As the stanza says, "When a person, with a good mind gives what belongs to him, then one says that
512 the good skandhas give.
512 the good skandhas give.
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684 Chapter Four
101a. Is what we understand by breaking the Wheel.
The Wheel of the Law of the Blessed One is then broken, because
the progress of the Path is hindered. As a consequence there is, at the
456 same time, both breaking of the Wheel and a division of the Sangha.
Where is breaking of the Wheel produced? 101b. In Jambudvlpa.
Not in the other continents where the Buddhas do not appear. By how many Bhiksus?
457 101b. By nine or more.
The maximum number is not fixed. The Sangha susceptible of being divided counts at a minimum eight Bhiksus; the ninth monk necessary is the schismatic In order for there to be schism, it is necessary that a Sangha be divided into two parts--the first is for the Buddha, the second is for the schismatic--forming thus two Sanghas of four Bhiksus each, which is the minimum number required in order to constitute a Sangha (Vibbdsd, TD 27, p. 602c5-13).
***
Another type of schism, different from the breaking of the Wheel and which is not a mortal transgression results from a division in eccesiastical aaions: when, in one parish (simd), the monks divide themselves in order to perform ecclesiastical actions, posadha, etc
458 101c Ritual schism in three continents.
Only there where the Religion exists.
lOld. This schism supposes eight Bhiksus or more.
It is necessary to form two groups of four Bhiksus; but, here, there is not one schismatic who declares himself a Master.
#**
At six periods, the schism of the breaking of Wheel cannot take place.
? 102. The breaking of the Wheel is impossible at the beginning;
at the end; before the abscess; before a pair; when the Sage is
459 extinguished; or when a parish has not been delimited.
At the beginning, that is, when a little time has passed since the setting into motion the Wheel of the Law; and at the end, that is, at the period of the Parinirvana of the Blessed One: in these two periods the
460
Sangha is penetrated by a single sentiment. In the interval, breaking
461
is impossible before the appearance of an abscess: as long as the
abscess of precepts and the abscess of views does not appear in the
dispensation (sdsana). lt is also impossible before the apparition of a
pair: as long as a pair of excellent disciples has not appeared, because the
Sangha should not pass a night in a state of division, and because this
pair of disciples has for its task the reestablishment of harmony.
Breaking is impossible when the Sage is extinguished, for, once the
Master has entered into Parinirvana, a schismatic would have no
462
opponent. Finally, when a parish has not been delimited, for one says that the Sangha is divided when there two parties in one parish.
All Buddhas do not have their Wheels broken as does Sakyamuni:
463 this depends on their former actions.
*#*
Why are the transgressions enumerated above, matricide, etc, mortal transgressions to the exclusion of other transgressions?
103a-b. Because they destroy or hurt a field of benefaction, or a
464 field of qualities.
Matricide and patricide are mortal transgressions because they destroy a benefactor. One's mother and father are benefactors because they have given birth.
How does the murderer destroy them?
465 By killing them.
The murder of an Arhat and the last two mortal transgressions are
mortal transgressions because an Arhat, the Sangha and the Buddha are
466
fields of qualities. One does not destroy the Sangha and the Buddha,
but one can hurt them.
***
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But if the gender of the mother and father changes, does the quality of mother and father no longer exist within the mother and father?
103c. Even if their gender changes, there is mortal transgression
in killing him who was the mother, and in killing her who was the father.
It is said in fact (Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 6l9cl9-23), "Gin a person be guilty of a mortal transgression killing a man who is not his father, or who is not an Arhat? Yes, if he kills his mother whose gender has changed Gin a person be guilty of a mortal transgression by killing a woman who is not his mother, or who is not an Arhat? Yes, if he kills his father whose gender has changed"
***
When the embryo of a woman falls out and when another woman
467
deposits it in her womb, which of these two women is reputed to be
the mother whose murder constitutes a mortal transgression?
103d The mother is the woman from whose blood one is born.
The second woman takes up the offices of a mother: she is the one
who gives the child liquid to drink, who nourishes it, and who raises
468 it.
###
There is no mortal transgression if, wanting to kill one's mother a
person kills someone else; there is no mortal transgression if, wanting
9 tokillanotherperson,apersonkillshismother. ^ Forexample,aman
who kills his mother stretched out on a bed where he believes there is a
man asleep, and the child of the laundryman who kills his father
wanting to kill a mosquito, do not become guilty of mortal trans-
470 gressions.
If a man kills his mother and another person with the same stroke, there are two avijnaptis, an avijnapti of simple murder, and an avijnapti of a mortal transgression; but the vijnapti is solely of the mortal transgression, by reason of the force of the mortal transgression. Yet,
? according to Ghosaka (Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 617b23-25), there are two vijnaptis, for a vijnapti is made up of atoms.
The person who kills an Arhat without knowing him to be an Arhat, thinking only to definitely kill such a person, does not have any discrimination with respect to the person to be killed.
The person who kills his father, when his father is an Arhat, is
guilty of only one mortal transgression, namely the killing of an Arhat:
for the father and the Arhat make up only a single persoa
471
Objection: [The Arhat Rudrayana, assassinated by order of his
son Sikhandin, said to the assassin,] "Go! Tell Sikhandin that he has committed two mortal transgressions, patricide and the murder of an Arhat. " How do you explain these words?
Rudrayana means that his son commmitted a mortal transgression through two causes of mortal transgression; or rather Rudrayana said "two mortal transgression" in order to doubly condemn the conduct of his son.
Does the person who, with a bad mind, cause the blood of the Tathagata to flow, necessarily commit a mortal transgression?
He commits a mortal transgression when he has the intention to kill:
104a. No, when he only had the intention of striking the
472 Buddha.
Is a person guilty of a mortal transgression when he injures to death a person who becomes an Arhat after being injured?
104b. No, with regard to the person who became an Arhat after the blow.
Add, according to that which precedes, "no mortal transgression. " In fact, the preparation for murder had for its object a person who was not an Arhat.
*##
Gin a person who made preparation for a mortal transgression,
473 obtain detachment and its result by arresting it?
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104c-d Detachment and its results are impossible for one who
474 has made preparation for a mortal transgressioa
Why?
Because there is an absolute contradiction between the intention of a mortal transgression and the acquisition of detachment or a result.
A person who enters the Path after having done the preparation for any other evil deed, will not produce this deed, by reason of the absolute
475
105a-b. Lying with a view to schism is considered the gravest transgressioa
A person who, knowing what is Dharma and non-Dharma, lies with a view to dividing the Sangha and teaching falsely, by this makes himself quilty of the gravest transgression among all misdeeds. In fact, he wounds the Dharma body of the Tathagatas, he creates an obstacle to temporal well-being and to the deliverance of creatures. As long as concord is not established in the Sangha, there is hindrance to entry into the Path (niyandvakrdnti, vi. 26a), to the acquisition of results, to the acquistion of detachment, and to the destruction of the defilements: all actions relative to dhyana, study and reflection are also arrested; the worlds of gods, Nagas and humans are troubled and saddened, they are not masters of themselves, and misguided. This is why the retribution for this crime lasts a cosmic age and takes place in Avici
Among the other mortal transgressions, the fifth, the third and the
476 first are, in descending order, the heaviest. Patricide is the lightest.
contradiction between his new personality and the deed
##*
What is the gravest of the mortal transgressions?
Objection: The Blessed One said that mental danda is the most 477
culpable of the threedandas; he said also that false view is the gravest among all the transgressions.
One must understand that, among the mortal transgressions, schism is the gravest transgression; that mental danda is the gravest among the three actions; and that false view is the gravest among the bad views. Or rather schism is the gravest transgression if one considers
? the extent of its retribution; manodanda, if one considers the number of 478
persons destroyed by it; and false view, if one considers the roots of good which false view alone cuts off.
***
AmQng the good actions, which bears the greatest result?
105c-d Among the good worldly dharmas, a volition for 479
Bhavagra bears the greatest result.
"Volition for Bhavagra" means the mental action through which one is reborn in the highest stage of Arupyadhatu. This action is the most fruitious of good worldly actions, for its retribution is a perfect tranquility for twenty-four thousand cosmic periods (iii. 81).
This is understood from the point of view of its retributive results. From the point of view of its disconnective result (ii. 57d) the most fruitious action is volition associated with Vajropamasamadhi (vL44d; see iv. H2b), for this volition has for its result the cutting off of all the bonds. This is why the Karika says, "Among the good worldly dhar-
mas . . . "
#**
Is it only through a mortal transgression that a person is necessarily reborn in hell?
A person is also necessarily reborn in hell through transgressions
similar to mortal transgressions. Others add: but not immediately 480
106-107b. To defile one's mother, to defile an ArhantI; to kill a predestined Bodhisattva; to kill a Saiksa; and to steal the goods of the Sangha are transgressions similar to mortal trans-
481 gressions; the fifth is the destruction of a Stupa.
These five transgressions, in this order, are similar to mortal transgressions: to defile one's mother, to defile an ArhantI (=matricide); to kill a predestined Bodhisattva (=patricide); to kill a Saint who is not an Arhat (=murder of an Arhat); to rob the Sangha of its means of
(anantaram) so.
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substance (=schism); and to destroy a Stupa (=to wound the Tathagata). ***
Other aaions embracing retribution are impeded in three cir- cumstances:
107c-d He absolutely impedes aaions by the acquisition of
482 Ksanti, the quality of Anagaamin, and the quality of Arhat.
When, upon leaving the stage of murdhanas, he obtains the stage called patience (ksanti, vL23), the aaions which should be retributed in painful realms of rebirth, being impeded, remain below, because he passes beyond the state of retribution of these aaions. In the same way the creditors of the man who is about to emigrate from his country rise up.
When he obtains the quality of Anagamin (vL36d), the aaions which should be retributed in Kamadhatu, being impeded, remain below,--with the exception of those which should be retributed in the present existence.
The same for the aaions which should be retributed in Rupadhatu and Arupyadhatu when he obtains the quality of Arhat.
***
We have seen that the killing of a Bodhisattva is a quasi-mortal transgression.
108a. Since when is one a Bodhisattva?
From what moment on does one receive the name of Bodhisattva?
108b. When he begins to cultivate aaions which produce the
483 marks.
Starting from the moment when he begins to cultivate aaions which have for their retribution the thirty-two marks, he is "predestined"
How is this?
From this moment onward, he always
? 108c-d Has good realms of rebirth; he is born into noble families; he possesses all the organs (avyaksah); he is a male; he remembers his past lives; and he does not desist (anivrt).
One says that he is sugati ("well gone"), because his rebirth realms are excellent, for he is born among gpds and humans.
484
He is born in the wealthy families of Ksatriyas, Brahmanas, and
Grhapatis, not in humble familes.
The man whose organs are not complete is vikatendriya; if his
m organsarecomplete,heisanavyaksa,asynonymfor avikdendriya.
He is always male, never female, and, even more so, never non- sexual (sandha, etc).
In all of his existences, he remembers his past births.
One desists by giving in; as he does not give in, he is avivrt, a synonym for an avaivartika, one who does not desist or regress: in fact, with an end to being useful to all creatures, he is not cast down by all
486
sorts of sufferings, or by any outrages. He is called the slave not
487
purchased by the world, indeed the Bodhisattva: this great-souled one,
who yet possesses the most sublime prefections (sampad, vii. 34), acts 488
through pure compassion; he acts without egoism, like a dog, in the presence of all creatures; he bears, on the part of all creatures, outrages and bad treatment; he assumes all fatiguing and painful tasks.
#**
He cultivates actions which have the marks for their retribution.
109. In Jambudvipa, being a male; in the presence of the
Buddhas, thinking of the Buddhas; having their origin in
reflection; in the course of one hundred supplementary cosmic
489 ages.
The Bodhisattva cultivates actions which ripen in the marks solely
inJambudvipa, not elsewhere, for the inhabitants ofJambudvipa are of
490
lively intelligence; he is a male and not a female, for he has already
gone beyond the state of female; and he is only in the presence of Masters, for his volition has the Buddhas for its object. These actions have their origin in reflection, not in hearing or in the absorptions. The
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Bodhisattva accomplishes these actions in the course of one hundred
491
supplementary cosmic ages, and not during a longer time.
Nevertheless the Blessed Sakyamuni, through the purification of
492
his energy, leaped over nine of these cosmic ages and carried out the
actions ripening in marks in the course of ninety-nine cosmic ages so that, in this way, one hundred were completed This is why, speaking to Asibandhaka, he said, "Oh village chief, remembering ninety-one cosmic ages from now, I do not see any family that has been
493
impoverished or inconvenienced by the giving of cooked foods. " Blessed One expressed himself in this way because his natural memory bore on this number of cosmic periods. (See vii. 30, 37,42)
494
Former masters say: It is when he finished the first cosmic age
that the Bodhisattva abandoned the four defects and obtained the two qualities.
***
Of the marks
110a. Each arises from one hundred merits.
What is the measure of each of these one hundred merits?
According to some, it is equal to the merit which has for its result the pleasure of all beings, with the exception of the Bodhisattva close to Bodhi--that is to say, accomplishing actions which ripen in marks.
According to others, it is equal to the collective action of all beings,
which, through its predominating result (ii. 56b), produces the creation
496 of the world.
According to others, only the Buddhas know the measure of this merit.
**#
How many Buddhas did the Blessed One venerate when he was a Bodhisattva?
In the course of the first asamkhyeya kalpa, he venerated seventy- five thousand Buddhas; seventy-six thousand in the course of the
497 second; and seventy-seven thousand in the course of the third
495
The
? Who were the Buddhas at the end of each samkhyeya kalpa? In the reverse order of their enumeration,
1 lOb-c At the end of the three asamkbyeyas, Pa^yin, Dipa, and Ratna&khin.
In the period of the perfect and complete Buddha Ratnaiikhin, he completed the first asarhkhyeya kalpa; in the period of the Blessed Dipamkara he completed the second; and in the period of the Tathagatha VipaSyin he completed the third
Of all the Buddhas that he venerated 110& The first was Sakyamuni.
It was an ancient Sakyamuni (Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 89c), a perfect Buddha, under whom the Blessed One, the then Bodhisattva, formulated for the first time the vow of Bodhi by saying, "May I too become a Buddha in all ways similar to you! " This Sakyamuni, as ours, appeared
498
during a bad age of the world; also his Law lasted only one thousand
years.
***
How did the Bodhisattva complete each Paramita (p. 694, line 17)?
Ula-b. He completed Giving by giving everything to everyone,
499 out of compassion.
When he gave everything to everyone, even to his eyes and the marrow of his bones, out of compassion, without desiring any happiness for himself, he completed the virtue of Giving.
lllc-d. Morality and Patience were completed by his not being
irritated, even when his limbs were broken, although he was still
500 tied to desire.
When, even though he was not detached, he was not at all irritated when his limbs were broken, he then completed the virtues of Morality
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and Patience.
112a. Energy, by praising Pusya
The Blessed One, when he was a Bodhisattva, saw the Tathagata
502
Pusya who had become incandescent in the interior of a cave in a
503
mountain. He praised him for seven days and seven nights, standing,
repeating the stanza, "Neither in heaven nor on earth, nor in this world, nor in the abode of VaiSravana, nor in the palace of the Mams, nor in other celestial abodes, nor in any of the ten direaions, would one find, Oh Chief of Men, an ascetic who is your equal, even if one were to traverse, if one wished, the entire world, with all of its people, with its
504
mountains and with its forests. " Then, according to this School, he
was found to have fulfilled the virture of Energy and nine cosmic ages were passed over.
505 112b. Absorption and Intelligence, immediately before.
506
At the moment of Vajropamasamadhi, immediately before
Bodhi, he accomplished the virtues of dhydna and prajnd.
507
arrived (gamandt) at the other shore (pdram) of the other shore of the
The Paramitas receive the name of pdramitd totality of the perfections proper to each of them.
because they have
###
The Sutra teaches that there are three items of meritorious work (punyakriydvastu), which consist of Giving, Morality, and Meditation. How are Giving, Morality, and Meditation items of meritorious work?
112c-d Three are merit, action, occasions of the exercise of
508 action, as in the case of deeds.
These three,--Giving, Morality, and Meditation,--each according to its nature, are merit, action, or occasion of exercise, either in combination, or in isolation; the same way that the deeds are either at one and the same time actions and deeds, or only deeds.
To consider first the item of meritorious work which consists of Giving, one must distinguish: 1. bodily and vocal action which is an item of meritorious work on three grounds: merit, because its retribution is
501
? p
IK
Karma 695 agreeable; aaion, because it is aaion by nature; and an occasion for the
exercise or an object of the volition of giving which provokes it; 2. the volition of giving, which is merit and aaion; 3. and the dharmas (sensations, etc. ) which accompany bodily and vocal aaion, and which are solely merit.
The item of meritorious work which consists of Morality is exclusively bodily and vocal aaion; it is necessarily merit, aaion and occasion of exercise of aaion.
For the item of meritorious work which consists of Meditation, let us consider the Meditation of Compassion (maitri, viii. 30): 1. this mediation is merit; it is also an occasion for the exercise of a meritorious aaion, namely that of a volition associated with compassion; 2. the volition in question is merit and aaion. The same also for the Morality which consitutes dhyanasamvara, the discipline of dhyana, which a person who praaices the Meditation of Compassion possesses; 3. the other dharmas (faith, etc. ) concomittant to this Meditation are solely merit.
Or rather the expression punyakriya signifies punyakarana, or
punyaprayoga. Giving9 Morality and Mediation are vastus of punyakriya,
because, with a view to realizing them, one undertakes the preparation
509 of merit.
According to another opinion, punyakriya is, to speak precisely, good volition; Giving, Morality and Meditation are its vastu, an occasion for the exercise of this volition.
***
What is Giving, ddna?
Without doubt, ddna in general is what is given (deya), but here
510 113a. Giving is what gives.
But one gives through fear, or with the hope of reciprocity, or through attachment, etc: now this does not refer to this type of giving. Consequently, in order to specify, the author says, "Giving is what gives. "
511 113b. Through the desire to render homage or service.
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What is it that gives?
113c. It is bodily and vocal action and that which produces this action.
A collection of mind-and-mental states gives rise to a bodily or vocal action: this collection and this action give.
As the stanza says, "When a person, with a good mind gives what belongs to him, then one says that
512 the good skandhas give. "
513 113d. It has for its results great joys.
The punyakriydvastu which consists of Giving (danamaya) has great joys as its result.
The suffix maya, which we translate "which consists of," should be understood as "having as its nature," the same way that one says, "a
514 house made of grass" (trnamaya grha), or "a vase made of leaves. "
114a-b. Giving is beneficial to oneself, to others, to both or neither.
A gift made to a Caitya is not useful to another; but it is useful to him who gives when he is an Aryan not detached from desire, or a Prthagjana detached or not detached (see iv. 121).
The gift that a detached Aryan makes to another--with the exception of the case when this gift ripens in the present existence--is not useful to this Aryan, for the Aryan who is detached has definitively passed beyond the sphere (Le. , Kamadhatu) where the retribution of the gift could have taken place in a later existence. This gift is only useful to another.
The gift that a non-detached Aryan makes to another, to a detached or non-detached Prthagjana, is useful both to himself and to another. The gift that a detached Aryan makes to a Caitya--with the
exception of the case when this gift will ripen in the present existence- is not useful either to himself, or to another. This gift has for its effea only the expression of homage and recognition.
***
We have said, in a general manner, that giving produces great joys:
? H4c-d Giving is excellent by the excellence of the giver, of the
515 object given, and of the field
115a. The giver is excellent through his faith, etc
The giver is excellent when he is endowed with faith, with morality, with learning, with generosity, with wisdon, with few desires, etc When the giver is excellent, the gift is excellent; when the gift is excellent, its result is excellent.
516
Such a giver gives with respect, by his hand, at the right time, without doing evil to anyone (pardn anupahatya; compare Milinda, 276).
115c-d From whence he obtains honors, superior joys, at the right time, sheltered from all loss.
The giver who gives with respect obtains honors; giving by his hand, he will find satisfaction in superior joys; giving at the right time, he will obtain these joys at a suitable time and not when he cannot enjoy them; giving without doing any evil, these joys will be indestructible: they will not be stolen, annihilated through fire, etc
***
We have explained in what the excellence of the giver consists and how the gift is excellent through the excellence of the giver. How is the object given excellent?
517
The object is excellent when that which one gives is perfect in color, in odor, in taste, in contact.
What will one obtain through the giving of such an object? 116b-d From whence beauty, glory, joy, great lightness of the
518
body and contacts corresponding to the seasoa
He who gives an object perfect in color will be beautiful.
115b. He gives with respect, etc
116a. The object perfect in color, etc
Add: "is excellent. "
Karma 697
? He who gives an object perfect in odor will have his reputation extend to all directions, in the same way that an odor spreads.
He who gives an object perfect in taste will be happy, like a sweet taste.
The body of him who gives an object perfect to the touch, will be very delicate, like the jewel-like wife of a Cakravartin king, and his limbs will have only agreeable contacts, hot or cold according to the season.
***
117a-b. The field is excellent through the realm of rebirth, suffering, benefactors, and qualities.
A field is excellent through the realm of rebirth. The Blessed One
said, "If a person gives to an animal, the giver will receive a retribution
one hundred times greater than the gift made to the animal, but if this
person gives even to a human who has transgressed the precepts, he
will receive a retribution one thousand times greater than the gift made
519 to this humaa"
A field is excellent through suffering. The Blessed One, among the
How is the field excellent?
seven aupadhikapunyakriyavastus, enumerated giving to a sick person, 52
givingtoahospitalattendant,givingduringcoldseasons,etc. , ? andhe continued: "One cannot enumerate the measure of the merits of a son or daughter of good family who is endowed with these seven material meritorious works. "
A field is excellent through benefactors. This is giving to one's father, to one's mother (Divya, p. 52), to one's master, or to other
521
benefactors. Example: the Jatakas of the bear, of the antelope, etc 522
A field is excellent through its qualities. The Blessed One said, "A retribution one hundred thousand times greater than a gift made to a
person who upholds the necessities . . . " and so on.
***
Among all the gifts,
117cThe best is the gift from a delivered person to a delivered
? 523
persoa
The Blessed One said that a gift given by a detached person to another detached person is the best of material gifts.
524 117& Or a gift from the Bodhisattva.
Or rather, the gift that a Bodhisattva gives for the welfare of all beings; this gift, although given by a non-detached person to other non-detached persons, is the best gift.
#*#
With the exception of the gift from the Bodhisattva, 117d Or the eighth.
The eighth among the eight gifts that the Blessed One taught. 525
What are the eight gifts? 1. An dsadya gift; 2. a gift through fear; 3. a gift made "because he gave to me"; 4. a gift made "because he gives to me"; 5. a gift made "because my fathers and my grandfathers gave (dattapurvam me pitrbhif ca pitamahais ceti danam, compare Japaka, 444. 52, vol. iv, 34); 6. a gift made in order to obtain heaven; 7. a gift made with an eye to one's reputation; 8. a gift made in order to adorn one's mind (that is to say, in order to obtain rddhis, vii. 48); in order to fill the mind [with the parts of the Path, mdrgdnga, vi. 67b]; in order to equip it with a view to yoga; and in order to acquire the supreme gpal (that is to say, in order to obtain the quality of Arhat or Nirvana).
What is an dsadya gift?
Some ancient masters explain this as an immediate gift to those
526 who are near, who approach one.
A gift through fear is a gift that a person makes who sees that the
527 object is going to perish: "Better it should be given," he thinks.
***
The Sutra (Madhyama, TD 1, p. 722b22) says, "An incalculable retribution proceeds from a gift made to a srotaapannaphakprati-
pannaka; an even more incalculable retribution proceeds from a gift made to a srotadpanna. "But there are also five persons who, even
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though Prthagjanas, confer an incalculable retribution on the offering that is made to them:
118. Even though they are not Aryans, offerings made to one's
father and mother, to a sick person, to a preacher, to the
528 Bodhisattva in his last birth are without measure.
These offerings are without measure from the point of view of their retributioa
A "Bodhisattva in his last birth" means a "Bodhisattva in his last existence. "
To what category does a preacher belong? Among what field should he be placed?
He forms part of the category of benefactors: he gives the eye of wisdom to multitudes blinded by ignorance; he proclaims what is good
1 29
(sama = dharma) and bad (visama = adharma); ' he ereas the pure
53
bodyoftheLaw; ? inaword,heaccomplishesalltheworkofaBuddha:
hence he is a great "spiritual friend"
***
In order to appreciate the lightness and the gravity of actions, one should, in short, take into consideration six causes:
119. Accordingly as these causes--consecutive, field, adhisfhana, preparation, volition, or intention--are small or large, action also is small or large.
Consecutive: after having done the action, that is, consequential action.
Field: the person to whom one does good or evil Adhisfhana: the deed itself.
Preparation: bodily or vocal action with a view to the preceding.
Volition: that through which the deed is achieved. Intention: to
project the thought, "I shall do this or that to them; then I shall do this
531 or that. "
It happens that an action can be grave only by reason of its consecutive action, for example, when this confers on the retribution the character of necessity.
? It happens that an action can be grave by reason that, if the field is the same, a certain adhisphana renders an action grave while another adhisphana makes it light: for example, to kill one's father and mother is a grave action but to steal from one's father and mother, to lie to them, etc. , is not grave by comparison. One can explain in this same way the
532 gravity resulting from the preparation, etc.
When all these causes are great, the action is very grave; when they are small, the action is very light.
***
Action "done" (krta) is distinguished from "accumulated" (upacita)
533 action.
action?
By reason of its intentional character:Action done voluntarily or
535
intentionally is accumulated action; action done involuntarily or
536
unconsciously, and action not done in haste, even if it is voluntary, is
action that is "done. "
"By reason of its completion:" Some go to painful realms of rebirth
through misdeeds; some by two; some by three (bodily, vocal, and mentalmisdeeds); some through one deed, through two, through three . . . through ten. Since it is a rule that a person goes to a painful realm of rebirth through a certain quantity of actions, if this measure is not completed, the action is done, but not accumulated; but when this
537 measure is completed, it is accumulated
"By reason of the absence of regret and opposition:" When remorse
What are the charaaeristics and conditions of accumulated
120. Action is termed "accumulated" by reason of its intentional
character, by its completion, by the absence of regret and
534 opposition, by its accompaniments, and by its retribution.
(vipratisara, anutapa, ii. 28) is absent, or when opposition,--confession, 538
etc,--is absent, action is then termed "accumulated. "
"By reason of its accompaniments:" When an action is bad and has a
bad escort: [or when one rejoices at having committed it,] it is "accumulated. "
"By reason of its retribution:" Action is accumulated which necessarily gives forth retribution (vipakadane niyatam, iv. 50).
Karma 701
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The same for good actioa
Action which does not present these characteristics is done, but is not accumulated
***
We have seen (iv. H4a) that a gift made to a Caitya by a person not detached from desire is a gift of benefit for him who made it. But no one enjoys the thing given: how can this gift be meritorious?
The merits of the gift are of two types: 1. merit produced by
abandoning, that is, the merit which results from the sole fact of
539
abandoning; 2. merit produced by its enjoyment, the merit which
results in joy in the object given, by the person who receives.
121a. The merit of a gift to a Caitya is merit produced by
540 abandoning.
How can the gift produce merit when no one receives it?
We would answer this objection by asking why would the gift produce merit when someone receives it, and why it would not produce merit when no one receives it?
Because, in the second case, no one is satisfied, or favored by the gift.
If the satisfaction of a person who receives is a condition for merit, you then deny that the Immeasurable Mediations (Mediations of Compassion, etc, viii. 29) and the Meditation of Right View are meritorious. The gift to a Caitya thus produces merit,
121b. Even though no one receives it, as is the case with compassion, etc
In the case of the Meditation on Compassion, no one receives, no one is satisfied, and yet merit arises for the compassionate person, through the very force of his thoughts of compassion. In the same way, even though the Excellent Being has passed away, a gift to a Caitya made with devotion to him is meritorious by reason of the thought of the believer himself.
Should we conclude then that material offerings and worship are superfluous?
No, for the devotion which produces these actions very much
? outweighs the devotion of a person who worships and who gives in mind only. When a person who has the intention of killing his enemy, continues his bodily and vocal actions on the dead body of his enemy which this intention provokes, thinking, 'This is my enemy," that is to say, he thinks, 'This enemy is not yet dead," he obtains demerit very
541 much greater than he would have through merely the intention; in
the same way, even though the Master has passed away, the person who does aaions of giving and worship inspired through devotion obtains a much greater merit than he would have only through devotioa
If a seed given to a good field bears an agreeable result, should we think that it bears a disagreeable result if given to a bad field?
121c-d Even seeded into a bad field, the gift bears agreeable results, for there is never opposition between the result and the
542
seed
543
From the seed of the vine, there arises solely the sweet fruit of the
vine; from the seed of the nimba (Azadirachta Indica) there arises only the sour fruit of the nimba: even seeded into a bad field, the seed bears the result which is appropriate to it. In the same way, this seed which is the gift of a person who has the intention of being useful to another, even if placed into a bad field, can only produce an agreeable result. But, through the evil of the field, the result will be small or almost oil
We have explained meritorious work which consists of Giving, together with its related questions.
#*#
We must now explain meritorious work which consists of the Precepts.
122a-b. Immorality is bad rupa. Morality is the renouncing of 544
Bad r&pa is called immorality. The renouncing of immorality, which is morality, is
immorality.
Karma 703
? 122b. Of two types.
Renouncing is vijfiapti, the action by which one renounces, and avijnapti, the fact of abstaining (see above, pp. 560, 562, 583).
Morality is not solely the renouncing of immorality.
122c. It is, further, the renouncing of that which is prohibited by the Buddha.
To renounce that which is prohibited by the Buddha, the Blessed One,--without being in and of itself immoral, for example renouncing meals at forbidden times,--is also morality. This renouncing is also vijnapti and avijnapti. He who has undertaken to observe the rules and who then violates them, commits immorality.
The morality that we have just described, in short, is
122d Pure, when it is endowed with the four qualities.
Morality endowed with the four qualities is pure; it is impure in the contrary case.
123a-b. Not troubled by immorality, by the causes of im- morality; it takes as its support the opposite of immorality and <<t >>>>
peace.
"Not troubled by immorality" we have described; "not troubled by
the causes of immorality," that is, by the kleias and upaklesas (v. 41), "it takes as its support the opposites of immorality," because it relies on the four smrtyupasthanas (vi. 14); and it relies on "peace," not on rebirth in celestial realms, because it is directed to Nirvana.
According to another opinion, five causes make morality pure: 1. the purity of the deed itself [the renouncing of bad deeds]; 2. the purity of their attendants [renouncing the preparation or the means of killing, etc. ]; 3. the absence of disturbance from the vitarkas [kama, vyapada, and vihimsavitarka]; 4. its supervision through mindfulness [Buddha, Dharma, Sahghanusmrti--which includes the renouncing of undefined
545 actions]; and 5. its application to Nirvana.
According to another opinion, morality is of four types: 1. the morality of fear, which one observes from the fear of the loss of the resources necessary to life, from fear of a bad reputation, from fear of
? 546
chastisement, from fear of bad realms of rebirth; 2. mercenary
morality, which one observes from attachment to agreeable realms of existence, to pleasures, to honors; 3. a morality suitable to the parts of Bodhi, which persons who possess Right View possess, with a view to their deliverance; and 4. pure morality, which, being free from stains, is free from vices.
We have explained morality.
***
123c-& "Good absorption" or good in absorption, is bhavana, 547
meditation, soaking in, or impregnation.
What do we understand by samahita, absorbed? That which is absorption (samadhi, ii. 24, viii. 1) by its nature, and that which coexists with what is absorption by nature.
Why does "good absorption" receive the name of bhdvana? 123d. Because it perfumes, impregnates the mind.
Good absorption impregnates the mind to an extreme degree, because it (i. e. , the mind) grasps the qualities of this good, in the same way as sesame seeds are impregnated by flowers in their grasping the odor of these flowers.
***
We have said (iv. H3d) that the result of giving consists of joys. What result does one obtain from the precepts and from meditation?
124a-b. Essentially, the precepts have heaven for their result;
548 meditation has disconnection for its result.
Giving also has heaven for its result, but the precepts are the principle, normative cause of it. Disconnection, or Nirvana, (ii. trans, p. 280) has meditation for its cause, which, in the path of abandoning (prahdnamdrga, vi. 60c-d) immediately produces disconnection from the defilements; but the precepts contribute to it, since stilling (samatha) and insight (vipasyand) presuppose the precepts.
Karma 705
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***
The Sutra says that four persons produce "Brahmin" merit, 549
brahmapunya. What is this merit?
According to the Vaibhasikas (Vibhasa, TD 27, p. 425cl3), this is
the merit which has been defined above in order that we might know
the measure of the action which has the marks of the Bodhisattva for its
550 result (iv. 110).
551
The ancient masters said:
124c-d Four possess Brahmin merit, because they are happy in
552 the heavens for a kalpa.
The merit of such a measure that one is happy in heaven for a kalpa is the Brahmin merit, for the lifespan of the Brahmapurohitas is a kalpa
553
(iii. 80d). And in another Canon, one reads, "He engenders Brahmin
merit, he is happy in the heavens for a kalpa" *##
554 We have studied material giving.
125a-b. The gift of the Dharmas is the correct teaching, not
555
The gift of the Dharma is to teach, correctly and with a mind not defiled, the Sutra and the other parts of Scripture.
101a. Is what we understand by breaking the Wheel.
The Wheel of the Law of the Blessed One is then broken, because
the progress of the Path is hindered. As a consequence there is, at the
456 same time, both breaking of the Wheel and a division of the Sangha.
Where is breaking of the Wheel produced? 101b. In Jambudvlpa.
Not in the other continents where the Buddhas do not appear. By how many Bhiksus?
457 101b. By nine or more.
The maximum number is not fixed. The Sangha susceptible of being divided counts at a minimum eight Bhiksus; the ninth monk necessary is the schismatic In order for there to be schism, it is necessary that a Sangha be divided into two parts--the first is for the Buddha, the second is for the schismatic--forming thus two Sanghas of four Bhiksus each, which is the minimum number required in order to constitute a Sangha (Vibbdsd, TD 27, p. 602c5-13).
***
Another type of schism, different from the breaking of the Wheel and which is not a mortal transgression results from a division in eccesiastical aaions: when, in one parish (simd), the monks divide themselves in order to perform ecclesiastical actions, posadha, etc
458 101c Ritual schism in three continents.
Only there where the Religion exists.
lOld. This schism supposes eight Bhiksus or more.
It is necessary to form two groups of four Bhiksus; but, here, there is not one schismatic who declares himself a Master.
#**
At six periods, the schism of the breaking of Wheel cannot take place.
? 102. The breaking of the Wheel is impossible at the beginning;
at the end; before the abscess; before a pair; when the Sage is
459 extinguished; or when a parish has not been delimited.
At the beginning, that is, when a little time has passed since the setting into motion the Wheel of the Law; and at the end, that is, at the period of the Parinirvana of the Blessed One: in these two periods the
460
Sangha is penetrated by a single sentiment. In the interval, breaking
461
is impossible before the appearance of an abscess: as long as the
abscess of precepts and the abscess of views does not appear in the
dispensation (sdsana). lt is also impossible before the apparition of a
pair: as long as a pair of excellent disciples has not appeared, because the
Sangha should not pass a night in a state of division, and because this
pair of disciples has for its task the reestablishment of harmony.
Breaking is impossible when the Sage is extinguished, for, once the
Master has entered into Parinirvana, a schismatic would have no
462
opponent. Finally, when a parish has not been delimited, for one says that the Sangha is divided when there two parties in one parish.
All Buddhas do not have their Wheels broken as does Sakyamuni:
463 this depends on their former actions.
*#*
Why are the transgressions enumerated above, matricide, etc, mortal transgressions to the exclusion of other transgressions?
103a-b. Because they destroy or hurt a field of benefaction, or a
464 field of qualities.
Matricide and patricide are mortal transgressions because they destroy a benefactor. One's mother and father are benefactors because they have given birth.
How does the murderer destroy them?
465 By killing them.
The murder of an Arhat and the last two mortal transgressions are
mortal transgressions because an Arhat, the Sangha and the Buddha are
466
fields of qualities. One does not destroy the Sangha and the Buddha,
but one can hurt them.
***
Karma 685
? 686 Chapter Four
But if the gender of the mother and father changes, does the quality of mother and father no longer exist within the mother and father?
103c. Even if their gender changes, there is mortal transgression
in killing him who was the mother, and in killing her who was the father.
It is said in fact (Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 6l9cl9-23), "Gin a person be guilty of a mortal transgression killing a man who is not his father, or who is not an Arhat? Yes, if he kills his mother whose gender has changed Gin a person be guilty of a mortal transgression by killing a woman who is not his mother, or who is not an Arhat? Yes, if he kills his father whose gender has changed"
***
When the embryo of a woman falls out and when another woman
467
deposits it in her womb, which of these two women is reputed to be
the mother whose murder constitutes a mortal transgression?
103d The mother is the woman from whose blood one is born.
The second woman takes up the offices of a mother: she is the one
who gives the child liquid to drink, who nourishes it, and who raises
468 it.
###
There is no mortal transgression if, wanting to kill one's mother a
person kills someone else; there is no mortal transgression if, wanting
9 tokillanotherperson,apersonkillshismother. ^ Forexample,aman
who kills his mother stretched out on a bed where he believes there is a
man asleep, and the child of the laundryman who kills his father
wanting to kill a mosquito, do not become guilty of mortal trans-
470 gressions.
If a man kills his mother and another person with the same stroke, there are two avijnaptis, an avijnapti of simple murder, and an avijnapti of a mortal transgression; but the vijnapti is solely of the mortal transgression, by reason of the force of the mortal transgression. Yet,
? according to Ghosaka (Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 617b23-25), there are two vijnaptis, for a vijnapti is made up of atoms.
The person who kills an Arhat without knowing him to be an Arhat, thinking only to definitely kill such a person, does not have any discrimination with respect to the person to be killed.
The person who kills his father, when his father is an Arhat, is
guilty of only one mortal transgression, namely the killing of an Arhat:
for the father and the Arhat make up only a single persoa
471
Objection: [The Arhat Rudrayana, assassinated by order of his
son Sikhandin, said to the assassin,] "Go! Tell Sikhandin that he has committed two mortal transgressions, patricide and the murder of an Arhat. " How do you explain these words?
Rudrayana means that his son commmitted a mortal transgression through two causes of mortal transgression; or rather Rudrayana said "two mortal transgression" in order to doubly condemn the conduct of his son.
Does the person who, with a bad mind, cause the blood of the Tathagata to flow, necessarily commit a mortal transgression?
He commits a mortal transgression when he has the intention to kill:
104a. No, when he only had the intention of striking the
472 Buddha.
Is a person guilty of a mortal transgression when he injures to death a person who becomes an Arhat after being injured?
104b. No, with regard to the person who became an Arhat after the blow.
Add, according to that which precedes, "no mortal transgression. " In fact, the preparation for murder had for its object a person who was not an Arhat.
*##
Gin a person who made preparation for a mortal transgression,
473 obtain detachment and its result by arresting it?
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Chapter Four
104c-d Detachment and its results are impossible for one who
474 has made preparation for a mortal transgressioa
Why?
Because there is an absolute contradiction between the intention of a mortal transgression and the acquisition of detachment or a result.
A person who enters the Path after having done the preparation for any other evil deed, will not produce this deed, by reason of the absolute
475
105a-b. Lying with a view to schism is considered the gravest transgressioa
A person who, knowing what is Dharma and non-Dharma, lies with a view to dividing the Sangha and teaching falsely, by this makes himself quilty of the gravest transgression among all misdeeds. In fact, he wounds the Dharma body of the Tathagatas, he creates an obstacle to temporal well-being and to the deliverance of creatures. As long as concord is not established in the Sangha, there is hindrance to entry into the Path (niyandvakrdnti, vi. 26a), to the acquisition of results, to the acquistion of detachment, and to the destruction of the defilements: all actions relative to dhyana, study and reflection are also arrested; the worlds of gods, Nagas and humans are troubled and saddened, they are not masters of themselves, and misguided. This is why the retribution for this crime lasts a cosmic age and takes place in Avici
Among the other mortal transgressions, the fifth, the third and the
476 first are, in descending order, the heaviest. Patricide is the lightest.
contradiction between his new personality and the deed
##*
What is the gravest of the mortal transgressions?
Objection: The Blessed One said that mental danda is the most 477
culpable of the threedandas; he said also that false view is the gravest among all the transgressions.
One must understand that, among the mortal transgressions, schism is the gravest transgression; that mental danda is the gravest among the three actions; and that false view is the gravest among the bad views. Or rather schism is the gravest transgression if one considers
? the extent of its retribution; manodanda, if one considers the number of 478
persons destroyed by it; and false view, if one considers the roots of good which false view alone cuts off.
***
AmQng the good actions, which bears the greatest result?
105c-d Among the good worldly dharmas, a volition for 479
Bhavagra bears the greatest result.
"Volition for Bhavagra" means the mental action through which one is reborn in the highest stage of Arupyadhatu. This action is the most fruitious of good worldly actions, for its retribution is a perfect tranquility for twenty-four thousand cosmic periods (iii. 81).
This is understood from the point of view of its retributive results. From the point of view of its disconnective result (ii. 57d) the most fruitious action is volition associated with Vajropamasamadhi (vL44d; see iv. H2b), for this volition has for its result the cutting off of all the bonds. This is why the Karika says, "Among the good worldly dhar-
mas . . . "
#**
Is it only through a mortal transgression that a person is necessarily reborn in hell?
A person is also necessarily reborn in hell through transgressions
similar to mortal transgressions. Others add: but not immediately 480
106-107b. To defile one's mother, to defile an ArhantI; to kill a predestined Bodhisattva; to kill a Saiksa; and to steal the goods of the Sangha are transgressions similar to mortal trans-
481 gressions; the fifth is the destruction of a Stupa.
These five transgressions, in this order, are similar to mortal transgressions: to defile one's mother, to defile an ArhantI (=matricide); to kill a predestined Bodhisattva (=patricide); to kill a Saint who is not an Arhat (=murder of an Arhat); to rob the Sangha of its means of
(anantaram) so.
Karma 689
? 690 Chatter Four
substance (=schism); and to destroy a Stupa (=to wound the Tathagata). ***
Other aaions embracing retribution are impeded in three cir- cumstances:
107c-d He absolutely impedes aaions by the acquisition of
482 Ksanti, the quality of Anagaamin, and the quality of Arhat.
When, upon leaving the stage of murdhanas, he obtains the stage called patience (ksanti, vL23), the aaions which should be retributed in painful realms of rebirth, being impeded, remain below, because he passes beyond the state of retribution of these aaions. In the same way the creditors of the man who is about to emigrate from his country rise up.
When he obtains the quality of Anagamin (vL36d), the aaions which should be retributed in Kamadhatu, being impeded, remain below,--with the exception of those which should be retributed in the present existence.
The same for the aaions which should be retributed in Rupadhatu and Arupyadhatu when he obtains the quality of Arhat.
***
We have seen that the killing of a Bodhisattva is a quasi-mortal transgression.
108a. Since when is one a Bodhisattva?
From what moment on does one receive the name of Bodhisattva?
108b. When he begins to cultivate aaions which produce the
483 marks.
Starting from the moment when he begins to cultivate aaions which have for their retribution the thirty-two marks, he is "predestined"
How is this?
From this moment onward, he always
? 108c-d Has good realms of rebirth; he is born into noble families; he possesses all the organs (avyaksah); he is a male; he remembers his past lives; and he does not desist (anivrt).
One says that he is sugati ("well gone"), because his rebirth realms are excellent, for he is born among gpds and humans.
484
He is born in the wealthy families of Ksatriyas, Brahmanas, and
Grhapatis, not in humble familes.
The man whose organs are not complete is vikatendriya; if his
m organsarecomplete,heisanavyaksa,asynonymfor avikdendriya.
He is always male, never female, and, even more so, never non- sexual (sandha, etc).
In all of his existences, he remembers his past births.
One desists by giving in; as he does not give in, he is avivrt, a synonym for an avaivartika, one who does not desist or regress: in fact, with an end to being useful to all creatures, he is not cast down by all
486
sorts of sufferings, or by any outrages. He is called the slave not
487
purchased by the world, indeed the Bodhisattva: this great-souled one,
who yet possesses the most sublime prefections (sampad, vii. 34), acts 488
through pure compassion; he acts without egoism, like a dog, in the presence of all creatures; he bears, on the part of all creatures, outrages and bad treatment; he assumes all fatiguing and painful tasks.
#**
He cultivates actions which have the marks for their retribution.
109. In Jambudvipa, being a male; in the presence of the
Buddhas, thinking of the Buddhas; having their origin in
reflection; in the course of one hundred supplementary cosmic
489 ages.
The Bodhisattva cultivates actions which ripen in the marks solely
inJambudvipa, not elsewhere, for the inhabitants ofJambudvipa are of
490
lively intelligence; he is a male and not a female, for he has already
gone beyond the state of female; and he is only in the presence of Masters, for his volition has the Buddhas for its object. These actions have their origin in reflection, not in hearing or in the absorptions. The
Karma 691
? 692 Chapter Four
Bodhisattva accomplishes these actions in the course of one hundred
491
supplementary cosmic ages, and not during a longer time.
Nevertheless the Blessed Sakyamuni, through the purification of
492
his energy, leaped over nine of these cosmic ages and carried out the
actions ripening in marks in the course of ninety-nine cosmic ages so that, in this way, one hundred were completed This is why, speaking to Asibandhaka, he said, "Oh village chief, remembering ninety-one cosmic ages from now, I do not see any family that has been
493
impoverished or inconvenienced by the giving of cooked foods. " Blessed One expressed himself in this way because his natural memory bore on this number of cosmic periods. (See vii. 30, 37,42)
494
Former masters say: It is when he finished the first cosmic age
that the Bodhisattva abandoned the four defects and obtained the two qualities.
***
Of the marks
110a. Each arises from one hundred merits.
What is the measure of each of these one hundred merits?
According to some, it is equal to the merit which has for its result the pleasure of all beings, with the exception of the Bodhisattva close to Bodhi--that is to say, accomplishing actions which ripen in marks.
According to others, it is equal to the collective action of all beings,
which, through its predominating result (ii. 56b), produces the creation
496 of the world.
According to others, only the Buddhas know the measure of this merit.
**#
How many Buddhas did the Blessed One venerate when he was a Bodhisattva?
In the course of the first asamkhyeya kalpa, he venerated seventy- five thousand Buddhas; seventy-six thousand in the course of the
497 second; and seventy-seven thousand in the course of the third
495
The
? Who were the Buddhas at the end of each samkhyeya kalpa? In the reverse order of their enumeration,
1 lOb-c At the end of the three asamkbyeyas, Pa^yin, Dipa, and Ratna&khin.
In the period of the perfect and complete Buddha Ratnaiikhin, he completed the first asarhkhyeya kalpa; in the period of the Blessed Dipamkara he completed the second; and in the period of the Tathagatha VipaSyin he completed the third
Of all the Buddhas that he venerated 110& The first was Sakyamuni.
It was an ancient Sakyamuni (Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 89c), a perfect Buddha, under whom the Blessed One, the then Bodhisattva, formulated for the first time the vow of Bodhi by saying, "May I too become a Buddha in all ways similar to you! " This Sakyamuni, as ours, appeared
498
during a bad age of the world; also his Law lasted only one thousand
years.
***
How did the Bodhisattva complete each Paramita (p. 694, line 17)?
Ula-b. He completed Giving by giving everything to everyone,
499 out of compassion.
When he gave everything to everyone, even to his eyes and the marrow of his bones, out of compassion, without desiring any happiness for himself, he completed the virtue of Giving.
lllc-d. Morality and Patience were completed by his not being
irritated, even when his limbs were broken, although he was still
500 tied to desire.
When, even though he was not detached, he was not at all irritated when his limbs were broken, he then completed the virtues of Morality
Karma 693
? 694 Chapter Four
and Patience.
112a. Energy, by praising Pusya
The Blessed One, when he was a Bodhisattva, saw the Tathagata
502
Pusya who had become incandescent in the interior of a cave in a
503
mountain. He praised him for seven days and seven nights, standing,
repeating the stanza, "Neither in heaven nor on earth, nor in this world, nor in the abode of VaiSravana, nor in the palace of the Mams, nor in other celestial abodes, nor in any of the ten direaions, would one find, Oh Chief of Men, an ascetic who is your equal, even if one were to traverse, if one wished, the entire world, with all of its people, with its
504
mountains and with its forests. " Then, according to this School, he
was found to have fulfilled the virture of Energy and nine cosmic ages were passed over.
505 112b. Absorption and Intelligence, immediately before.
506
At the moment of Vajropamasamadhi, immediately before
Bodhi, he accomplished the virtues of dhydna and prajnd.
507
arrived (gamandt) at the other shore (pdram) of the other shore of the
The Paramitas receive the name of pdramitd totality of the perfections proper to each of them.
because they have
###
The Sutra teaches that there are three items of meritorious work (punyakriydvastu), which consist of Giving, Morality, and Meditation. How are Giving, Morality, and Meditation items of meritorious work?
112c-d Three are merit, action, occasions of the exercise of
508 action, as in the case of deeds.
These three,--Giving, Morality, and Meditation,--each according to its nature, are merit, action, or occasion of exercise, either in combination, or in isolation; the same way that the deeds are either at one and the same time actions and deeds, or only deeds.
To consider first the item of meritorious work which consists of Giving, one must distinguish: 1. bodily and vocal action which is an item of meritorious work on three grounds: merit, because its retribution is
501
? p
IK
Karma 695 agreeable; aaion, because it is aaion by nature; and an occasion for the
exercise or an object of the volition of giving which provokes it; 2. the volition of giving, which is merit and aaion; 3. and the dharmas (sensations, etc. ) which accompany bodily and vocal aaion, and which are solely merit.
The item of meritorious work which consists of Morality is exclusively bodily and vocal aaion; it is necessarily merit, aaion and occasion of exercise of aaion.
For the item of meritorious work which consists of Meditation, let us consider the Meditation of Compassion (maitri, viii. 30): 1. this mediation is merit; it is also an occasion for the exercise of a meritorious aaion, namely that of a volition associated with compassion; 2. the volition in question is merit and aaion. The same also for the Morality which consitutes dhyanasamvara, the discipline of dhyana, which a person who praaices the Meditation of Compassion possesses; 3. the other dharmas (faith, etc. ) concomittant to this Meditation are solely merit.
Or rather the expression punyakriya signifies punyakarana, or
punyaprayoga. Giving9 Morality and Mediation are vastus of punyakriya,
because, with a view to realizing them, one undertakes the preparation
509 of merit.
According to another opinion, punyakriya is, to speak precisely, good volition; Giving, Morality and Meditation are its vastu, an occasion for the exercise of this volition.
***
What is Giving, ddna?
Without doubt, ddna in general is what is given (deya), but here
510 113a. Giving is what gives.
But one gives through fear, or with the hope of reciprocity, or through attachment, etc: now this does not refer to this type of giving. Consequently, in order to specify, the author says, "Giving is what gives. "
511 113b. Through the desire to render homage or service.
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What is it that gives?
113c. It is bodily and vocal action and that which produces this action.
A collection of mind-and-mental states gives rise to a bodily or vocal action: this collection and this action give.
As the stanza says, "When a person, with a good mind gives what belongs to him, then one says that
512 the good skandhas give. "
513 113d. It has for its results great joys.
The punyakriydvastu which consists of Giving (danamaya) has great joys as its result.
The suffix maya, which we translate "which consists of," should be understood as "having as its nature," the same way that one says, "a
514 house made of grass" (trnamaya grha), or "a vase made of leaves. "
114a-b. Giving is beneficial to oneself, to others, to both or neither.
A gift made to a Caitya is not useful to another; but it is useful to him who gives when he is an Aryan not detached from desire, or a Prthagjana detached or not detached (see iv. 121).
The gift that a detached Aryan makes to another--with the exception of the case when this gift ripens in the present existence--is not useful to this Aryan, for the Aryan who is detached has definitively passed beyond the sphere (Le. , Kamadhatu) where the retribution of the gift could have taken place in a later existence. This gift is only useful to another.
The gift that a non-detached Aryan makes to another, to a detached or non-detached Prthagjana, is useful both to himself and to another. The gift that a detached Aryan makes to a Caitya--with the
exception of the case when this gift will ripen in the present existence- is not useful either to himself, or to another. This gift has for its effea only the expression of homage and recognition.
***
We have said, in a general manner, that giving produces great joys:
? H4c-d Giving is excellent by the excellence of the giver, of the
515 object given, and of the field
115a. The giver is excellent through his faith, etc
The giver is excellent when he is endowed with faith, with morality, with learning, with generosity, with wisdon, with few desires, etc When the giver is excellent, the gift is excellent; when the gift is excellent, its result is excellent.
516
Such a giver gives with respect, by his hand, at the right time, without doing evil to anyone (pardn anupahatya; compare Milinda, 276).
115c-d From whence he obtains honors, superior joys, at the right time, sheltered from all loss.
The giver who gives with respect obtains honors; giving by his hand, he will find satisfaction in superior joys; giving at the right time, he will obtain these joys at a suitable time and not when he cannot enjoy them; giving without doing any evil, these joys will be indestructible: they will not be stolen, annihilated through fire, etc
***
We have explained in what the excellence of the giver consists and how the gift is excellent through the excellence of the giver. How is the object given excellent?
517
The object is excellent when that which one gives is perfect in color, in odor, in taste, in contact.
What will one obtain through the giving of such an object? 116b-d From whence beauty, glory, joy, great lightness of the
518
body and contacts corresponding to the seasoa
He who gives an object perfect in color will be beautiful.
115b. He gives with respect, etc
116a. The object perfect in color, etc
Add: "is excellent. "
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? He who gives an object perfect in odor will have his reputation extend to all directions, in the same way that an odor spreads.
He who gives an object perfect in taste will be happy, like a sweet taste.
The body of him who gives an object perfect to the touch, will be very delicate, like the jewel-like wife of a Cakravartin king, and his limbs will have only agreeable contacts, hot or cold according to the season.
***
117a-b. The field is excellent through the realm of rebirth, suffering, benefactors, and qualities.
A field is excellent through the realm of rebirth. The Blessed One
said, "If a person gives to an animal, the giver will receive a retribution
one hundred times greater than the gift made to the animal, but if this
person gives even to a human who has transgressed the precepts, he
will receive a retribution one thousand times greater than the gift made
519 to this humaa"
A field is excellent through suffering. The Blessed One, among the
How is the field excellent?
seven aupadhikapunyakriyavastus, enumerated giving to a sick person, 52
givingtoahospitalattendant,givingduringcoldseasons,etc. , ? andhe continued: "One cannot enumerate the measure of the merits of a son or daughter of good family who is endowed with these seven material meritorious works. "
A field is excellent through benefactors. This is giving to one's father, to one's mother (Divya, p. 52), to one's master, or to other
521
benefactors. Example: the Jatakas of the bear, of the antelope, etc 522
A field is excellent through its qualities. The Blessed One said, "A retribution one hundred thousand times greater than a gift made to a
person who upholds the necessities . . . " and so on.
***
Among all the gifts,
117cThe best is the gift from a delivered person to a delivered
? 523
persoa
The Blessed One said that a gift given by a detached person to another detached person is the best of material gifts.
524 117& Or a gift from the Bodhisattva.
Or rather, the gift that a Bodhisattva gives for the welfare of all beings; this gift, although given by a non-detached person to other non-detached persons, is the best gift.
#*#
With the exception of the gift from the Bodhisattva, 117d Or the eighth.
The eighth among the eight gifts that the Blessed One taught. 525
What are the eight gifts? 1. An dsadya gift; 2. a gift through fear; 3. a gift made "because he gave to me"; 4. a gift made "because he gives to me"; 5. a gift made "because my fathers and my grandfathers gave (dattapurvam me pitrbhif ca pitamahais ceti danam, compare Japaka, 444. 52, vol. iv, 34); 6. a gift made in order to obtain heaven; 7. a gift made with an eye to one's reputation; 8. a gift made in order to adorn one's mind (that is to say, in order to obtain rddhis, vii. 48); in order to fill the mind [with the parts of the Path, mdrgdnga, vi. 67b]; in order to equip it with a view to yoga; and in order to acquire the supreme gpal (that is to say, in order to obtain the quality of Arhat or Nirvana).
What is an dsadya gift?
Some ancient masters explain this as an immediate gift to those
526 who are near, who approach one.
A gift through fear is a gift that a person makes who sees that the
527 object is going to perish: "Better it should be given," he thinks.
***
The Sutra (Madhyama, TD 1, p. 722b22) says, "An incalculable retribution proceeds from a gift made to a srotaapannaphakprati-
pannaka; an even more incalculable retribution proceeds from a gift made to a srotadpanna. "But there are also five persons who, even
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though Prthagjanas, confer an incalculable retribution on the offering that is made to them:
118. Even though they are not Aryans, offerings made to one's
father and mother, to a sick person, to a preacher, to the
528 Bodhisattva in his last birth are without measure.
These offerings are without measure from the point of view of their retributioa
A "Bodhisattva in his last birth" means a "Bodhisattva in his last existence. "
To what category does a preacher belong? Among what field should he be placed?
He forms part of the category of benefactors: he gives the eye of wisdom to multitudes blinded by ignorance; he proclaims what is good
1 29
(sama = dharma) and bad (visama = adharma); ' he ereas the pure
53
bodyoftheLaw; ? inaword,heaccomplishesalltheworkofaBuddha:
hence he is a great "spiritual friend"
***
In order to appreciate the lightness and the gravity of actions, one should, in short, take into consideration six causes:
119. Accordingly as these causes--consecutive, field, adhisfhana, preparation, volition, or intention--are small or large, action also is small or large.
Consecutive: after having done the action, that is, consequential action.
Field: the person to whom one does good or evil Adhisfhana: the deed itself.
Preparation: bodily or vocal action with a view to the preceding.
Volition: that through which the deed is achieved. Intention: to
project the thought, "I shall do this or that to them; then I shall do this
531 or that. "
It happens that an action can be grave only by reason of its consecutive action, for example, when this confers on the retribution the character of necessity.
? It happens that an action can be grave by reason that, if the field is the same, a certain adhisphana renders an action grave while another adhisphana makes it light: for example, to kill one's father and mother is a grave action but to steal from one's father and mother, to lie to them, etc. , is not grave by comparison. One can explain in this same way the
532 gravity resulting from the preparation, etc.
When all these causes are great, the action is very grave; when they are small, the action is very light.
***
Action "done" (krta) is distinguished from "accumulated" (upacita)
533 action.
action?
By reason of its intentional character:Action done voluntarily or
535
intentionally is accumulated action; action done involuntarily or
536
unconsciously, and action not done in haste, even if it is voluntary, is
action that is "done. "
"By reason of its completion:" Some go to painful realms of rebirth
through misdeeds; some by two; some by three (bodily, vocal, and mentalmisdeeds); some through one deed, through two, through three . . . through ten. Since it is a rule that a person goes to a painful realm of rebirth through a certain quantity of actions, if this measure is not completed, the action is done, but not accumulated; but when this
537 measure is completed, it is accumulated
"By reason of the absence of regret and opposition:" When remorse
What are the charaaeristics and conditions of accumulated
120. Action is termed "accumulated" by reason of its intentional
character, by its completion, by the absence of regret and
534 opposition, by its accompaniments, and by its retribution.
(vipratisara, anutapa, ii. 28) is absent, or when opposition,--confession, 538
etc,--is absent, action is then termed "accumulated. "
"By reason of its accompaniments:" When an action is bad and has a
bad escort: [or when one rejoices at having committed it,] it is "accumulated. "
"By reason of its retribution:" Action is accumulated which necessarily gives forth retribution (vipakadane niyatam, iv. 50).
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The same for good actioa
Action which does not present these characteristics is done, but is not accumulated
***
We have seen (iv. H4a) that a gift made to a Caitya by a person not detached from desire is a gift of benefit for him who made it. But no one enjoys the thing given: how can this gift be meritorious?
The merits of the gift are of two types: 1. merit produced by
abandoning, that is, the merit which results from the sole fact of
539
abandoning; 2. merit produced by its enjoyment, the merit which
results in joy in the object given, by the person who receives.
121a. The merit of a gift to a Caitya is merit produced by
540 abandoning.
How can the gift produce merit when no one receives it?
We would answer this objection by asking why would the gift produce merit when someone receives it, and why it would not produce merit when no one receives it?
Because, in the second case, no one is satisfied, or favored by the gift.
If the satisfaction of a person who receives is a condition for merit, you then deny that the Immeasurable Mediations (Mediations of Compassion, etc, viii. 29) and the Meditation of Right View are meritorious. The gift to a Caitya thus produces merit,
121b. Even though no one receives it, as is the case with compassion, etc
In the case of the Meditation on Compassion, no one receives, no one is satisfied, and yet merit arises for the compassionate person, through the very force of his thoughts of compassion. In the same way, even though the Excellent Being has passed away, a gift to a Caitya made with devotion to him is meritorious by reason of the thought of the believer himself.
Should we conclude then that material offerings and worship are superfluous?
No, for the devotion which produces these actions very much
? outweighs the devotion of a person who worships and who gives in mind only. When a person who has the intention of killing his enemy, continues his bodily and vocal actions on the dead body of his enemy which this intention provokes, thinking, 'This is my enemy," that is to say, he thinks, 'This enemy is not yet dead," he obtains demerit very
541 much greater than he would have through merely the intention; in
the same way, even though the Master has passed away, the person who does aaions of giving and worship inspired through devotion obtains a much greater merit than he would have only through devotioa
If a seed given to a good field bears an agreeable result, should we think that it bears a disagreeable result if given to a bad field?
121c-d Even seeded into a bad field, the gift bears agreeable results, for there is never opposition between the result and the
542
seed
543
From the seed of the vine, there arises solely the sweet fruit of the
vine; from the seed of the nimba (Azadirachta Indica) there arises only the sour fruit of the nimba: even seeded into a bad field, the seed bears the result which is appropriate to it. In the same way, this seed which is the gift of a person who has the intention of being useful to another, even if placed into a bad field, can only produce an agreeable result. But, through the evil of the field, the result will be small or almost oil
We have explained meritorious work which consists of Giving, together with its related questions.
#*#
We must now explain meritorious work which consists of the Precepts.
122a-b. Immorality is bad rupa. Morality is the renouncing of 544
Bad r&pa is called immorality. The renouncing of immorality, which is morality, is
immorality.
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? 122b. Of two types.
Renouncing is vijfiapti, the action by which one renounces, and avijnapti, the fact of abstaining (see above, pp. 560, 562, 583).
Morality is not solely the renouncing of immorality.
122c. It is, further, the renouncing of that which is prohibited by the Buddha.
To renounce that which is prohibited by the Buddha, the Blessed One,--without being in and of itself immoral, for example renouncing meals at forbidden times,--is also morality. This renouncing is also vijnapti and avijnapti. He who has undertaken to observe the rules and who then violates them, commits immorality.
The morality that we have just described, in short, is
122d Pure, when it is endowed with the four qualities.
Morality endowed with the four qualities is pure; it is impure in the contrary case.
123a-b. Not troubled by immorality, by the causes of im- morality; it takes as its support the opposite of immorality and <<t >>>>
peace.
"Not troubled by immorality" we have described; "not troubled by
the causes of immorality," that is, by the kleias and upaklesas (v. 41), "it takes as its support the opposites of immorality," because it relies on the four smrtyupasthanas (vi. 14); and it relies on "peace," not on rebirth in celestial realms, because it is directed to Nirvana.
According to another opinion, five causes make morality pure: 1. the purity of the deed itself [the renouncing of bad deeds]; 2. the purity of their attendants [renouncing the preparation or the means of killing, etc. ]; 3. the absence of disturbance from the vitarkas [kama, vyapada, and vihimsavitarka]; 4. its supervision through mindfulness [Buddha, Dharma, Sahghanusmrti--which includes the renouncing of undefined
545 actions]; and 5. its application to Nirvana.
According to another opinion, morality is of four types: 1. the morality of fear, which one observes from the fear of the loss of the resources necessary to life, from fear of a bad reputation, from fear of
? 546
chastisement, from fear of bad realms of rebirth; 2. mercenary
morality, which one observes from attachment to agreeable realms of existence, to pleasures, to honors; 3. a morality suitable to the parts of Bodhi, which persons who possess Right View possess, with a view to their deliverance; and 4. pure morality, which, being free from stains, is free from vices.
We have explained morality.
***
123c-& "Good absorption" or good in absorption, is bhavana, 547
meditation, soaking in, or impregnation.
What do we understand by samahita, absorbed? That which is absorption (samadhi, ii. 24, viii. 1) by its nature, and that which coexists with what is absorption by nature.
Why does "good absorption" receive the name of bhdvana? 123d. Because it perfumes, impregnates the mind.
Good absorption impregnates the mind to an extreme degree, because it (i. e. , the mind) grasps the qualities of this good, in the same way as sesame seeds are impregnated by flowers in their grasping the odor of these flowers.
***
We have said (iv. H3d) that the result of giving consists of joys. What result does one obtain from the precepts and from meditation?
124a-b. Essentially, the precepts have heaven for their result;
548 meditation has disconnection for its result.
Giving also has heaven for its result, but the precepts are the principle, normative cause of it. Disconnection, or Nirvana, (ii. trans, p. 280) has meditation for its cause, which, in the path of abandoning (prahdnamdrga, vi. 60c-d) immediately produces disconnection from the defilements; but the precepts contribute to it, since stilling (samatha) and insight (vipasyand) presuppose the precepts.
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***
The Sutra says that four persons produce "Brahmin" merit, 549
brahmapunya. What is this merit?
According to the Vaibhasikas (Vibhasa, TD 27, p. 425cl3), this is
the merit which has been defined above in order that we might know
the measure of the action which has the marks of the Bodhisattva for its
550 result (iv. 110).
551
The ancient masters said:
124c-d Four possess Brahmin merit, because they are happy in
552 the heavens for a kalpa.
The merit of such a measure that one is happy in heaven for a kalpa is the Brahmin merit, for the lifespan of the Brahmapurohitas is a kalpa
553
(iii. 80d). And in another Canon, one reads, "He engenders Brahmin
merit, he is happy in the heavens for a kalpa" *##
554 We have studied material giving.
125a-b. The gift of the Dharmas is the correct teaching, not
555
The gift of the Dharma is to teach, correctly and with a mind not defiled, the Sutra and the other parts of Scripture.
