Toh 303The Sūtra on Having Moral Discipline

Summary

At Prince Jeta’s Grove in Śrāvastī, the Buddha teaches his saṅgha about the benefits of having moral discipline and the
importance of guarding it. It is difficult, he says, to obtain a human life and encounter the teachings of a buddha, let alone to
then take monastic vows and maintain moral discipline. But unlike just losing that one human life, which comes and then inevitably
is gone, the consequences of failing in moral discipline are grave and experienced over billions of lifetimes. The Buddha
continues in verse, praising moral discipline and its necessity as a foundation for engaging in the Dharma and attaining nirvāṇa.
He concludes his discourse with a reflection on the folly of pursuing fleeting worldly enjoyments.

Acknowledgements

This sūtra was translated by the Kīrtimukha Translation Group. Celso Wilkinson, Laura Goetz, and L.S. Summer translated the
text from the Tibetan and Sanskrit. William Giddings provided comparisons to the Chinese versions of the text.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

Introduction

The Sūtra on Having Moral Discipline is set in Prince Jeta’s Grove in Śrāvastī, where the
Buddha teaches his saṅgha of monks about the benefits of having moral discipline and the importance of guarding it. It is
difficult, he says, to obtain a human life and encounter the teachings of a buddha, let alone to then take monastic vows and
maintain moral discipline. But unlike just losing that one human life, which comes and then inevitably is gone, the
consequences of failing in moral discipline are grave and experienced over billions of lifetimes. The Buddha continues in
verse, praising moral discipline and its necessity as a foundation for engaging in the Dharma and attaining nirvāṇa. His
teaching concludes with a reflection on the folly of pursuing fleeting worldly enjoyments.

It is noteworthy that this is not designated a Mahāyāna sūtra and does not address any explicitly Mahāyāna subjects. The Buddha
is only in the presence of monks, and he only instructs them on how to attain nirvāṇa and the higher realms, rather than
buddhahood. As the Buddha is addressing the monastic congregation, it can be assumed that the topic of moral discipline here
pertains to maintaining the vows of a fully ordained monk, and indeed he refers to taking monastic vows as if it were a given
for his audience.

In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, this sūtra is included in liturgical texts used in connection with the practice of
the Vinaya. It is also cited and quoted in texts related to the Vinaya, and several topical outlines (sa bcad) of the sūtra were composed by Tibetan authors. Additionally, there are
Tibetan commentaries on the sūtra itself, two of which we have consulted for this translation: one by the Rimé master Thupten
Chökyi Drakpa (thub bstan chos kyi grags pa, 1823–1905) and one by the Geluk master
Losang Palden Tenzin Nyendrak (blo bzang dpal ldan bstan ’dzin snyan grags, 1866–1928).
This sūtra is also, though less commonly, called The Sūtra Praising Moral Discipline (tshul khrims rab bsngags kyi mdo).

No information is given in the colophon as to the translator or editor of the Tibetan, nor is this sūtra found in any
of the Tibetan imperial catalogs. In all, we know little about the history of the Tibetan translation.

There was no known Sanskrit original of Having Moral Discipline available until recently,
when a manuscript containing a collection of twenty sūtras was found in the Potala Palace in Lhasa. Bhikṣuṇī Vinītā published
a critical edition and English translation of this collection in the series Sanskrit Texts from the Autonomous Region (2010).
Unfortunately, due to the inaccessibility of the manuscript collection and because it is missing a final colophon, its origin
and date are currently unknown. There seems to be a thematic
connection among these twenty sūtras: Vinītā notes that moral discipline (śīla) is a recurrent theme in the manuscript, and we also can identify themes of karmic cause and effect and the hierarchy of merit.

There are many details of the Tibetan versions that vary significantly from the Sanskrit manuscript, although the
overall content is virtually the same. In the Sanskrit, the verses begin at the very start of the Buddha’s teaching (

), whereas in the Tibetan the verse structure begins later (

). Where the verses do begin in the Tibetan, there are some differences in the grouping of
lines, and at times the Sanskrit is wordier or contains entirely different content, although not enough to significantly alter
the meaning of the sūtra. We have attempted to group the lines of verse into stanzas by theme rather than into regular
quatrains, and though this results in a few stanzas with an irregular number of lines, it matches with the Sanskrit at enough
points to seem like a reasonable choice.

There is one Chinese translation (Taishō 1497) by Dānapāla (施護, b.?–d. 1017 ce). The Chinese translation is simply called Śīlasūtra (The Sūtra on Moral Discipline). This may be of interest as there are many texts called Sīlasutta in the Pali canon, but as far as we can tell none are similar enough in content for a
clear relationship to be established. The Chinese text shows a significant degree of variation in the finer details as
compared to both the Sanskrit and the Tibetan, but it shares the same basic structure and does not depart from the content
found in the other texts.

There are several other English translations of this sūtra available, which we have consulted for our translation. One
by Thubten Kalzang Rinpoche, Bhikkhu Nagasena, and Bhikkhu Khantipalo was made in 1973 and published by the Library of Tibetan
Works & Archives; another was made in 1985 by the Nālandā Translation Committee as part of The Rites
of Poṣadha, the translation of a liturgical text incorporating the sūtra by the fourteenth Karmapa, Thekchok Dorje
(theg mchog rdo rje).

We have based our translation primarily on the Degé edition of the Tibetan Kangyur, but we also consulted the
Sanskrit, Chinese, and other Kangyur editions in the case of questionable terms or passages to establish the most plausible
and accurate readings of the text. Citations of the Sanskrit in the notes are given using Vinītā’s emendations of the
handwritten Potala manuscript. Any instance where we have diverged from the Degé has been noted, and any significant
differences found in the various versions of the sūtra are recorded and explained in the notes.

The Translation

##
The Sūtra on Having Moral Discipline

Homage to the Omniscient One!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Śrāvastī, in Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park,
together with a great saṅgha of 1,250 monks.

At that time, the Blessed One said to the monks, “Monks, since your consciousness will fade, your life
force will cease, and the formations of life are certain to be destroyed, should you not practice with diligence and steadfast
determination?

“This human life is extremely difficult to find. Thus, having obtained it, and having used it to find the Victor’s
teachings and to go forth in them, if you are deceived by those who are opposed to the meaning of liberation, it is sure that
you will suffer.

“Monks, it is easy to be separated from the life force and succumb to death, but the degeneration of moral discipline
is not the same. Why is that? When you are separated from the life force, that particular lifetime comes to
an end. But with the degeneration and destruction of moral discipline, for ten million lives you will be separated from your
kin, abandon well-being, and experience downfalls.

“Therefore, the Teacher has praised moral discipline.

By having moral discipline one will encounter the presence of buddhas.

“Having moral discipline is the best of all ornaments.

To acquire moral discipline is to be anointed with fragrance.

Having moral discipline is the source of all joy.

Having moral discipline is the water that clears away distress.

“Having moral discipline is praised by the whole world.

Through pure moral discipline one will find the highest states of existence.

Even beings like huge black poisonous nāga serpents, not to mention other kinds,

Will do no harm to one with moral discipline.

“The monk with moral discipline is radiant.

Those with moral discipline become renowned and obtain happiness.

Having moral discipline is the cause for going to higher realms.

Those who maintain moral discipline attain nirvāṇa.

“Just as without eyes one cannot see forms,

Without moral discipline one cannot see the Dharma.

Just as without legs there is no way to embark on a path,

Without moral discipline there is no liberation.

“In the same way, just as a good vase is a vessel for riches,

Moral discipline is the foundation for generating good qualities.

Just as a broken vase is not a suitable vessel for riches,

If moral discipline is shattered, all good qualities are lost.

“Do you think those who have lost moral discipline from the start

Will obtain nirvāṇa later?

For those whose nose and ear are cut off, and so forth,

There is no need for mirrors.

“Neither hearing with the ears nor seeing with the eyes,

The person who guards the teachings will travel to the higher realms.

Those who are well learned and have protected their learning also reach the higher realms.

“How can it be appropriate to resort to women?

How can one delight in the palace of a king?

How can a bubble have an essence?

How can enjoyments endure eternally?

“It is not appropriate to resort to women.

Kingdoms are joyless.

Bubbles are without an essence.

Enjoyments are impermanent.

“Enjoyments are like swift-running water.

Like a boat, such is a household.

Like a flower, such is a body.

Life is like froth on water.”

When the Blessed One had spoken, the monks rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.

This concludes “The Sūtra on Having Moral Discipline.”

Notes

Abbreviations

C
Choné (co ne) Kangyur

D
Degé (sde dge) Kangyur

K
Peking (pe cin) Kangxi Kangyur

Kʏ

Peking Yongle (g.yung lo) Kangyur

Sanskrit
Sanskrit manuscript found in the Potala Palace (see

)

Bibliography

Primary Source Texts

Secondary Literature