T1484 The Brahmā’s Net Sutra

The Minor Precepts

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study them with an attitude of reverence and uphold them. They are explained in detail in the "Chapter on the Eighty Thousand Rules of Conduct.

"

The Minor Precepts

The Buddha addressed the bodhisattvas, "Now that I have fully explained

the ten-part PrātimokṣaI will now explain the forty-eight minor precepts. "

Division of Ten Precepts

Precepts Concerning the Guarding

of One's Own Thoughts

1. Do Not Show Disrespect to Senior Teachers My disciples, if you want to become the king of a country, or a wheelturning king, or a government official, you should first accept the bodhisattva precepts. All the spirits will protect the bodies of kings and officials, and the buddhas will be pleased. Once you have received the precepts you should give rise to a pious and reverent attitude. When you see the head monk, your teacher, an ācārya, 23 or one who excels

in the same kind of learning, or one with the same views, or one carrying out the same practice, you should rise to respectfully greet them, bow deeply, and show obeisance to them. If, on the other hand, haughty, proud, or foolish bodhisattvas do not rise up to greet and bow in reverence, every single offering is wrong, from the perspective of the Dharma. [In this case,] you should sell your own body, countries, cities, men, women, the seven precious metals, and all kinds of possessions and offer these [to respected monks]. If you don't do this, then you commit a minor transgression of the precepts. 2. Do Not Drink Alcohol

My disciples, if you intentionally drink alcohol, there is no limit to the mistakes and violations you will make. If with your own hand you pass the wine bottle to another, you will be born without hands for five hundred lifetimes—how much worse if you drink the wine yourself? You 48

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should not encourage any person to drink, nor any sentient being to do so; how much worse if you yourself drink alcohol yourself? If you intentionally drink, or encourage someone else to do so, you have committed a minor transgression of the precepts. Protecting Others' Mental

Functions

3. Do Not Eat Meat

My disciples, you should not intentionally eat meat. The consumption of meat is entirely unacceptable, as doing so will cut you off from the seed-lineage of great compassion. Whenever sentient beings see you they will avoid you. Therefore, bodhisattvas cannot eat the flesh of sentient beings. To eat meat is to invite countless sins. Eating meat constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts. 4. Do Not Eat the Five Pungent Roots

My disciples, you should not eat the five pungent roots: garlic, scallion, leek, onion, and asafoetida. Food that contains any of these five aromatics should not be eaten. If you intentionally eat any of these, you have committed a minor transgression of the precepts. 5. Do Not Fail to Encourage Others to Repent

My disciples, if you see any sentient beings violating the eight precepts, 24 the five precepts,

25 or the ten precepts,

26 or who are defying the

prohibitions by way of the seven heinous acts27 or the eight difficult circumstances,

28 or any other kind of violation of the precepts, you should encourage them to repent. If a bodhisattva does not encourage [a transgressor] to repent and continues to live together with them in the same beneficial circumstances of the sangha, or participate in the same repentance sessions, or the whole group recites the precepts together yet they fail to reveal their sins and they do not encourage [the transgressor] to repent their crimes in some part, this is a minor transgression of the precepts.

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Revering and Cultivating

the Buddha-dharma

6. Do Not Fail to Request Instruction in the Dharma from Visiting Teachers

If, my disciples, you see a Dharma teacher of the Great Vehicle, or a fellow student who has the same views and does the same Great Vehicle practices, and he enters the monastery, a house, or the city—whether he has come from a distance of one hundred or one thousand li, 29 you

should rise up to greet him and to send him off, bowing deeply and making offerings. You should make offerings three times a day, every day, providing daily food equal in value to three liangof gold. You should offer tasty food and drink, as well as bedding and medicine. You should serve this Dharma teacher with whatever he needs and provide anything that he requires. You should always request that he lecture on the Dharma three times a day, and you should pay obeisance to him three times every day, without any anger or anxiety. You should offer yourself fully for the Dharma, seeking it without laziness. If you do not do this you have committed a minor transgression of the precepts. These ten precepts should be studied with reverence and upheld. They are explained in detail in the following six chapters. 7. Do Not Miss a Chance to Attend Dharma Lectures

My disciples, the Vinaya scripture is lectured on everywhere. When a large house is the venue for a Dharma lecture, newly awakened bodhisattvas should bring their sutra and vinaya scrolls and go to the place of that Dharma teacher to listen and ask questions. Whether the venue is under the trees in the forest, or in a room owned by the sangha, or any other place, you should listen to the best of your ability. If you fail to attend such a lecture, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

8. Do Not Abandon the Great Vehicle and Regress to the Lesser Vehicle My disciples, if you turn away from the eternally abiding scriptures and the moral code of the Great Vehicle, declaring that these are not 50

Fascicle Two

the Buddhist teachings, and instead you accept and maintain the wrong views of adherents of the two vehicles or non-Buddhists, along with all of their prohibitions and scriptures and moral discipline based on mistaken views, then you have committed a minor transgression of the precepts.

Saving and Protecting

Sentient beings

9. Do Not Fail to Care for the Ill

My disciples, if you see someone who is ill, you should always make offerings to them, no differently than you would for the Buddha. Among the eight fields of merit, that of caring for the ill is foremost. If your father or mother, teacher, fellow monk, or disciple is ill, handicapped, or suffering from any kind of ailment, he or she should be cared for until their illness is removed. If, however, bodhisattvas with a sense of malice see an ill person in the confines of the monastery, in the city, in an open field, or on a forest pathway and they do not help that ailing person, this is a minor transgression of the precepts. 10. Do Not Amass Weapons

My disciples, you should not amass weapons such as knives, clubs, bows and arrows, halberds, or axes; all evil instruments that are used to ensnare and kill living beings should not be collected. Since bodhisattvas cannot take revenge even for the killing of their father or mother, how could they possibly take the life of any sentient being? If one intentionally stores knives and clubs, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts. Division of Ten Precepts

[The following ten precepts are divided into two groups. The first four deal with protecting one's own virtue. The latter six deal with protecting and gathering in others.] 51

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Guarding One's Own Virtue

11. Do Not Serve as a Negotiator for the Military

The Buddha said:

My disciples, you should not serve as an emissary to a foreign state for self-gain or with evil intentions when it involves raising armies to engage in battle and kill countless sentient beings. Bodhisattvas should not be involved in military matters at all—how much worse it would be to turn traitor to one's own country! If you intentionally do such a thing, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts. 12. Do Not Get Involved in Trade and Business that Causes Trouble for Others

My disciples, you should not intentionally engage in buying and selling people, slaves, or the six kinds of animals. Nor should you engage in the trade of wood for constructing coffins for the dead. Since you should not engage in such activities yourself, how much more so should you not encourage others to engage in such activities. If you intentionally engage in these activities or encourage others to do so, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

13. Do Not Make Groundless Accusations

My disciples, you should not maliciously and groundlessly accuse upright people, wholesome people, Dharma teachers, revered monks, kings, or nobles, saying that they have committed one of the seven heinous acts or one of the ten grave transgressions. You should have filial piety and compassion toward your parents, siblings, and the rest of the six kinds of relatives. If instead you cause them extreme harm, or accuse them of having committed a pārājikaoffense, this constitutes a minor violation of the precepts.

14. Do Not Harm Living Beings by Setting Fires

My disciples, you should not out of evil intent set large fires in the forests and fields, or set fires from the fourth through the ninth months; nor should you set fire to others' homes, towns, monastic quarters, gardens 52

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and groves, nor should you burn up spiritual implements or public property. No one's property should be set afire. If you intentionally set fires in this way, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts. Bringing Others into the Fold

and Protecting Them

15. Do Not Teach Non-Buddhist Doctrines

My disciples, toward other disciples, non-Buddhists, evil persons, all your relatives, all your good comrades—in each case you should always teach them to follow and uphold the scriptures and rules of discipline of the Great Vehicle. You should teach them so that they understand the meaning, and cause them to give rise to the aspiration for enlightenment, the ten departures toward the destination, the ten kinds of nourishing mental states, the ten adamantine mental states, and, within each of these thirty mental states, to understand the order and application of the teachings. If instead a bodhisattva, out of wickedness or ill-will, wrongly teaches the sutras and vinaya of the two vehicles or of śrāvakas, or the mistaken theories of non-Buddhists, then this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

16. Do Not be Parsimonious with Offering Material Wealth or the Dharma

My disciples, you should, with a proper attitude, first study the Great Vehicle protocols of behavior, scriptures, and moral code, and broadly clarify their meanings. Later, if you encounter a newly initiated bodhisattva who has come from as far away as a hundred or a thousand li seeking the Great Vehicle scriptures or vinaya, you should explain according to Buddhist doctrine all the arduous practices, such as burning the body, the arm, or the fingers. If the newly initiated bodhisattva refuses to burn his body, arms, or fingers as offerings to the buddhas, he is not a renunciant bodhisattva. You should fully offer your body to hungry tigers, wolves, and lions, as well as to all hungry ghosts, including the flesh from your arms and legs. After you have done this, you should expound the correct Dharma for them in an orderly way, 53

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allowing their minds to open so that they may understand the meaning. If a bodhisattva, focused on their personal own gain, does not answer what should be answered, or if he or she elucidates the sutras and vinaya in a confused way, citing passages in no particular order, or if they offer a teaching that denigrates the Three Treasures, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

17. Do Not Seek to Gain Political Influence

My disciples, do not seek to be intimate with kings, princes, high ministers, or government officials in order to secure food and drink, money, profit, or fame for yourself. Nor should a bodhisattva expect to gain attention, beg for alms, strike or beat anyone, drag matters in unfair directions, or grab for money and possessions. All kinds of profit-seeking are called wrong hankering, voracious hankering, and inducing others to seek personal gain. A bodhisattva who does such acts, completely lacking compassion or piety, commits a minor transgression of the precepts.

18. Do Not Pretend to Be An Accomplished Teacher

My disciples, you should deeply study and recite the moral code and memorize the bodhisattva precepts throughout the six divisions of the day and night, in order to understand their inner principle, which is the essence of buddha-nature. If a bodhisattva does not understand the causes and conditions of a single passage or a single verse of the moral code yet falsely claims that he does, he is [guilty of] deceiving himself as well as others. If you understand nothing of the Dharma, yet play the role of preceptor and impart the precepts, this amounts to a minor transgression of the precepts.

19. Do Not Get Involved in Treachery

My disciples, when you see monks who are observing the precepts, holding censers, and engaged in bodhisattva practices, you should not maliciously initiate disputes between them. If you disparage and deceive worthy people there is no evil you will not do. This is considered a minor transgression of the precepts.

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20. Do Not Fail to Help Both the Living and the Deceased My disciples, you should compassionately engage in the practice of releasing captive animals into the wild. All men have been our fathers, and all women our mothers. In our numerous past lives there is no one who has not been our mother or father. Therefore, sentient beings in all six destinies have all been our fathers and mothers. If we were to slaughter and eat them, it would be the same as slaughtering and eating our own parents, as well as slaughtering [and eating] my own former body. All lands and waters are my former body; all fire and wind are my original essence. Therefore you should always carry out freeing captive animals so that living beings can continue to be reborn and undergo rebirth. The eternally abiding Dharma encourages people to free living beings. When you see someone in society killing animals, you should try to come up with a way to protect the creatures and release them from their predicament. Always teaching through lecturing on the bodhisattva's moral code, you save sentient beings. On the day of the death of your father, mother, or elder or younger siblings you should request a Dharma teacher to deliver a lecture from the Bodhisattva Vinaya Sutra in order to convey blessings on the deceased that they may attain a vision of the buddhas and be reborn as a human being or as a celestial. If you fail to do this, you are committing a minor transgression of the precepts. You should study the above ten precepts (i.e., items 11-20), and uphold them with reverence. Each is explained in detail in the "Chapter on Expiating Sins.

"

[Conclusion of the second set of ten precepts]

Division of Ten Precepts

[The below ten precepts give form to the six ways that allow Buddhist practitioners to live in harmony. They are divided up according to theme into groups of three, one, four, and two, respectively. These categories are based on common activities, benefits, and precepts. Since the first three have in common the three karmic activities, they give form to the six ways that allow practitioners to live in harmony.]

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The Shared Cultivation of the

Three Karmic Activities

21. Do Not Be Intolerant of Wrongs Done by Others The Buddha said:

My disciples, you should not repay anger with anger or violence with violence. Even if someone were to murder your parents, siblings, or other family members, you should not take revenge. Nor should you seek vengeance if the ruler or king of your country is murdered. Taking life and exacting retribution for the taking of life are not the way of respectful piety. One should not even keep servants, or abuse and revile others. Among the three karmic activities (i.e., acts of body, speech, and mind) that are carried out daily, verbal crimes are countless. How could you deliberately carry out the seven heinous acts? Yet if a renunciant bodhisattva retaliates without compassion—even for harm done to a member of their family—such intentional retaliation constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

22. Do Not Arrogantly Despise Your Dharma Teacher My disciples, suppose that when you have first renounced the world but have not yet attained any realization you feel proud of your intelligence and knowledge, or perhaps you presume upon your high social status or seniority, or perhaps you presume upon on your family's influence or wealth, your great advantage and merit, your possession of wealth and the seven precious metals. You should not, out of pride based on these things, fail to openly receive instruction on the scriptures and vinayas from learned Dharma teachers. A Dharma teacher may be from a minor family, or younger, or from a humble background, or extremely poor, or even handicapped, yet he may truly possess virtue and have fully digested all the scriptures and vinayas. Newly initiated bodhisattvas should not concern themselves with a Dharma teacher's family background. If you do not openly receive the cardinal truth taught by [a qualified] Dharma teacher, you have committed a minor transgression of the precepts.

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23. Do Not Despise Beginning Practitioners

My disciples, if after my passing you wish with a sincere mind to receive the bodhisattva precepts, you should take the vows on your own before an image of a buddha or bodhisattva. You should practice repentance in front of the buddha image for a week, and once you have experienced an auspicious vision you will receive the precepts. If you are unable to obtain a vision of the buddha's or bodhisattva's marks, you should continue this practice for two weeks, three weeks, even up to a whole year, until you obtain a vision of the marks. Once you have obtained the vision you can immediately accept the precepts in front of the image of the buddha or bodhisattva. If you do not have this vision, even if you have accepted the precepts in front of the image you have not actually attained them. In any case, when you accept the precepts in the presence of a Dharma teacher, it is not necessary to have a vision of an auspicious sign. Why? Because the Dharma teachers have passed the precepts down to one another, teacher to teacher, and for this reason an auspicious vision [of the marks] is not necessary. Therefore, when you accept the precepts in the presence of a Dharma teacher, all you need in order to properly attain them is an attitude of deep sincerity. If there is no qualified preceptor within a thousand liyou can take the vows on your own before an image of a buddha or bodhisattva, but you must subsequently receive [a vision of] an auspicious sign. Suppose there is a Dharma teacher who is well versed in the sutras and vinayas and has disciplined himself in the Great Vehicle, and who has come to be regarded as a spiritual counselor by kings, princes, and government officials. If such a Dharma teacher, when approached with a question regarding the interpretation of the scriptures or vinayas by a beginner bodhisattva, adopts an attitude of disdain, meanness, or arrogance and does not sincerely answer the questions put to him, one at a time, then he has committed a minor transgression of the precepts.

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Practicing with Those Who

Hold the Same Views

24. Do Not Fear the Superior and Follow the Inferior My disciples, if you are in possession of the Buddha's scriptures and vinaya and the Dharma of the Great Vehicle, and as well possess the correct view, the true nature, and the true Dharma body, yet you do not apply yourself in practice, this is like owning the seven precious metals but tossing them away. Furthermore, if you apply yourself to mistaken views, the practices of the two vehicles or of non-Buddhists, secular classics, the various Abhidharma treatises, or works of literature, such practices will cut off buddha-nature and obstruct the causes and conditions of the path. This is not the practice of the bodhisattva path. If you intentionally do these things, this counts as a minor transgression of the precepts.

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Properly Maintaining

the Sangha

25. Do Not Fail to Properly Fulfill Administrative Duties My disciples, if after my demise you are put in charge of Dharma lectures, or of administering the Dharma, or of the monastic quarters, or of instruction, or of meditation sessions, or of the monks' travels, you should compassionately and skillfully resolve any squabbles that may arise. You should skillfully handle the property of the Three Treasures, making sure that there is nothing that is not used in its proper capacity, as if these items were your own possessions. If instead you disrupt the sangha, engage in conflict with others, or selfishly use the property of the Three Treasures, you have committed a minor transgression of the precepts.

26. Do Not Receive Guests Improperly

My disciples, if as a resident of a monastery you encounter a visiting bodhisattva monk who has come to stay in the monastery quarters or the guest quarters established by the king, or who has joined the summer 58

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meditation retreat or the large assembly, a resident monk should go to welcome him when he arrives and see him off when he leaves. You should provide him with food and drink, shelter, bedding, furniture, and various other necessities. If you have no material goods to offer you should put yourself and others out for hire [for jobs] in order to provide all that is necessary. If there is a donor who invites sangha members [to his home for a meal], the guest monk should also be given a fair share and the rector should distribute the invitation to the guest monk within the framework of standard protocol. If a former resident monk keeps such an invitation to himself and does not pass it on to the guest monk, that rector invites numberless sins. He is no different from an animal; he is not a monk and is not of Śākyamuni's lineage. If one deliberately acts in this way, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

27. Do Not Accept Personal Invitations

My disciples, none of you should accept personal invitations, or take offerings for yourselves. These kinds of offerings belong to the entire sangha, so when you accept a personal invitation it means that you are appropriating the property of all the monks in the entire sangha and taking it as your own. To use the eight fields of merit, including buddhas, sages, the various kinds of monks and preceptors, one's father and mother, and those who are ill, for one's own purposes constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

28. Do Not Extend Personal Invitations to Monks

My disciples, if there is a renunciant bodhisattva, a householder bodhisattva, or a patron who wishes to invite a monk in order to gain merit, then at the time of making the invitation he should go to the monastery and speak to a monastery officer, saying,

"I now wish [to make a request

to invite a monk,

" to which the officer should respond,] "Invitations are distributed in order of seniority, which means that you will be gaining access to all enlightened monks in the monastery.

" Even though, [as

recounted in some scriptures,] secular people gave private invitations to the five hundred arhats and bodhisattva monks, this is not as good 59

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as following the protocol of seniority and you may end up with an unenlightened monk. Giving personal invitations to monks is a custom of non-Buddhists. In the tradition of the Seven Buddhas there is no such custom as giving personal invitations, and it does not accord with the way of filial piety. If you intentionally make an invitation to a monk, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts. Harmonizing and Polishing

the Precepts

29. Do Not Engage in Improper Livelihood

My disciples, you should not, with evil intent or in order to make profit, engage in selling sexual favors to men or women; you should not prepare food directly, touching it with your own hands, nor should you engage in grinding and milling [grain]. You should not practice divination to determine the compatibility of couples for marriage. You should not interpret dreams, practice fortune-telling, or predict the gender of an unborn child. You should not engage in sorcery, hired labor, or falconry; you should not concoct any of the hundred medicinal and poisonous herbs or the thousand kinds of venomous poisons and their antidotes; you should not engage in the production of gold and silver, or of bane. All [these acts] are conducive to cruelty, so if you deliberately do any of these sorts of things, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

30. Do Not Hurt People While Feigning Intimacy with Them My disciples, if with bad intentions you denigrate the Three Treasures on your own, draw close to powerful people through pretense, glibly speak of emptiness while clinging to existence in your actions; serve as a go-between among secular people, or even as a matchmaker for couples, while you yourself are addicted to lust; and on the six days of purification or during the three long periods of purification you break the precepts by killing, stealing, and eating whenever you wish, then you have committed a minor transgression of the precepts. You should study the above ten precepts (i.e., items 21-30) and 60

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uphold them with reverence. Their detailed exegesis is contained in the "Chapter on Regulations and Precepts.

"

Division of Nine Precepts

[The following nine precepts deal with initiating correct activities (giving), suppressing distractions, avoiding harmful influences, keeping oriented toward the correct vehicle, establishing and wearing vows, avoiding danger and disorder, always bringing benefit and joy.]

Making Proper Donations

31. Do Not Be Lax in Rescuing Vulnerable Articles and People from Danger

The Buddha said:

My disciples, in the evil world after my demise you may see non-Buddhists, evil people, or thieves selling images of buddhas and bodhisattvas, or of one's parents; or they may buy and sell sutras and vinayas, or buy and sell religious practitioners, including monks, nuns, and bodhisattvas who have given rise to the aspiration for enlightenment. Some venerable ones may be forced into government service, or become slaves to serve people. If a bodhisattva sees these kinds of goings-on he should compassionately endeavor to devise ways to rescue those [who are caught up in them]. He should teach people everywhere to retrieve things and restore images, and to redeem monks, nuns, and bodhisattvas who have given rise to the aspiration [for enlightenment] and preserve all vinayas and scriptures. If you do not rescue these [people and things], you have committed a minor transgression of the precepts. Not Doing As One Pleases

32. Do Not Deviously Confiscate Others' Property

My disciples, you should not build up a store of swords, staves, or bows and arrows. You should not buy and sell goods using rigged scales and other means of measurement; you should not confiscate people's property using official authority, or maliciously tie people up, or sabotage their 61

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accomplishments. You should not raise cats, badgers, swine, or dogs. To intentionally do so constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts. Avoiding Harmful Influences

33. Do Not Pass Your Time in Idleness

My disciples, you should not, with wrong intentions, be a spectator of quarrels between men and women, military battles, or brawls among gangsters. You should also not listen to the blowing of the conch, the beating of drums, or the horns [sounded when armies go into battle], nor [should you listen to] the music of guitars, harps, flutes, or lutes, nor to the singing and musical accompaniment in theatrical performances. You should not gamble with dice, nor play [such games as] checkers, chess, danqi,

30 Parcheesi, or cone-tossing, rock-tossing, or

jar-tossing, or the game of "eight roads to the capital. " You should not

practice fortune-telling using the fingernail mirror, grass, willow twigs, bowls, or phrenology. You should also not serve as an accomplice for thieves. You should not do any of these things. If you do so intentionally, this counts as a minor transgression of the precepts. Advancing in the

True Vehicle

34. Do Not Abandon the Aspiration for Enlightenment My disciples, you should uphold the precepts when walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. You should chant these precepts throughout the six periods of the day and night. You should be as firm as adamant; as fervent as someone carrying a life raft who intends to cross the ocean; as morally upright as the monk tied up by the grass. 31 Always produce

wholesome faith in the Great Vehicle and know yourself to be an incomplete buddha, while the buddhas are complete buddhas. Give rise to the aspiration for enlightenment and never abandon this aspiration, even for a moment. If you give rise to even one thought of following the practices of the two vehicles or of non-Buddhists, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

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Not Avoiding Making

Vows

35. Do Not Fail to Make Vows

My disciples, you should always make vows to be filial and complaisant toward parents, teachers, monks, and the Three Treasures. You should vow to meet good teachers, fellow students, and other reliable Buddhist friends. You should vow to always teach my Great Vehicle scriptures and vinayas, the ten departures toward the destination, the ten kinds of nourishing [mental states], the ten adamantine mental states, and the ten grounds, making my teachings clear for others. You should vow to practice according to the Buddha's teachings, to firmly maintain the Buddha's moral code, even to the point of sacrificing your body and life, and never forget your vows for even a moment. If a bodhisattva does not give rise to these vows, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts. Making Vows

36. Do Not Fail to Initiate Vows on Your Own

My disciples, once you have committed yourself to the ten great vows you will uphold the Buddha's precepts. You should vow, "I would rather

throw my body into a raging fire or a great pit, or on top of a pile of swords than violate the buddhas' vinaya scripture throughout the three periods of time; I vow to never commit an immoral act with any woman. "

You should also vow,

"I would rather wrap myself in a net of burning

steel of a thousand layers than with a body that has broken precepts regarding bodily actions ever accept any offerings of clothing from faithful donors.

"

You should also vow,

"I would rather with my own mouth swallow

hot iron balls, or even a great molten flow for a hundred thousand kalpas, than with a mouth that has broken the precepts verbally partake of any of the range of offerings of food and drink offered by faithful donors.

"

You should also vow,

"I would rather, with my own body, lie down

on ground that is covered with a great fiery net and red-hot swords, 63

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than with a body that has broken the precepts regarding bodily actions accept any of the wide varieties of seats or stools offered by faithful donors.

"

You should also vow,

"I would rather have my own body be impaled by three hundred spears for one or two kalpas, than with a body that has broken the precepts regarding bodily actions receive any of the wide varieties of medicine offered by faithful donors. "

You should also vow,

"I would rather my own body be thrown into a scorching iron cauldron and boiled for a hundred thousand kalpas, than with a body that has broken the precepts regarding bodily actions receive any of the wide varieties of dormitory rooms, homes, groves, or farmland offered by faithful donors. "

You should also vow,

"I would rather have my body pulverized into dust by being beaten with iron mallets from head to toe, than with a body that has broken the precepts regarding bodily actions accept any forms of demonstration of reverence offered by faithful donors. "

You should also vow,

"I would rather have my own eyes gouged out by a hundred thousand red-hot iron swords, than with a mind that has broken the precepts regarding thoughts look upon the attractive form of another person [with desire]. "

You should also vow,

"I would rather have my ears pierced through with needles driven by a hundred thousand iron hammers for one or two kalpas, than with a mind that has broken the precepts regarding thoughts listen to enjoyable music. "

You should also vow,

"I would rather have my nose cut off by a hundred thousand knives and swords, than with a mind that has broken the precepts regarding thoughts desire to savor various [pleasing] aromas. "

You should also vow,

"I would rather have my tongue cut off by a hundred thousand knives and swords, than with a mind that has broken the precepts regarding thoughts partake in the variety of delicious pure foods prepared by [donors].

"

You should also vow,

"I would rather have my body chopped up by sharp axes, than with a mind that has broken the precepts regarding thoughts desire to touch things to receive pleasant sensations. "

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You should also vow,

"I vow to help all sentient beings, without

exception, to attain enlightenment.

"

If bodhisattvas do not undertake these vows, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

Avoiding Danger

37. Do Not Intentionally Go to Dangerous Places

My disciples, you should always practice austerities (dhūta) at the two designated times, in the winter and summer intensive meditation training periods. When you go to the summer retreat you should bring your monastic requisites: willow twigs (for use as a toothbrush), soap, the three garments (robes), a water container, a bowl, a meditation mat, a walking staff, a censer, a water filter, a hand towel, a knife, a flintstone, tweezers, a folding seat, sutras, vinayas, a buddha image, and a bodhisattva image. When bodhisattvas practice austerities or when they travel, whether for a hundred or a thousand li,they should always have these eighteen articles with them. Dhūtashould be practiced from the fifteenth of the first month up to the fifteenth of the third month, and from the fifteenth of the eighth month up to the fifteenth of the tenth month. A monk should always have these eighteen articles on his person during both of these periods, just as a bird always has its two wings. On the days of poṣadha(precepts confession), the newly initiated bodhisattva monks will do poṣadhain biweekly installments. When they chant the ten grave and forty-eight minor precepts, they should offer their confession before images of the buddhas and bodhisattvas. If there is only one person doing poṣadha,there should be one person chanting. If there are two, three, or even a hundred thousand people doing poṣadha,there should also be one person chanting. The reciter should sit on the high seat with the listeners sitting below, each dressed in either a nine-panel, seven-panel, or five-panel robe. At the commencement of the summer retreat, each item of protocol should be followed according to the rules. When intensive discipline is being practiced, you should not enter dangerous places. You should not go into countries that are in political turmoil or ruled by evil kings. You should 65

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not enter precipitous areas, dense forests, or places where there are lions, tigers, or wolves. You should not enter places where there are floods, fires, or typhoons, or where there are brigands, nor should you walk on snake-infested paths. You should not enter such places in any case, but even more so should you not enter such places during a period of intensive discipline or a meditation retreat. If you are aware that a place is dangerous and yet you still deliberately go there, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

Not Creating Confusion

38. Do Not Take Your Place Out of Order

My disciples, you should sit in the proper order. Those who received the precepts earlier should sit up front, and those who received the precepts later should sit at the back. This is not a question of one's physical age. Whether you are a monk, nun, aristocrat, king, prince, eunuch, or slave, all of you should follow the order of ordination seniority, with those who received the precepts earlier sitting at the front, and those who received the precepts later sitting at the back. You should not act like non-Buddhist fools who have no order in their seating arrangements, whether they are older or younger or began practice sooner or later. That is the way of soldiers and slaves. In our Buddhist protocol the seniors sit at the front and the juniors sit at the back. If bodhisattvas do not take their places in the proper order, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

Profit and Happiness

39. Do Not Pursue Personal Gain

My disciples, you should always teach all sentient beings to construct monastic dwellings and to erect buddha stupas in the forests and fields. For the winter and summer meditation retreats they should set up places for meditation and all kinds of facilities for the cultivation of the Way. Bodhisattvas should lecture on the Great Vehicle vinayas and sutras for all sentient beings, even when they are ill, or when there is national instability, or when beset by brigands. On funeral days and on the 66

Fascicle Two

twenty-first and forty-ninth days after the passing of parents, siblings, teachers, or preceptors, you should also chant and lecture on the Great Vehicle vinayas and sutras, praying for the merit [of those who have recently departed] at these assemblies. For the well-being of those who are traveling, those who are threatened by wildfires, those who are adrift at sea, those whose ships are tossed about in violent storms, those for whom the great rivers and seas are plagued by ogres—you should also chant and lecture on the vinayas and sutras. Also, for those who are incurring the three kinds of retribution for their past misdeeds, such as the seven heinous acts or the eight difficult circumstances; whose bodies are bound with cuffs, shackles, pillories, and waist chains; who have much lust, anger, and stupidity, and who suffer from disease—you should chant and lecture on the vinayas and sutras for all of them. If a newly initiated bodhisattva does not do this, it constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

Division of Nine Precepts

The following nine precepts should be studied earnestly and maintained reverently. They are explained in detail in the "Chapter on Brahmadaṇda. "

[Among the following nine precepts, the first five deal with using moral discipline to gather believers, and the final four deal with the compassionate instruction offered to others. The first five are the container for reception, selecting and rejecting, guarding the external, guarding the internal, and being respectful. The final four are preaching to people and leading them, teaching and converting, suppressing evil, and protecting the correct.] Using Moral Discipline

to Gather [Believers]

Gathering in People of Various Capacities

40. Do Not Err in Terms of Who Can Be Taught

The Buddha said:

My disciples, you should not discriminate when conferring the precepts on people. Whether they are kings, princes, senior ministers, or government officials; monks, nuns, male and female lay believers; libertines 67

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or prostitutes; whether they are the celestials of the eighteen Brahmā heavens, or the celestial children of the six heavens of desire; whether they are sexless or hermaphrodites, eunuchs or slaves, or disembodied spirits—all should be able to receive the precepts. Those who would confer the precepts should wear monastic garb, which should be of muted colors, appropriate for the religious path. [The monastic robes] should be dyed blue, yellow, red, black, or purple. All dyed garments, as well as all bedding, should be of muted color. Whatever garments are worn should be of muted dyed color. In whatever land you may be teaching in, there should be a difference between the clothes worn by monks and nuns and those of the secular people of that place. When someone wishes to receive the precepts, the preceptor should inquire,

"In this life, have you ever committed one of the seven heinous acts?" A bodhisattva preceptor should not confer the precepts on anyone who has committed one of the seven heinous acts in this life. The seven heinous acts are wounding a buddha, killing one's father or mother, killing one's teacher, killing one's preceptor, disrupting the sangha, and killing an arhat. If someone has committed any one of these seven heinous acts, he or she cannot receive the precepts in this lifetime. Anyone else can receive the precepts. Those who have renounced the world should not pay homage to kings or pay obeisance to their parents; they should not show special respect to any of their close relatives, and they should not sacrifice to departed spirits. Anyone who can understand a Dharma teacher's words, whether they come from as far as a hundred or a thousand lito seek the Dharma, may receive the precepts. If a bodhisattva Dharma teacher, with malice or anger, does not confer the precepts upon any [suitable] sentient being, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

Separating Out Wrong

Situations

41. Do Not Seek Disciples for the Wrong Reasons

My disciples, when those whom you teach give rise to faith, you, bodhisattvas, and someone else should work together to instruct them in the 68

Fascicle Two

precepts. If you see someone who wishes to receive the precepts, you should encourage him to engage two teachers, a senior teacher and a preceptor. These two teachers should ask him or her, "Have you ever

committed any of the seven heinous acts?" If the person has committed any one of the seven heinous acts in this lifetime, the teachers should not confer the precepts; if he or she hasn't, then they can receive them. If [the one requesting precepts] has broken one of the ten precepts, you should teach him or her how to repent: they should go before an image of a buddha or bodhisattva and recite the ten grave and forty-eight minor precepts throughout the six periods of the day and night. They should then prostrate to the thousand buddhas of the three periods of time, seeking to receive an auspicious sign. If necessary, they can repeat this for one, two, or three weeks, up to an entire year, seeking an auspicious sign. An auspicious sign would be something like a buddha coming and touching their head, seeing halos, or other various types of marvelous signs. As soon as the sign is witnessed the sin is erased. If no auspicious sign is forthcoming, no matter how much someone repents it is in vain. Such a person cannot in this life receive the bodhisattva precepts; but if he or she obtains and auspicious sign they can receive the precepts [in the future].

32 If one has transgressed one of the

forty-eight minor precepts, they should make a face-to-face confession to their preceptors and the sin will be erased. This is different from the case of the seven heinous acts.

As a preceptor you must understand well every part of this process. You must understand the vinayas and sutras of the Great Vehicle, know what offenses are light and heavy, and what constitutes an offense and what does not; you must understand the cardinal truth, and the greater and lesser among these, entering and leaving the practice of clear observation and the ten limbs of meditation. If a bodhisattva does not grasp the inner point of every single type of practice but for personal profit or fame seeks to acquire students, either wrongly or excessively; or if in order to gain profit and disciples he or she misrepresents their grasp of vinaya scriptures in order to receive offerings, such a person only deceive themselves and others. If with such motivations a bodhisattva 69

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confers the precepts on someone, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

Guarding the External

42. Do Not Give the Precepts to Unsuitable People

My disciples, you should not, with the intent of gaining some kind of personal advantage, discuss the Mahayana precepts of the thousand buddhas before those who have not yet received them, nor in front of evil non-Buddhists. You should also not discuss them before people who hold mistaken views. Except for kings, you should not discuss them with any other people. The evil people who do not receive the Buddhist precepts are called animals; lifetime after lifetime they never recognize the Three Treasures. Being bereft of thought, like a piece of wood or a stone, they are called "non-Buddhists.

" People with mistaken

views are no different from blocks of wood. If a bodhisattva discusses the moral code of the Seven Buddhas before these types of people, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

Guarding the Internal

43. Do Not Intentionally Break the Holy Precepts

My disciples, if someone has thoughts of faith and enters the order, receiving the Buddha's true precepts, but then intentionally violates the holy precepts, he or she should not receive any offerings from temple supporters, nor should they walk on the king's lands, nor should they drink the king's water. The five thousand great spirits will always block their way, calling them a great thief. If such a person enters monastery buildings, or goes into towns or homes, the demons will sweep up his footprints, returning things to the way they were before. All the people of the world will curse him,

"You are a thief in the midst of the buddhadharma!" Sentient beings will avert their eyes, not wishing to even look at him. A disciple who violates the precepts is no different from an animal or a block of wood. If a bodhisattva intentionally violates the true precepts, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts. 70

Fascicle Two

Showing Respect

44. Do Not Fail to Revere the Sutras and Vinayas My disciples, with one-pointedness [of mind] you should always maintain and recite the sutras and vinayas of the Great Vehicle, even if you must use your own skin as paper, your own blood as ink, your own marrow to mix the ink, or split apart your own bones to make brushes in order to copy the Buddha's Vinaya. 33 Tree bark, rice paper, undyed

silk, and bamboo slats can also serve as media for writing. You should always use the seven precious metals, priceless incense and flowers, and all kinds of other jewels to adorn the containers for the sutra and vinaya scrolls. If a bodhisattva does not make offerings according to this kind of protocol, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts. Teaching by Means of Compassion

Being Proactive

45. Do Not Fail to Teach Sentient Beings My disciples, you should always give rise to an attitude of great compassion. When you go into into various towns and homes and encounter sentient beings you should exhort them, "You must all take refuge in

the Three Treasures and accept the ten precepts. " When you see any

kind of animal, such as cattle, horses, swine, or sheep, you should think in your mind and say to them,

"You animals should awaken the aspiration for enlightenment. " When a bodhisattva goes out into the mountains, rivers, forests, and fields he or she should enable all sentient beings to awaken the aspiration for enlightenment. If a bodhisattva does not stimulate the minds of sentient beings and teach them, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts. Teaching Others

46. Do Not Preach the Dharma Using Improper Protocol My disciples, you should always teach people with a greatly compassionate attitude. Whether you are visiting aristocratic patrons or among 71

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a general crowd of people, you should not expound the Dharma for laypeople while standing but only while seated on a raised seat in front of them. BhikṣuDharma teachers should not stand on the ground while expounding the Dharma for the four groups of Buddhist believers. During the Dharma lecture a master's raised seat should be decorated with offerings of incense and flowers, and the four groups [of followers] should listen from their seats below. One should respect the teacher in the same way one shows filial piety to one's parents, or as the fire-worshiping brahmans do. If a Dharma lecture is not conducted in the proper way, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts. Warding off Evil

47. Do Not Establish Systems that Undermine the Dharma My disciples, you should all receive my precepts with an attitude of faith. There may be kings, princes, government officials, or members of the four groups of disciples who take pride in their high positions and seek to undermine my moral code and my Dharma. They may seek to revise the laws to restrict entry into the four groups of disciples, or attempt to prevent them from listening to the teachings of renunciant monks, or from listening to or printing the sutras and precepts, or from creating buddha images and building stupas. [They might also seek to establish government policies to regulate the sangha and establish an agency to oversee and register the monks. They would require bodhisattva monks to stand on the ground before their secular masters who sit on high seats, and to carry out widespread policies that are antithetical to Buddhist principles, forcing monks to serve them the way soldiers and slaves must serve their masters. Bodhisattvas should receive offerings from the people. If instead they are made to serve as errand boys for officials, this is contrary to the Dharma and the moral code. Kings and high officials should sincerely receive my precepts and not commit the offense of34 despoiling the Three Treasures. If they deliberately undermine the Dharma, this constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts.

72

General Conclusion

Fascicle Two

Maintaining Orthodoxy

48. Do Not Undermine the Dharma from Within

My disciples, you should enter the monastic order with utmost sincerity. You should not lecture on the precepts of the Seven Buddhas before kings and high officials merely for fame and profit, nor should you deviously initiate events that entangle bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, and [lay] disciples who have received the bodhisattva precepts. This is like parasites that consume the flesh of a lion from within—[they may succeed in despoiling the Dharma] in a way that non-Buddhists and Devamāra could not. If a bodhisattva receives the Buddha's precepts, he or she should protect the Buddha's precepts, in just the same way a parent thinks of his only child, or as a child serves his parents. When a bodhisattva hears evil non-Buddhists denigrating the Buddha's precepts with foul language, it is just like three hundred spears piercing his heart, like a thousand swords and ten thousand clubs striking his body. "I would rather pass a hundred kalpas in hell than hear just once the sound of someone denigrating the Buddha's precepts in foul language. "

How much worse it is for someone to denigrate the precepts on his own, or try to create a situation in which someone else is encouraged to denigrate the Dharma? There is, indeed, no piety to be seen here. If a bodhisattva deliberately does this, it constitutes a minor transgression of the precepts. You should study these nine precepts and uphold them with reverence. My disciples, you should memorize these forty-eight minor precepts. All bodhisattvas of the past have recited them, all bodhisattvas of the future will recite them, and all bodhisattvas of the present now recite them.

General Conclusion

My disciples, listen well! These ten grave and forty-eight minor precepts have been recited, will be recited, and are now being recited by the buddhas of the three periods of time; I also now recite them. All of those in the great assembly, whether you are kings, princes, high 73

Dissemination Section

The Brahmā's Net Sutra

1009c

officials, monks, nuns, laymen, or laywomen, you who receive these bodhisattva precepts should memorize and recite them. You should explicate them, and copy them to make scrolls of the precepts of the ever-abiding buddha-nature, which should be transmitted through the three periods of time so that all sentient beings can be continually taught without interruption. Having gained a vision of the thousand buddhas, each buddha proffers his hand to you so that from lifetime to lifetime you will never fall into an evil rebirth or into the eight circumstances where it is difficult to encounter the Dharma. You will always be born as a human or celestial being.

I now sit beneath the bodhitree and reveal in brief the teaching of the moral code of the Seven Buddhas. You should now, with full concentration, study the Prātimokṣaand practice it with joy and reverence. These [precepts] are all explained in detail, one by one, in the "Chapter on the Markless Heavenly King.

"

At that time, the three thousand monks who were sitting in the audience heard the Buddha recite the precepts himself. Their minds were filled with faith and, dancing with joy, they memorized these precepts. Dissemination Section

Concluding Exhortation

for Faithful Practice

At that moment Śākyamuni Buddha finished his discourse on the "Chapter on the Dharma of the Ten Inexhaustible Precepts" from within the "Chapter on the Dharma Gate of the Mind-ground of Vairocana Buddha" in the world of the lotus flower platform store, as did millions of billions of Śākyamunis. They taught this in the ten locations, from the heavenly palace of Mahêśvara down to beneath the bodhitree, for inexpressibly vast numbers of great assemblies of bodhisattvas, who have memorized, recited, and in turn explained the meaning of the content, just like this. In millions of billions of worlds, lotus store worlds, infinite numbers of worlds, all buddhas taught fully about all the stores of the buddha-mind, ground stores, precept stores, stores of immeasurable practices and vows, stores of the causes and effects 74

Fascicle Two

of the eternally present buddha-nature, and the immeasurable store of all teachings. Within millions and billions of worlds, all sentient beings preserve these precepts, and joyfully receive and practice them. If we were to explain each aspect of the mind-ground in detail, it would be like that found in the "Chapter on Flower Radiance King Buddha. "

Bright people, whose tolerance and wisdom are strong Are able to uphold this Dharma. During the time when one has not [yet] attained enlightenment, One stably holds to five kinds of benefit. The first is the buddhas of the ten directions Who, with pity, always protect; The second is the direct vision of the mind of joy At the moment of death;

Third is making friends with bodhisattvas In every rebirth;

Fourth is that all merits,

Such as the precepts and perfections, are complete; Fifth is that in present and future existences One's observance of natural law, merit, and wisdom is done to its fullest.

This sphere of activity of the buddhas Is something that the wise well consider. If you imagine a self and attach to marks, You cannot have faith in this teaching. Those who extinguish affliction and seize realization Are also not of an inferior type. Wishing to grow sprouts of bodhi, Your luminosity shines out upon the world. You should quietly contemplate The true character of dharmas, Which neither arise nor cease, Are neither eternal nor temporary, Neither the same nor different, Neither coming nor going.

75

The Brahmā's Net Sutra

Within this One Mind

There is the adornment by the application of skillful means. The works of the bodhisattvas Should be put into practice in order, And you should not create thoughts of distinction Between discipline and being beyond discipline. This is called the Supreme Way— It is all called the Mahayana. All bases of intellectual play Are fully extinguished from this point. The omniscience of the buddhas Is fully produced from this point. Therefore, all Buddhist disciples Should give rise to great courage. They should guard the Buddha's pure precepts Just as they would guard a bright gem. The bodhisattvas of the past Have already applied themselves at this. Those of the future will also apply themselves, And those of the present are now applying themselves [thus]. This field of buddha activities Is extolled by the Holy Bhagavan. Now, having explained accordingly, The immeasurable heap of merit, I return to sentient beings, Together with the offering of omniscience. Those who wish to hear this teaching Will quickly attain the Buddha Way. 76

Back Matters

Notes

1 For a detailed discussion of this issue, see Tōru Funayama, "Bonmōkyō no shohon

no ni keitō,

" Toho gakuho Kyoto Daigaku Jinbun kagaku kenkyūsho80 (2010): 178-211, and "Bonmōkyō geken sengyo no sai kentō,

" in Kunio Mugitani, ed.,

Sankyō kōshō ron zokuhen(Kyoto: Kyōto Daigaku Jinbun Kagaku Kenkyūjo, 2011), pp. 127-156.

2 Charles Muller has published a full translation of this sutra along with Daehyeon's commentary, The Collected Works of Korean Buddhism, Volume XI: Exposition of the Sutra of Brahmā'

s Net(Seoul: Compilation Committee of Korean Buddhist

Thought, Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism, 2012).

3 See Nobuyoshi Yamabe,

"Visionary Repentance and Visionary Ordination In the

Brahmā Net Sūtra,

" in William M. Bodiford, ed., Going Forth: Visions of Buddhist Vinaya. Essays Presented in Honor of Professor Stanley Weinstein(Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2005), pp. 17-39.

4 It is said that when Maitreya becomes a buddha 5.67 billion years hence, he will sit under the dragon-flower tree and preach at the dragon-flower assembly. 5 The ten powers (Skt. daśa-balāni) are kinds of powers of awareness specially possessed by the Buddha, which constitute perfect knowledge of (1) distinguishing right and wrong; (2) one's own karma, as well as the karma of every being in the past, present, and future; (3) all stages of dhyānaliberation and samādhi;(4) the relative capacities of sentient beings; (5) the desires or moral direction of every being; (6) the varieties of causal factors; (7) the range of courses and paths pursued by sentient beings; (8) remembrance of past lives; (9) where people will die and be reborn; and (10) the methods of destroying all evil afflictions. 6 The eighteen distinctive practices refers to the eighteen distinctive characteristics of the Buddha, which belong only to a buddha and not to śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, or bodhisattvas. In East Asian Buddhism these are (1) unmistaken action, (2) unmistaken word, (3) unmistaken mindfulness, (4) a mind of equality toward all beings, (5) a stable mind in meditation, (6) an all-embracing mind that rejects nothing, (7) the power of nonretro gression in terms of aspiration, (8) the power of nonretrogression in terms of diligence, (9) the power of nonretrogression in terms of mindfulness, (10) the power of nonretrogression in terms of wisdom toward the salvation of all beings, (11) the power of nonretrogression from freedom into bondage, (12) nonretrogression from the vision attained in liberation, (13) the manifestation of wisdom power in thought, (14) the manifestation of wisdom 77

Notes

power in word, (15) the manifestation of wisdom power in deed, (16) immediate total knowledge of all present affairs, (17) immediate total knowledge of all past affairs, and (18) immediate total knowledge of all future affairs. In Indian Buddhism these are the ten powers, the four kinds of fearlessness, the three bases of mindfulness, and great compassion.

7 This line seems to be an abbreviation of one found in the Mahayana Yoga of the Adamantine Ocean, Mañjuśrī with a Thousand Arms and Thousand Bowls: Great King of Tantras:"For bodhisattvas who are in the state of mind of observing the precepts, the precepts are neither precepts nor non-precepts, lacking a recipient. In the ten wholesome precepts there is no teacher to expound the Dharma of the precepts, nor 'deception' and stealing, the same up to craving, ill-will, and wrong views" (T.1177a.20:760b28-c2).

8 By context, as well as from the following commentary (where it is said to be the greatest harm that can be inflicted on a human being), it seems that the "crime of deception" is a scribal error for "killing.

" The only place the binome appears in scriptural sources in the entire Taishō canon is in the text cited in note 7, above, and in this text (and also in commentaries on these two works, through repeated citation). Lists of the objects of the ten precepts usually start with killing and stealing and proceed to wrong views.

9 The eight inverted views are non-Buddhists' mistaken beliefs in permanence, happiness, self, and purity. The Hinayana asserts the opposite: impermanence, non-happiness, non-self, and impurity. The Mahayana denies these now but asserts them in nirvana. 10 Thus, satkāya-dṛṣṭi.

11 The eight difficulties or circumstances in which it is difficult to encounter a buddha or hear his teaching are: (1) the condition of a hell being, (2) of a hungry ghost, (3) or of an animal; (4) existence in the long-life heavens, where life is long and free of difficulty; (5) in Uttarakuru, the northern continent where all is pleasant; (6) as a deaf, blind, or mute person; (7) as a worldly philosopher; or (8) in the intermediate period between the passing of a buddha and the appearance of his successor. 12 There are various definitions for the six kinds of familial relations. One representative set is comprised of one's parents, older and younger siblings, wife, and children. 13 Lists of the seven holy assets (Skt. saptāryadhāna) vary slightly, according to the source. A representative list includes (1) faith, (2) moral discipline, (3) conscience, (4) shame, (5) hearing instruction or learning, (6) charity (used interchangeably with detachment), and (7) wisdom.

14 I.e., understanding the emptiness of self and dharmas.

15 This is also a name for the first of the mind-grounds.

16 As a rendering of duḥkha-duḥkha,this is usually translated as "ordinary suffering, "

but in his commentary Daehyeon plays on the Chinese rendering of "suffering on top 78

Notes

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 of suffering.

" This means concrete suffering, physical suffering; the direct suffering that one experiences from illness, exhaustion, hunger, pain, etc. One of the three kinds of suffering.

In many cases the name Rocana is equivalent to Vairocana, but in some texts a distinction is made between Vairocana representing the Dharma body of the Buddha, and Rocana representing the enjoyment body or transformation body (nirmāṇakāya). See the entry "Ten Buddha Names" in the Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (http://www. buddhism-dict.net/ddb).

According to a better-known tradition, Gautama left home somewhat later, after being married. Thus other English translations render this as "after seven years as a worldrenunciant" or something of that nature. That is not what this text has, however, and since Daehyeon makes note of this in his commentary, I render it as is. Prātimokṣaliterally means "liberation from all afflictions.

" In traditional vinaya discourse it usually refers to the body of precepts to be kept by monks and nuns, specifically a part of the Vinaya that contains the two hundred and twenty-seven disciplinary rules for monks and the three hundred and forty-eight rules for nuns that is recited at every upoṣatha (precepts confession) ceremony. In China the Prātimokṣamost often used was one associated with the vinaya of the Dharmaguptakas, which was rendered into Chinese as the Four-part Vinaya (Sifen lü,T. 1428). Over time, however, there were efforts in China to replace the "Hinayana" Prātimokṣawith a "Mahayana" one that could be used in rites of confession. This resulted in the development of the so-called bodhisattva precepts, which are the ten grave precepts of the Brahmā' s Net

Sutra.

Literally, killing "with unobtained reason,

" which Fazang glosses as "without harmful

intention" (T.1813.40:613a29).

"Deviant sexual practices" means using bodily orifices other than the genitals, such as the mouth or anus, for sexual gratification. According to another explanation, this refers not only to using inappropriate bodily parts such as the mouth or anus, but also to having sexual relations at an inappropriate time, such as before and after a woman gives birth; in an inappropriate location, such as a cemetery or in view of people; to an inappropriate degree, such as excessive engagement in intercourse; and with inappropriate principles, such as going against societal values or mores. See note 12 for the six familial relations.

A preceptor; originally, a master who taught Vedic rituals to disciples. In Indian Buddhism, the Sanskrit term ācāryameans a teacher, master, or preceptor; an established monk who guides his students in conduct and sets an example; a spiritual teacher or master; one of correct conduct who is an examplar for others. The eight precepts are the first eight of one interpretation of the ten precepts: (1) not to kill, not to take that which is not given, (3) not to engage in ignoble (i.e., sexual) conduct, (4) not to speak falsehoods, (5) not to ingest intoxicants, (6) not to indulge 79

Notes

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 in cosmetics, personal adornments, dancing, or music, (7) not to sleep on a high or luxurious bed (only on a mat on the ground), and (8) not to take food outside of the regulation hours, i.e., after noon. These are the eight precepts undertaken by laypeople six times per month, on the eighth, fourteenth, fifteenth, twenty-third, twenty-ninth, and thirtieth days according to the lunar calendar.

The five precepts (Skt. pañca-śīla) are the basic code of moral behavior to be observed by lay Buddhist householder-practitioners: (1) not killing, (2) not stealing, (3) not engaging in lustful behavior, (3) not using false speech, and (5) not ingesting intoxicants. These are binding on the laity, both male and female, as well as on monks and nuns. The observance of these five precepts ensures rebirth in the human realm. The ten precepts are also the ten basic precepts for bhikkhus (Skt. bhikṣu) and bhikkhunīs (Skt. bhikṣuṇī) in Theravāda and Nikāya Buddhism. The first five of these are the same five precepts observed by lay practitioners (see note 25), and additionally include proscriptions against eating after noon, attending performances of dancing, singing, and theater, adorning oneself with garlands, perfumes, and ointments, using a high bed, and receiving gold and silver (Skt. śrāmaṇera-saṃvara). The seven heinous acts are shedding the blood of a buddha, killing one's father or mother, killing a monk or teacher, disrupting the sangha, and killing an arhat. See note 11 for the eight difficulties.

A thousand liis approximately three hundred and fifty miles.

Danqiis an ancient Chinese wooden board game using small pieces; players compete to flick their pieces the greatest distance.

Skt. kuśa-vandhana.In ancient India a monk was mugged by a thief, who restrained him by tying him up in tall live grass. The monk, not wanting to break the precept against taking life, remained lying tied up in the grass rather than ripping it out. A king who passed by and found the monk was so moved by this scene that he converted to Buddhism. This story is originally told in the Kalpanā maṇḍitikā(T.201.4:268c10) and is repeated in many East Asian Buddhist texts.

32 See Fazang, T.1813.40:653a1.

33 In one of Śākyamuni's previous incarnations he is said to have written a certain gāthā (four-line verse) containing the essence of the Dharma on a piece of his own flayed skin, using one of his own bones split into the shape of a pen and for ink his own blood.

34 This inline note is found in Uijeok's commentary, Bosal gyebon so(T.1814.40:688a21-23), as part of the main text of the sutra but it is in neither the Taishō edition nor the Hanguk bulgyo jeonseo (Collected Works of Korean Buddhism). It is not clear from his commentary whether Fazang had this text available to him. This precept certainly makes much more sense with the additional text.

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