"
The first seven categories of the Pratimoksa discipline are undertaken for a lifetime; the fasting discipline (upavasastha) is undertaken for a day and a night.
The first seven categories of the Pratimoksa discipline are undertaken for a lifetime; the fasting discipline (upavasastha) is undertaken for a day and a night.
Abhidharmakosabhasyam-Vol-2-Vasubandhu-Poussin-Pruden-1991
"
2. Good condua, because it is praised by the wise.
3. Aaion (karma), because it is aaion (ktiya) by nature. Objection. Does not the Sutra say that avijnapti is "not doing"
(akarana) (see above p. 560, 562)? How can avijnapti be aaion? Without doubt, the avijnapti makes the disciple, endowed with shame, to abstain from transgression; it is thus "not doing. " But it is
aaion, according to the etymology kriyata iti kriya: it is doing (kriyate) 70
either by a bodily-vocal aaion (vijnapti), or by the mind (citta). According to others, avijnapti is aaion because it is the cause and the
Karma 583
? 71 effect of an action.
4. Discipline (samvara), because it disciplines or constrains the body and the voice.
***
The expression "Pratimoksa discipline" designates all Pratimoksa discipline since its origin.
I6c-d The Pratimoksa is the first vijnapti and the first avijnapti; these are courses of action (karmapatha).
1. The expression "Pratimoksa" designates the first vijnapti and the first avijnapti of the undertaking of the discipline.
The Pratimoksa is called prdtimokfa, for through it there takes 72
placepratimoksana, that is, the abandoning of transgression: such is the efficacy of the first moment (vijnapti and avijnapti) of the undertaking of discipline.
2. This vijnapti and avijnapti are also "Pratimoksa discipline" because they discipline the body and the voice.
3. They are courses of action, that is "courses of action properly so called" (maula, iv. 66).
There is no longer any Pratimoksa in the moment which follows
the first moment and in the moments which follow, for the
transgression is not rejected (pratimokfyate) by the second moment,
having been rejected (pratimoksita) by the first; there is prati- 75
moksasamvara, that is, discipline "of the Pratimoksa type" or discipline "arisen from Pratimoksa;" there are no longer courses of action properly so-called, but solely "consecutive action" (iv. 68).
***
Who possesses each of the three disciplines? 17a. Eight persons possess the Pratimoksa.
Eight persons, the Bhiksu, Bhiksuni. . . the Upavasatha, possess the Pratimoksa discipline.
Does this mean that non-Buddhists cannot possess a morality that
74 they have undertaken?
? They can possess a morality, but they cannot possess the Prati- moksa discipline. In fact, the morality that they undertake ("I shall abstain from killing," etc), rests on an idea of existence; even when they have in view, not a heavenly existence, but that which they call "deliverance" (moksa), they conceive of deliverance as a certain type of existence. Hence transgression is not absolutely "rejected" by them, nor can they be "released" through the discipline they have undertaken.
#**
17b. He who possesses dhyana possesses the discipline which arises from dhyana.
"Which arises from dhyana" (dhydnaja), that is, which arises from dhyana (ablative) or by means of dhyana (instrumental).
Dhyana, means not only the Four Principal (maula) Dhyanas, but also the absorptions which are close to them (samantaka, viii. 22a). In the same way, when one says, "There is a field of rice or a field of wheat in this village," one means the village and its environs.
***
75 17c. The Aryans possess pure discipline.
The Aryans,-^the Saiksas and Asaiksas,--possess pure discipline (iv. 26b-c).
**#
We have seen, in the definition of sahabhilhetu (ii. 51), that two disciplines "accompany the mind. " What are these two disciplines?
17d The last two disciplines are concomitants of the mind
The discipline that arises from dhyana and the pure discpline are concomitants of the mind; not of the Pratimoksa discipline, for this latter continues to exist in a person whose mind is bad or neutral, or who is unconscious (anyacittacittaka, i. 11).
18a-b. Arising in the anantaryamargas, in anagamya, they are
76 called "abandoning. "
Karma 585
? In the nine dnantafyamdrgas of andgamya these two disciplines, the discipline of dhydna and pure discipline, are "abandoning disciplines" (prahdnasathvara^dbaLndomng and discipline), for through them one abandons immorality and the defilements which produce them (iv. l22a).
There are thus disciplines arisen from dhydna which are not abandoning-discipline. Four cases:
i. Discipline arising from dhydna, impure, with the exception of what arises from the dnantafyamdrgas of andgamya: discipline arisen from dhydna which is not abandoning;
ii. Pure discipline obtained in the dnantafyamdrgas of andgamya: abandoning, but not discipline arisen from dhydna;
iii. Impure discipline in the dnantafyamdrgas of andgamya: dis- cipline arisen from dhydna which is abandoning;
iv. Pure discipline arisen outside of the dnantafyamdrgas of andgamya: discipline not arisen from dhydna which is not abandoning.
According to the same principles, one would establish four cases relative to pure discipline which is not abandoning, to abandoning which is not pure discipline, etc (Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 231al3)
***
The Blessed One said, "Good is discipline of the body, discipline of
77
the voice, discipline of the mind, discipline in all things;" and again,
78 "He lives disciplined through the discipline of the organ of sight. "
What is the nature of these two disciplines, discipline of the mind, and discipline of the organs?
Neither are, by their nature avijnapti of ? Ua. But on the contrary, 18c-d Discipline of the mind and discipline of the organs are,
each of them, two things: attentive consciousness and
79 mindfulness.
In order that the reader should not come to believe that the first
discipline is consciousness (samprajddna) and the second mindfulness 80
(smrti), the author says that each of them is two things. ***
? Let us examine who possesses vijnapti and avijnapti, and to what 81
period these belong in each case (iv. 19-22,23-24b).
19a-c He who is in Pratimoksa always possesses avijnapti of the present moment, as long as the does not rejea the avijnapti.
As we have said previously the person who dwells in the Pratimoksa discipline (iv. l4a), always possesses present avijnapti as long as he does not reject the avijnapti which constitutes this discipline (iv. 38).
19c-d. After the first moment, he also possesses avijnapti After the first moment, which is designated by the expression
Pratimoksa (iv. l6c-d), he also possesses earlier, past avijnapti: this of 82
course, as long as he does not rejea the discipline. As he who dwells in the Pratimoksa discipline,
20a. So too is he who dwells in undiscipline.
He who dwells in undiscipline (asamvarastha, iv. 24c-d), always possesses avijnapti of the present moment as long as he does not rejea it; [he also possesses avijnapti of the past, and from the second moment on, of undiscipline. ]
20b-c. He who possesses discipline arisen from dhyana always possesses past and future avijnapti.
He who possesses the discipline arisen from dhyana always possesses avijnapti of the past, and avijnapti of the future as long as he does not lose it, [for the avijnapti in question--namely the discipline arisen from dhyana--accompanies the mind (iv. l7d). ]
From the first moment when he acquires the discipline of dhyana, he takes possession of the discipline of former dhydnas, either of this existence, or of a previous existence, that he had lost.
20c-d The Aryan, at the first moment, does not posses past
avijnapti.
The Aryan possesses pure avijnapti, which constitutes his pure discipline, in the manner in which he who possesses the discipline arisen from dhyana possesses the avijnapti arisen from dhyana: he
Karma 587
? 588 Chapter Four
possesses his past and future avijnapti; but with the difference that, when in the first moment of the Way he takes possession of pure avijnapti for the first time, he cannot, evidently, possess pure avijnapti of the past.
21a-b. The person who is in a state of absorption, the person
who is placed in the Way, possesses avijnapti of the present 83
moment.
The person who is absorbed (samdbita), the person who is cultivating the Way (dryamdrgam samdpannah), possesses, at present, the avijnapti which is proper to him, arisen from dhyana, and pure. But when he leaves the absorption, he does not [possess this present avijnapti, for this avijnapti only accompanies an absorbed mind]
##*
As for the intermediary (madhyastha) [the person presently in neither-discipline-nor-undiscipline, who does not posses discipline like the Bhiksu, nor undiscipline like the transgressor:]
21b-c The intermediary, at the first moment, possesses, medially, avijnapti, when the avijnapti is produced.
Medially (madhya) means the present, situated between the past and the future.
Action {avijnapti) does not necessarily produce avijnaptiThe intermediary does not necessarily possess avijnapti: if there is avijnapti--either avijnapti created by an act of immorality (killing, etc), or avijnapti created by an act of morality (abstention from killing), or avijnapti is created by some other good or bad acts, the worship of a Stupa, hitting and wounding--he possesses this avijnapti, of the present, at the moment when it arises.
2 Id. Afterwards, [he possesses avijnapti] of the present and the past.
[until the moment he rejects it. ]
***
? Gin a disciplined person possess bad avijnapti? Gin an un- disciplined person possess good avijnapu? And how long does the avijnapu last in these two cases?
22. As long as he is endowed with faith or with very active defilements, the undisciplined person possesses good avijnapti, and the disciplined person possesses hd& avijnapti.
As long as there continues, in an undisciplined person, the strength of faith by which, accomplishing actions such as the worship of a Stupa, he has created goodavijnapti; as long as there continues, in a disciplined person, the power of the defilements by which, accomplishing actions such as killing, hitting, binding, he has created bad avijnapti, good or bad avijnapti continues.
At the moment of the action in question, the agent possesses avijnapti of the present; then he possesses avijnapti of the present and of the past.
23a-b. Those who have created one vijnapti possess it always, in the present.
All those who accomplish a bodily or vocal action (vijnapti) whether they are disciplined, undisciplined, or intermediaries, so long as they are accomplishing this action, possess it in the present.
23c-d From the second moment onward, they possess vijnapti of the past, until the moment when they give it up.
M From the second moment onward, that is, after the first moment.
23d. One cannot possess future vijnapti
No one possesses future vijnapti, because such vijnapti does not
now accompany the mind.
24a-b. One does not possess past vijnapti of the nivrta and
anivrta classes.
[That is to say the defiled-neutral and undefiled-neutral actions (see ii. 66 and foil). ]
One does not possess these actions, once they are past, because the possession (prdpti) of a weak dharma, being weak itself, is not
Karma 589
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prolonged.
Why is this dharma, a neutral action, weak?
By reason of the weakness of the mind which gives rise to it.
But then the possession (prapti) of this mind too will not be
prolonged.
No: the case is not the same. The vijnapti, in effect, is stupid, for it
does not know an objea; furthermore it is dependent, for it depends upon the mind. Such is not the case with the mind itself. Thus the vijHapti produced by a neutral mind is weaker than this mind itself; the possession (prapti) of the vijnapti is not prolongued, whereas the possession of the mind is prolongued.
***
We have spoken of an undisciplined person, one who is in undiscipline. What is undiscipline (asamvara)?
24c-d Undiscipline, bad conduct, immorality, action, course of actioa
1. It is undiscipline, because there is no constraining of the body and voice.
2. It is bad conduct, because it is blamed by wise men, and because it produces painful results.
3. It is immorality, because it opposes morality (iv. 122).
4. It is an action, as it is created by the body and the voice.
5. It is a course of action, as it is included in the principal action
85 (maula-samgrh&atvdt, iv. 68).
***
He who possesses vijnapti can also possess avijnapti. Four cases present themselves.
25a-b. The intermediary, acting with a weak volition, possesses a single vijnapti.
He who is in neither-discipline-nor-nondiscipline and who, with a weak volition, does good or bad action (vijnapti), possesses solely this
? act {vijnapti), and does not possess any avijnapti. * All the more reason that there is no possession of avijnapti by an agent when his action is neutral (avydkrta).
Nevertheless, even accomplished with a weak volition, 1. ) material meritorious works (aupadhikapunyakriydvastu, iv. 112) and 2. ) a course of action (iv. 68) always create avijnapti
25c-& The Aryan possesses a single avijnapti when he has not 87
produced, or has abandoned, the vijnapti.
When an Aryan has changed his existence or when he has not created vijnapti (for example when he is in an embryonic state or when he is reborn in Arupyadhatu), or when he has lost the vijnapti (the vijnapti created with a neutral volition), he possesses only avijnapti (pure avijnapti acquired in the previous existence), and not vijnapti.
The two other cases, the possession of vijnapti and avijnapti, and the non-possession of either, are set up according to the same principles.
How does one acquire the disciplines?
26a-b. The discipline that arises from dhyana is acquired by one
thought of the sphere of the dhyana.
It is through one thought of the sphere of the dhyana, that is, of the mauladhyana (the Four Dhyanas) and the samantakas (the four absorptions which proceed the Four Dhyanas), and with an impure mind, that is, with a mind not forming part of the Way, that the discipline of dhyana is acquired: this is a discipline concomitant with this type of mind.
26b-c Pure discipline, by the same mind, when it is Aryan.
"Aryan" means pure, forming part of the Way (iv. l7c).
We will explain below (viii. 22) that the Aryan mind exists in six spheres of dhyana, namely the Four Dhyanas, the dhyandntaras and the anagamya (the first sdmantaka).
Karma 591
? 26c-d That which is called Pratimoksa, through paravijnapana, etc.
"Paravijnapana" is informative action to or from another: the candidate makes known something to another, and another makes
88
something known to him. "Another" is the Sangha, through the
acquisition of the disciplines of Bhiksu, Bhiksuni, or Siksamana; or a person (fiudgala), the acquisition of the five other prdtimoks disciplines, disciplines.
According to Vinaya scholars of the Vaibhasika School, there are six
types of ordinatioa In order to include them all within his definition,
the author says, " . . . from the information of another et cetera" 89
1. Ordination by oneself, in the case of the Buddha and the Pratyekabuddhas.
2. Through entry into the Path (niyamdvakranti, vi. 26a), in the case 90
of the Five, that is to say of Ajnatakaundinya and his companions.
3. Through the summons, "Gome, Oh Bhiksu! ," in the case of
91 Ajnata.
4. By recognizing the Blessed One as master, as in the case of
92 MahakaSyapa.
5. By satisfying the Blessed One through one's answers, as in the
93 case of Sodayin.
6. By accepting the special obligation of monks and nuns, as in the
94 case of Mahaprajapatl.
95 7. By a messenger, as in the case of Dharmadinna.
8. By an official action as the fifth, that is, ordination before a Sangha
96 of five Bhiksus, as in frontier lands.
97 9. By ten Bhiksus, as in MadhyadeSa.
10. By repeating three times the formula of Refuge, as in the case of
98 the sixty Bhadravargps, ordained in a group.
One sees that, according to these scholars, the Pratimoksa discipline is not necessarily acquired by means of a vijnapti, for example the ordination of the Buddha, etc
***
When one undertakes the Pratimoksa discipline, for how long a tinie does one undertakes it?
? 27a-b. One undertakes the discipline for a lifetime or for a day and a night.
"
The first seven categories of the Pratimoksa discipline are undertaken for a lifetime; the fasting discipline (upavasastha) is undertaken for a day and a night. Such is the rule.
Why?
Because there are two limits of time, the period of a lifetime, and the period of a day and a night As for the forthnight and the other durations of time, they consist in additions of day and night periods.
*#*
What is the dharma that we term "time" (kola)?
This is not an eternal substance (paddrtha), as some believe. The word "time" is an expression by which the samskdras are designated as past, present, or future (17, v. 25).
When it is light in the four continents, it is daytime; when it is dark it is night (iii. 80c).
Discussion: We admit, say the Sautrantikas, that the Pratimoksa discipline is solely produced for the duration of a lifetime. In faa, even if one were to undertake to observe these rules in a future life, one would not now produce this discipline for this other life: 1. the person (dsraya) that one would become, would be different (see nikayasabhaga, ii. 4l); 2. this new person would not be able to apply himself to the rules
10 undertaken; and 3. he would not remember vmdertaking them. ? But if
a person assumes the duties of a faster for more than a day and a night,--for five days, or for ten days,--what obstacle would this be to his producing in himself many disciplines of the fast?
It needs be that there would be an obstacle since the Blessed One, in a Sutra, says that one undertakes the fast for a day and a night.
Why did the Blessed One express himself in this manner: did he think that the discipline of fasting could not be produced for a longer duration?
He thought that persons in whom the senses are difficult to subdue would be well capable of undertaking the fast for a day and a night. But, in truth, nothing is wrong with producing the discipline of the fast for more than one day.
Karma 593
? As the Blessed One does not speak of the fast as lasting any longer, the Vaibhasikas do not admit this manner of viewing the matter.
***
What is the duration of undiscipline (asamvara). Tic There is undiscipline for a day and a night.
Undiscipline never last longer than a day and a night, like the discipline of the fast, for it is produced by the acceptance of transgression for one's entire life.
How is this?
27d For, says the School, one does not undertake it thus.
No one undertakes undiscipline in the manner in which one undertakes the fast, by saying, "I wish to remain a day and a night in undiscipline. " Rather, he carries out, in effect, shameful actions.
Objection: No one undertakes undiscipline by saying, "I wish to remain for my life undisciplined" Thus one does not undertake undiscipline for an entire lifetime.
Answer: It is not in this manner, in fact, that one undertakes undiscipline. One does not undertake undiscipline by means of a ritual. One acquires undiscipline by acting with the intention of always acting badly; one does not acquire undiscipline by the intention of acting badly for a time. In the case of the fast, the intention is not "for always;" nevertheless one obtains the discipline through the force of the action which consists of saying, "I wish to remain a day and a night in the discipline of the fast," and one accomplishes this action because one desires to acquire this discipline. If someone desires undiscipline, he could without doubt give himself over to undiscipline for this period of time. But the case does not present itself; hence we do not recognize undiscipline "for a time. "
***
According to the Sautrantikas, undiscipline does not exist in and of itself (dravyatas) apart from volition. Undiscipline is the intention to
101
? conunit evil, that is, a certain volition with the traces which allow this volition. And, as long as this volition with its traces has not been destroyed by a contrary volition, the person, even when he has a good thought, remains filled with undiscipline, a person undisciplined
#**
How should one undertake the discipline of a day and a night, or the
102 discipline of the fast?
28. One should undertake the fast (upavasa) in a humble attitude, speaking after, with ornaments removed, until the
103 morrow, complete, the morning, from another.
1. In a humble attitude, squatting or kneeling; with the hands joined in kapotaka (by placing the four fingers of one hand between the thumb and the index finder of the other) or in the position of anjali; except in the case of sickness. Without a respectful attitude, discipline is not produced.
2. The candidate does not speak before the ordainer or the giver, the person who "gives" the fast; nor at the same time. In this way, it is from another that one undertakes the fast; otherwise, there would be neither
104 receiving nor a thing received
3. The candidate does not wear any ornaments; he wears his normal
105 dress, because he does not draw forth vanity from it.
4. One undertakes it until the morrow, until the rising of the sun.
[5. One undertakes the complete fast, with its eight rules, and not with any rules missing (Takakuku, I-tsing, p. 188; Chavannes, Cinq centes contes, p. 136).
6. The morrow, at the rising of the sun, since this is a discipline lasting a day and a night (Vibhasd, TD 27, p. 647b29).
He who, previously, has formed the undertaking, "I will always
practice the fast, the eighth day of the fortnight, etc. ," undertakes the
106 fast, even though he eats.
7. From another, nor from oneself. If one encounters a cause of transgression, through honesty with regard to the giver, he will not violate the obligations undertaken. ]
When these rules are not observed, one has nevertheless done a
Karma 595
? good action (sucarita), but one does not obtain the discipline of the fast. When the rules are observed, the fast is even more useful for the person who commits transgressions by day and by night (hunting, murder, stealing, adultery).
107
i. The fast is termed upavasa, because, embracing a way of life
conforming to that of the Arhats, he places himself near (upa) the 108
Arhats. According to another opinion, it is because he places himself near the "lifelong discipline" (Vibbasa, TD 27, p. 648c29).
ii. It has for its end procuring an increase of the roots of good of persons who have only small roots of good As it procures (dhd) an
m increase (posa) of good, the Blessed One said, "It is called posadha. "
###
no
Why is the discipline of the fast undertaken with eight parts? 29a-c. Part of morality (Ma), part of vigilence (apramdda), parts
of ascetic vows (vrata), have respectively four, one, three parts. Four parts,--the renouncing of killing, stealing, adultery and
lying,--constitute the parts of morality (Manga) by which what is 111
transgression by nature is abandoned
One part, the renouncing of intoxicating drinks, constitutes the rule
of vigilence by which non-vigilence is arrested For even if a person who has undertaken morality drinks intoxicating liquor, he will be non- vigilent. (ii. 25-26, iv. 34c-d).
Three parts,--the renouncing of high beds, music, etc, and meals at forbidden times,--constitute the rule of asceticism, for they are favorable and conform to disgust.
***
What necessity is there for undertaking the rules of vigilence and of asceticism?
29d In order to avoid weakness of mindfulness and arrogance.
When one drinks intoxicating liquor, one loses one's mindfulness of what one should and should not do. When one uses high and wide beds, when one attends dances, singing and music, the mind becomes
? arrogant. In both cases, one is not far from violating morality.
When one observes the rule of eating at the proper times, and when one avoids eating outside of this time, one retains a mindfulness of the
obligations of the fast, and disgust is produced In the absence of the eighth rule, mindfulness and disgust would be absent.
***
i. According to certain masters, the fast or upavdsa consists of the fast proper, and the renouncing of food at forbidden times; whereas the other renouncing^ are the rules or parts of the fast (upavdsdnga). The abstention from food is not a part; thus, with an end to the obtaining the number of eight parts, one should distinguish two parts in the seventh rule; first, the renouncing of dancing, singing, and music; and the second, the renouncing of perfumes, garlands, and unguents.
This interpretation is not in accord with the Sutra, [say the
Sautrantikas]; for, according to the Sutra, immediately after the
renouncing of meals at forbidden times, the faster should say, "By these
eight rules, I imitate the rule, I conform myself to the rule of the Aryans,
112 the Arhats. "
ii. Then what would the fast be, distinct from its rules, and yet embracing eight parts?
According to the Sautrantikas, it is the very collection of parts which
one says possesses parts; it is to this very collection that one attributes
parts. The expression, "a fast having eight parts" should be understood
in the same way as the expressions, "a part of a carriage," "a four-part
army" (caturangabala), or "a powder made up of five parts" (pancdn- 113
gapisfa).
iii. According to the Vaibhasikas, the abstaining from food at forbidden times is at one and the same time the fast and a part of the fast. In the same way that Right Views (samyagdrsti) are at one and the same time the Path and a part of the Path (mdrgdnga); in the same way that Investigation into the Dharmas (dharmapravicaya) is at one and the same time Bodhi and a part of Bodhi (vi. 68); and in the same way way that Samadhi is at one and the same time dhydna and a part of dhydna (viii. 7-8).
iv. But we would say [with the Sautrantikas] that it is impossible for
Karma 597
? Right Views, Investigation into the Dharmas, and Samadhi to be parts of themselves. Would you say that earlier Right Views, etc, are parts of later Right Views, etc ? This would be to admit that the first moment of the Path does not have eight parts. This would be to admit that the last
114 moment of the parts of Bodhi is itself not a part.
*#*
Is the possession of the discipline of the fast kept only by
115 Upasakas?
30a-b. Others can possess the fast, but not without taking the Refuges.
When a person who is not a Upasaka, takes, in the same day and night, the Three Refuges before he undertakes the rules of the fast, then the discipline of the fast is produced within him. But not without taking the Refuges; on the condition that there has been no error, etc (iv. 3 Id).
The Mahandma-sutra says, "Oh Mahanama, the layman with white clothes, male and possessing the male organ, who, after having taken refuge in the Buddha, in the Dharma, and in the Sangha, pronounces these words, 'Consider me as an Upasaka:' only through this does he
116
become an Upasaka. " Does this mean that one becomes an Upasaka
by only taking the Three Refuges?
The Aparantakas answer yes. (Vibhdsa, TD 27, p. 645cl9).
The Ka? mlreans affirm that one cannot be an Upasaka when one
does not possess the Upasaka discipline. But does this not contradict the Sutra?
117
No.
Because
3Qc-d The discipline is produced through the fact that he
118 accepts the qualities of an Upasaka.
The discipline of the Upasaka is produced in him by the mere
acceptance of the quality of the Upasaka, when he says, "Consider me, 119
from today onwards, for the rest of my life, as aprandpeta Upasaka. " [What is the meaning of the expression prdndpeta? ]
One should understand, pranatipatapeta through ellipis, as free
from killing, having renounced killing (see below, note 127).
? Thus, by accepting the quality of an Upasaka, one undertakes the discipline [since one shows himself as having renounced killing]. Yet, in order that he understands the points of the rule (siksapada),
30d One explains them to him, as is also the case for a Bhiksu.
Through an ecclesiastical action the Bhiksu has acquired the discipline of the Bhik$u: yet he is made to undertake the most important rules: "You are to abstain from this, from that. Your co-religionists will
120 m
tell you the rest. " The same holds for the Sramanera. The same
holds for the Upasaka: he obtains the discipline by undertaking once, twice, three time the Three Refuges; he is then made to undertake the rules, "Abandoning killing, I renounce killing. " Thus one is not an Upasaka without possessing the discipline of the Upasaka.
3 la-b. If all Upasakas possess the discipline of the Upasaka, how can an Upasaka be an ekadesakdrin, etc?
If all Upasakas place themselves within the discipline of the
Upasaka, why did the Blessed One describe four types of Upasakas, the
Upasaka of one rule (ekade/akdrin), of two rules (pradefakdtin), of
three or four rules (yadbhuyaskdrin), and of five rules (paripurna- 122
kdrin)?
31c These terms, say the School, refer to the faa of observing
123 the rules.
The Upasaka who in faa observes one of the rules [of all which he has accepted] is said to praaice (kar) this rule. [It should not be understood that the ekadesakdrin is an Upasaka who undertakes to praaice only a single rule]. Yet all the Upasakas are equally placed
124 within this discipline.
The Sautrantikas objea: Your doarine contradias the Sutra.
In what way does it contradict the Sutra?
i. You say that one acquires the discipline by the mere faa of
accepting the quality of a prdndpeta Upasaka, "Consider me . . . as a prdndpeta Upasaka. " But, such is not the text of the Sutra. In faa, the Sutra that interests us is the Mahdndma-sutra which gives the definition of an Upasaka, and not another Sutra. And the Mahdndma-sutra does not have the expression "prddndpeta. "
Karma 599
? 600 Chapter Four
125
You hold that you are authorized by another Sutra, which has,
"From today, for the rest of my life, [consider me as an Upasaka], risking
126
my life (pranopeta), having taken refuge, believing perfealy
(abhiprasanna). "Now this text refers to persons who have seen the Truths, who have acquired the faith of intelligence (avetyaprasdda, vi. 73), and who, as a consequence, adhere to the Good Law even at the price of their lives: "We are incapable of abandoning the Dharma, even in order to save our lives. " This text does not give a definition of the Upasaka discipline.
Further, the expression pranopeta, upon which you establish your
theory, is nowhere to be found, either in the Mahanama-sutra, nor the
Drstasatya-sutra. Whocouldadmitasimilarexpressionthesenseof 127
which is lacking in precision? Who, based on faith in this expression, would admit that the Upasaka has undertaken the five renouncings before he has undertaken them ritually?
ii. If the expression ekade? akarin designates a person who violates the discipline, the question raised in the Sutra (note 122) is not justified, nor its answer. In fact, who is it that, being acquainted with the discipline of an Upasaka and knowing that it is made up of five rules, would be incapable of explaining, "He who does not violate a rule observes a rule" and so oa
On the contrary, someone who does not know the extent of the discipline of an Upasaka, seeing the persons capable of observing one, or two, or three, or all the rules, would he be able to pose the question, "What does one do to become an Upasaka of all the rules? "
The Vaibhasikas answer: If one were an Upasaka without possess- ing the discipline of an Upasaka, one could also as well be a Bhiksu or a &ramanera with an incomplete discipline.
Answer: How can we know the extent, the number of the rules of
the disciplines of the Upasaka, the Sramanera, or the Bhiksu? Evidently
through the teaching of the Master. Now the Master speaks of the
Upasaka not possessing the discipline in its entirety; but he does not
speak of an incomplete discipline of the Bhiksus or of the Sra-
128 maneras.
The Vaibhasikas of KaSmir do not admit this opinioa
3 Id. All the disciplines are weak, etc, according to the mind
? The weakness, the mediocrity, and the force of the eight rules depend on the weakness, on the mediocrity, or on the force of the mind through which one has undertaken them.
But if such is the case, the Pratimoksa discipline of an Arhat could be weak, and that of a Prthagjana could be strong.
Is one an Upasaka if one solely undertakes the discipline (samvara) without undertaking the Refuges?
No; except in the case of ignorance by the person who gives and by the person who receives.
***
When a person takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and in the Sangha, what does he take refuge in?
32. He who takes the Refuges takes refuge in the asaiksa dharmas which form the Buddha, in the two types of dharmas
129 which form the Sangha, and in Nirvana.
i. He who takes Refuge in the Buddha takes refuge in the dharmas
of the Arhat which form a Buddha, the dharmas which are the causes of
the designation "Buddha," that is, the dharmas by reason of which, as 130
principle cause, a certain person is called a Buddha; or rather the dharmas by the acquisition of which a certain person, understanding all things, is called a Buddha. These dharmas are the Knowledge of Extinction (ksayajndna), the Knowledge of Nonarising (anutpada-
jnana) and Right Views (samyagdrspi) (vi. 50, 67) with the dharmas B1
which accompany these jnanas, that is, with the five pure skandhas. 132
As for the material body (rupakdya) of the Buddha, that is not subject to modification through the acquistion of the quality of Buddha. Thus one does not take refuge in the material body of the Buddha which is, in fact, the material body of the Bodhisattva.
Does one take refuge in all the Buddhas or in one Buddha?
According to the nature of things, and in the absence of an explicit declaration, in all the Buddhas. For the Buddhas have always followed
133
the same path, a worldly path and a transworldly path (vii34).
ii. He who takes Refuge in the Sangha takes refuge in both the
iaiksa and the asaiksa dharmas, of the non-Arhat and of the Arhat,
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which form the Sangha, that is, the dharmas through the acquisition of which the Eight Saints become a Sangha; becoming unanimous they cannot be divided with regard to that which concerns the Path.
Does one take refuge in all the Sanghas or in one Sangha?
According to the nature of things, in all: for the Path followed by the
Saints is always the same. Without doubt, the Buddha said to the two
merchants, "Also take refuge in the Sangha which shall exist in the
134
future," but the Master expressed himself in this manner in order to
exhault the qualities of the Jewel of the Sangha which would soon be visible to the merchants.
iii. He who takes Refuge in the Dharma takes refuge in Nirvana, that is to say, mpratisamkhydnirodha (i. 5, ii. 55d). He takes refuge in all Nirvana, for Nirvana has for its unique charaaeristic the cessation of the defilements and suffering of oneself and others (see vi. 73c, the meaning of the word dharma in dharma avetyaprasada).
iv. Discussion.
If the Buddha is none other than the aiaiksa dharmas, the dharmas pertaining to an Arhat, how could the fact of wounding the Buddha with a bad thought constitute a mortal transgression (iv.
2. Good condua, because it is praised by the wise.
3. Aaion (karma), because it is aaion (ktiya) by nature. Objection. Does not the Sutra say that avijnapti is "not doing"
(akarana) (see above p. 560, 562)? How can avijnapti be aaion? Without doubt, the avijnapti makes the disciple, endowed with shame, to abstain from transgression; it is thus "not doing. " But it is
aaion, according to the etymology kriyata iti kriya: it is doing (kriyate) 70
either by a bodily-vocal aaion (vijnapti), or by the mind (citta). According to others, avijnapti is aaion because it is the cause and the
Karma 583
? 71 effect of an action.
4. Discipline (samvara), because it disciplines or constrains the body and the voice.
***
The expression "Pratimoksa discipline" designates all Pratimoksa discipline since its origin.
I6c-d The Pratimoksa is the first vijnapti and the first avijnapti; these are courses of action (karmapatha).
1. The expression "Pratimoksa" designates the first vijnapti and the first avijnapti of the undertaking of the discipline.
The Pratimoksa is called prdtimokfa, for through it there takes 72
placepratimoksana, that is, the abandoning of transgression: such is the efficacy of the first moment (vijnapti and avijnapti) of the undertaking of discipline.
2. This vijnapti and avijnapti are also "Pratimoksa discipline" because they discipline the body and the voice.
3. They are courses of action, that is "courses of action properly so called" (maula, iv. 66).
There is no longer any Pratimoksa in the moment which follows
the first moment and in the moments which follow, for the
transgression is not rejected (pratimokfyate) by the second moment,
having been rejected (pratimoksita) by the first; there is prati- 75
moksasamvara, that is, discipline "of the Pratimoksa type" or discipline "arisen from Pratimoksa;" there are no longer courses of action properly so-called, but solely "consecutive action" (iv. 68).
***
Who possesses each of the three disciplines? 17a. Eight persons possess the Pratimoksa.
Eight persons, the Bhiksu, Bhiksuni. . . the Upavasatha, possess the Pratimoksa discipline.
Does this mean that non-Buddhists cannot possess a morality that
74 they have undertaken?
? They can possess a morality, but they cannot possess the Prati- moksa discipline. In fact, the morality that they undertake ("I shall abstain from killing," etc), rests on an idea of existence; even when they have in view, not a heavenly existence, but that which they call "deliverance" (moksa), they conceive of deliverance as a certain type of existence. Hence transgression is not absolutely "rejected" by them, nor can they be "released" through the discipline they have undertaken.
#**
17b. He who possesses dhyana possesses the discipline which arises from dhyana.
"Which arises from dhyana" (dhydnaja), that is, which arises from dhyana (ablative) or by means of dhyana (instrumental).
Dhyana, means not only the Four Principal (maula) Dhyanas, but also the absorptions which are close to them (samantaka, viii. 22a). In the same way, when one says, "There is a field of rice or a field of wheat in this village," one means the village and its environs.
***
75 17c. The Aryans possess pure discipline.
The Aryans,-^the Saiksas and Asaiksas,--possess pure discipline (iv. 26b-c).
**#
We have seen, in the definition of sahabhilhetu (ii. 51), that two disciplines "accompany the mind. " What are these two disciplines?
17d The last two disciplines are concomitants of the mind
The discipline that arises from dhyana and the pure discpline are concomitants of the mind; not of the Pratimoksa discipline, for this latter continues to exist in a person whose mind is bad or neutral, or who is unconscious (anyacittacittaka, i. 11).
18a-b. Arising in the anantaryamargas, in anagamya, they are
76 called "abandoning. "
Karma 585
? In the nine dnantafyamdrgas of andgamya these two disciplines, the discipline of dhydna and pure discipline, are "abandoning disciplines" (prahdnasathvara^dbaLndomng and discipline), for through them one abandons immorality and the defilements which produce them (iv. l22a).
There are thus disciplines arisen from dhydna which are not abandoning-discipline. Four cases:
i. Discipline arising from dhydna, impure, with the exception of what arises from the dnantafyamdrgas of andgamya: discipline arisen from dhydna which is not abandoning;
ii. Pure discipline obtained in the dnantafyamdrgas of andgamya: abandoning, but not discipline arisen from dhydna;
iii. Impure discipline in the dnantafyamdrgas of andgamya: dis- cipline arisen from dhydna which is abandoning;
iv. Pure discipline arisen outside of the dnantafyamdrgas of andgamya: discipline not arisen from dhydna which is not abandoning.
According to the same principles, one would establish four cases relative to pure discipline which is not abandoning, to abandoning which is not pure discipline, etc (Vibhdsd, TD 27, p. 231al3)
***
The Blessed One said, "Good is discipline of the body, discipline of
77
the voice, discipline of the mind, discipline in all things;" and again,
78 "He lives disciplined through the discipline of the organ of sight. "
What is the nature of these two disciplines, discipline of the mind, and discipline of the organs?
Neither are, by their nature avijnapti of ? Ua. But on the contrary, 18c-d Discipline of the mind and discipline of the organs are,
each of them, two things: attentive consciousness and
79 mindfulness.
In order that the reader should not come to believe that the first
discipline is consciousness (samprajddna) and the second mindfulness 80
(smrti), the author says that each of them is two things. ***
? Let us examine who possesses vijnapti and avijnapti, and to what 81
period these belong in each case (iv. 19-22,23-24b).
19a-c He who is in Pratimoksa always possesses avijnapti of the present moment, as long as the does not rejea the avijnapti.
As we have said previously the person who dwells in the Pratimoksa discipline (iv. l4a), always possesses present avijnapti as long as he does not reject the avijnapti which constitutes this discipline (iv. 38).
19c-d. After the first moment, he also possesses avijnapti After the first moment, which is designated by the expression
Pratimoksa (iv. l6c-d), he also possesses earlier, past avijnapti: this of 82
course, as long as he does not rejea the discipline. As he who dwells in the Pratimoksa discipline,
20a. So too is he who dwells in undiscipline.
He who dwells in undiscipline (asamvarastha, iv. 24c-d), always possesses avijnapti of the present moment as long as he does not rejea it; [he also possesses avijnapti of the past, and from the second moment on, of undiscipline. ]
20b-c. He who possesses discipline arisen from dhyana always possesses past and future avijnapti.
He who possesses the discipline arisen from dhyana always possesses avijnapti of the past, and avijnapti of the future as long as he does not lose it, [for the avijnapti in question--namely the discipline arisen from dhyana--accompanies the mind (iv. l7d). ]
From the first moment when he acquires the discipline of dhyana, he takes possession of the discipline of former dhydnas, either of this existence, or of a previous existence, that he had lost.
20c-d The Aryan, at the first moment, does not posses past
avijnapti.
The Aryan possesses pure avijnapti, which constitutes his pure discipline, in the manner in which he who possesses the discipline arisen from dhyana possesses the avijnapti arisen from dhyana: he
Karma 587
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possesses his past and future avijnapti; but with the difference that, when in the first moment of the Way he takes possession of pure avijnapti for the first time, he cannot, evidently, possess pure avijnapti of the past.
21a-b. The person who is in a state of absorption, the person
who is placed in the Way, possesses avijnapti of the present 83
moment.
The person who is absorbed (samdbita), the person who is cultivating the Way (dryamdrgam samdpannah), possesses, at present, the avijnapti which is proper to him, arisen from dhyana, and pure. But when he leaves the absorption, he does not [possess this present avijnapti, for this avijnapti only accompanies an absorbed mind]
##*
As for the intermediary (madhyastha) [the person presently in neither-discipline-nor-undiscipline, who does not posses discipline like the Bhiksu, nor undiscipline like the transgressor:]
21b-c The intermediary, at the first moment, possesses, medially, avijnapti, when the avijnapti is produced.
Medially (madhya) means the present, situated between the past and the future.
Action {avijnapti) does not necessarily produce avijnaptiThe intermediary does not necessarily possess avijnapti: if there is avijnapti--either avijnapti created by an act of immorality (killing, etc), or avijnapti created by an act of morality (abstention from killing), or avijnapti is created by some other good or bad acts, the worship of a Stupa, hitting and wounding--he possesses this avijnapti, of the present, at the moment when it arises.
2 Id. Afterwards, [he possesses avijnapti] of the present and the past.
[until the moment he rejects it. ]
***
? Gin a disciplined person possess bad avijnapti? Gin an un- disciplined person possess good avijnapu? And how long does the avijnapu last in these two cases?
22. As long as he is endowed with faith or with very active defilements, the undisciplined person possesses good avijnapti, and the disciplined person possesses hd& avijnapti.
As long as there continues, in an undisciplined person, the strength of faith by which, accomplishing actions such as the worship of a Stupa, he has created goodavijnapti; as long as there continues, in a disciplined person, the power of the defilements by which, accomplishing actions such as killing, hitting, binding, he has created bad avijnapti, good or bad avijnapti continues.
At the moment of the action in question, the agent possesses avijnapti of the present; then he possesses avijnapti of the present and of the past.
23a-b. Those who have created one vijnapti possess it always, in the present.
All those who accomplish a bodily or vocal action (vijnapti) whether they are disciplined, undisciplined, or intermediaries, so long as they are accomplishing this action, possess it in the present.
23c-d From the second moment onward, they possess vijnapti of the past, until the moment when they give it up.
M From the second moment onward, that is, after the first moment.
23d. One cannot possess future vijnapti
No one possesses future vijnapti, because such vijnapti does not
now accompany the mind.
24a-b. One does not possess past vijnapti of the nivrta and
anivrta classes.
[That is to say the defiled-neutral and undefiled-neutral actions (see ii. 66 and foil). ]
One does not possess these actions, once they are past, because the possession (prdpti) of a weak dharma, being weak itself, is not
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prolonged.
Why is this dharma, a neutral action, weak?
By reason of the weakness of the mind which gives rise to it.
But then the possession (prapti) of this mind too will not be
prolonged.
No: the case is not the same. The vijnapti, in effect, is stupid, for it
does not know an objea; furthermore it is dependent, for it depends upon the mind. Such is not the case with the mind itself. Thus the vijHapti produced by a neutral mind is weaker than this mind itself; the possession (prapti) of the vijnapti is not prolongued, whereas the possession of the mind is prolongued.
***
We have spoken of an undisciplined person, one who is in undiscipline. What is undiscipline (asamvara)?
24c-d Undiscipline, bad conduct, immorality, action, course of actioa
1. It is undiscipline, because there is no constraining of the body and voice.
2. It is bad conduct, because it is blamed by wise men, and because it produces painful results.
3. It is immorality, because it opposes morality (iv. 122).
4. It is an action, as it is created by the body and the voice.
5. It is a course of action, as it is included in the principal action
85 (maula-samgrh&atvdt, iv. 68).
***
He who possesses vijnapti can also possess avijnapti. Four cases present themselves.
25a-b. The intermediary, acting with a weak volition, possesses a single vijnapti.
He who is in neither-discipline-nor-nondiscipline and who, with a weak volition, does good or bad action (vijnapti), possesses solely this
? act {vijnapti), and does not possess any avijnapti. * All the more reason that there is no possession of avijnapti by an agent when his action is neutral (avydkrta).
Nevertheless, even accomplished with a weak volition, 1. ) material meritorious works (aupadhikapunyakriydvastu, iv. 112) and 2. ) a course of action (iv. 68) always create avijnapti
25c-& The Aryan possesses a single avijnapti when he has not 87
produced, or has abandoned, the vijnapti.
When an Aryan has changed his existence or when he has not created vijnapti (for example when he is in an embryonic state or when he is reborn in Arupyadhatu), or when he has lost the vijnapti (the vijnapti created with a neutral volition), he possesses only avijnapti (pure avijnapti acquired in the previous existence), and not vijnapti.
The two other cases, the possession of vijnapti and avijnapti, and the non-possession of either, are set up according to the same principles.
How does one acquire the disciplines?
26a-b. The discipline that arises from dhyana is acquired by one
thought of the sphere of the dhyana.
It is through one thought of the sphere of the dhyana, that is, of the mauladhyana (the Four Dhyanas) and the samantakas (the four absorptions which proceed the Four Dhyanas), and with an impure mind, that is, with a mind not forming part of the Way, that the discipline of dhyana is acquired: this is a discipline concomitant with this type of mind.
26b-c Pure discipline, by the same mind, when it is Aryan.
"Aryan" means pure, forming part of the Way (iv. l7c).
We will explain below (viii. 22) that the Aryan mind exists in six spheres of dhyana, namely the Four Dhyanas, the dhyandntaras and the anagamya (the first sdmantaka).
Karma 591
? 26c-d That which is called Pratimoksa, through paravijnapana, etc.
"Paravijnapana" is informative action to or from another: the candidate makes known something to another, and another makes
88
something known to him. "Another" is the Sangha, through the
acquisition of the disciplines of Bhiksu, Bhiksuni, or Siksamana; or a person (fiudgala), the acquisition of the five other prdtimoks disciplines, disciplines.
According to Vinaya scholars of the Vaibhasika School, there are six
types of ordinatioa In order to include them all within his definition,
the author says, " . . . from the information of another et cetera" 89
1. Ordination by oneself, in the case of the Buddha and the Pratyekabuddhas.
2. Through entry into the Path (niyamdvakranti, vi. 26a), in the case 90
of the Five, that is to say of Ajnatakaundinya and his companions.
3. Through the summons, "Gome, Oh Bhiksu! ," in the case of
91 Ajnata.
4. By recognizing the Blessed One as master, as in the case of
92 MahakaSyapa.
5. By satisfying the Blessed One through one's answers, as in the
93 case of Sodayin.
6. By accepting the special obligation of monks and nuns, as in the
94 case of Mahaprajapatl.
95 7. By a messenger, as in the case of Dharmadinna.
8. By an official action as the fifth, that is, ordination before a Sangha
96 of five Bhiksus, as in frontier lands.
97 9. By ten Bhiksus, as in MadhyadeSa.
10. By repeating three times the formula of Refuge, as in the case of
98 the sixty Bhadravargps, ordained in a group.
One sees that, according to these scholars, the Pratimoksa discipline is not necessarily acquired by means of a vijnapti, for example the ordination of the Buddha, etc
***
When one undertakes the Pratimoksa discipline, for how long a tinie does one undertakes it?
? 27a-b. One undertakes the discipline for a lifetime or for a day and a night.
"
The first seven categories of the Pratimoksa discipline are undertaken for a lifetime; the fasting discipline (upavasastha) is undertaken for a day and a night. Such is the rule.
Why?
Because there are two limits of time, the period of a lifetime, and the period of a day and a night As for the forthnight and the other durations of time, they consist in additions of day and night periods.
*#*
What is the dharma that we term "time" (kola)?
This is not an eternal substance (paddrtha), as some believe. The word "time" is an expression by which the samskdras are designated as past, present, or future (17, v. 25).
When it is light in the four continents, it is daytime; when it is dark it is night (iii. 80c).
Discussion: We admit, say the Sautrantikas, that the Pratimoksa discipline is solely produced for the duration of a lifetime. In faa, even if one were to undertake to observe these rules in a future life, one would not now produce this discipline for this other life: 1. the person (dsraya) that one would become, would be different (see nikayasabhaga, ii. 4l); 2. this new person would not be able to apply himself to the rules
10 undertaken; and 3. he would not remember vmdertaking them. ? But if
a person assumes the duties of a faster for more than a day and a night,--for five days, or for ten days,--what obstacle would this be to his producing in himself many disciplines of the fast?
It needs be that there would be an obstacle since the Blessed One, in a Sutra, says that one undertakes the fast for a day and a night.
Why did the Blessed One express himself in this manner: did he think that the discipline of fasting could not be produced for a longer duration?
He thought that persons in whom the senses are difficult to subdue would be well capable of undertaking the fast for a day and a night. But, in truth, nothing is wrong with producing the discipline of the fast for more than one day.
Karma 593
? As the Blessed One does not speak of the fast as lasting any longer, the Vaibhasikas do not admit this manner of viewing the matter.
***
What is the duration of undiscipline (asamvara). Tic There is undiscipline for a day and a night.
Undiscipline never last longer than a day and a night, like the discipline of the fast, for it is produced by the acceptance of transgression for one's entire life.
How is this?
27d For, says the School, one does not undertake it thus.
No one undertakes undiscipline in the manner in which one undertakes the fast, by saying, "I wish to remain a day and a night in undiscipline. " Rather, he carries out, in effect, shameful actions.
Objection: No one undertakes undiscipline by saying, "I wish to remain for my life undisciplined" Thus one does not undertake undiscipline for an entire lifetime.
Answer: It is not in this manner, in fact, that one undertakes undiscipline. One does not undertake undiscipline by means of a ritual. One acquires undiscipline by acting with the intention of always acting badly; one does not acquire undiscipline by the intention of acting badly for a time. In the case of the fast, the intention is not "for always;" nevertheless one obtains the discipline through the force of the action which consists of saying, "I wish to remain a day and a night in the discipline of the fast," and one accomplishes this action because one desires to acquire this discipline. If someone desires undiscipline, he could without doubt give himself over to undiscipline for this period of time. But the case does not present itself; hence we do not recognize undiscipline "for a time. "
***
According to the Sautrantikas, undiscipline does not exist in and of itself (dravyatas) apart from volition. Undiscipline is the intention to
101
? conunit evil, that is, a certain volition with the traces which allow this volition. And, as long as this volition with its traces has not been destroyed by a contrary volition, the person, even when he has a good thought, remains filled with undiscipline, a person undisciplined
#**
How should one undertake the discipline of a day and a night, or the
102 discipline of the fast?
28. One should undertake the fast (upavasa) in a humble attitude, speaking after, with ornaments removed, until the
103 morrow, complete, the morning, from another.
1. In a humble attitude, squatting or kneeling; with the hands joined in kapotaka (by placing the four fingers of one hand between the thumb and the index finder of the other) or in the position of anjali; except in the case of sickness. Without a respectful attitude, discipline is not produced.
2. The candidate does not speak before the ordainer or the giver, the person who "gives" the fast; nor at the same time. In this way, it is from another that one undertakes the fast; otherwise, there would be neither
104 receiving nor a thing received
3. The candidate does not wear any ornaments; he wears his normal
105 dress, because he does not draw forth vanity from it.
4. One undertakes it until the morrow, until the rising of the sun.
[5. One undertakes the complete fast, with its eight rules, and not with any rules missing (Takakuku, I-tsing, p. 188; Chavannes, Cinq centes contes, p. 136).
6. The morrow, at the rising of the sun, since this is a discipline lasting a day and a night (Vibhasd, TD 27, p. 647b29).
He who, previously, has formed the undertaking, "I will always
practice the fast, the eighth day of the fortnight, etc. ," undertakes the
106 fast, even though he eats.
7. From another, nor from oneself. If one encounters a cause of transgression, through honesty with regard to the giver, he will not violate the obligations undertaken. ]
When these rules are not observed, one has nevertheless done a
Karma 595
? good action (sucarita), but one does not obtain the discipline of the fast. When the rules are observed, the fast is even more useful for the person who commits transgressions by day and by night (hunting, murder, stealing, adultery).
107
i. The fast is termed upavasa, because, embracing a way of life
conforming to that of the Arhats, he places himself near (upa) the 108
Arhats. According to another opinion, it is because he places himself near the "lifelong discipline" (Vibbasa, TD 27, p. 648c29).
ii. It has for its end procuring an increase of the roots of good of persons who have only small roots of good As it procures (dhd) an
m increase (posa) of good, the Blessed One said, "It is called posadha. "
###
no
Why is the discipline of the fast undertaken with eight parts? 29a-c. Part of morality (Ma), part of vigilence (apramdda), parts
of ascetic vows (vrata), have respectively four, one, three parts. Four parts,--the renouncing of killing, stealing, adultery and
lying,--constitute the parts of morality (Manga) by which what is 111
transgression by nature is abandoned
One part, the renouncing of intoxicating drinks, constitutes the rule
of vigilence by which non-vigilence is arrested For even if a person who has undertaken morality drinks intoxicating liquor, he will be non- vigilent. (ii. 25-26, iv. 34c-d).
Three parts,--the renouncing of high beds, music, etc, and meals at forbidden times,--constitute the rule of asceticism, for they are favorable and conform to disgust.
***
What necessity is there for undertaking the rules of vigilence and of asceticism?
29d In order to avoid weakness of mindfulness and arrogance.
When one drinks intoxicating liquor, one loses one's mindfulness of what one should and should not do. When one uses high and wide beds, when one attends dances, singing and music, the mind becomes
? arrogant. In both cases, one is not far from violating morality.
When one observes the rule of eating at the proper times, and when one avoids eating outside of this time, one retains a mindfulness of the
obligations of the fast, and disgust is produced In the absence of the eighth rule, mindfulness and disgust would be absent.
***
i. According to certain masters, the fast or upavdsa consists of the fast proper, and the renouncing of food at forbidden times; whereas the other renouncing^ are the rules or parts of the fast (upavdsdnga). The abstention from food is not a part; thus, with an end to the obtaining the number of eight parts, one should distinguish two parts in the seventh rule; first, the renouncing of dancing, singing, and music; and the second, the renouncing of perfumes, garlands, and unguents.
This interpretation is not in accord with the Sutra, [say the
Sautrantikas]; for, according to the Sutra, immediately after the
renouncing of meals at forbidden times, the faster should say, "By these
eight rules, I imitate the rule, I conform myself to the rule of the Aryans,
112 the Arhats. "
ii. Then what would the fast be, distinct from its rules, and yet embracing eight parts?
According to the Sautrantikas, it is the very collection of parts which
one says possesses parts; it is to this very collection that one attributes
parts. The expression, "a fast having eight parts" should be understood
in the same way as the expressions, "a part of a carriage," "a four-part
army" (caturangabala), or "a powder made up of five parts" (pancdn- 113
gapisfa).
iii. According to the Vaibhasikas, the abstaining from food at forbidden times is at one and the same time the fast and a part of the fast. In the same way that Right Views (samyagdrsti) are at one and the same time the Path and a part of the Path (mdrgdnga); in the same way that Investigation into the Dharmas (dharmapravicaya) is at one and the same time Bodhi and a part of Bodhi (vi. 68); and in the same way way that Samadhi is at one and the same time dhydna and a part of dhydna (viii. 7-8).
iv. But we would say [with the Sautrantikas] that it is impossible for
Karma 597
? Right Views, Investigation into the Dharmas, and Samadhi to be parts of themselves. Would you say that earlier Right Views, etc, are parts of later Right Views, etc ? This would be to admit that the first moment of the Path does not have eight parts. This would be to admit that the last
114 moment of the parts of Bodhi is itself not a part.
*#*
Is the possession of the discipline of the fast kept only by
115 Upasakas?
30a-b. Others can possess the fast, but not without taking the Refuges.
When a person who is not a Upasaka, takes, in the same day and night, the Three Refuges before he undertakes the rules of the fast, then the discipline of the fast is produced within him. But not without taking the Refuges; on the condition that there has been no error, etc (iv. 3 Id).
The Mahandma-sutra says, "Oh Mahanama, the layman with white clothes, male and possessing the male organ, who, after having taken refuge in the Buddha, in the Dharma, and in the Sangha, pronounces these words, 'Consider me as an Upasaka:' only through this does he
116
become an Upasaka. " Does this mean that one becomes an Upasaka
by only taking the Three Refuges?
The Aparantakas answer yes. (Vibhdsa, TD 27, p. 645cl9).
The Ka? mlreans affirm that one cannot be an Upasaka when one
does not possess the Upasaka discipline. But does this not contradict the Sutra?
117
No.
Because
3Qc-d The discipline is produced through the fact that he
118 accepts the qualities of an Upasaka.
The discipline of the Upasaka is produced in him by the mere
acceptance of the quality of the Upasaka, when he says, "Consider me, 119
from today onwards, for the rest of my life, as aprandpeta Upasaka. " [What is the meaning of the expression prdndpeta? ]
One should understand, pranatipatapeta through ellipis, as free
from killing, having renounced killing (see below, note 127).
? Thus, by accepting the quality of an Upasaka, one undertakes the discipline [since one shows himself as having renounced killing]. Yet, in order that he understands the points of the rule (siksapada),
30d One explains them to him, as is also the case for a Bhiksu.
Through an ecclesiastical action the Bhiksu has acquired the discipline of the Bhik$u: yet he is made to undertake the most important rules: "You are to abstain from this, from that. Your co-religionists will
120 m
tell you the rest. " The same holds for the Sramanera. The same
holds for the Upasaka: he obtains the discipline by undertaking once, twice, three time the Three Refuges; he is then made to undertake the rules, "Abandoning killing, I renounce killing. " Thus one is not an Upasaka without possessing the discipline of the Upasaka.
3 la-b. If all Upasakas possess the discipline of the Upasaka, how can an Upasaka be an ekadesakdrin, etc?
If all Upasakas place themselves within the discipline of the
Upasaka, why did the Blessed One describe four types of Upasakas, the
Upasaka of one rule (ekade/akdrin), of two rules (pradefakdtin), of
three or four rules (yadbhuyaskdrin), and of five rules (paripurna- 122
kdrin)?
31c These terms, say the School, refer to the faa of observing
123 the rules.
The Upasaka who in faa observes one of the rules [of all which he has accepted] is said to praaice (kar) this rule. [It should not be understood that the ekadesakdrin is an Upasaka who undertakes to praaice only a single rule]. Yet all the Upasakas are equally placed
124 within this discipline.
The Sautrantikas objea: Your doarine contradias the Sutra.
In what way does it contradict the Sutra?
i. You say that one acquires the discipline by the mere faa of
accepting the quality of a prdndpeta Upasaka, "Consider me . . . as a prdndpeta Upasaka. " But, such is not the text of the Sutra. In faa, the Sutra that interests us is the Mahdndma-sutra which gives the definition of an Upasaka, and not another Sutra. And the Mahdndma-sutra does not have the expression "prddndpeta. "
Karma 599
? 600 Chapter Four
125
You hold that you are authorized by another Sutra, which has,
"From today, for the rest of my life, [consider me as an Upasaka], risking
126
my life (pranopeta), having taken refuge, believing perfealy
(abhiprasanna). "Now this text refers to persons who have seen the Truths, who have acquired the faith of intelligence (avetyaprasdda, vi. 73), and who, as a consequence, adhere to the Good Law even at the price of their lives: "We are incapable of abandoning the Dharma, even in order to save our lives. " This text does not give a definition of the Upasaka discipline.
Further, the expression pranopeta, upon which you establish your
theory, is nowhere to be found, either in the Mahanama-sutra, nor the
Drstasatya-sutra. Whocouldadmitasimilarexpressionthesenseof 127
which is lacking in precision? Who, based on faith in this expression, would admit that the Upasaka has undertaken the five renouncings before he has undertaken them ritually?
ii. If the expression ekade? akarin designates a person who violates the discipline, the question raised in the Sutra (note 122) is not justified, nor its answer. In fact, who is it that, being acquainted with the discipline of an Upasaka and knowing that it is made up of five rules, would be incapable of explaining, "He who does not violate a rule observes a rule" and so oa
On the contrary, someone who does not know the extent of the discipline of an Upasaka, seeing the persons capable of observing one, or two, or three, or all the rules, would he be able to pose the question, "What does one do to become an Upasaka of all the rules? "
The Vaibhasikas answer: If one were an Upasaka without possess- ing the discipline of an Upasaka, one could also as well be a Bhiksu or a &ramanera with an incomplete discipline.
Answer: How can we know the extent, the number of the rules of
the disciplines of the Upasaka, the Sramanera, or the Bhiksu? Evidently
through the teaching of the Master. Now the Master speaks of the
Upasaka not possessing the discipline in its entirety; but he does not
speak of an incomplete discipline of the Bhiksus or of the Sra-
128 maneras.
The Vaibhasikas of KaSmir do not admit this opinioa
3 Id. All the disciplines are weak, etc, according to the mind
? The weakness, the mediocrity, and the force of the eight rules depend on the weakness, on the mediocrity, or on the force of the mind through which one has undertaken them.
But if such is the case, the Pratimoksa discipline of an Arhat could be weak, and that of a Prthagjana could be strong.
Is one an Upasaka if one solely undertakes the discipline (samvara) without undertaking the Refuges?
No; except in the case of ignorance by the person who gives and by the person who receives.
***
When a person takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and in the Sangha, what does he take refuge in?
32. He who takes the Refuges takes refuge in the asaiksa dharmas which form the Buddha, in the two types of dharmas
129 which form the Sangha, and in Nirvana.
i. He who takes Refuge in the Buddha takes refuge in the dharmas
of the Arhat which form a Buddha, the dharmas which are the causes of
the designation "Buddha," that is, the dharmas by reason of which, as 130
principle cause, a certain person is called a Buddha; or rather the dharmas by the acquisition of which a certain person, understanding all things, is called a Buddha. These dharmas are the Knowledge of Extinction (ksayajndna), the Knowledge of Nonarising (anutpada-
jnana) and Right Views (samyagdrspi) (vi. 50, 67) with the dharmas B1
which accompany these jnanas, that is, with the five pure skandhas. 132
As for the material body (rupakdya) of the Buddha, that is not subject to modification through the acquistion of the quality of Buddha. Thus one does not take refuge in the material body of the Buddha which is, in fact, the material body of the Bodhisattva.
Does one take refuge in all the Buddhas or in one Buddha?
According to the nature of things, and in the absence of an explicit declaration, in all the Buddhas. For the Buddhas have always followed
133
the same path, a worldly path and a transworldly path (vii34).
ii. He who takes Refuge in the Sangha takes refuge in both the
iaiksa and the asaiksa dharmas, of the non-Arhat and of the Arhat,
Karma 601
? 602 Chapter Four
which form the Sangha, that is, the dharmas through the acquisition of which the Eight Saints become a Sangha; becoming unanimous they cannot be divided with regard to that which concerns the Path.
Does one take refuge in all the Sanghas or in one Sangha?
According to the nature of things, in all: for the Path followed by the
Saints is always the same. Without doubt, the Buddha said to the two
merchants, "Also take refuge in the Sangha which shall exist in the
134
future," but the Master expressed himself in this manner in order to
exhault the qualities of the Jewel of the Sangha which would soon be visible to the merchants.
iii. He who takes Refuge in the Dharma takes refuge in Nirvana, that is to say, mpratisamkhydnirodha (i. 5, ii. 55d). He takes refuge in all Nirvana, for Nirvana has for its unique charaaeristic the cessation of the defilements and suffering of oneself and others (see vi. 73c, the meaning of the word dharma in dharma avetyaprasada).
iv. Discussion.
If the Buddha is none other than the aiaiksa dharmas, the dharmas pertaining to an Arhat, how could the fact of wounding the Buddha with a bad thought constitute a mortal transgression (iv.
