because it divides the monastic discipline into ten sections for explanation. It is the extensive Vinaya of the Sarvāstivāda school, consisting of sixty-one fascicles and jointly translated by Puṇyatāra and Kumārajīva during the Yao Qin dynasty in China. It is included in volume 23 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka.

^[29] The Five-Part Vinaya (五分律): a Vinaya text in thirty fascicles, jointly translated by Buddhajīva and Zhu Daosheng during the Liu Song period in China and included in volume 22 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. This is the code of discipline transmitted by the Mahīśāsaka school; Faxian brought its Sanskrit manuscript back from the Lion Kingdom, Sri Lanka.

^[30] The Vinaya Mātṛkā Sūtra (毘尼母經): a scripture in eight fascicles whose translator’s name has been lost. It is included in volume 24 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka as scripture number 1463.

^[30] A minor kalpa (小劫; S: Antara-Kalpa): a period in the increase and decrease, formation and destruction, of the universe. According to the Abhidharmakośa, the human lifespan increases by one year every century, continuing until it reaches eighty-four thousand years; it then begins to decrease by one year every century until the lifespan is only ten years. Each such cycle of increase or decrease constitutes one minor kalpa. According to the Mahāprajñāpāramitā Śāstra, one complete increase and decrease together constitute one minor kalpa.

^[31] Ācārya (阿闍梨; S: ācārya; Ch: teacher of proper conduct, one of upright practice): a person capable of correcting the conduct of disciples, fully endowed with moral discipline, and possessing all the requisite forms for transmitting and teaching the doctrine. This is a respectful title for an eminent monk.

^[32] Duṣkṛta (突吉羅; S: Dukkaṭa; Ch: wrongdoing, minor defilement): the name of an offense in the monastic discipline, namely a minor offense such as improper action or improper speech. It is one of the five categories and one of the six classes of precept offenses. Among the 250 precepts for bhikṣus, this class includes the two indeterminate rules, the one hundred rules of training, and the seven rules for settling disputes.

^[33] Elder (上座; S: Sthavira): a senior, one of advanced monastic standing, or the foremost in the assembly. A monk or nun of many rains’ seniority who occupies a senior position. Fascicle 6 of the Vinaya Mātṛkā Sūtra states: “According to rains’ seniority, one who has completed from twenty through forty-nine rains is called an elder.”

^[34] Śarīra relics (舍利; S: Śarīra): ordinarily refers to the bodily remains of the Buddha, called the Buddha’s śarīra relics; later, it also came to refer to bones remaining after the cremation of the body of an eminent monk. The Chapter on Relinquishing the Body in fascicle 4 of the Golden Light Sūtra states: “Śarīra relics are permeated through cultivation of moral discipline, meditative concentration, and wisdom. They are exceedingly difficult to obtain and are the supreme field of merit.”

^[35] Stūpa (塔; S: Stpa): originally referred to a place where the Buddha’s śarīra relics were enshrined.

^[36] Dust and toil (塵勞): another name for the afflictions. Afflictions defile the mind, just as dust and grime cause the body and mind to become weary.

^[37] Amṛta (甘露; S: amṛta): sweet dew, used as a metaphor for the Buddha’s teachings, which nourish and foster the bodies and minds of sentient beings.

^[38] The Woman of the Mango Tree (柰女; S: Mra): this woman was spontaneously born from a mango tree and was therefore called the Woman of the Mango Tree. She was the wife of King Bimbisāra of Magadha and the mother of the physician Jīvaka.

^[39] The Saṃyukta-ratna-piṭaka Sūtra (雜寶藏經; S: Saṃyukta-ratna-piṭaka-sūtra): a scripture recounting events concerning the Buddha and his disciples, together with various circumstances occurring after the Buddha entered nirvana.

^[40] The New Vibhāṣā Treatise (新婆沙論; S: Abhidharma-mahvibhs-strahay): a treatise in two hundred fascicles, translated by Xuanzang and included in volume 27 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka.

^[41] Takṣaśilā (怛叉尸羅; S: Takṣaśilā; also called Đát-xoa-thỉ-la): an ancient kingdom in northern India. Its soil was fertile and its flowers and fruits luxuriant. Although it had many monasteries, very few members of the Sangha practiced according to the Mahayana teachings.

^[42] Sandalwood (栴檀; S: Candana): a fragrant tree approximately eight meters tall, with pointed, symmetrically arranged leaves about five meters long, umbels of flowers, and round fruit about the size of a silkworm cocoon. When ripe, the fruit is black and juicy; its seeds are hard, and its wood is fragrant. The roots are ground into sandalwood powder or processed into fragrant oil. The Compendium of Materia Medica calls this tree white sandalwood or sandalwood.

^[43] Monastic steward (知事): an office responsible for managing the secondary affairs of the Sangha in a monastery. It is generally undertaken by monks who act in accordance with the wishes of the community, strictly uphold the precepts, and possess an impartial and upright mind.

^[44] Boiling Excrement (沸屎): the Boiling Excrement Hell. This hell punishes sentient beings with boiling excrement.

^[45] The Seven Buddhas (七佛): the seven Buddhas of the past, in order: Buddha Vipaśyin, Buddha Śikhin, Buddha Viśvabhū, Buddha Krakucchanda, Buddha Kanakamuni, Buddha Kāśyapa, and Buddha Śākyamuni.

^[46] Bhadra Kalpa 賢劫 (S: Bhadrakalpa): the abiding kalpa. “Bhadra” means good or virtuous, and “kalpa” means a period of time. Because one thousand sages and noble beings appear in this kalpa, it is called the Bhadra Kalpa, or the Auspicious Kalpa.

^[47] Kalandaka Bamboo Grove 迦蘭陀竹林 (S: Veṇuvana-kalandakanivāsa): a bamboo grove north of the city of Rājagṛha in the kingdom of Magadha, Central India. According to tradition, kalandaka birds liked to perch in this garden; hence it was called the Kalandaka Bamboo Grove.

^[48] Febrile illness (溫病): an illness contracted through exposure to cold wind.

^[49] Fourth fruition 四果: the fruition of arhatship.

^[50] Aśvaghoṣa 馬鳴 (S: Aśvaghoṣa): the twelfth patriarch entrusted with the Dharma treasury, as well as a great śāstra master and Buddhist poet. He was born into a Brahmin family in the city of Sāketa in the kingdom of Śrāvastī, Central India.

^[51] Arhat 阿羅漢 (S: Arhat): a noble one who has completely eliminated the delusions of views and thought within the three realms, attained the Knowledge of Exhaustion, and is worthy of receiving all offerings from the world; one of the four fruits of the śrāvaka path; and one of the ten epithets of the Tathagata.

^[52] Karmadāna 維那 (S: karma-dāna): the office responsible for managing, directing, and arranging the affairs of the monastic community.

^[53] Six consciousnesses (六識; S: Saḍvijñāna): eye-consciousness, ear-consciousness, nose-consciousness, tongue-consciousness, body-consciousness, and mind-consciousness.

^[54] Treatise on the Stages (地持論; S: Bodhisattva-bhūmi): a treatise clearly setting forth the means by which Mahayana bodhisattvas cultivate the path. It is divided into three sections: the Section on the Means of the Initial Stage, the Section on the Means of the Subsequent Dharma, and the Section on the Means of the Ultimate Stage, comprising twenty-seven chapters. Because it also contains a section on the Mahayana precepts, this scripture is held in especially high esteem.

^[55] Numerous offenses 眾多犯: minor defiling offenses under the bodhisattva precepts.

^[56] Compendium Treatise 攝論: one of the five Compendium Treatises. This is the Chinese translation of the Commentary on the Mahayana Compendium, in fifteen fascicles, translated by Dharma Master Paramārtha during the Liang dynasty and included in volume 31 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka.

^[57] Sutra on Discerning the Supreme Dharma Gate at the Beginning of Dependent Origination (分別緣起初勝法門經): a sutra teaching the eleven kinds of excellence associated with the link of ignorance: excellence of the object, excellence of the mode of activity, excellence of causes and conditions, excellence of co-arising, excellence of transformation, excellence of erroneous conduct, excellence of characteristics, excellence of karmic activity, excellence of obstruction, excellence of accompanying bondage, and excellence of counteraction.

^[58] Samantapāsādikā Vinaya (善見律; S: Samantapāsādikā): a Vinaya work in eighteen fascicles, translated by Saṅghabhadra during the Southern Qi dynasty in China and included in volume 24 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. It is one of the five treatises on the Śrāvakayāna Vinaya and is a commentary on the Vinaya Piṭaka transmitted by the Theravāda school of Sri Lanka.

^[59] Disharmony of the four great elements 四大不和: the human body is composed of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind. If these four elements are not in harmony, the body experiences discomfort.

^[60] Indeterminate 無記 (S: Avyākṛta): a type of mental factor that is classified as neither wholesome nor unwholesome. The indeterminate is divided into two kinds: obscured-indeterminate and unobscured-indeterminate.

^[61] Kātyāyanīputra’s Treatise (迦延論; Ch.: the Abhidharma Treatise in Eight Sections; S: Abhidharmāṣṭagrantha): a treatise in thirty fascicles composed by Kātyāyanīputra of India and jointly translated by Saṅghadeva and Zhu Fonian in 383 during the Former Qin dynasty. It is included in volume 26 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka.

^[62] Meditation ball 禪毱: a feathered ball used during seated meditation; when a meditator became drowsy, the ball was thrown to awaken them.

^[63] Meditation staff 禪杖: a staff used to awaken those who doze off during seated meditation. It is made of bamboo or reed, with one end wrapped in cloth.

^[64] Meditation weight 禪鎮: a ritual implement placed upon the head during seated meditation to awaken the meditator when they begin to doze.

^[65] White-robed 白衣 (S: Avadta-vasana): literally, “white clothing.” Buddhism uses the term “white-robed” to refer to lay followers of the Buddha’s teaching. The term originated in India.

^[66] Wish-fulfilling jewel 如意寶珠 (S: Cint-maṇi): a precious jewel capable of manifesting all kinds of treasures according to one’s wishes. It also has the power to cure illness, end suffering, and so forth. This jewel is commonly used as a metaphor for the Dharma and the virtues of the Buddha, and it also symbolizes the merits of the scriptures.

^[67] Makara fish 摩竭魚 (S: Makara): a kind of great fish frequently mentioned in sutras and treatises and regarded as belonging to the same class as crocodiles, sharks, and dolphins; it may also be an imaginary fish.

^[68] Licchavi 離奢 (S: Licchavi, Lecchavi): a kṣatriya clan in the city of Vaiśālī in Central India, constituting one branch of the Vṛji people.

^[69] Sutra of the Maiden Candrottarā (月上女經; S: Candrottarā-dārikā-paripṛcchā): a sutra recounting the prophecy of future enlightenment bestowed upon the maiden Candrottarā, daughter of the elder Vimalakīrti in the ancient Indian city of Vaiśālī.

^[70] Sutra of the Maiden Vimaladattā (離垢施女經): a sutra in one fascicle, translated by Prajñāruci during the Northern Wei dynasty in China and included in volume 12 of the Taishō Tripiṭaka.