1.

Preparing the Five Conditions [36a943c10]

First, preparing the ve conditions consists of: 1. Upholding the precepts and a pure life w5; 2. Preparing sufficient food and clothing h7S; 3. A secluded dwelling in a quiet place E_; 4. Putting an end to mundane responsibilities U$Y; 5. Acquiring good friends 3F. A dhyna stra says, Even if one completes the [rst] four conditions, real guidance commences upon [obtaining] a good teacher.1 Thus ve categories are used as the [rst] stages for entering the path. If even one is lacking, this will obstruct matters [and one will not be able to proceed with proper cessation-andcontemplation]. A detailed explanation is given in the Tzu-ti chan-men.2

1. Upholding the Precepts and a Pure Life [36a13]

Of these [ve conditions], upholding the precepts and a pure life has four meanings: rst, to list the terminology of the precepts; second, to clarify the upholding of the precepts; third, to clarify the transgressing of the precepts; and fourth, to clarify purication through repentance. 1. The Terminology of the Precepts [36a14] [First,] there are an exceedingly great number of sources in the stras and treatises that list the terminology [of the precepts],3 but according to the Ta chih tu lun there are ten types of [upholding] the precepts Y)w:4 1. No fault #k 2. No breaking #& 3. No rupturing # 4. Not mixed #F 5. In accordance with the path H1
The source of this quote is unknown. See the Tzu-ti chan-men, T 46.484a487b, for an earlier and more detailed explication of these ve preliminary conditions. See also the Hsiao chih-kuan (462c10463b25) for a simpler and more straightforward presentation of the same topics. 3 Chan-jan (BTII, pp. 49596) helpfully lists a number of these sources. Chih-i relies for the most part of the terms found in the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.225c13226b29. 4 See the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.225c28226a1. Lamotte (Le Trait 3, pp. 14078) translates the list as follows. Le yogin commmore la moralit pure (viuddhala). [Selon les Stra]: Les moralits sans dfauts (lny akha^ni), les moralits sans flures (acchidri), les moralits sans ssures (aabalni), les moralits sans variations (akalmi), les moralits libratrices (bhujiyi), les moralits sans attachement inconsidr (aparmni), les moralits loues par les sages (vijapraastni) et sans dfauts (agarhitni) sont la moralit pure. Note that there are only eight types of precepts listed in the Ta chih tu lun. Chih-i leaves out the eighth term in the Ta chih tu lun (without fault [) and instead adds three terms (perhaps from the list in the Mahparinirva Stra?) to make a rounded ten: (5) in accordance with the path H1, (9) in accordance with concentration H, and (10) complete S. See also the Pacaviati Stra, T 8.386a.
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6. Without attachment [] 7. Praised as wise (conduct) [or, praised by the wise] J8g 8. Mastery $ 9. In accordance with concentration H 10. Complete S These ten [categories of upholding the precepts] have in common the fact that they are based on natural morality w.5 As the Ta chih tu lun says, [the content of] natural morality is the [basic] la, the eight types of physical and verbal conductthree types of physical activity and four types of verbal activityplus [the admonition] to avoid intoxicating beverages. This refers to the pure life6 and [the avoidance of] mental obstructions. It also says that the ten good [deeds] Y3 are the la. Even if a Buddha does not appear in the world [to teach it], this [morality] is constant for the world. Therefore it is called an ancient morality /w.7 Even if a Buddha does not appear in the world, ordinary ignorant people cultivate the eight [stages of] dhyna k,;8 therefore this is called an ancient [method of] concentration /. The non-Buddhist ways, such as the sixty-two [mistaken views], are like an ancient medical way that uses milk as medicine [for all diseases];9 this is called an ancient wisdom /^.
Conduct that is good or bad in itself, whether or not it is dened in the Buddhist precepts. In contrast to dened precepts )w (*prajapti-svadhya), the precepts or moral behavior that has been explicitly dened by the Buddha or in the Buddhist texts. 6 A summary of a passage on the la in the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.153b112. The three types of physical activity are harming others, stealing, and illicit sexual activity; the four types of verbal activity are using abusive language, speaking with a forked tongue [or out of both sides of the mouth], evil speech, and using owery language. Lamotte, Le Trait 2, pp. 77071, translates: la (moralit), en langue des Tsin, se dit honntet naturelle (praktikaualya). Suivre avec entrain le bon Chemin (kualamrga), sans admettre de dfaillance (pramda), voil ce quon appelle la. Pratiquer le bien (kuala), quon ait pris les Dfenses (samdnala), ou quon nait pas pris les Dfenses (asamdnala), est nomm la. Sommairement (samsata), la discipline [morale] du corps et de la voix (kyavksavara) est de huit sortes: 1. sabstenir du meurtre (prtiptavirati), 2. du vol (adattdna-), 3. de lamour dfendu (kmamithycra), 4. du mensonge (mvda), 5. de la mdisance (paiunyavda), 6. de la parole injurieuse (pruyavda), 7. de la parole oiseuse (sabhinnapralpa), 8. de lusage de vin (madyapna); et recourir des moyens dexistence purs (pariuddhjva); telles sont les caractristiques de la moralit (lanimitta). 7 A very general paraphrase from a passage in the Ta chih tu lun; see T 25.395b29c11: The path of the ten good deeds [the opposite of the ten evil deeds] encompasses all the precepts. The path of the ten good actions is the basis; the other [moral rules] should not bother the sentient beings but are distant causes and conditions. The path of the ten good deeds is an ancient morality; the other precepts and rules are auxiliary. Take the situation of the Buddha kyamuni himself; he dwelt in this evil world for twelve years without the precepts [i.e., before they were dened], thus we should know that they are auxiliary. The four dhyna stages (meditative states in the realm of form) plus the four concentrative states of the world of no form. See the parable in the Mahparinirva Stra (T 12.618a26b2) concerning the doctors who prescribe milk for any and all sorts of disease because it works for some disease, in contrast to the new doctor who (like the Buddha) prescribes different medicine for different diseases as needed. For a full translation of the passage see the notes above under Mo-ho chih-kuan 19a29.
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It is often said that there are no additional concentrations [introduced by the Buddha], but that non-delement [ [that is, the pure life of upholding the precepts] guides one in the eight dhynas. Now, I disagree with these words. It should be admitted that a non-deled [moral life] guides [the performance of] the ten good deeds. [But it is already accepted that the categories of] wisdom and upholding the precepts have additional dharmas [introduced by the Buddha]; why should [the category of] concentration alone have none? Here I present the threefold refuge [in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha], the paca-la 2w,10 and the two-hundred and fty precepts11 as additional precepts [introduced by the Buddha]. [As it says in the Introduction to Mahyna,] One who has received the ten fundamental precepts isas the Buddha himself calls hima well-come bhiku,12 one who has already naturally received the complete precepts. Take the example of Mahkyapa #&,13 who received the complete precepts through taking the vows on his own. Or jta-Kau^inya Y ,14 who received the complete precepts because he saw the truth [upon hearing the Buddhas rst sermon]. Or the bhiku [Mah]prjapat # # ,15 who received the complete precepts through [accepting] the eight courtesies k [that nuns must show towards [36b] monks].16 Or the bhiku Dharmadinn G$, who received the complete precepts through a dispatch of faith =.17 Or the rmaera Sudarana m, who
The ve basic precepts that one accepts on becoming a Buddhist: to avoid killing, stealing, illicit sexual activity, abusive language, and drinking intoxicating beverages. These, along with the threefold refuge, are basic tenets for all Buddhists. 11 The 250 precepts accepted by adult males upon becoming a monk (bhiku). 12 Or, the exhortation Come, O monk (ehi bhiku); the most simple form of being welcomed by the Buddha into his community. 13 One of the main disciples of the Buddha, known as the foremost of those who observe the austere discipline. 14 One of the rst group of ve disciples of the Buddha (the Group of Five [pacavargika]), converted in Vras after the Buddha preached his rst sermon. 15 The Buddhas aunt, who was among the rst group of bhikus (nuns) admitted to the Buddhist Sangha. 16 The eight severe canonical provisions (Pli, aha garu-dhamm; Skt., gurudharma) that place a nun in complete dependence on the monks: she cannot go into retreat in a place where there is no monk; every fortnight she must go to the community of monks and receive instruction there, but she can never instruct a monk nor admonish him; the ceremonies of ordination, the ending of the retreat, and penance are repeated before the community of monks (see Lamottes History of Indian Buddhism [translated from the French], Louvain: Peeters Press, 1988 [hereafter, Lamotte, History], p. 57 [63]). 17 AKANUMA, p. 159, identies this gure as follows: According to the commentary to the Thergth, verse 12, [Dharmadinn] was the daughter of the head of a household in Rjagha, and the wife of Viskha 0p. When Viskha became a lay devotee (upsaka) [of the Buddha], she wished to become a home-departed one. With Viskhas support, she was dispatched to the Sangha on a golden palanquin and became a home-departed one. Upon attaining enlightenment she returned to her home, visited Viskha, and responded one by one to his questions concerning the Dharma. The Abhidharma-koa also mentions this gure: There are ten ways to obtain the full precepts.... Seventh is by dispatch q, as in the case of the bhiku Dharmadinn 4. (T 29.74b25c2)
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received the complete precepts through debating the meaning.18 Or the bhikus such as Yaas 0 who received the complete precepts merely by being told wellcome (ehi bhiku) [by the Buddha].19 Or the [rst ve] disciples [of the Buddha] ([pacaka-]bhadravargika # 8 ),20 who received the complete precepts through accepting the threefold refuge. Or, in remote areas one can receive the complete precepts with [only] ve Vinaya masters [present], while in the Middle Kingdom _ [the presence of] ten people [that is, monks, are required] for the motions [preceding the ordination ceremony] Rv$21 to receive the complete precepts.22 These are all people [who received] additional precepts w. The basic, pure [practice of] meditative (dhyna) concentration, [and the various Buddhist practices of] contemplation , training 2, discipline , and cultivation @ are additional concentrations [taught by the Buddha in addition to preBuddhist methods of meditation]. The wisdom of the Four [Noble] Truths is an additional wisdom . That is, it came to be [known] because the Buddha appeared [in the world and taught the Four Noble Truths]. Natural morality [on the other hand] is not a question of whether you have accepted or not accepted it; if you trespass against it, this is an offense &. Whether or not you have [consciously] accepted it, it is good to uphold it. When you [consciously] receive the precepts, if you uphold them then blessings arise, and if you transgress against them then you acquire offense; if you have not received [the precepts], there is no blessing [from upholding them] and no offense [for transgressing them]. This is like the offense of [inadvertently] harming animals [that are grazing in the eld] while mowing grass; both offenses [that is, against the animal and its owner] are extinguished together through a public repentance /H.23 The Ta chih tu lun says, spontaneous (unintended) transgression _[6 is extinguished in the same manner [that is, spontaneously], but there are some
Lamotte (History, pp. 69596 [77173]) discusses a Sudarana, a scholar who was added by the Mlasarvstivdins to their list of patriarchs (in addition to the ve masters of the Law beginning with nanda). According to this tradition, he was the son of a katriya noble from Bharukaccha, succeeded Ka as head of the Community of the Four Quarters; in the region of Sindh, he overcame the Yaki Higalc, converted many unbelieving Ngas and Yakas to the Law and, in the southern region and the neighboring islands, went on a fruitful preaching tour (p. 695 [771]). It is not clear whether this gure is intended here. IKEDA (Kenky-chshaku, p. 319, suggests the reading Sudya; the Abhidharma-koa (T 29.74b29c1) suggests Sodyin MV as an example of one who receives the precepts by skillfully answering questions. 19 The man who, with his four friends of noble families, became a disciple of the Buddha immediately after the rst group of ve (including jta-Kau^inya; see above) at Vras. These two groups of ve were followed by fty more young people. See EDGERTON, vol. 2, p. 406, which identies bhadravargya as referring to the ve rst disciples of Buddha. See also note 14 above.
21 The motions or proposals (Skt. japti-caturtha karman) preceding the ordination ceremony for becoming a monk or nun, which involves stating ones intent and asking and receiving approval three times. It usually requires the presence of three ordaining masters and seven additional witnesses, all ordained monks. See EDGERTON, vol. 2., p. 244, under japti. 20 18

Almost exactly word for word from the Introduction to Mahyna, T #1634, 32.48b311. For further details see the traditional commentaries in BTII, pp. 501508. Skt., pratideaniya. An opportunity for a monk to repent and receive remission for a misdeed or breaking of the precepts. The repentance is done openly in front of one to four fellow monks.
23

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[transgressions] that require the forfeiting of life f.24 Thus, know that there is a difference between [responsibility for upholding] natural morality and the receiving of the precepts. Therefore in the Vinaya in Four Parts, the procedure for asking about hindrances [to ordination] ) [before the ordination ceremony] involves asking, have you not committed extreme offenses N& (prjika)?25 [and so forth].26 These extreme offenses are offenses against nature &. These offenses obstruct [the upholding of] the moral life by the laymen (upsaka); how much more so the great [complete] precepts [of the monks (bhikus) and nuns (bhikuns)]! Being pure in natural morality is the basis for upholding the precepts and the preliminary cause for attaining liberation. By upholding natural morality, one can realize the spontaneous receiving of the precepts. In the Hnayna denition, the spontaneous precepts [6w refer to the third category [of neither form nor mind] of the three assortments X.27 In the Mahyna [tradition], the Dharma
The Shiki (BTII, p. 510) identies the quote as coming from either section 4628 (around T 25.395c) or section 8413 (around T 25.648b) of the Ta chih tu lun ; Ikeda (Kenkychshaku-hen, p. 319) links it with T 24.395c, but the content is quite different. 25 These are the most serious moral offenses, and require expulsion from the Sangha if committed by a monk, with no hope of ever taking the precepts again. For the adult monk, there are four prjika: having sexual intercourse, stealing, murder, and claiming to have attained a level of understanding that one has not yet attained. 26 See the Vinaya in Four Parts, T 22.814c113. The context (814c1117) says, Inquire concerning the following thirteen difculties [that is, possible hindrances], and then after that confer the complete precepts. At the motions [preceding the ordination ceremony] Rv$, the following questions should be asked: 1. Have you not committed any extreme offense (prjika)? 2. Have you not deled any nuns? 3. Have you not pretended to be a monk? 4. Have you not destroyed the two paths [of the colon and the penis; or, of Buddhist and non-Buddhist ways?]? 5. Are you not a eunuch ? 67. Have you not committed patricide or matricide? 8. Have you not killed an arhat? 9. Have you not torn apart [caused a schism in] the Sangha? 10. Have you not, with an evil intent, caused blood to ow from the body of the Buddha? 11. Are you not a non-human [being] ^(amanuya)? 12. Are you not a beast? 13. Are you not hermaphroditic [lit, do not have two forms (dviliga), that is, two sexual organs]? These are the preliminary questions asked before the ordination ceremony of all who wish to take the complete precepts and join the Sangha. Chan-jan points out that the Hnayna stras and treatises teach three assortments of (1) form, (2) mind, and (3) neither form nor mind, and that the mind is the essence of upholding the precepts; i.e., the mind or mental attitude is the most important factor in moral matters. See the lengthy commentary in BTII, pp. 51524. The phrase in this sense summarizes a passage in the Cheng-shih lun, T 32.290ab. A further meaning of this compound is the three types or assortments of pure precepts, a Mahyna classication of all moral behavior: 1) the legalistic precepts Aw, that is, avoiding evil action so that eventually all evil karmic retribution will be severed; 2)doing good 3w so that good karmic recompense accumulates; and 3)altruistic actions aimed at beneting and saving sentient beings Lw. This classication also seems to be alluded to below.
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Drum Stra28 only claries form and mind and not the third assortment [of neither form nor mind]. [The Ying-lo ching says that] mental activity is inexhaustible, and therefore the precepts are also inexhaustible.29 If one discusses the legalistic precepts Aw,30 the spontaneous precepts need to be explained. [1] The spontaneity of [the upholding of] the precepts that accompany meditative concentration w31 refers to [the natural upholding of the precepts that is] aroused along with [the attainment of] the concentration of samdhi. Some people [the Sarvstivadins] say that there is a time when you enter concentration, but there is no time when you leave concentration. Some people [the Sautrntikans] say that spontaneous [upholding of the precepts] depends on concentration, and that it is not lost as long as you maintain this concentration; and that if you retrogress from [this attainment of] concentration [and then offends against the precepts], then you should repent. [2] The spontaneity of [the upholding of] the precepts that accompany [progression on] the path 1w32 is a spontaneity that depends on [attainment of] the path. [The attainment of] the path cannot be lost, therefore [the spontaneity of upholding] these precepts also cannot be lost. [3] The [upholding of] the precepts accompanied by both [the attainment of] concentration and [realization of] the path w133 in general serves as an exposition of the precepts; and in general natural morality is its basis. Therefore a stra says, It is due to [the upholding of] the precepts that one is able to give rise to

The Dharma Drum Stra, T #270, 9.290300, is a short text translated into Chinese by Guabhadra in the fth century (435443). This is a rather obscure textChih-i seldom refers to it and there are no known Chinese commentaries. Since the stra denes its purpose as exposing the three vehicles and expounding the one vehicle, it is included in the Taish canon along with other Lotus Stra-related texts. The stra (T 9.293a67) says: The Buddha said to Kyapa, Non-dharmas are also dharmas. Dharmas are also nondharmas. There are two types of dharmas. What are the two? The conditioned and the unconditioned; form and non-form. There is no third [kind of] dharma.
29 3o

28

A phrase directly from the Ying-lo ching, T 24.1021b21. The rst of the three assortments of pure precepts, that of avoiding evil.

31 The upholding of the precepts that comes spontaneously upon realizing dhyana concentration. On this term see the fourteenth chater of the Abhidharmakoa.

Or, precepts in keeping with the Way (ansrava-savara). According to NAKAMURA, p. 1014), this is an upholding of the precepts that is without any outow of passions, and is possible only for those who have advanced far along the Buddhist path. See Glossary. Note that earlier in the Mo-ho chih-kuan (17a210), these two categories (precepts in accordance with concentration and precepts in accordance with the path) are given as the fth and sixth categories of the ten types of upholding the precepts. In the Tien-tai scheme, the ideal upholding of the precepts goes beyond the precepts that accompany [realizing] the path, which is the highest of the three kinds of monastic discipline in Abhidharma theory (see Glossary). In line with the Tien-tai threefold structure, the ideal upholding of the precepts is the Middle Way that includes both the spontaneous upholding of the precepts through attainment of meditative (dhyna) concentration (the aspect of cessation and emptiness), and the spontaneous upholding of the precepts that accompany attainment of the path (the aspect of insight/contemplation/wisdom and reafrmation of the conventional).
33

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meditative concentration and the wisdom that extinguishes suffering.34 This is the meaning here.35 2. Clarication of Upholding the Precepts [36b23] Second is the clarication of upholding [the precepts]. These ten types of [upholding] the precepts Y)w encompass all of [the upholding of] precepts. [36b24; 1.] [Upholding] the precepts with no fault #kw refers to upholding [all of] the precepts from that of natural morality up to the four serious [prjika offenses], and to preserving them purely, as one cherishes a bright pearl. One who offends against [these precepts] is like a vessel that is already fractured and is no longer functional. Such a person is at the periphery N ^ of the Buddha Dharma and is no longer a ramaa, a son of kyamuni t{. He has lost his raison dtre [lit. dharma] as a bhiku; thus he is called faulty. [36b27; 2.] No breaking #& refers to upholding the thirteen [saghvaea dharmas]36 without breaking them. Therefore it is called no breaking. A person who offends against them is like a broken vessel. [36b29; 3.] No rupturing # refers to upholding the minor precepts (pcittya) #.37 One who offends against [these minor precepts] is like a vessel that is [36c] ruptured and leaks. It is called ruptured because one is then unable to receive [and hold the precepts and advance on] the path. [36c1; 4.] Not mixed # F refers to the upholding of the precepts that are accompanied by concentration w. Even if you uphold the Vinaya, if you have thoughts of breaking the precepts this is called mixing [thoughts of breaking the precepts without actually doing so]. [Upholding the precepts] accompanied
See the I-chiao ching, T 12.1111a34. This passage is also quoted in the opening part of the rst chapter of the Hsiao chih-kuan, T 46.462c1213. 35 It appears that in the rst two categories, the attainment of dhyana concentration and the path are the basis for upholding the precepts, whereas in combining the two, Chih-i reverses the order and promotes the upholding of the precepts as the basis for attaining concentration and progression on the path. 36 None of the classical commentaries indicate what these thirteen are, but they probably refer to the saghvaea YXTi dharmas, the most severe moral offenses except for the four grave prjika offenses (see Prebish, Buddhist Monastic Discipline, pp. 1112, 5462). These thirteen offenses are: 1. Intentional emission of semen (except during a dream); 2. With deled thoughts, having physical contact with a woman; 3. With deled thoughts, speaking sexually suggestive words with a woman; 4. With deled thoughts, offering and praising sexual services; 5. Acting as a go-between for sexual services; 6. Having an inappropriate hut built for oneself; 7. Having an inappropriate vihra built for the Sangha; 8. Falsely, and with malice, accusing another monk; 9. Taking up a legal question as a pretext to falsely accuse another monk; 10. Taking action leading to a schism in the Sangha; 11. Following a schismatic monk; 12. Not taking the advice of other monks to abandon evil ways; 13. Corrupting families. Usually transliterated as #v; the light or minor offenses that can be absolved through confession.
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by concentration means that you are in control of your thoughts and that sensual thoughts do not arise; this is called not mixed. It is as it says in the [Mahparinirva] stra that even if [bhikus] do not physically unite with a woman, if they verbally abuse each other, hear the ringing of bracelets outside the [Sangha] walls, or see men and women mingling and pursuing each other, these are all a befouling of the pure precepts.38 The Treatise on the Ten Stages says that even if [a bhiku] has control over [sexual] matters, if he has a woman bathe and massage him, or if he speaks with and looks at [her] with tainted thoughts, or upholds the precepts only on certain days, or indulgently hopes for sumptuous pleasures in a later life in heaven; these are all impure.39 If you uphold the unmixed precepts, then you will have none of these thoughts. [36c9; 5.] In accordance with the path H1 means to be in accordance with true
38

A summary of a passage from the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.794c1229: What does it mean to be complete in [upholding] the pure precepts? Good son. Suppose there is a bodhisattva who says he is pure in the precepts, and in fact does not mix with women, but when he sees women he verbally abuses and mocks them. Such a bodhisattva consummates the way of desires and offends against the pure precepts. This is a delement of the noble life (brahma-crya), and leads to a mixing of corruption with [upholding] the precepts. This is not an attainment of that called the complete pure precepts. Again, suppose there is a bodhisattva who says he is pure in [upholding] the precepts, and although he does not physically unite with women or verbally abuse and mock them, from outside the walls [of the Sangha] he hears the various sounds of their necklaces, bracelets, and so forth, and in his mind arouses passionate attachments. Such a bodhisattva consummates [and so forth as above]. This is not an attainment of that called the complete pure precepts. Again, suppose there is a bodhisattva who says he is pure in [upholding] the precepts, and although he does not physically unite with women or verbally abuse and mock them, nor listen to their various sounds, when he sees men chasing women, or when he sees women chasing men, he arouses craving. Such a bodhisattva consummates [and so forth as above]. This is not an attainment of that called the complete pure precepts. Again, suppose there is a bodhisattva who says he is pure in [upholding] the precepts, and although he does not mix with women, verbally abuse them, listen to their sounds, or watch the mingling of men and women, he nevertheless does things in order to be reborn in heaven to experience the pleasures of the ve sense-desires. Such a bodhisattva consummates [and so forth as above]. This is not an attainment of that called the complete pure precepts. A summary from a passage in the Treatise on the Ten Stages, T 26.110b1824: There are seven types of sexual desires that befoul [the upholding of] the precepts: 1. Even if you have severed sexual desires, your thoughts are tainted by being bathed and massaged by a woman ; 2. With tainted thoughts, you listen to women and speak and laugh with them ; 3. With tainted thoughts, you look at [women] with your eyes ; 4. Even if there is a barrier, you listen with tainted thoughts to the voices of women; 5. To rst speak and laugh with women, and then later to remember and reminisce without abandoning these thoughts; 6. To sever sexual desires for a certain period, but then later give full reign to them; 7. To give up sexual desires with the hope for rebirth in heaven and experience the bliss of [being with] goddesses, so that you enjoy sumptuous pleasures in a later life. These are called impure.

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reality 7 and to be able to destroy all delusions of [false] views.40 [36c10; 6.] [Upholding] the precepts without attachment [] means to perceive the real and to perfect the noble [path], and have no tainted attachments to conceptual delusions. These two types of [upholding] the precepts are an upholding of the precepts in terms of the real truth. [36c11; 7.] The precepts praised as wise [conduct] J8g and [8.] mastery $ in [upholding] the precepts are [types of upholding the precepts] in terms of the bodhisattva [ideal of] saving others. [This ideal] is praised by the Buddha, and involves attaining mastery in the [mundane] world. Thus these are expositions of the upholding of precepts in terms of the mundane truth. [36c13; 9.] [Upholding the precepts] in accordance with concentration H and [10.] the complete S [upholding of the precepts] are in accordance with the ragama [Samdhi];41 one manifests upright behavior X even without arousing the concentration of complete extinction n() (nirodha-sampatti), and benecially guides sentient beings by displaying the images of the ten dharma realms [from hell to Buddhahood]. Even if one is involved in activities of upright behavior, one functions naturally with constant quietude Y_; therefore this is called [upholding] the precepts in accordance with samdhi. The rst [nine types of] the precepts are precepts for preventing and stopping [evil deeds] through upright behaviour; therefore they are called incomplete. The precepts of the Middle Way involve not missing any precept; therefore this [last type] is called complete. This is the upholding of the precepts of the supreme truth of the Middle Way. One fully realizes all Dharmas through the wisdom of the Middle Way. Therefore a stra speaks of ika . ika [or pratimoka] is called the Mahyna precepts.42 The Mahparinirva Stra claries the ve limbs of the precepts 2w and the ten types of precepts.43 The thrust of the
In previous lists, this would correspond to upholding the precepts accompanied by [realization of] the path 1w. 41 A state of concentration in which all delements are gone. See, for example, The Great Collection of Stras, T 13.219b. Ikeda (Kenkychshaku-hen, p. 321) takes ika to be an abbreviation for ikkrani, numerous minute rules for observing a Buddhist life-style. If, however, as the classical commentaries claim, Chih-i is referring here to the rmldev Stra, then the characters here should be (for [prti]moka) instead of (ika). If so, Chih-i is referring to a passage from the Ekayna chapter of the rmldev Stra, T 12.219b1921, which reads, The prtimoka and the Vinaya are different names for the same meaning. The Vinaya is the learning of the Mahyna. Why is this? It is for the sake of Buddhahood that one leaves home and receives the complete [precepts].
43 The Mahparinirva Stra mentions the ve limbs of the precepts at T 12.674a2629, and then a page later lists ten types of precepts (T 12.675a1315). The ve limbs of the precepts are: 1. the pure precepts that are the basic deeds of the complete bodhisattva SO %5w 2. the rest of the pure precepts of the retinue in front of and behind [the Buddha] 295w 3. the pure precepts of perceptions that are all non-evil perceptions U15w 4. the pure precepts of mindfulness that is a maintenance of correct mindfulness 5w 42 40

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meaning is approximately the same.44 Although various stras and treatises further clarify the features of [upholding] the precepts, nally they do not go beyond these ten categories. [36c20] [1.3.] Collectively, the rst three categories of precepts [i.e., the precepts of no fault, no breaking, and no rupturing] are called the legalistic (prohibitory) precepts Aw.45 These [three types] involve inviting good and restraining evil, from the rst basic [precepts of no fault; including basic natural morality and the four grave offenses] to those of no rupturing [of the minor precepts], [which results in] purity [as delicate] as a silk thread; collectively they are called the legalistic precepts (prtimoka, savara-la). Even ordinary people (pthagjana) with distracted thoughts can all uphold these precepts. [4.] Next, the single category of precepts that are not mixed involves holding your thoughts in a state of concentration so that you are not mentally agitated by delusions, and your body and speech are also quiescent. Thus these three types of activity are like a brilliant mirror .46 This [category] is [the keeping of] the precepts accompanied by concentration w, so that when you enter concentration it is naturally unmixed [with evil karma from breaking the precepts]. When you emerge from concentration, your body and speech are supple and also unmixed. Thus even an ordinary person can enter concentration and be able to uphold [the precepts]. [5.] The precepts accompanied by the path involve perceiving the truth from that of the [level of] the rst fruit [i.e., attaining the results of the stream-enterer], to arousing [insight into] the real and attaining the noble [arhatship]. That which is upheld by the Noble Ones cannot be upheld by ordinary people. [6.] The precepts without attachment involve upholding [the precepts] by those of the three fruits [of the once-returner, non-returner, and arhat]. This is different from that upheld by those of the rst fruit [of the stream-enterer]. [7. The precepts] praised as wisdom and [8.] mastery [in the precepts] involve bodhisattvas who [act to] benet others; they should uphold these pre- [37a] cepts. These cannot be upheld by those of the two vehicles. [9. The precepts] in accordance with concentration and [10.] the complete [upholding of the precepts] are upheld by those with great roots [i.e., the Buddhas]. These cannot be upheld by bodhisattvas of the Shared Teaching [who practice] the six perfections; how much less by ordinary people or those of the two vehicles! 1. Interpretation of the Precepts in terms of the Middle Treatise and the Threefold Truth [37a3] Above we have classied [the ten categories of the precepts] in terms of higher
5. the precepts of the supreme path that is a complete conversion n T % XXw For the list of ten type of precepts, see note above (under 36a1415). The Kgi (BTII, p. 531), gives a chart showing the correlation between these categories of precepts. 45 The precepts of prohibition (prtimoka, savara-la), which deal with actions to be avoided. 46 That is, reects all things as they are, without itself moving?
44

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and lower levels, and their differences in content. Now I will discuss the upholding of the precepts in terms of contemplating the principle [of reality] through the contemplation of the mind [or, the contemplation of thoughts] 7, by which one can completely uphold and accomplish these ten [types of] precepts. First, there are four ways to bundle the ten [types of] precepts: 1. The rst four [types of] precepts [from that of no fault to unmixed] involve only [the level of] things that arise from causes and conditions.47 In general this refers to the objects of contemplation . 2. The next two [types of] precepts [in accordance with the path and without attachment] involve contemplating all things that arise from causes and conditions as empty. This is to uphold the precepts through the contemplation of emptiness W. 3. The next two [types of] precepts [praised as wise and mastery] involve contemplating things that arise through causes and conditions as conventional. This is to uphold the precepts through the contemplation of the conventional x. 4. The next two [types of] precepts [in accordance with contemplation and complete] involve contemplating things that arise from causes and conditions as the Middle. This is to uphold the precepts through the contemplation of the Middle _. [37a9; 1. Causes and Conditions:] The contemplation of the mind [or thoughts] [at the level] of things that arise from causes and conditions is [as follows]. If, in contemplating one thought in the mind, [the thought] arises from an evil condition, this is to transgress [the precepts] from the basic [precepts] to the unmixed precepts.48 These conditions are called evil because they are the opposite o_ of good. At this level one employs a mind that is in concurrence with goodness 3 in order to restrain and stop evil thoughts. In order to keep the precepts, from the basic ones to the unmixed, one should consummate [the state of] being in accordance with goodness, and perfect [the state of] no slandering or offense [8 [against the precepts]. Since this involves attaining a good mind, this is called restraining and stopping [evil thoughts]. As evil thoughts are stopped, it is the same with physical and verbal [activity].49 To restrain [evil] is goodness that comes from stopping [evil] 3 ;50 being in accordance with [goodness] is the [active] performance of good 3. The [active] performance of good corresponds to contemplation; goodness from stopping [evil] corresponds to cessation. This [process] is called the upholding the [rst] four types of precepts through contemplation of thoughts in terms of things that arise from causes and conditions. [37a16; 2. Emptiness:] Next, the contemplation of the causes and conditions of
This, of course, is the rst line of the famous verse 24:18 of the Middle Treatise, the basis of the threefold truth. The rest of these four categories also follow the pattern of this verse. 48 That is, categories one to four of the ten types of precepts. 49 That is, evil physical and verbal activity is restrained and stopped by performing or attaining good physical and verbal activity. Or, evil physical and verbal activity is stopped if evil mental activity ceases. 50 That is, it is an indirect good in the sense of getting rid of evil.
47

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the arising of good and evil as empty is [as follows]. The Diamond Stra says, If you perceive the marks of dharmas, this is called having attachment to the self a, persons ^, beings L, or a soul V! (jva). If you perceive the marks of nondharmas, again this is called having attachment to the self, persons, beings, or soul. If you do not perceive the marks of dharmas or do not perceive the marks of non-dharmas[, this is also attachment]. As in the analogy of the raft,51 [attachment to preconceived notions of] dharmas should be abandoned; how much more so for non-dharmas.52 Therefore one should know that both dharmas and nondharmas are empty and quiescent; this is called upholding the precepts. Here, that which is called dharma refers to the conventional reality of phenomena in terms of the duality of good and evil thoughts. If you perceive that there are good and evil as conventional names [with no substantial reality], this still involves attachment to a self, persons, beings, or a soul. If you perceive good and evil and real dharmas, again this involves attachment to a self, persons, beings, or a soul. With regard to the marks of non-dharmas, if you perceive good and evil as conventional names, this is called nothingness [,53 and also involves attachment to a self, persons, beings, or a soul. If you perceive good and evil as having true reality, this is also called nothingness,54 and also involves attachment to a self, persons, beings, or a soul. Why is this so? Because these perceptions arise by relying on [an overly negative] nothingness. You should not be attached [to these categories]. Relying on views that arise from [the categories of] neither Being nor nothingness [ will all involve attachment to the self, persons, beings, or a soul. Contemplate in this way: dharmas and non-dharmas are all empty. Through [37b] this contemplation one is able to be in accordance with non-delement, to restrain and stop the sixty-two [mistaken] views of Being and nothingness; therefore this is called the precepts in accordance with the path. When you seriously ruminate on this contemplation, deliberating with a pure maturity, responding to objects as conditions progress q$ [with the realization that] all sights and sounds are empty, this is called [upholding] the precepts of non-attachment. Restraining and stopping conceptual delusions is to be well in accordance with the real truth (paramrtha-satya); this is called the contemplation of thoughts that arise
51 That is, that after crossing a river one should leave the raft behind. One who remains attached to words, concepts, or teachings after their usefulness has been exhausted is like a person who continues to carry around a raft after he has used it to cross a river. 52 See The Diamond Stra, T 8.749b611. Conze, Buddhist Wisdom Books (p. 3334), translates this section from the Sanskrit: And why? Because, Subhuti, in these Bodhisattvas no perception of a self takes place, no perception of a being, no perception of a soul, no perception of a person. Nor do these Bodhisattvas have a perception of a dharma, or a perception of a no-dharma. No perception nor non-perception takes place in them. And why? If Subhuti, these Bodhisattvas should have a perception of either a dharma, or a no-dharma, they would thereby seize on a self, on a being, on a soul, on a person. And why? Because a Bodhisattva should not seize on either a dharma or a nodharma. Therefore this saying has been taught by the Tathgata with a hidden meaning: By those who know the discourse on dharmas as like unto a raft, dharmas should be forsaken, still more so no-dharmas. 53 That is, a denial that anything exists in any way; a nihilistic extreme. 54 Because it is denied?

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through conditioned arising as empty, and the upholding of the two types of precepts [of in accordance with the path and without attachment]. [37b4; 3. Conventionality:] Next, the contemplation of the conditioned arising of thoughts in terms of conventionality is [as follows]. Know that thoughts are not [substantial] thoughts, and dharmas are not [substantial] dharmas [i.e., they are empty], but do not remain forever stagnant * in [the conception of the emptiness of] no-thoughts and no-dharmas. Using the skillful means of the various ways 1), re-establish thoughts and dharmas within this lack of Being [8, and extract from all the mental workings (caitasika) those that will guide and benet sentient beings; this is [the upholding of the precepts that is called] praised as wise [conduct]. Even though you extensively discriminate the immeasurable dharmas of the mind, [in the nal analysis all phenomena] are only names and are like the marks of empty space [in their lack of substantial Being]. To not arouse passionate attachment nor be fettered by delusion; this is called [the upholding of the precepts that is called] mastery. This contemplation of the conventional restrains and stops ignorance [F, and involves being well in accordance with mundane reality 7. Cessation is discussed for the side of hindering [evil]; contemplation is discussed for the side of being in accordance [with good]. This is the contemplation of the conventional, the upholding of the two types of precepts [of that praised as wise and mastery]. [37b11; 4. The Middle:] Next, the contemplation of the causes and conditions of arising thoughts in terms of the Middle is [as follows]. Contemplate the nature of thoughts as ultimately quiescent. Thoughts are fundamentally neither [completely] empty55 nor conventionally existent [in a substantial sense]. Since they are not conventionally existent, they are not worldly; since they are not empty they are not transworldly. Neither the Dharma of the wise sage nor the dharmas of ordinary people [can do justice to the Middle Way]. Both extremes are quiescent N_;56 this is called the nature of the mind . To be able to contemplate in this way is called superior concentration . Such concentrated thoughts are undeled (ragama), basically quiescent, and unmovable. They are illuminated concerning both of the two truths, and manifest all upright behavior X. If you are accordance with this samdhi, there is nothing that is not complete.57 To contemplate thoughts in this way restrains and stops the two extremes and all evil ignorance, and is well in accordance with the one true reality of the Middle Way. Cessation is discussed for the side (extreme) of hindering [evil]; contemplation is discussed for the side of being in accordance with [good]. [The avoidance of the two extremes and their merging] is called the Middle, the upholding of the two types of precepts [of in accordance with concentration and complete]. Therefore it says in the Fan wang ching, The precepts are called Mahyna; they are called the supreme light, that is, neither blue nor yellow nor red nor white. The precepts are called lial piety [; lial piety is called being in accorThat is, they are not complete nothingness or nothing. This may refer to a passage in the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.771b, which speaks of the quiescence of both body and mind. 57 Note that these are the names of the ninth and tenth categories of precepts.
56 55

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dance with [propriety]. Filial piety is the good that is the stopping [of evil], and being in accordance with is active goodness. In this way the precepts are praised by the original teacher, and I also praise them.58 One should know that subtle contemplation U of the Middle Way is the proper essence of the precepts. It is the most supreme purity, the ultimate upholding of the precepts. The Treatise on the Ten Stages explains expansively, If there is no self or place for the self, one should distance oneself from vain speculation (prapaca), for everything has no Being. This is called the supreme la.59 Therefore the Vimalakrti Stra says, The nature of offense neither abides within nor does it abide without, nor does it abide between the two. As with thoughts, so also is the stain of offense. To realize this is called good understanding; this is called homage for the precepts.60 Such is the meaning here. 2. Further Remarks on Upholding the Precepts and Contemplation of the Mind [37b27] Again, there are ve terms for the upholding of precepts and contemplation of the mind. What are these? [37b28; 1.] Restraining and stopping [evil] is a meaning [or function] of

A summary of a passage from the Fan wang ching } (Stra of Brahms net) T #1484, 24.1004a23b11, a text on the Mahyna precepts suspected of being an apocryphal Chinese composition (note the reference in this quote to lial piety). The section reads: When the Buddha kyamuni rst sat under the Bodhi tree, attained supreme awakening, he rst established the bodhisattva prtimokain lial accordance with father, mother, teacher, priest, and the three treasures [of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha]; and in lial accordance with the Dharma for accomplishing the path. Filial piety is called the precepts. The precepts are also called controlling and stopping. [At that time] from the Buddhas mouth immeasurable rays of light were emitted. This light was neither blue, yellow, red, white, or black. It was neither form nor mental; neither existent nor non-existent. This is the basis of all the Buddhas, the basis of all bodhisattvas. There is no mention of the terms goodness as the stopping [of evil] or active goodness.
59

58

A slightly modied quote from the Treatise on the Ten Stages, T 26.110c2122: Know that inner and outer dharmas are ultimately empty and unobtainable. Again, ultimate emptiness cannot be grasped with vain speculation. This is called the most supreme la.

Note that this passage comes close on the heels of the passage from the same text quoted above at 36c58. Chih-i must have had this passage close at hand when preparing this section.
60 A paraphrase from a passage in the Vimalakrti Stra, T 14.541b1729. Boin, Vimalakrti Stra, pp. 7173, translates the context: Honourable Upli, a fault exists neither on the inside, nor on the outside, nor between the two. And why? Because the Blessed One has said: By the delement of the mind are beings deled; by the purication of the mind are they puried. Honourable Upli, the mind exists neither on the inside, nor on the outside, nor between the two. So it is with a fault; as it is with the mind, and with all dharmas as with a fault; they are not separated from suchness. All dharmas are born of imagination, like the moon in the water and a reection in a mirror. Those who know this are called the true guardians of the discipline (vinayadhara); those who know this are well-disciplined (suvinta).

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the precepts, and it is also likewise for contemplation. Threefold contemplation is the name for the ability to restrain, and the three (types of) delusions X61 is the name for that which is to be restrained. In this way the meaning of restrain[37c] ing and stopping pervades the universe (dharmadhtu), and is not limited to physical and verbal [activity]. [37c1; 2.] Again, the Vinaya is also referred to as extinction n, because it involves the extinction of all negative physical and verbal [factors]. Thus the contemplation of the mind is also called extinction. That is, the contemplation of emptiness ,W extinguishes negative views and attitudes ; the contemplation of conventionality ,x extinguishes the negative minute dust-like [delusions] a; the contemplation of the Middle ,_ extinguishes negative [fundamental] ignorance [g. If extinction is discussed in this way, then [we can see that] all negative [elements] that pervade the universe (dharmadhtu) can be extinguished, without being limited to those of the seven [physical and verbal] limbs [of awakening].62 Therefore it says in the Vimalakrti Stra, One should directly remove and extinguish [the remorse from committing an offense], and should not feel anguish in the mind.63 Such is the meaning here. [37c7; 3.] Again, the prtimoka # is called the liberation from retained [delusions] m0; the contemplation of the mind is also likewise. If you do not contemplate and have insight into the reality of the threefold truth, the threefold delusions are retained and there is no liberation. If you perceive the threefold truth, there is liberation from the retained threefold delusions. This kind of liberation is a universal liberation that pervades the universe. It is not just a matter of stopping and being liberated from the three evil destinies [of hell, hungry ghosts, and beasts] and transcending the cycle of birth and death (sasra). [37c10; 4.] Again, [another synonym for the precepts is] recitation (svadhyyana), to turn ones back on the [written] text and chant it from memory M. Contemplation of the mind is also likewise. The terms of threefold contemplation express the reality of the threefold truth, that is, they are verbal expressions. However, to know that names are not the [thing that is] named, to rene the mind with regard to the reality of the truth 7, and to maintain contemplation continuously and manifest [the truth] spontaneously without giving rise to deluded thoughts: this is the [wider] meaning of recitation. This kind of recitation is a recitation that pervades the universe and is not limited to the recitation of [the Vinaya] eighty times kY.64
The three categories that include all delusions that afflict human beings: deluded views and attitudes; minute delusions, and fundamental ignorance.
62 Or, without stopping at the seven components [of awakening] [], the sixth category of the thirty-seven parts of the way that lead to enlightenment. The seven are mindfulness, distinguishing favorable dharmas from unfavorable ones, diligence, joy, serenity, concentration, and equanimity. 63 This line comes immediately preceding the passage just quoted above from the Vimalakrti Stra; see T 14.541b1617. Boin, Vimalakrti Stra, p. 71, translates: Upli, without further aggravating the fault of these two monks, just destroy their remorse directly. The fault that they have committed should not torture their minds. And why? [see note above for the passage that continues here.] 64 61

Or, is not [limited] to the stopping [of evil that is the purpose of the Vinaya] recited

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[37c14; 5.] Again, [another name for the precepts is] Vinaya A,65 an expression of measuring light and serious [offenses] and discriminating between transgressions and non-transgressions. Contemplation of the mind is also likewise. It involves discriminating the weight of the crude and evil dregs of [the delusions of mistaken] views and attitudes, the lightness of worldly ignorance, and the light weight of that which arises from the dust-like delusions and adventitious afictions a; [it is to realize] that basically [the delusions are] minute and ethereal C. These matters are as I have already discussed them in the section on bodhicitta.66 To contemplate threefold reality with the threefold contemplation is to not trespass [against morality]. For [the realization of] threefold reality to be obstructed by the three [kinds of] delusions is called to trespass [against morality]. These are three antidotes for three dis-eases; there is no mistake in measurement [for what is needed for healing], not even a discrepancy [the width] of a silk thread. [37c19] Again, know that upholding the precepts in deed w67 has three degrees: the highest degree involves attaining divine recompense [and rebirth in the realm of the gods], the middling degree _ involves attaining the recompense of a human being, and the lower degree 4 involves attaining the recompense of an asura. If you trespass at a higher degree, you retrogress from the divine realm; if you trespass at a middling degree, you retrogress from the human realm; if you trespass at a lower degree, you retrogress from the realm of the asura and enter the three evil destinies [of hell, hungry ghosts, and beasts].68 The evil destinies also have three degrees: light [transgressions] mean you will enter the realm of the hungry ghosts; at the next degree you enter the realm of the beasts; heavy [transgressions] mean you will enter the realm of hell. There are also a variety of degrees within the middling degree: high, middle, low, and lower than low 44, that is, the four continents v4.69 There are also a variety of degrees within the higher degree, that is, the various heavens of the triple world each have levels of degrees. [37c25] Again, as for upholding the precepts in principle 7 w ,70 each of the degrees of emptiness, conventionality, and the Middle respectively have higher, middling, and lower [degrees].
eighty times. The Vinaya recited eighty times refers to the original Vinaya recited by the Buddhas disciple Upli eighty times during the summer retreat, while the Tripiaka was being composed after the Buddhas death (see Lamotte, History, pp. 17475 [19193].). This may refer to the Vinaya in Ten Recitations (YA, *Sarvstivdavinaya or *Dadhyyavinaya), translated into Chinese by Kumrajva and Puyatara (T #1435, 23.1470), in which the eighty sections or recitations are reduced to ten. that the term Vinaya has already been used above as example [2], but there Chih-i used the transliteration ; here he uses the translation A. See above, Mo-ho chih-kuan, 5b138a6, where Chih-i discusses these subjects in the context of the positive aspects of bodhicitta in terms of the Four Noble Truths.
67 In contrast to upholding the precepts in principle through contemplation, as discussed in the next paragraph. 66 65 Note

Similar statements concerning higher, middling, and lower levels are found in the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.663a1623. This passage was referred to earlier in the Mo-ho chih-kuan at T 46.4a26b10.
69

68

Of which our present world is the southern continent of Jambudvpa.

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The three degrees of emptiness are as follows: the lower degree is that of the rvaka; the middling degree is that of the pratyekabuddha; and the higher degree is that of the bodhisattva of the Shared Teaching. If they retrogress, their faults are transmitted [to the next lower degree]. The three degrees of conventionality are as follows: the lower degree is that of the Tripiaka bodhisattva; the middling degree is that of the bodhisattva who has transcended conventionality in the Shared Teaching; the higher degree is that of the bodhisattva of the Distinct Teaching. The three degrees of the Middle are as follows: the lower degree is that of the [38a] bodhisattva of the Distinct Teaching; the middling degree is that of the bodhisattva of the Perfect Teaching; and the higher degree is that of the Buddha. Only a Buddha alone is fully endowed with purity in the precepts. Again, the lower degree consists of the ve degrees 2 [of the disciple],71 the middling [degree] involves the purity of the six senses,72 and the higher degree involves entering into the rst stage of abodes W [on up to Buddhahood]. This is a brief outline of contemplating the mind in terms of the variance in stages. The contemplation of the mind as the Middle Way involves the Dharma realm of the Mahyna #it universally encompasses all dharmas. This meaning should be understood, and I will not belabor the point with further details. [38a5] I [Kuan-ting] asked: the three [sub-]degrees of the lower and middling [degrees] are all explained in terms of arousing [insight into] the real [i.e., emptiness]. How can the three [sub-]degrees of the higher degree [= the Middle] be explained in terms of the real [= emptiness] and resemblance [= conventionality]? Answer: The rst three paths [or degrees, of emptiness] are not yet merged [as the Middle], but are polarized and explained in [relative] horizontal terms; the Middle is integrated and [so the degrees] can be classied vertically in terms of the one [Middle] Way. Also, if speaking in horizontal terms, the three [sub-]degrees [of the higher degree] are the Shared-advancing-to-Distinct, Distinct, and Perfect [Teachings]. [38a8] If we make distinctions in this way as to attainment and loss, or light and heavy, this involves pervasively referring to and taking into account [the whole universe of] the Dharma realm (dharmadhtu), not just putting an end to the boil!V73 [of hellish retribution]. One ing and burning coverings of obstacles l

70 In contrast to upholding the precepts in deed. As Chih-i proceeds to explain, upholding the precepts in principle involves the contemplation of the mind in terms of the threefold truth of emptiness, conventionality, and the Middle, without necessarily upholding the detailed precepts of the Vinaya (though, as Chih-i takes pains to point out below, upholding the precepts in deed is vitally important and should not be taken lightly).

The ve lowest levels of attainment before entering the rst of the bodhisattva stages. In terms of the Six Identities, this corresponds to the level of identity in the practice of contemplation. See Chart 1 in Appendix. 72 In terms of the levels of the six identities, this corresponds to identity in resemblance. In terms of the bodhisattva stages, this corresponds to the ten degrees of faith. 73 The Vinaya in Ten Recitations, T 23.63c1819, contains this phrase where it says, in the prtimoka, offenses are called burning and boiling coverings of obstacles, because they result in the retribution of hell.

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should perceive the ve terms [given above for upholding the precepts with regard to] contemplation of the mind in this way. If in deed you respect and uphold the rst four [of the ten categories of the] precepts,74 but your mind is full of miscellaneous [distracting] thoughts, then in deed you are not secure and, like a [fragile] bowl or jar, will break when faced with passionate views and evil [conditions]. If you are able to contemplate your thoughts and uphold the [later] six kinds of precepts,75 then you can contemplate the principle [of reality] clearly, and be unmoved by deluded thoughts. Even if you are faced with evil conditions, you will be secure and without fault. If you are unmoved with regard to the principle 7, then [your] deeds will be perfected spontaneously. Therefore it says in the Vimalakrti Stra, If you are able to act in this way, this is called good understanding and homage toward the precepts.76 This is the correct meaning. 3. Clarication of Transgressing the Precepts [38a15] Third is clarication of the features of transgressing the precepts wo. Those who slander and destroy the pure precepts will not transcend ignorance, passion, and biased views |(I; such people resent the precepts B;77 this [resentment] is like that of the two demons (rkasa) [of passions and mistaken views, which tempt people to break the precepts]. The Mahparinirva Stra says, Suppose there is a man who attempts to cross the great sea by holding on to a oating bag. At that time there was a rkasa in the sea who came and appealed for the oating bag. At rst he appealed for it all, and [being denied it] nally [appealed for] a minute part, but none was given.78 A practicer [of the Buddhist
That is, the rst four from no fault to not mixed. latter six from in accordance with the path to complete. 76 See the passage from the Vimalakrti Stra also quoted a few lines above, T 14.541b2729. See the full translation of this context in the note above under Mo-ho chih-kuan 37b2527. 77 Lit., the family of those who resent the precepts; Skt. amitra-saj, atru-saj (?). 78 A too-terse summary of an analogy from the opening section of chapter 19 of the Mahparinirva Stra on Noble Activity, which discusses ve kinds of actions or activity: 1. noble actions, 2. pure actions, 3. divine actions, 4. childlike actions, and 5. diseased actions; see T 12.673bff. This section in the Mo-ho chih-kuan contains numerous references to this passage in the Mahparinirva Stra. The analogy in the stra (T 12.673c18674a29) reads as follows: Good man. Suppose there is a man who wishes to cross the great sea by holding on to a oating bag. At that time there was, in the sea, a rkasa who came up to this person [oating in the sea] and appealed to be given the oating bag. The man who heard this request thought, If I now give this [oating bag to the rkasa] I will surely drown. So he answered, Oh rkasa, you may kill me, but I will not give you the oating bag. The rkasa replied, If you are not able to give me the entire [bag], kindly give me half. The man, however, continued to reject the offer. Then the rkasa said, If you are not able to give me half, then may I request that you give me a third? The man still refused. Then the rkasa said, If you are not able [to give a third], then offer me the place where your hand rests. Still the man refused. The rkasa said, If you are not able to give even the place where your hand rests, I will now be hungry and distressed, and beset by many sufferings. Please, can you
75 The 74

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path] is also like this. From the rst aspiration and acceptance of the precepts, one vows to cross the sea of life and death (sasra), [and refuses to compromise] even though demons of passions and [mistaken] views appeal for [one to give up even a small part of] the oating bag of the precepts. [38a21] The demon of passions says, I will lead you to attain peace HK and enter nirva.79 Thus, by means of emphasizing the passions for the pleasures of desire, this is [misleadingly] identied as nirva. This is like a hungry person getting food, and like a poor person getting treasure,80 or the markaa monkey attaining
bequeath to me an area like a minute piece of dust? Then the man said, What you now ask for is truly not much. However, today I must cross the sea. I do not know how far there is to go. Dont you see? If I give to you [even a minute part], the air will surely escape [from the bag]. How can I cross the great sea with [even] such a [minute] defect? If the air escapes during my journey, I will sink into the water and die. Good son. The bodhisattva-mahsattva who upholds the precepts is also like this. He is like the man who crosses [the sea] by jealously protecting the oating bag. The bodhisattva is like this when he tries to keep the precepts. There are always various evil rkasa of passionate afictions who say to the bodhisattva, Believe me; I will not deceive you. Break only the four [major] prohibitions and keep the other precepts, and through these conditions I will lead you to attain peace and enter nirva. At that time the bodhisattva should say, I should now uphold these prohibitions, or I will fall into the Avci hell. In the end, if I do not offend against [the precepts], I will be born in heaven. The rkasa of passionate afictions then says, If you are not able to break the four [major] prohibitions, then you should break the sagha-avaea, and with these conditions I will lead you to attain peace and enter nirva. The bodhisattva again should say that he will not follow this advice, [and so forth]. The bodhisattva-mahsattva keeps and maintains even the most minute and small precept with a mind as solid as diamond. The bodhisattva-mahsattva upholds [all the precepts] from the four major prohibitions to the dukta [minor offenses]respectfully, rmly, and without discrimination. The bodhisattva rmly upholds [the precepts] in this way. A bodhisattva who upholds [the precepts] in this way is completely endowed with the ve limbs of the precepts. A phrase from the passage quoted above from the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.674a1011. For the full passage see the translation in the note above. Note that the stra passage has only demon (rkasa), and Chih-i adds the modifying of passions.
80 This phrase can be found in chapter 23, The Former Affairs of the Bodhisattva Medicine King, of the Lotus Stra, T 9.54b17. It is not clear whether or not Chih-i had the stra passage in mind, although he uses the same phrase previously in the Mo-ho chih-kuan (T 46.24c12) in conjunction with the next phrase concerning the monkey. The context is translated by Hurvitz, Lotus Stra, p. 299: Just as the Buddha is the king of the dharmas, this scripture is also, in the same way, the king of the scriptures. O Beowered by the King of Constellations! This scripture can save all living beings. This scripture can enable all living beings to separate themselves from pain and torment. This scripture can greatly benet all living beings, fullling their desires. Like a clear pond, it can slake the thirst of all. As a chilled person nds re, as a naked person nds clothing, as a merchant nds a chief, as a child nds its mother, as a passenger nds a ship, as a sick person nds a physician, as darkness nds a torch, as a poor person nds a jewel, as the people nd a king, as a commercial traveler nds the sea, as a candle dispels darkness, this scripture of the Dharma Blossom also, in the same way, can enable the beings to separate themselves from all woes, from all sickness and pain, and can loose the bonds of birth and death. 79

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bliss H by drinking wine.81 This bliss is called nirva in order to tempt and mislead practicers [of the Buddhist path]. If you follow after these passions, however, and revert to offending against the four major [prohibitions], this is like completely abandoning the oating bag. This [giving in to temptation] is called a feature of transgressing [against the major precepts]. Even if passions arise in the mind, however, you should not completely abandon [your practice and break the precepts]. The reason is that we now wish to cross the great sea of life and death (sasra); if we are not pure in [upholding] the la, we will revert and plunge into the three [evil] destinies Xr, and not arouse meditative concentration nor wisdom. Consider these things and arouse a great [healthy] fear [for what happens when one breaks the precepts]. Therefore the man [crossing the sea] said, you may kill me, but I will not give you the oating bag.82 This [tenacity] is called a feature of upholding [the major precepts]. A mind of passions also arouses evil contacts that give feelings of pleasure, but if you follow after these passionate contacts, you are abandoning half the oating bag.83 This [giving up] is called a feature of transgressing [against the precepts]. [38b] Practicers [of the Buddhist way] also are mindful of [the upholding of] the precepts of prohibition; should they not [also be concerned with being found] wanting with regard to the half [of the oating bag, i.e., the less major precepts]! The results and retributions [from breaking these precepts] would involve the torments and suffering of hell. If we discuss the meaning of that which is right before our eyes [i.e., the breaking of precepts], this [violation] involves expulsion [from the Sangha], which is a matter of disgrace and shame. How much more so if you should in this way abuse great matters. Thus you should carefully guard [the precepts] and not follow after passionate feelings. This [guarding] is called a feature of upholding [the precepts]. [38b4] Again, passions arise in the mind, and repeatedly appeal by various means. But if you offend [against the minor precepts], this [offense] is [like giving in to] the appeal for the place where a hand rests. Or again, offending against the light minor precepts # (pcittiya) is like the appeal for the place where a nger rests, and offending against the dukta [minor offenses] is like the appeal to [the area of] a minute speck of dust.84 The dukta are called minor, but they open the gate to debauchery. Even if there are not many [holes in the oating bag the size of] specks of dust, water will gradually seep in and you will sink into the sea and die. To have a mind of passions is to break the legalistic precepts Aw (savarala). To be full of covetousness and thus behold the ve types of [sensual] desires is to break the precepts that accompany samdhi w. To be deeply attached to sasra and thus create karmic retribution is to break the precepts of emptiness
The phrase also appears in the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.746a225, within the context of distinguishing between a worldly nirva and great nirva. See note at Mo-ho chih-kuan 24c12. 81 See the Stra on Previously Unheard-of Causes and Conditions, T 17.586b13. This passage is translated and discussed in the notes at Mo-ho chih-kuan 24c12. 82 A phrase from the passage quoted above from the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.673c22. For the full passage see the translation in the note above. 83 See the passage quoted above from the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.673b23. 84 See the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.673c2728.

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,Ww. To not put an end to worldly slanders and complaints, and not protect the intentions of others, is to break the precepts of conventionality ,xw. To not believe that the precepts for doing good are equivalent with emptiness, or to not believe that these precepts completely encompass the Buddha Dharma, or to not believe that these precepts are ultimately pure, is to break the precepts of the Middle Way _1w. This should be understood according to these examples. [38b12] Next, the demon of [mistaken] views appealing for the oating bag is [an analogy for] one who breaks the precepts for the purpose of [gaining] riches; this is [also] as explained above. People [obsessed with sensual] contact are all like this; this is called evil that has already arisen C4 (utpdita). Practice diligently and single-mindedly in order to remove and sever [all passions and obstructions]. If [mistaken] views in the mind are robust, one has [mistaken] conceptualizations concerning dharmas and thus will give rise to offenses and faults &J. This kind of biased understanding m{ is called evil that has not yet arisen J. Since it has not arisen #, practice diligently and singlemindedly [so that it does not arise]. Even though these [mistaken] views have not yet arisen, if one cultivates only a little meditation and does not have a felicitous teacher and friend, one will give rise to thoughts of attachment and arouse faults and mistakes J (dinava). When the Buddha was in this world there was a bhiku who attained the four dhyna (meditative trances) v, and the four fruits vF [up to that of the arhat]. On his deathbed he saw [a vision of himself in] the intermediate state _ (between death and rebirth; antar-bhava), and he cursed the Buddha, saying, Arhats are not [supposed to be] reborn! Why am I going to have another rebirth? nanda asked the Buddha, This persons life is coming to an end. Where will he be reborn? The Buddha said, He has already fallen into hell. Although he upheld the precepts and attained the dhyna stage with delements [still remaining] ,, he did not have faith =.85 If this was so even when the
85

A story from the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.189a1129 (see Lamotte, Le Trait, pp. 105253): Among the disciples of the Buddha there was a bhiku who had attained the four dhyna (meditative trances) but was extremely arrogant. Although he had attained the four paths (from stream-enterer to arhat)when he attained the rst dhyna he became a stream-enterer, when he attained the second dhyna he became a oncereturner, when he attained the third dhyna he became a non-returner, and when he attained the fourth dhyna he became an arhathe became satised and stopped [further practice], and did not seek to progress further. When his life-force was exhausted, he had a vision of his coming intermediate state (antar-bhava) from within the fourth dhyna trance. [Note: Lamotte has Quand il fut sur le point de mourir, il vit se rassembler les (cinq) agrgats prsents dans les quatre dhyna. (Did Chih-i mistake _ as antar-bhava, or is Lamottes translation mistaken?)] This caused him to have further false views (mithydi), that there is no nirva and that the Buddha had deceived him. Because of these evil and mistaken views, he lost the intermediate state of the fourth dhyna trance and instead perceived an intermediate state in which he plowed the sludge of Avci. When his life ended he was born in the Avci hell. All the bhikus asked the Buddha, When this forest (araya) bhikus life comes to an end, where will he be reborn? The Buddha said, This person is reborn in the Avci hell. All the bhiku were taken aback by shock, [saying,] this man sat in meditation and upheld the precepts; why does he nd himself in such a place? The Buddha said, This person was extremely arrogant. Though he attained [the fruit of]

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Buddha was in this world, how much more so in this latter age = [full of] ignorant people whose sins and attachments are heavy and deep! Therefore it says in the Stra on the Bodhisattva kagarbha that if one arouses evil views, this is called the third prtimoka.86 What are evil views? Here are some examples: Suppose you attain an understanding of emptiness and arouse a little wisdom, but then you erect your own thoughts as your teacher and say that you have illumined [the truth of] non-arising B[, and with a mind of such strong [mistaken] views begin to attack other teachings, [saying that] there are no sentient beings and no Buddha, and reject worldly causality and transworldly causality mF. The Lotus Stra [passage that] says, Some eat human esh, and some devour dogs,87 refers to these [kinds of people]. Such people offend against correct views, upright behavior, and a pure life, and arouse [mistaken] views concerning equality and non-discrimination Sf[_. They say, What is a trespass, and what is not a trespass? [There is no difference.] If one discriminates, these discriminations are an obstacle [to enlightenment], and these obstacles are not real. Though we dwell with covetous passions, we do not arouse a fear of these obsta- [38c] cles. Not having a fear of these obstacles is bodhi-wisdom. This alone is real, and all the rest are deceptive words xB. [This is an evil view.] Again, if you meet an evil teacher who teaches evil dharmas, then poisonous [mistaken] views will are up like a blaze, false and demonic [thoughts] will enter your mind, your false understanding will deepen further, you will not refrain from bizarre and perverted types [of behavior], your views will be shiftless and uneven like a mountain range and you will disparage all things. If you see someone who does good you say that he is doing it for his own benet, and you will be deceitful and treat people like dirt. Following these [mistaken] views is like having the
the four paths when he attained the four dhynas, when he came to the end of his life and saw the features of the intermediate state of the fourth dhyna, he gave rise to mistaken views that there is no nirva, and [said to himself] I will return again to this life as an Arhat and show that the Buddha is an imposter! At that time his vision of the features of the intermediate state [changed to] that of the Avci hell. When his life came to an end he was reborn in the Avci hell. Then the Buddha explained in a verse, saying: Much-hearing, upholding the precepts, and meditation: These are not enough to attain the undeled Dharma If, even though one has these merits, One does not have faith in these matters. Chan-jan (BTII, p. 555) attributes this bhikus fall into hell to his slandering the Buddha. A rewording of a passage from the Stra on the Bodhisattva kagarbha WO; see T #408, 13.673a1319. This is a short text, a variant of the kagarbha Stra (see also T #405407), translated into Chinese by Jnagupta in the sixth century. This stra is rarely quoted by Chih-i, and it is not clear why he chose to refer to it at this point. 87 These phrases are from the verses on the parable of the burning house, in the Lotus Stra, T 9.14a1415, part of the description of the horrible state the burning house (this world) is in. Hurvitz, Lotus Stra, p. 66, translates: Again, there were demons Whose heads were the shape of ox-heads, Who would now eat human esh, And would then devour dogs.
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whole oating bag taken away. Suppose that [the oating bag] is not completely taken away, but one thinks, although this may [or may not] be the truth, I still am not able to perceive [and accept] it, but why should I immediately abandon [the bag]? Even if [the oating bag] is not given away due to such hesitation, suppose [mistaken] views still arise in the mind. Although [you realize that] all dharmas are empty and it does not matter whether one has contact or no contact with the [dualistic] features such as [the distictions of] male and female, if you arouse attachment and embrace [these features], then this is called giving up half [of the oating bag]. Or [suppose that with regard to the levels] from repeated b means to the minor offenses (dukta), it is [mistakenly] said that all dharmas are empty and quiescent, so why be distracted by phenomenal features? This is like lacking [a part of the bag equivalent to] a minute particle [so that the bag leaks]. If these [mistaken] thoughts of emptiness gradually increase, it is like a small amount of water gradually seeping in smoothly and without hindrance, so that eventually all the precepts are swallowed up; therefore the oating bag eventually sinks. One should know that a mind with such views  is to be greatly feared. Why is this so? If [it is realized that] the four major [prohibitions] and the one who transgresses them are all empty, and even the ve grave offenses 2? are also empty, then why would one not go ahead and commit these grave offenses?88 This [mistaken] view of emptiness W (nyat-di) becomes so powerful, and there will remain no restraint with regard to your actions or in hurting others. Those who have no restraint are like people with no king or queen to restrain them. [People with such] a mental attitude are like people who do not admit that they have a king or a queen, and yet because they cherish their own bodies and lives, they do not assassinate the king because [if they did so] their bodies would be crushed and their lives put to an end. This kind of ignorant [view of] emptiness does not [truly] empty ones body and life, but is a [selsh] cherishing of ones body and life, and does not empty [the authority of] the king. If one is not able to [realize truly] the emptiness of oneself and the king, how can one deceive ones father and mother, be careless toward the teachings of the Buddha, and then say that the four major [prohibitions] and the ve grave offenses are empty! It should be known that such people are not able to perceive their own faults, that is, their attachments to emptiness; such people cannot even perceive what is near, let along what is far away! To reject the Buddhas prohibitions by means of an evil [view of] emptiness is to break the legalistic precepts (savara-la). For the mind to be disturbed by the [mistaken] view of emptiness is to break the precepts that accompany samdhi. To be strongly attached to ones own views is to break the precepts of emptiness. To dele the good intentions of others is to break the precepts of conventionality. To not believe that a mind of mistaken views is equivalent with vanity ZW, or that the Buddha Dharma is ultimately pure, is to break the precepts of the Middle Way. It should thus be known that a mind with a mistaken and one-sided [view of] emptiness is to be greatly feared. If you fall into such a [mistaken] view, you will sink and be ruined for a long time, and not be able to attain [the destinies of]
That is, if they are empty, why not go ahead and do them? Why not sin so that grace abounds?
88

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human and divine beings and attain nirva, much less mahparinirva. Therefore the [Middle] Treatise says, The great sage teaches that dharmas are empty because fundamentally people are dominated by [the concept of] Being. But as for people who are attached to emptiness, [even] the Buddhas cannot save them.89 Again, a stra says, Even if you give rise to a mind of doubt with regard to the dharmas, you can [still] destroy passionate afictions as big as Mount Sumeru. But if you establish [mistaken] views, then you cannot be transformed.90 The Stra of Non- [39a] activity [ says, covetous desires are the path,91 but a biased grasp of these words can reveals that one is unrestrained [by moral restraints]. How can one not quote the [Stra of] Non-activity that If you are pitifully attached to the teaching of non-restraint, you are far from Buddhahood. If you have attained [insight into] emptiness, after all, you will not break the precepts,92 and so forth. This is called the slandering of the prohibitory precepts 8w by the demon of the mind of [mistaken] views. This is the general meaning [. 4. A Mixed Discussion of Upholding and Transgressing the Precepts [39a4] Again, at rst I concentrated on discussing the upholding [of the precepts], and next I concentrated on discussing the transgressing [of the precepts]. Now I will clarify in a mixed fashion # the upholding and transgressing of the ten [categories of upholding the] precepts. If they are discussed generally in terms of change and escape {m [from suffering and delusion], then everything can be discussed in terms of [the Way of] vehicles /, i.e., there are ve vehicles with regard to [the destinies of] human and divine beings.93 If they are discussed generally in terms of restraining and stopping , then everything can be discussed in terms of the precepts, that is, the legalistic precepts, that which accompanies samdhi, that which accompanies the path 1, and so forth.
See the ninth verse of the thirteenth chapter of the Mlamadhyamaka-krik , T 30.18c1617, which is slightly different: The great sage teaches that dharmas are empty, in order that people become free of all views. If, on the other hand, they [become attached to] the view of the existence of emptiness, then the Buddhas cannot save them. The Taish has the Sanskrit for the verse: nyat sarvadn prokt niaraa jinai ye tu nyatdis tn asdhyn bhavire. Streng, Emptiness, p. 198, has the following for the eighth verse of chapter 13: Emptiness is proclaimed by the victorious one as the refutation of all viewpoints; But those who hold emptiness as a viewpoint[the true perceivers] have called those incurable (asdhya). A rewording of a passage from the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.816a68: If there are people who give rise to a mind of doubt, they are still able to demolish immeasurable passionate afictions as big as Mount Sumeru. If, however, there are those among them who give rise to a determined [mistaken view?], this is called passionate attachment. Note that the stra does not specically mentioned mistaken views.
91 See the Stra of Non-activity, T #650, 15.752a7, which has the phrase, The nature of covetous desires is the path. Similar ideas are expressed in verses later in the stra, e.g., 759c. For a translation of these verses see the note under Mo-ho chih-kuan 18a29b2, in the context of Chih-is discussion of the inseparability of passions, enlightenment, and the Buddhist Path. 90 89

There are verses in the Stra of Non-activity (T 15.759c761a) that say similar things (see note above), but no phrases that match very closely.
93

92

The ve paths of human beings, gods, rvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas.

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If [the ten categories are discussed] distinctly, the three degrees of [upholding] the precepts in deed w are called the precepts, but these precepts are still deled and are not [able to allow people to] change and transcend [this world]. The three degrees of [upholding] the precepts as principle 7w are called the vehicles. These vehicles are undeled and are able [to allow people] to change and transcend [this world and attain Buddhahood]. If we categorize these precepts and vehicles in terms of a tetralemma, they are as follows: 1. Procient in both the vehicles and precepts /wH; 2. Procient in the vehicles but lax in the precepts /w7; 3. Procient in the precepts but lax in the vehicles w/7; and 4. Lax in both the precepts and the vehicles /wH7.94 1. Procient in Both the Vehicles and Precepts [39a12] First is those who are procient in both the vehicles and precepts. As I pointed out above in the discussion on the features of upholding [the precepts], one can attain the path within this life by [moral] purication through the ten types [of upholding the precepts]. There is no gap between deeds and principle, and you can attain the path in this life by contemplating thoughts continuously.95 If you cannot yet attain the path [completely], since your karmic recompense is so strong, and your strengths take precedence, then you will be reborn in a good destiny. If you are procient in the legalistic precepts, then you will be drawn to the realm of desires of human and divine beings. If you are procient in the precepts that are not mixed, then you will be drawn to the dhyna states of the Brahm realm. Of the three degrees of the vehicles of principle,96 in which vehicle are you the most procient? If, of the three degrees, you are most procient in the middle vehicle, you will meet the Buddha Maitreya with the body of a human or divine being, hear the Avatasaka teachings, and those with sharp faculties will attain the path. If you are most procient in the higher degree of the vehicle of emerging in conventionality, you will meet the Buddha Maitreya with the body of a human or divine being and gain the Avatasaka seat, and even those of dull faculties will attain the path. If you are the most procient in the two middle and higher degrees of the vehicle for realizing emptiness, you will meet the Buddha Maitreya with the body of a human or divine being, hear the teachings of the Vaipulya and Prajpramit stras and attain the path of the three vehicles. If you are most procient in the lower degree of the vehicle for realizing emptiness you will meet the Buddha Maitreya with a human or divine body, hear the Tripiaka stras and attain the path. Attaining the bodies of human or divine beings is a power gained from upholding the precepts in deed. Perceiving the Buddha and attaining the path is a power gained from cultivating the contemplation of the [various] vehicles. The best of all practices is to uphold precepts both in both deed and in principle, which cannot be done if one is lax.

94 Compare the fourfold discussion earlier in the Mo-ho chih-kuan (19c2220a24) of 1. those with keen faculties and no hindrances, 2. those with keen faculties but with hindrances, 3. those with dull faculties but no hindrances, and 4. those with dull faculties and with hindrances. 95 Is this an early form of the teaching that one can attain Buddhahood in this very life and body ,XM?

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2. Procient in the Vehicles but Lax in the Precepts [39a24] Second is those who are lax in the precepts and procient in the vehicles. These people are thin in virtue and heavy with the afictions of passions. Any attempt to uphold the precepts in deed is devoured by the demons [of passions and mistaken views]. They can only keep the precepts in principle, by continuously practicing contemplation, as above [in the section on the samdhi of] awakened thoughts [ with its attention to the six kinds of obscurations a.97 Agulimla displayed these features,98 and since he was lax in the precepts in deed until the end of his life, he fell into the three evil destinies and experienced the retribution for his offenses. Among all the vehicles, which is the strongest [for you]? Draw primarily on the strongest. If you are strongest in the [rvaka] vehicle of [realizing] emptiness through analysis, you will meet the Buddha Maitreya with the body of those in the three [evil] destinies Xr, hear the Tripiaka stras, and thus attain the path. If [39b] you are the most procient in the vehicle of [realizing] emptiness ,W, you will meet the Buddha Maitreya with the body of those in the three [evil] destinies, hear [the teachings of] the Prajpramit and Vaipulya [stras], and attain the path. If you are most procient in the vehicle of [realizing] conventionality ,x, you will meet the Buddha Maitreya with the body of those in the three [evil] destinies, hear the Avatasaka [teachings] and also hear the other teachings, and even those of dull faculties can attain the path. If you are most procient in the vehicle of [realizing] the Middle ,_, you will meet the Buddha Maitreya with the body of those in the three [evil] destinies, hear the Avatasaka Stra, and those of keen faculties will attain the path. Therefore the Buddha taught stras with gradual and sudden [teachings], and dragons (ngas), demons, animals, and beasts PT came and sat at the assembly [where the stras were taught]. This is reected in the above [analysis]. These people experience the bodies of the three evil [destinies] because they broke the precepts in deed; by upholding the principle [of the precepts through] contemplation, they can see the Buddha and attain the path. The Mahparinirva Stra says, To be lax in [upholding] the precepts is not called [true] laxity; to be lax with regard to the vehicles is called [true] laxity.99 This is truly what is [being taught] in this phrase. 3. Procient in the Precepts but Lax in the Vehicles [39b9] Third is those who are procient in the precepts and lax in the vehicles. [This refers to people who are] stringent and procient in [upholding] the precepts in
96 97

That is, the rvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva?

See the Questions and Answers section that concludes the discussion on neither-walking-nor-sitting samdhi, 46.18c1820a4, which discusses the integration of the Way of liberation with the non-Way of contemplating the six obscurations.
98 The man, already discussed above, who killed 99 or 999 people, and was about to kill the Buddha but was converted by him instead. See the Agulimlika Stra, T 2.512bff. 99 See the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.641b1718. This phrase has been quoted in the Moho chih-kuan before at 20a20; see note in this section for a translation of the full context. Note that the two phrases are in opposite order in the stra: Laxity in the vehicle [Way] is considered [true] laxity, and laxity in the precepts is not considered [true] laxity and continues, Therefore a bodhisattva is not considered lax even though he may appear to break the precepts.

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deed, not transgressing even a tiny bit,100 but have not realized understanding in any of the three types of contemplation of the mind. Since they are procient with regard to the precepts, they experience rebirth as human or divine beings, but although they are drawn into the dhyna trance of the Brahm realm, they sink into and become absorbed with the bliss of samdhi. Though a Buddha appears in the world and preaches the Dharma to save people, this is of no benet to this type of person. Even if they manage to meet [the Buddha], they are not able to realize understanding. In this land of China F#[*]101 there were none who were aware or knew [of the Buddha when he was in this world]; there were three million $ [beings] in rvast [at the time of the Buddha] who did not hear or see [him];102 divine beings who are absorbed in [heavenly] bliss and those born in difcult places cannot come to hear [the Buddha]. This is the meaning here. It is analogous to a person in chains who with material wealth seeks [to influence] those in power to put off the day or month [of execution] with the hope of getting a pardon. There are those among human and divine beings who are like this. They hope a good teacher will guide them to cultivate the [Buddhist] vehicles, and thus be able to attain liberation. However, if human and divine beings do not cultivate the vehicles themselves, when their [good] fruits and recompense are exhausted they will again fall into the three [evil] destinies. Then even if hundreds of thousands of Buddhas appear, such people will not attain the path. 4. Lax in Both the Precepts and the Vehicles [39b19] Fourth is those who are lax in both the precepts and the vehicles. [This type of people] transgress against all the ten types of precepts listed above, and falls into hell (niraya) for a long time, and lose their human and divine fruits and recompense. Their spiritual insight is darkened and obstructed, and they have no opportunity to attain the path. They revolve [through sasra] and sink [into the evil destinies], and are not capable of being saved. Practicers [of the Buddhist path] should practice contemplation of the mind. [They should contemplate as follows:] of the two [types of] preceptsin deed and in principlein which am I lax or procient? Of the three degrees of [upholding
as much as a silk thread. The transliteration of the Sanskrit name for China, Cina-sthna. Chan-jan (BTII, p. 572) claims that these characters are a mistake for ]*, another transliteration for the same Sanskrit. The Shiki disagrees, saying that this phrase should be translated as thoughts (Skt., cint), and thus this phrase would mean, the thoughts of those in the country were neither awakened nor knowledgeable. I prefer the interpretation of Chan-jan.
101 102 100 Lit.,

See the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.125c58. Lamotte, Le Trait 1, p. 541, translates: Le Buddha a en vue ces hommes coupables qui nont pas plant les racines de bien requises pour voir un Buddha (anavaropita-kualaml buddhadaranya) quand il dit: Lapparition dun Buddha est chose rare, aussi rare que lapparition dune eur sur larbre Udumbara. En effet, ces pcheurs circulent dans les trois destines mauvaises (durgati), renaissent mme parfois chez les hommes ou chez les dieux, mais quand un Buddha apparat dans le monde, ils sont incapables de le voir. On dit que sur les 900,000 foyers que comptait la ville de rvast, 300,000 virent le Buddha, 300,000 en entendirent parler, mais ne le virent point, 300,000 nen entendirent mme pas parler. Or le Buddha rsida rvast durant 25 ans et, si certains habitants nen entendirent point parler et ne le virent pas, que dire alors des peuples loigns?

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the precepts] in deed, in which degree am I the strongest? Of the three degrees [of upholding the precepts] in principle, in which degree am I a little weak? By knowing their own deep and shallow [strength and weaknesses], they can know their own fruit and recompense, whether they will have good or evil [rebirths]. If you know yourself, then you can know about others. Also, through this contemplation of the mind you can know the various meanings of [that taught in] the stras and can know the great and small [Mahyna and Hnayna?] conditions concerning the Tathgata. Therefore it says in the Avatasaka Stra, It is said that demons and gods dwell in the midst of the teachings of inconceivable liberation.103 This indicates the approach of the tentative and the drawing out of the real Z , that those whose cultivation of the inconceivable vehicle in the past was procient leads to the attainment of the path. The various examples in the Mahparinirva Stra are also like this. If you wish to seek for more details concerning this meaning, I should discuss in detail concerning [the topics of] the vehicles, precepts, procient, and lax with regard to the Fourfold Teachings and elaborate on the causes, and then outline [the classication of] the ve avors to clarify the results, and this would [39c] clarify all the categories. In this way, the causes and results, and rising and descending on the stages are not simply the same. How can one say problematic things such as why bother with the precepts in deed when one can attain the path by means of the precepts as principle? [In any case,] happily we can experience the path as human or divine beings, so why should we suffer [falling into] the three [evil] destinies [even if attainment of the path is not impossible even there]? 5. Clarication of Purication through Repentance [39c3] Fourth is clarication of purication through repentance H. The dual transgressions [of the precepts] in deed and in principle 7 both hinder cessation-andcontemplation, so that the concentration and wisdom does not arise. How, then should one repent in order that offenses be extinguished and no longer hinder cessation-and-contemplation? In case you transgress in deed with a light shortcoming, all of the methods for repentance are [explained] in the Vinaya texts. If you fulll these methods of repentance, everything is puried. If you are pure with regard to the precepts, then the hindrances are converted and cessation-and-contemplation are easily claried. If you transgress against the serious [prohibitions], then you are a dead person with regard to the Buddha Dharma, and Hnayna provides no method of repentance [for these serious transgressions]. If you depend on the Mahyna, however, repentance is allowed [even for these serious transgressions], as explained above in the section on the Four Samdhis.104 I will clarify this point further below. Next, as for those who are distorted with regard to the contemplation of the principle [of reality] and thus are off the mark [in their understanding] of the truththese people, if [the inuence of] grasping in their minds is weak and they are not at all conned and stagnant [with passionate obstructions]should solely
103 A summary of the opening passage of the Avatasaka Stra, T 9.395c397b? This passage lists numerous supernatural beings who gather to hear the preaching of the stra, but I could not locate the phrase that they dwell in the midst of the teachings of inconceivable liberation. 104 See the quotes given by Chih-i below.

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utilize correct contemplation of the mind to break the [remaining] views and attachments. If there are things you should repent and be ashamed of, then you should [humbly] lower your head and reproach yourself, and place your mind on the right track; then the hindrances from the offense should disappear, and you will be able to arouse cessation-and-contemplation. For those whose [mistaken] views are still heavy, you should even more so cultivate repentance through contemplation of the mind. This will be explained below. In case you commit a serious offense in deed, there are methods of repentance [available] based upon the Four Samdhis. In The Contemplation of Samantabadra it says, Sit properly and meditate on the true features [of reality]. This is called the primary repentance.105 The [Stra on] Sublime and Supreme Samdhi U says, With regard to the four serious [offenses] vb and the ve grave offenses 2?, there is no way to be saved [from them] except through meditative concentration ,.106 The Vaipulya (Dhra Stra) says, Repent in line with the three refuges, the ve [major] precepts, and so on up to the two hundred and fty precepts; if you are not allowed to be revived B [as a member of the Sangha who has received the precepts], then you should not stay in that place.107 The [Stra on] Petitioning Avalokitevara says, People who commit the ten evil offenses and thus have broken [the rules of] pure activity (brahma-carya) are purged of the excrement-like delements and return to purity.108 Therefore it should be known
A paraphrase from The Contemplation of Samantabhadra; similar phrases in the stra are found at T 9.393b78 and 394a2829. These are translated in The Threefold Lotus Sutra (pp. 365 and 370) as follows: He should recite the Great-vehicle sutras And reect on the mother of bodhisattvas. Innumerable surpassing means of tactfulness Will be obtained through ones reection on reality. (393b78) One who thinks of this law (of the supreme truth of emptiness) is called one who practices the rst repentance of Kshatriyas and citizens. (394a2829) This same text is also referred to in explaining the both-walking-and-sitting samdhi; see Mo-ho chih-kuan 14ab.
106 As explained previously, this stra is probably a Chinese composition, and was lost and not included in the later Buddhist canons. It was rediscovered at Tun-huang and published by Sekiguchi Shindai in his Tendai shikan no kenky, 1969, pp. 379402. The closest phrase I could locate in this stra, however, reads, with regard to the ve types of natures to [commit] offenses, they will naturally be extinguished and removed merely by the cultivation of meditative concentration (Sekiguchi, p. 398, line 8). 105

A summary from the Great Vaipulya Dhra Stra; the nal phrase appears toward the end of the text where it gives instructions to bhikuni for reciting a list of six dhras 1,400 times per repentance for eighty weeks, and adds, In this way, after performing repentance for eighty weeks, this forms the basis for [keeping] the precepts; if one is not revived [as a preceptaccepting member of the Sangha], one should not stay in that place (T 21.656b2526). Ikeda (Gendaigoyaku-hen, p. 208) interprets this phrase as: there is no basis for claiming that one cannot revive [as a member of the Sangha]. This text served earlier as the basis for one of the methods of the both-walking-and-sitting samdhi. An unusually accurate quote from the Stra on Petitioning Avalokitevara (T #1043, T 20.35b811; see Chih-is exposition of the neither-walking-nor-sitting samdhi; Mo-ho chih-kuan 15a.). The context reads: When this spell is heard, all fearful things, all poisonous and injurious things, all evil
108

107

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Mo-ho chih-kuan

that Mahyna allows a person to repent even of these [serious] offenses. Offenses that arise from serious conditions should, in turn, be repented of with a serious mind, and thus you should be able to heal these conditions. If you do not have a serious mind toward repentance, there will be no benet. If the hindrances are not extinguished, cessation-and-contemplation will not be illumined. If, in fact, one commits serious offenses but repents in agony, then [the effects of the offenses] will be easily removed and extinguished. Why is this so? Because such a person has not wandered far from the [true] path. Heavy hindrances from the [distant] past, however, will certainly be difcult to overturn, because a person [with such hindranced] has wandered deep and far [from the path]. If you wishes to repent of heavy hindrances from the two times [of the past and present life] by practicing the Four Samdhis, you should know about the ten kinds of mind that go with the ow HY [of sasra] and clearly know your own faults. You should put into motion the ten kinds of mind that go against the ow ?HY [of sasra], and thus be healed. These twenty kinds of minds are together the basis for all repentance. 1. Ten Kinds of Mind That Go with the Flow of Sasra [39c26] The ten kinds of mind that go with the ow [of sasra] HY are as follows: 1. From the beginning to be in dark ignorance and delusion Mi , drunk with deled passions, and deludedly presume [the existence of] the human self. If you presume [the existence of] the human self, you arouses the [mistaken] view of [the substantial existence of] the body X; because of this [mistaken] view of the body, you have deluded thoughts and perverted views [of the world]; because of perverted views, you arouse greed, anger, and delusion; because of delusion, you extensively produce karma; and because of this karma, you continue to ow through sasra. 2. You internally contain deled passions and externally associate with evil [40a] friends. This fans the res of deviant dharmas and stimulates the delusions of a self-centered mind, so that [delusions] increase twofold and thrive. 3. You are already endowed with evil conditions both internally and externally, so that internally your good thoughts are extinguished and externally your good deeds are extinguished. Again, you are not able to rejoice in the goodness of others. 4. You are dominated by your physical, verbal, and mental actions, but do not consider this to be evil.

demons, tigers, wolves, and lions will close their mouths, shut themselves up, and not be able to harm you. People who have broken [the rules of] pure activity, or those who do the ten evil deeds, when they hear this spell they will be purged of their excrement-like delements, and return to [a state of] purity. Actually, the way the quote is given by Chih-i could be read People who have broken pure activity, and those who do the ten evil offenses, are in turn [even more] pure after they are purged of the excrement-like delements. This reading implies that it is better to have the delements (and then be purged of them) and that somehow one is even more pure after being purged of them than if one did not have them at all to begin with. However, I have translated Chih-i in light of the original text in the stra (which in the stra includes the phrase when they hear this spell as the cause for being purged of delements).

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5. Your evil thoughts pervade everywhere, even though they do not appear on the surface. 6. Your evil thoughts are continuous, without stopping day or night. 7. You cover and hides your faults, not wishing other people to know about them. 8. You are ignorant and foolish by nature,109 not fearing the evil path. 9. You are without compunction or shame. 10. You deny the law of causality and become an icchantika.110 These are ten types [of mind or mental states] that are in tune with sasra, thus owing toward dark perversion and producing evil. [These mental states are like] a maggot [lit., shit-bug] that enjoys being in the latrine and, without realizing or knowing [its situation], goes on living and accumulating experiences without making any plans [to improve its situation].111 So by breaking the four serious prohibitions and committing the ve grave offenses, one eventually ends up as an icchantika, stuck in expansive sasra without any end. 2. Ten Kinds of Mind That Go against the Flow of Sasra [40a10] Now, if you wish to repent, you should denitely oppose and go against this ow ?H of offenses by utilizing the ten types of thoughts to turn back and remove evil dharmas.112 [40a11] First is correctly believing in causality and the certainty of ones weakness 5.113 [You should believe that] karmic seeds %) from long ago are not [necessarily] nullied even after a long time, and that ultimately they are your own doings, and that other people cannot receive their effects[, or retribution, in your place].114 Thus you should know minutely about good and evil,115 and do not
A phrase from the Stra of Immeasurable Life, T 12.277a78. A person who has no good roots and thus has no hope for ever attaining Buddhahood. 111 That is, a maggot with no sense of upward mobility? 112 These ten are similar to the list of ten ways to approach repentance in the Hsiao chihkuan, 462c26463a3. Note that the Hsiao chih-kuan does not give a list that corresponds to the list of ten kinds of mind that go with the flow of sasra in the Mo-ho chih-kuan. The context reads: The Buddha Dharma says that there are two types of healthy people: those who do not do evil, and those who do evil but then repent of it. If you wish to repent, you should accept ten dharmas that assist in this repentance: 1. clearly believe in causality; 2. arouse a strong sense of fear [concerning what will happen if your evil ways continue]; 3. have a profound sense of shame or remorse; 4. seek ways to eradicate your offenses, that is, cultivate the appropriate method from among the various practices taught in the Mahyna stras; 5. [publicly] confess your previous misdeeds; 6. sever your thoughts that continue [from past misdeeds]; 7. muster a determination to uphold the Dharma; 8. arouse the great vow(s) to save sentient beings; 9. constantly be mindful on the Buddhas of the ten directions; and 10. contemplate the non-arising of evil. Note the slight differences in phrasing; a comparison of the two lists gives a clearer idea of the content of the ten attitudes.
110 109

correctly believe in the certainty of the truth of causality. See Ikeda, Gendaigoyakuhen, p. 210; Kenkychshaku-hen, p. 316. So much for the Mahyna concept of the transfer of merit or the grace of Amitbha; not to mention the Christian belief in the atonement of Christ.
114

113 Or,

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arouse doubt and delusion [concerning the truth of causality]. Such a deep faith will overturn and destroy the icchantika-mind. [40a14] Second is having a sense of shame , and to censure and overcome oneself. Barbaric offenders [)&^ have no sense of modesty or disgrace I, and they follow the habits of beasts, abandoning the supreme adornment of a pure life Rsv. Indeed, without any hook [ [of restraint],116 one will perform serious offenses. Heaven sees our hidden offenses, so we should blush [with shame] before heaven. When people know about us, and our offenses are disclosed, then we should feel ashamed before people. Thus you should overturn and destroy a mind that has no [sense of] shame. [40a18] Third, fear the evil destinies. Peoples lives do not last forever, and if a single breath does not endure, one is gone [dead] forever s#t.117 The dark destinies r118 are far [from enlightenment] and provide no nourishment. The sea of suffering [= sasra] is extensive; where can a boat or raft nd safe haven? If we reject the [three levels of] erudition and the noble [bhmi sages] /, then on what can we rely? The years pass, and how can anyone gloat [when faced at the time of death with] the knife-like wind KM [that blows through the body]?119 How can you rest and just sit waiting for this bitter pain? This is like a wild jackal that has lost its ears, tail, and teeth, and tries to escape by feigning sleep, but when it hears that it is about to have its head cut off, it is lled with great fear.120 When you
115 That 116

is, what one should do and what one should not do.

Chan-jan (BTII, p. 585) says, In the past [it was said that] those without the hook of faith would produce serious offenses, like a crazed elephant without a hook, so that it cannot be restrained. Now, one should use the hook of shame and modesty, and hook the shameless mind like an elephant. Im not sure exactly what this phrase means literally, but my translation follows Ikeda, Gendaigoyaku-hen, p. 210. It has the air of a classical saying, but Chan-jan (BTII, p. 586) says, A thousand years follows a vernacular saying, that once one loses this human body, it will not return for ten thousand kalpas. However, the meaning is clear and eloquently stated by Rennyo in his letter On White Bones (translated by Minor and Ann Rogers, Rennyo: The Second Founder of Shin Buddhism (Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press, 1991) p. 255: With the coming of the wind of impermanence, both eyes are instantly closed, and when a single breath is forever stilled, the radiant face is drained of life and its vibrant glow is lost. [The once familiar form] is taken to an outlying eld, and when it has vanished with the midnight smoke, nothing is left but white bones. The three evil destinies of hell, hungry ghosts, and beasts. The knife-like wind refers to spirits or forces that shake the body at the time of death. 120 An analogy from the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.162c26163a20. Lamotte, Le Trait 2, pp. 85859, translates: Un chacal (sgla) vivait dans une fort en compagnie de lions (siha) et de tigres (vyghra), la recherche des proies laisses par ces derniers. Une fois quil tait jeun et fatigu, il franchit, au milieu de la nuit, les remparts de la ville et pntra dans une habitation. Nayant pas trouv la viande quil cherchait, il sendormit dans une cachette (rahasisthna) et ne se rveilla quune fois la nuit passe. Effray et dconcert, il ne savait que faire: sortir, ctait risquer de ne pouvoir schapper; rester, ctait se condamner la mort. Finalement, il se rsolut faire le mort et se coucha par terre. Des passants le virent; lun deux dclara quil avait besoin dune oreille (kara) de chacal et lui coupa une oreille; le chacal se dit: Lablation dune oreille est douloureuse, mais je me contente de garder la vie. Un autre homme
119 118 117

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encounter [the truth concerning] birth, death, and disease, how can you not be lled with alarm? One cannot be haughty when faced with deathrather, how can you not be lled with fear? When such fear arises in the mind, it is like stepping into re or boiling water. The six desires121 for the ve sense objects do not pause in their avaricious deling. [One who has such healthy fear] is like King Aoka %ur, who, upon hearing an outcast (ca^la) cry out in the morning while ringing a bell that another day is done, and in six days you shall die, had no thought for passionate desires even though he possessed the ve [sensual] desires.122 If practicers [of the Buddhist path] have [a healthy] fear [of bad retribution] and take pains to repent, they should not begrudge life or limb, but jumpstart into action like the wild jackal,123 and not have any consideration [for worldly matters] like the fearful king. Thus you can overturn and destroy the mind that has no fear with regard to the evil way. [40a28] Fourth is [publicly] confessing [your offenses] , and not seeking to cover up your defects. The bandit-like poisonous weeds [of the deled passions] should be [40b] removed quickly. If the roots are exposed, the branches wither; if the spring dries up, the ow of the stream is depleted. If you cover up the store of your offenses, you will come to no good. Kyapa ordered a mendicant (dhta) to confess in the midst of the great assembly.124 The Vaipulya (Dhra Stra) tells of facing one perdclara quil avait besoin dune queue (puccha) de chacal, lui coupa la queue et sen alla; le chacal se dit: Si douloureuse que soit lablation de ma queue, ce nest quune petite affaire. Enn un troisime personnage dclara quil avait besoin dune dent (danta) de chacal; mais celui-ci se dit: Les amateurs se multiplient; sils [savisent] de prendre ma tte, ma vie est condamne. Aussitt, il se dressa et, dployant la force de son savoir, il bondit travers un sentier de canalisation et parvint se sauver. Il en va de mme pour lascte qui veut chapper la douleur: quand la vieilesse (jar) arrive, il essaye de se rassurer, il ne sattriste point et sapplique lnergie; en cas de maladie (vydhi) galement, tant quil y a espoir, il ne sinquite pas; quand la mort (maraa) se prsente et quil sait quil ny a plus despoir, il fait effort sur luimme et, sarmant de courage et de zle, il redouble dnergie; des rgions de la mort, il arrivera nalement au Nirva. The sense desires of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body as-a-whole, and consciousness. See the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.211a1522. Lamotte, Le Trait 3, p. 1263, translates: Lorsque Wei-to-chou (Vtaoka), frre cadet du roi Aoka, fut pour sept jours roi du Jambudvpa, il obtint de se livrer en grand aux cinq objets de la jouissance (pacakmagua). Au bout des sept jours, le roi Aoka lui demanda: Comme roi du Jambudvpa, as-tu prouv du bonheur (sukha) et de la joie (mudit)? Vtaoka rpondit: Je nai rien vu, rien entendu, rien remarqu. Pourquoi? Des ca^la, chaque matin, agitaient une cloche et criaient haute voix: Des sept jours [qui vous ont t accords], autant ce sont dj couls et, passs les sept jours, vous devrez mourir. Pour moi, entendant cette proclamation, tout en tant roi du Jambudvpa et combl des cinq objets de la jouissance, mon chagrin (daurmanasya) et ma douleur (dukha) taient si profonds que je nentendais rien et que je ne voyais rien. Lamotte notes that a longer version of the history of Vtaoka is contained in the Aokvadna, T #2043, 50.141b144a.
122 123 124 121

See note 120 above.

The classical commentaries refer to a passage in the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.68b1216, where Mahkyapa directs nanda to confess his faults. Lamotte, Le Trait, p. 97, translates: Le Grand Kyapa dit: Tu as commis six sortes de fautes dukta. Il te faut, dans le Sagha, confesser (pratidean) entirement ces fautes. nanda dit quil y consen-

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son for repentance.125 Other methods for practicing [repentance] should be followed with an earnest mind ; rehabilitate [yourself] while facing a Buddhaimage. If you hide in the shadows like a carbuncle, hiding and avoiding exposure, then you will not be healed but will die. Thus you can overturn and destroy the mind that covers up the store of offenses. [40b5] Fifth is severing the mental continuity [with past evil deeds] oa. If you sever the results [of past offenses] F?j126 and nally there is no production of new [offenses],127 this is [true] repentance. As for those who again commit [offenses again] after completing repentance, [the situation] is like the imperial law in which, if someone is pardoned for their rst crime, the offense is more serious if the offense is committed again. When you rst enter the Buddhist community [or, the meditation chamber 1], your offenses are easily forgiven, but if they are committed repeatedly, they become more difcult to remove. Why should you chew again on that which you have already vomited out? Thus you can overturn and destroy the mind that constantly dwells on evil matters. [40b9] Sixth is arousing the aspiration for enlightenment (bodhicitta). In the past you sought peace for yourself by putting others in danger, thus spreading afiction in all places. Now you seek to extend salvation concurrently [for yourself and others], beneting others by pervading the empty world [with ones altruistic action]. Through this you overturn and destroy the mind that arouses evil in all places. [40b11] Seventh is cultivating merit @O and compensating for your faults J. In the past you produced offenses through threefold [physical, verbal, and mental] karmic deeds, without consideration for day or night. Now you do good physical, verbal, and mental [deeds], deliberately and diligently without resting. How can you ll in the rivers and the sea s9 without moving mountains? Thus one overturns and destroys the mind that is arbitrarily affected by the three [types of] karmic actions. [40b14] Eighth is keeping and guarding the true Dharma. In the past you extinguished your own goodness as well as extinguishing the goodness of others. You did not rejoice in your own [good] deeds, nor did you rejoice for others. Now you keep and guard all good [deeds], and with [skillful] means increase and extend them [to help others], not allowing them to come to an end. This is like the sense
tait et quil suivrait les instructions de lyumat Mahkyapa et du Sagha. Alors nanda tomba deux genoux, joignit les mains, se dcouvrit lpaule droite (eksam ullarsaga ktv), quitta ses sandales de cuir et confessa ses six sortes de fautes dukta. Le Grand Kyapa, de sa main, conduisit nanda hors du Sagha et dit nanda: Dtruis compltement tes impurets (srava) et tu rentreras ensuite. Ne reviens pas tant que tes derniers liens (bandhana) ne seront pas briss. Ayant ainsi parl, il ferma lui-mme la porte. See the Great Vaipulya Dhra Stra, T 21.656b24, in the same context of the quotes from this stra above. The stra reads, Chant [this dhra] one thousand four hundred times for each repentance, asking one bhikuni to act as a witness, and confess ones offenses while facing a [Buddha] image. 126 That is, put an end to the stream of thoughts, as in amatha/cessation? This phrase is found in the Jen-wang ching, T 8.831c16. The context reads, If there is no habitual output of karma in the triple world, then nally there is no production of new [karmic retribution], and through the power of the vow one can be transformed and be born in the Pure Land.
127 125

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of honor with which one acts to keep a fortress-city sound and intact. The rmldev Stra says, To keep and guard the true Dharma, and to embrace the true Dharma: this is the supreme matter.128 This overturns and destroys the mind that has no rejoicing. [40b18] Ninth is to be mindful of the Buddhas of the ten directions. In the past you were friendly and familiar with evil friends, and trusted in and accepted their words. Now you are mindful of the Buddhas of the ten directions, and are mindful of unhindered compassion that acts as an unsolicited friend #N129, and are mindful of unhindered wisdom that acts as a great teacher. This overturns and destroys the mind that follows after evil friends. [40b25] Tenth is to contemplate the empty nature of offenses. Have fully penetrating understanding that the mental states of greedy desires, anger, and ignorance are all the gates to quiescence . Why is this so? If greed or anger arise, where do they dwell? Know that this greed and anger dwell [temporarily and conventionally] as deluded thoughts. Deluded thoughts dwell as perversions, perversions dwell as [mistaken] views concerning [the substantial existence of] the body X; [mistaken] views concerning the body dwell as [mistaken] views concerning [the substantial existence of] the self a; and [mistaken] views concerning the self do not dwell anywhere. Though you truly seeks in all ten directions, the [substantial] self cannot be obtained. [As it says in the Contemplation of Samantabhadra,] Your own mind is empty of self[-existence]; offenses and goodness &K have no subject [to which they belong].130 [As it says in the Lotus Stra with regard to Devadatta,] profoundly penetrate the marks of offenses and goodness, and universally illuminate all ten directions.131 Now apply this wisdom of emptiness as corresponding to the thoughts of the mind. [Thoughts vanish] as the dew disappears in a moment when the sun rises in the morning. Thus all thoughts of the mind are the gates to quiescence, because they signify quiescence. This [realization] overturns and
A summary of passages from the rmldev Stra; see T 12.218a7: To attain the wisdom of the true dharma is called the primary vow. See also the section of the stra on Ekayna, 219b4ff., which speaks of the true Dharma and what it embraces. This phrase can be found in the opening section of the Stra of Immeasurable Life, T 12.266b19. Luis Gmez (The Land of Bliss, pp. 15859) translates the context: In all the myriad circumstances they [the bodhisattvas] acted with complete freedom and mastery, according to their own will. To living beings of all kinds they offered unsolicited friendship. They carried on their shoulders the multitude of living beings, assuming the multitudes suffering as their own heavy burden. The phrase also appears in the rmldev Stra, T 12.218b17, shortly after the passage quoted above, with reference to people who embrace the true Dharma. Wayman, rmldev Stra, p. 72, translates this phrase as spontaneously friendly, Diana Paul (dissertation, p. 203) translates it as become friends without being asked, and in A Treasury of Mahyna Stras (ed. Garma C. C. Chang, The Pennsylvania University Press, 1983, p. 368) it is rendered They become the friends of all sentient beings universally, without need of an invitation. A phrase from the Contemplation of Samantabhadra, T 9.266b, previously quoted by Chihi in the Mo-ho chih-kuan at 14a1617. The Threefold Lotus Sutra, p. 363, translates the context: What is sin? What is blessedness? As ones own mind is void of itself, sin and blessedness have no existence. In like manner all the laws are neither xed nor going toward destruction. If one repents like this, meditating on his mind, there is no mind he can seize.
131 130 129 128

This passage from the Lotus Stra, T 9.35b28, has also been quoted above at 6c23 .

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destroys the darkness of ignorance. [40b29] These are ten types of repentance. They are in accordance with the way of nirva, and oppose the ow of sasra. They are able to extinguish the faults [40c] from the four serious and the ve grave offenses. If one cannot understand these ten types of thoughts, then one has no knowledge of right and wrong ; how, then, can one repent? Even if one is established [in the Buddhist community] and enters the meditation hall, and goes ahead with ascetic practice, in the end there will be no great benet. The Mahparinirva Stra says, Some say that encouraging the cultivation of ascetic practice is the cause and condition for approaching great nirva, but this is not the case.132 This is the meaning here. This is called the repentance of serious offenses in deed _. 3. Repentance of Mistaken Views Concerning Offenses in Principle [40c5] Next is repentance with regard to mistaken views concerning offenses H & . Since these are mistaken views and delusions, [there are ten kinds] in accordance with the ow of sasra, [which are] the same as [the ten] explained above. By facing the ten [kinds of] thoughts with regard to actual deeds and thus repenting, one repents of the offenses of dull afictions. Now repent of [mistaken] views to accommodate the principle [of reality], and thus repent of the offenses of keen afictions. If a mind of mistaken views ourishes, and you give rise to serious passionate delements, you should use on the side [the repentance of] actual deeds as an aid. [This repentance] is as when you use a laxative, you should supplement it with comma-shaped beans q133 so that all is extricated and purged and fully exhausted. Therefore I will return again to the ten topics and through them clarify the repentance of [mistaken] views. [40c10] First, overturning and destroying the lack of faith involves converting the mind with [mistaken] views concerning the body to know about ignorance, suffering, and the causes of suffering. Take the case of Udraka w/X, who attained the concentration of no-conceptions ` and was adored as the Buddha by people in this world, but he did not know [the truths of] suffering and the causes of suffering, so when his karmic recompense [from attaining the samdhi] was exhausted, he fell back [into a lower destiny].134 Or take Subhadra m, who attained the
Almost verbatim from the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12. 754b1112. The stra continues by giving four conditions that are the correct way to approach nirva: getting to know a good friend, concentrate on hearing the Dharma, control ones thoughts and ponder (the Dharma), and practice in accordance with the Dharma [i.e., proper methods]. 133 I was not able to determine exactly which kind of beans this means, or if it just refers to soybeans in general. Ikeda (Gendaigoyaku-hen, p. 213) translates as a remedy made from beans. 134 Udraka Rmaputra was kyamunis yoga master during his practice leading up to enlightenment, though Skyamuni eventually left him to devote himself to extreme asceticism. This story is in the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.189a1ff. Lamotte, Le Trait 2, pp. 105052, translates: Ainsi, le i Yu to lo kie (Udraka), qui possdait les cinq supersavoirs (abhij), se rendait chaque jour en volant au palais du roi, o il prenait son repas. Le roi et la reine, selon la coutume du pays, le saluaient en lui saisissant les pieds (pdau irasbhivandana). La reine layant efeur de la main, le i perdit ses abhij. [Devenu incapable de voler], il demanda une voiture au roi et sen alla, mont sur un char. De retour chez lui, il entra dans la fort, et chercha reconqurir les cinq abhij. Le recueillement lui revint mais, comme il allait retrouver ses abhij, un
132

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concentration of no-conceptionsalthough he had no crude conceptualizations, he had minute passionate delements.135 Or take Drghanakha , who was sharp in wisdom, but did not accept what should be accepted 1#1.136
oiseau perch sur un arbre se mit brusquement chanter et lui causa une distraction. Udraka quitta donc la fort et se rendit au bord de leau, en qute de recueillement; l encore il entendit des poissons qui, en se battant, agitaient leau brusquement. Le i, ne trouvant pas le recueillement quil cherchait, en conut de la colre: Je voudrais, ditil, tuer les poissons et les oiseaux jusquau dernier. Longtemps aprs, force de mditation, il trouva le recueillement (sampatti), et [aprs sa mort] il alla renatre dans la Sphre de la non-conscience-non-inconscience (naivasajnsajyatana). Lorsque sa dure de vie y fut puise, il renaquit en qualit de renard volant; il tuait tous les poissons et les oiseaux quil rencontrait. Ayant commis dinnombrables crimes, il tomba dans les trois destines mauvaises (durgati). Ce [triste sort] avait pour cause son attachement aux dhyna et sampatti. Il en ira de mme pour les hrtiques [attachs immodrment au dhyna].
135 Subhadra (the heretic) was the last person converted by the Buddha before passing away. He is known for rejoicing that the Buddha had died because now the monks could live as they liked without the Buddhas constant interference. See the story of Subhadra in the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.80c381a28. For a fully annotated translation see Lamotte, Le Trait 1, pp. 20511. 136 See the story of Drghanakha (long-clawed) in the prologue to the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.61b1862a28 (Lamotte, Le Trait, pp. 4651), where Drghanakha does not agree with the teachings of the Buddha as expounded by riputra; this is part of the seventeenth of twenty reasons for the Buddha to preach prajpramit. The topic at hand is expounded at 62a222 (Lamotte, Le Trait, pp. 4951): (riputra) songeait: Par quel enseignement (upadea) ce Gautama a-t-il pu gagner mon neveu? Rexion faite, il dit au Buddha: Gautama, aucune thse ne magre (sarva me na kamate). Le Buddha dit Drghanakha: Aucune thse ne tagre, cette vue mme ne tagre-t-elle pas? Le Buddha voulait dire: Tu as dj bu le poison des vues fausses (mithydivia), expulse maintenant les imprgnations de ce poison (viavsan). Tu dis quaucune thse ne tagre, mais cette vue ne tagre-t-elle pas? Alors, tel un bon cheval (ava) qui, voyant lombre du fouet (kachy), se rveille et reprend la bonne route, le brahmacrin Drghanakha, devant cette ombre du fouet quest la parole du Buddha (buddhavc), rentra en lui-mme et dpouilla (nisjati) tout orgueil (darpa); honteux (lajjamna) et la tte basse (adhomukha), il t cette rexion: Le Buddha minvite choisir entre deux contradictions (nigrahasthna). Si je dis que cette vue magre, cest l un nigrahasthna grossier (audarika) que beaucoup de gens connaissent. Pourquoi ai-je donc dit quaucune thse ne magre? Si jadoptais cette vue, ce serait un mensonge (mvda) manifeste, un nigrahasthna grossier, connu de beaucoup de gens. Le second nigrahasthna est plus subtil (skma); je veux ladopter, car peu de gens le connaissent. Ces rexions faites, il dit au Buddha: Gautama, aucune thse ne magre, et cette vue mme ne magre pas. Le Buddha dit au brahmacrin: Rien ne tagre, et cette vue mme ne tagre pas! Mais alors, en nadmettant rien, tu ne diffres pas dune foule de gens. Pourquoi te hausser et concevoir un tel orgueil? Le brahmacrin Drghanakha ne sut que rpondre et reconnut quil tait tomb dans un nigrahasthna. Il rendit hommage lomniscience (sarvajna) du Buddha et obtint la foi (raddcitta). Il t cette rexion: Je suis tomb dans un nigrahasthna. Le Bhagavat na pas manifest mon embarras. Il na pas dit que ctait faux, il na pas donn son avis. Le Buddha a des dispositions affectueuses (snigdhacitta). Tout pur (paramauddha), il supprime tous les sujets de discussion (abhilpasthna); il a atteint le grand et profond Dharma (mahgambhradharma); il est digne de respect (arcanya). La puret de sa pense (cittaviuddhi) est absolue (parama).

These three peopleUdraka, Subhadra, and Drghanakhaare all examples of wise yet non-Buddhist sages.

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Even these lofty examples of non-Buddhists could not escape mistaken views, so did not [attain] nirva. How much less can those with crude and shallow [understanding], who do not measure up to Udraka /X. To say that theirs are true paths is a great mistake. These people have a passionate attachment to contemplating the wisdom of emptiness, and do not know [that they have this attachment]; this is a form of ignorance [g.137 If they follow a different [path], they rely on mistaken views and create volitional activity (saskra).138 Views and activity depend on form; this is name-and-form e5 (nma-rpa).139 Name-and-form lead to suffering and so forth, and suffering from delusions arouses passion ( and [worldly] existence .140 [Worldly] existence gives birth to future birth and death ,141 the ow of which turns continuously. How can this be called quiescence? If they claim to have exhausted [the cycle of] birth and death, these are irresponsible words. This is calling ignorance and a mind full of mistaken views the path, [calling] the path what is not the path, and ascribing cause to what is not a cause this is called attachment to precepts w[8]. How can this not be a misappropriation of [the meaning of] causality? To call the future painful retribution in the three [evil] destinies by the name nirva reveals an attachment to mistaken views. To ascribe what is not a result as a result [such as the fruit of enlightenment] is to misappropriate [the meaning of the term] result. You should know about mistaken views with regard to] the body, extreme [views], and other wrong views. These sorts of minds full of mistaken views correspond to [the Noble Truths of] suffering and the causes of suffering,142 and not to extinction and the Path.143 These are not even the [understanding of the Truths of] extinction and the path in the Tripiaka [Teaching], much less the path and extinction of the Mahyna! If one is able in this way to know of worldly [understandings of] causality, one should also know of transworldly [understandings of] causality. Therefore the Pacaviati Stra says, Praj-wisdom is able to signify the marks of the world.144 That is, it signies what is the path and what is not the path. This means [that one who has praj-wisdom] knows deeply about the mind full of mistaken views and about suffering and the causes of suffering. Also, deep means that one not only knows about ignorance, suffering, and the causes of suffering, but also knows the Tripiaka [Teachings understanding] of causality, and also knows of causality in terms of the Four Truths [understood in line] with the dharmas that arise through causes and conditions are empty.145 Again, deep means also to know about causality in terms of the Four Truths [41a] [interpreted] as immeasurable, [understood in line] with that which arises though causes and conditions is conventionality.146
137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145

The rst link in the twelvefold link of dependent arising. The second link of the twelvefold chain, following ignorance. The fourth link in the twelvefold chain. The eighth and tenth links in the twelvefold chain. The twelfth link of the twelvefold chain. The rst two of the Four Noble Truths. The last two of the Four Noble Truths.

A phrase repeated many times in a passage in the Pacaviati Stra, T 8.323bc. This is the understanding of the Shared Teaching, which emphasizes emptiness. 146 This is the understanding of the Distinct Teaching, which emphasizes conventionality.

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Again, deep means also to know about causality in terms of the Four Truths [interpreted] as spontaneous, [understood in line] with that which arises through causes and conditions is the Middle.147 [At this level] one inclusively knows all causes and effects within one thought of a mistaken view [in the mind]. Therefore it says in the Mahparinirva Stra, One can express and measure the immeasurable [cycle of] life and death in a single thought in the mind.148 This is called beyond conceptual understanding. Therefore that which is called deep faith overcomes the lack of faith. [41a4] Second is giving birth to serious shame and remorse . Not perceiving in our minds the principle of the threefold truth is shameful and to be regretted. Furthermore, to discuss [this matter with regard to] human and divine beings in terms of the principle of contemplation, shame refers to [the characteristic of] humans [at the stage of] parched wisdom ^ and potential ;149 remorse refers to [the characteristic of] those who have attained the four fruits vF [of the stream-enterer, once-returner, non-returner, and arhat] and the pure divine state [of arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and Buddhas].150 [The stages of] humans with the thirty[-four] states of mind,151 divine [bodhisattvas] of the ten bhmi stages,152 humans at the level of the ve degrees 2153 and the purication of the six senses, the forty-two heavenly levels154with regard to these lists, those who consciously act to attain this recompense are called human beings ^, and those who spontaneously are rewarded with these fruits are called divine beings . It is the same for the three types of human and divine beings X)^.155 The path of [skillful] means is for human beings; the [direct] manifestation of the truth 7
This is the level of understanding of the Perfect Teaching, which emphasizes the Middle. For an analysis of the Four Noble Truths along these lines, see the Fa-hua hsan-i, T 33.700c15702a12; see Swanson, Foundations, esp. pp. 14243, 22634. 148 The phrase in the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.719b14, is slightly different: Within one thought one is able to perceive immeasurable and unlimited worlds. 149 The lowest levels and the rst two of the ten bhmi stages of the Shared Teaching. 150 See note below on this term in the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.112c1. 151 Chih-i has thirty [states of] mind, but perhaps this refers to the thirty-four enlightened mental states: the sixteen mental states that sever mistaken views and the eighteen mental states that sever deluded attitudes and obstacles to true knowledge. 152 Lit., righteous divine beings, a name for one of the four types of divine states. See the Mahparinirva Stra , T 12.737c2429; the other three are worldly divine beings  (the earthly kings and princes), those born in heavenly realms (the gods such as Indra), and the pure divine beings (streamwinners through pratyekabuddhas). Righteous divine beings refers to bodhisattvas who have advanced to and beyond the ten stages of dwelling. The ten stages of dwelling for those of the Distinct Teaching are equivalent to the ten bhmi stages for those of the Shared Teaching. 153 The lowest level of achievement of those of the Perfect Teaching, and the level of enlightenment that Chih-i himself claimed, on his deathbed, to have achieved. 154 The forty-two bodhisattva stages? 155 The three types of divine beings is a classication from the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.112b28c2, that overlaps yet differs from the four types of divine beings outlined above from the Mahparinirva Stra. In the Ta chih tu lun, the three types of divine beings are the titled/named divine beings e (earthly kings and princes), born divine beings (gods such as Indra and Brahm), and the pure divine beings (arhats, pratyekabuddhas, and Buddhas). Perhaps the three types of human beings refers to rvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas?
147

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[or, principle of the real] is for divine beings. A mind [full of mistaken] views produces offenses that conceal the principle of the threefold truth, so that even the three types of human and divine beings are not be able to arrest it. Thus you should have shame and remorse that is able to overturn and destroy the mind that is shameless and remorseless. [41a12] Third is having [a healthy sense of ] fear. Know that having a mind [full of mistaken] views produces offenses, and that this fault is deep and profound. The Great Treatise says, The Buddhas expound the meaning of emptiness in order that [people] may be free from [mistaken] views; if in turn one has a [mistaken] view of emptiness, [even] the Buddhas cannot save [such a person].156 If, because of [mistaken] views, I now arouse great offenses, then I will be born in a hell of another realm until the span of a kalpa is exhausted. After the span of a kalpa, I will return to this place. Events will continue turning in this way without measure and without limit. If I were to expound concerning the results and retributions to be experienced in this body, one would belch out hot blood and die.157 Therefore you should know that the offense of [mistaken] views is very serious. If you are not in the state of no-outows [of passionate afictions], then you cannot escape [the cycle of] birth and death, and passionate afictions nurture karma without a doubt that you will fall [into evil destinies]. If you do not pursue [the opportunity for enlightenment] within this one [human] lifetime, you will not meet the day of liberation for a long time. Because of this, you should arouse a great sense of fear [with regard to this life and its possible consequences]; this will overturn and destroy a mind that does not fear the evil destinies. [41a20] Fourth is repentance. Your former [mistaken] views give rise to passionate attachmentsthis conceals the threefold truth and you are not able to rmly give rise to faith. Now, know the fault of [mistaken] views, discard doubt concerning the threefold [truth], do not try to conceal or hide anything, and manifest the nature of the truth. In this way repentance can overturn and destroy the mind that conceals the store of offenses. [41a23] Fifth is severing the mental continuity [with past evil]. The contemplation of the threefold truth should not be interrupted. You should heal the thoughts of the three [types of] delusions by means of the eightfold path, severing and not nurturing them. This overturns and destroys evil thoughts that continue [from the past]. [41a25] Sixth is arousing the aspiration for enlightenment (bodhicitta). In considering the principle of the threefold truth, you realize that everything is like empty space; this emptiness is unlimited; you should thus have compassion toward all, and seek
156 Usually Great Treatise refers to the Ta chih tu lun, but the quote is actually from the Middle Treatise, T 30.18c1617. This passage was also quoted above, though with somewhat different phrasing, so I have given a different translation; see note 89 above and compare Mo-ho chih-kuan 38c2728. 157 A phrase from the Ta chih tu lun, T 25.503a57. This is one of the reasons why, in some circumstances, the Buddha does not expound some things. The rst reason is that if the Buddha expounds some things and people do not believe him, this would would act as a cause for them to give birth to further suffering. The second reason is that some people, upon hearing the teaching, would be so overcome with fear and dismay that they would belch out hot blood and die.

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to save and liberate everyone. In the past you wandered [in ignorance] and aroused delusions; such an existence was also limitless and therefore your offenses were also limitless. Now your aspiration for enlightenment pervades the universe (dharmadhtu), and your arousal of doing good also pervades the universe. This overturns and destroys the spontaneous evil from the partial [understanding of] [41b] emptiness in the past, as the playing of the lions lute { 7 displaces other stringed instruments.158 This is the meaning here. [41b1] Seventh is cultivating merit and compensating for your faults. The [thirty-seven] practices 1 for [realizing] the threefold truth are the treasure-torch j dhra of the bodhisattvas;159 this is the way to practice the path, and inclines towards the gate to nirva. These [thirty-seven] items on the path, if continued one thought after another, are precisely the cultivating of merit and the compensating for ones faults. In the past you were attached to your [mistaken] views, thinking this was nirva, so you did not move away from these views,160 and did not cultivate the [thirty-seven] practices of the path. You realize [the extreme of] nothingness by getting rid of [lit., moving the notion of] Being, like an inchworm ah that can attain [some] movement but is not able to cultivate the practices of the path.161 Now you know that [the dualistic extremes of] Being and nothingness are [mistaken] views, and that non-attachment is the real [truth]; this is called changing [or moving] the [mistaken] views {, but does not yet involve cultivating the practices of the path. If you destroy all [mistaken] views through analysis and practice the path, this is called moving the [mistaken] views and cultivating the practices of the path. Again, you should view the essence [of reality] as simultaneously empty, conventional, and the Middle. This simultaneity , means that one is unmoved with regard to [mistaken] views, yet cultivates the three types of practices of the path. This is the cultivation of merit and compensation for the fault of arbitrary views.
158

See the simile in the Avatasaka Stra, T 9.778c710, the lions sinew is also referred to above in the Mo-ho chih-kuan in the section on bodhicitta, T 46.9c24): It is analogous to a person using a lions sinew for the bowstrings of a lute. The sounds to be played are inexpressibly superior to [or drown out, overwhelm] [those made with] other strings. The voice of merit based on bodhicitta that emerges from the pramit-body of all Tathgatas completely drowns out and overwhelms what is heard from the ve desires and the dharmas of the two vehicles.
159

A dhra expounded in verses in The Great Collection of Stras, T 13.25c926b12: Separating far from all passionate afictions, With pure, undeled truth; This mind is able to create a great ray of light This is called the treasure-torch dhra. Physical, verbal, and conscious actions are all quiescent, Like the pure light of the autumn moon. The cultivation of a great compassionate mind and equanimity This is called the treasure-torch dhra.

See the passage in the Vimalakrti Stra, T 14.544c910: The non-Buddhists take pleasure in [mistaken] views, but the bodhisattva remains unmoved by [mistaken] views. 161 See the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.410b2224: Cultivating the severance of all dharmas is like falling into the [mistaken] view of eternalism. It is like an inchworm who can move his front feet forward by shifting to his back feet. The cultivation of constant severance is like this.

160

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[41b11] Eighth is keeping and guarding the true Dharma. In the past you guarded your views and tried to keep from having your views demolished by others, thus applying [skillful] means. Now you guard the threefold truth and emptiness and keep it from being demolished by [mistaken] views. If you become stagnant, apply skillful [means] generously. Abandon the body for the sake of the Dharma, as a father and mother keep and guard their child. This overturns and destroys the slandering of the good. [41b14] Ninth is being mindful of the Buddhas of the ten directions. In the past you partook of the poison of [mistaken] views and was never satised, as one who is thirsty always thinks of drinkingbut when you met an evil teacher, it was like getting brackish water. Suffering was renounced with suffering. You were haughty with self-pride, full of arrogance and insincerity. For thousands and millions of kalpas you did not hear the name of the Buddha. Now you are mindful of the threefold truth, that neither coming nor going is the Buddha, and that the nonarising of dharmas is the Buddha.162 One is constantly guarded by the principle of the threefold truth. This overturns and destroys the mind that is accustomed to evil friends. [41b19] Tenth is contemplating the empty nature of offenses. The three types of delusions are fundamentally quiescent. You did not comprehend this, however, so you were deluded with regard to what was right and wrong, like a feverish patient who has visions of dragons and demons. Now you should contemplate these perceptions as like apparitions or magical illusions, that there is no place from where they come and no mark left after they go, and that they go neither to the east, west, south, or north. All offenses are also like thiseach one is empty and all are empty. Emptiness is the nature of offenses, and the nature of offenses is empty. This overturns and destroys the perverted mind. When you perform these ten repentances, you should deeply contemplate the threefold truth. You should also include the ritual practices with a serious mind and without regard for ones body or life. This is called the second [type of] healthy person 163 [that is, one who does evil but repents of it]. 4. Summary [41b26] These are the two types of repentance: in deed and in principle 7. These two [types of] repentances extinguish the offenses that obstruct the path, purify you with regard to the precepts, make samdhi manifest, and reveal and arouse cessationand-contemplation.

162 A passage from the Pacaviati Stra, T 8.421b2729: The Buddhas have no place of coming or no place of going. Why is this? Dharmas have the mark of non-moving. Like the dharmas, so are the Buddhas. Good son. Non-arising dharmas neither come nor go. Non-arising dharmas are the Buddha. 163 In the opening section in the Hsiao chih-kuan (T 46.460c2527), Chih-i points out that there are two types of healthy people: those who do not do evil, and those who do evil but repent of it. This seems to be based on a passage in the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.720c12: There are two types of wise people. First are those who do not do any evil. The second are those who do, but then repent. There are two types of foolish people. The rst are those who do evil. The second are those who try to cover up [their evil deeds].

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[41c]

If you are pure in the precepts in deed w,164 then this is the basis for the manifestation of samdhi, and reveals and arouses worldly wisdom and wisdom with regard to others minds. If you are pure in the precepts of non-arising [w,165 then the samdhi of the real truth [of emptiness] is made manifest, and omniscience is revealed and aroused. If you are pure in the precepts of conventionality ,xw,166 then the samdhi of the mundane truth is made manifest, and the wisdom of [the marks of] the path is revealed and aroused. If you are pure in the precepts of the Middle , _ w , 167 then the king of samdhis X* is made manifest, and universal wisdom is revealed and aroused. This is called the king of samdhis because it involves attaining the samdhi of the threefold truth, and all samdhis are included within it. Also, since you are able to arouse all types of concentrations, without lacking any, this is called cessation. Also, since you are able to be endowed with all wisdom, this is called contemplation. Thus you should know that being pure in upholding the precepts and earnestly repenting are both primary conditions for cessation-and-contemplation. This is the meaning here.

2. Preparing Sufcient Food and Clothing [41c6]

Second is preparing food and clothing.168 Clothing covers ones private parts and prevents vulgar privation; food sustains life and satises hunger and mends the pox.169 If you are physically calm and stable, then you can ourish on the path;

The precepts at the level of the Tripiaka Teaching, which emphasizes causality. The precepts at the level of the Shared Teaching, which emphasizes emptiness. 166 The precepts at the level of the Distinct Teaching, which emphasizes conventionality. 167 The precepts at the level of the Perfect Teaching, which emphasizes the Middle, the simultaneous afrmation of both emptiness and conventionality. 168 Compare the corresponding passage in the Hsiao chih-kuan, 461a24b9. See also the Tzu-ti chan-men, T 46.487a16b2. The contents are quite similar (differences are noted in notes below), except that here in the Mo-ho chih-kuan Chih-i adds an analysis in terms of the practice of contemplation.
165 169 Phrases

164

from the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.741c. The context (741b23c17) reads: All common people receive clothing, food, bedding, and medicines for the sake of easing their minds and bodies. By seeking these things they create various sorts of evil. Without knowing the fault [of overzealous pursuit of material things] they thus transmigrate in the three evil realms. Therefore they are called with outows [of passionate afictions]. The bodhisattva-mahsattva perceives this fault and avoids it. If he needs clothing, he will accept it. This is not for the sake of his body [i.e., physical pleasure], but only for the sake of the Dharma. He is not arrogant, but he is always humble of mind. He does not [accept clothing] for the sake of adornment, but only for the sake of modesty and for protection from the cold and heat, from bad winds and rains, and from harmful worms, mosquitoes, ies, eas, and scorpions. Although he accepts food and drink, his mind is not full of greed. He accepts, not for the sake of the body, but for the sake of the true Dharma. It is not for his own sake, but for the sake of sentient beings. It is not [accepted] with arrogance, but for the sake of [maintaining] physical strength. It is not because he maligns and harms [others], but for the sake of curing hunger and the pox. Even if he gains delicious food, his mind is not full of greed. It is

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if you ourish on the path, then the basis [for enlightenment] is established. Your body, life force, and [activity on] the path depend on [having sufcient] food and clothing. Therefore it says in the stras that The Tathgata attained anuttarasamyaksabodhi after eating.170 Although this was only one small condition [among many], it led to a great event .171 If you are naked and hungry, how can you calmly practice the path of the Dharma? Therefore it is necessary to prepare sufcient food and clothing. 1. Clothing [41c10] Clothing prevents vulgar privation and keeps away the cold and heat, keeps away mosquitoes and ies, and adorns the body.172 There are three types of clothing.173
the same if he accepts a dwelling placethere are no bonds of greed in his mind. For the sake of the house of bodhi-wisdom, he repudiates the bandit of afictions. He accepts the dwelling in order to keep away the bad winds and rains. He seeks medicine, but his mind has no greed. It is only for the sake of the true Dharma. It is not for the sake of [extending] ones [worldly] lifespan, but for ones eternal life [as a Buddha]. Good son. It is like a person who is sick with the pox. He smears on butter and the our of roasted barley. He covers himself with a robe. Since pus and blood are oozing out, one applies butter and the our of roasted barley. Medicine is used to cure the pox. One stays deep within a dwelling to avoid bad winds. The bodhisattva-mahsattva is also like this. He perceives the body as having the pox, and so he covers it with a robe. Since pus oozes from the nine orices [of the human body], he seeks food and drink. He accepts a dwelling place because of the bad winds and rains. He seeks medicine because of the four types of poison. The bodhisattva accepts the four types of offerings for the sake of the path of bodhi-wisdom, and not for the sake of [extending] his life span. Why is this so? The bodhisattvamahsattva ponders as follows: If I do not accept these four types of offerings, my body will be exhausted and I cannot be strong and resolute. If I am not strong and resolute, then I cannot bear suffering. If I cannot bear suffering, then I will not be able to cultivate the good Dharma. If I am able to bear suffering, then I can cultivate immeasurable good Dharmas.
170 Part of the legend of the Buddhas enlightenment is that he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree after breaking his extreme ascetic austerities and his fast by receiving food from Sujt, thus regaining his strength to sit in contemplation. The story is found in many forms in many forms in a variety of texts; one source is the Abhinikramaa Stra (Stra on the life of the Buddha) MT, T 3.771b1222. 171 Ikeda (Gendaigoyaku-hen, p. 217) has, Food and clothing may seem like minor things, but actually they are very important. 172 A summary of the passage from the Mahparinirva Stra, 741b2829, translated in note 169 above. 173 See the Hsiao chih-kuan, T 46.461a24b9: There are three types of clothing. First is [the clothing required by those] like the great sage of the Himalayas who only need one piece of clothing, just enough to cover ones private parts. Such a person does not mix with other people, and has great powers of resolve and patience. The second type, like Kyapa and so forth, constantly maintain the ways of the mendicant. They keep only three robes made from old rags, and no more. The third type are those who, living in a cold country, or having not yet attained sufcient forbearance, the Tathgata allows to use one each of a hundred [or so] items in addition to the three robes. However, these items must be managed by someone else. Know the proper measure [of things], and know what is sufcient. If you are greedy and acquire too much, you will become confused and this will hinder your progress on the path.

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[First, simple clothing used by ascetics.] The great sage of the Himalayas [ w174 kept to himself in the deep valleys and did not mix with people. He wove grass to make his seat, and used the skin of a deer for his robe. [Such a person] is not involved in receiving instruction 1 (dhrayati), or receiving donations through an intermediary #,175 or other [aspects of community life]. Yet this person has the power of resolve and patience, and does not require gentle 1 R [reminders from others to lead a pure life].176 This person does not frolic with other people and thus is not troubled by physical needs. This is a superior type of sage. [Second, the basic requirements for mendicants.] The twelvefold [rules] for mendicants Yw (dhtaga)177 allow only three robes Xh, no more and no less.178 When these people leave the group and enter the mountains, they need proper clothing and provisions. Therefore they are allowed three robes. This is a middling type of sage. [Third, extra clothing required by those in a trying climate.] Those who are in a very cold country are allowed one each of a hundred [or so] auxiliary [items],179
The Buddha in a former life, during which he practiced great austerities and led a pure life in the wild forests and valleys of the Himalaya mountains. For details see the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.691b329. 175 Lit., instructions in purity; when a bhiku receives gifts of clothing, bowls, money, food, etc., he must rst give it away to someone who will manage the goods in his stead, in order to maintain a purity unhampered by mundane concerns. This system was developed to avoid direct accumulation of wealth by members of the Sangha. The literal term instructions in purity comes from the ritual that was developed for such activity, which involved an explanation of the pure life. 176 Ikeda (Gendaigoyaku-hen, p. 217) has, He has such great resolve and patience that he does not need to be reminded whether or not he is following the teachings, and does not need to wear a warm and thick [robe]. 177 Ascetic rules that a monk may choose to follow, though not necessarily all at the same time. As Chan-jan points out (BTII, p. 607), the Vinaya texts are not in agreement as to the content of these twelve rules. NAKAMURA, p. 803, gives the following list: 1. using clothing made from rags 2. limiting your clothing to three robes (one robe for use during begging rounds, for during ceremonial duties, and for daily use) 3. always begging for your meals 4. not taking any extra meals 5. one seated meal 6. one meal (a day?) 7. staying in a secluded place 8. sitting in meditation on a mound 9. sitting in meditation under a tree 10. sitting in meditation on open ground 11. sitting in various places 12. sitting in meditation constantly without lying down. The Ta chih tu lun mentions the three robes and the twelve rules briey at T 25.538b.
178 Compare the passage in the Hsiao chih-kuan (463a2627): The second type, like Kyapa and so forth, constantly maintain the ways of the mendicant. They keep only three robes made from old rags, and no more. 179 These include types of clothing, begging bowls, materials for sitting in meditation, and water jugs. For a partial listing see the commentary in the Shiki, BTII, p. 610; the Kgi adds that this means one each of one hundred different items (the phrase could also be read one hundred and one items). 174

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but it is necessary for the donations to be managed for them #.180 When they go out [to ask for donations], they should get sufcient offerings and not seek too much. If they seek too much they will suffer bitterness, and the task of how to keep and protect [the excess offerings] will cause further suffering. This will distract from and hamper their own practice, as well as confuse their patrons (dnapati). If one receives only a little, then one should know how much is sufcient F.181 This is an inferior type of sage. [41c19] The practice of contemplation is [also] ones clothing. The Mahparinirva Stra says, Oh bhikus, although you are clothed with the robes of a monk, your minds are not yet dyed with the cloak of the Mahyna Dharma.182 As the Lotus Stra says, Put on the cloak of the Tathgata. A mind of forbearance and patience is the cloak of the Tathgata.183 This is the patience of quiescent extinction nT.184 The intractable two extremes of sasra and nirva are not independent of ##b185 the reality of the Middle Way; [knowing] this is called forbearance ]. Resting your mind in the Middle Way is called patience T. Being separate from the boisterousness of dual [extremes] is called quiescence . Being beyond the two types of death 186 is called extinction n . The patience of quiescent extinction187 cloaks the evil of the two extremes; to prevent vulgarity is one of the meanings of clothing. To remove the ve types of delusions is like blocking heat; to destroy ignorance and [mistaken] views is like restraining the cold. To be unmoved with regard to sasra and to be undisturbed by emptinessto abandon these two notions and perceptions 188 is like [clothing] obstructing mosquitoes and ies. This patience contains all Dharmas, like a mirror that reflects images while tiles and stones do not. The Middle includes all marks, but [the view of] emptinessalone does not W[.189 Therefore it says [in the Lotus Stra], Deeply penetrating the marks of offenses and blessings, and universally illuminating the ten direc- [42a] tions, the minute, sublime, and pure body [of the Buddha] is endowed with the
I have taken this to refer to the practice of having an intermediary manage a monks mundane concerns; see note 175. On the other hand, Ikeda (Gendaigoyaku-hen, p. 218) translates: they can wear a variety of things, but must ask whether they are necessary for practice. 181 The idea of knowing what is sufcient is given better play in the Hsiao chih-kuan. This is a common ideal in Buddhist texts; see, e.g., James Heisig on Sufciency and Satisfaction in Zen Buddhism. 182 A phrase directly out of the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.616a2729. 183 Phrases extracted from chapter 10, Preachers of Dharma, in the Lotus Stra , T 9.31c26. Hurvitz, Lotus Stra, p. 180, translates: Don the cloak of the Thus Come One. The cloak of the Thus Come One is the thought of tender forbearance and the bearing of insult with equanimity. 184 Or, quiescence, extinction, and patience. See below. 185 Lit., not two and not different from. 186 The ordinary death of a human being and the death of a bodhisattva that is beyond conceptual understanding? See Glossary. 187 Or, quiescence, extinction, and patience. I usually translate T as forbearance, but the context here calls for a variety of expressions. 188 That is, notions of an overly afrmative and substantial Being, and an overly negative emptiness. 189 Or, emptiness-alone is merely nothingness.
180

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thirty-two marks, thus adorning the Dharma body with grandeur.190 A single contemplation of quiescent patience includes all virtues; this is called clothing and is also called grand adornment. It is not something to be realized by dissecting it into nine, seven, or ve parts.191 The three robes Xh correspond to the three contemplations. The threefold truth covers vulgarities; the threefold truth blocks the cold and heat of [mistaken views] and passions, keeps away [evil] notions and perceptions that are like mosquitoes and ies, and adorns the triple [Buddha] body. Therefore threefold contemplation is like robes. It is the patience/forbearnace of overcoming [passions] NT, patience in accordance with forbearance ]T [or, forbearance from pliantly following (the path)] and patience/forbearance from [realizing] non-arising and quiescent extinction [nT. Again[, at the rst level of threefold contemplation], arousing [mistaken] views is like the cold, and arousing passions is like the heat. Cultivating cessation-andcontemplation and attaining the understanding of insight into the [Four Noble] Truths is like warming up; [cold mistaken] views no longer arise. Attaining understanding from pondering [the truth of emptiness] is like cooling off; [hot] passions no longer arise. If the ve senses no longer arouse evil, then one has the adornments of blessings and virtue K6v; if ones intent is no longer evil, then one has the adornment of wisdom J^v. The other two [levels] of contemplation should be understood as being like clothing as explained above. The one hundred and one long [auxiliary] garments include all practices and methods that assist in the path. These assist threefold contemplation and together cover all delusions and adorn the triple body [of the Buddha]. This is what it means for the practice of various methods and the cultivation of patience to be like clothing. 2. Food [42a12] As for food, there are three situations.192 [In general,] food is nourishment for the body so that one can cultivate the path.
190 Almost verbatim from chapter 12, on Devadatta, in the Lotus Stra, T 9.35b28c1. Hurvitz, Lotus Stra, p. 200, translates: Having profoundly mastered the marks of sin and merit, Universally illuminating all ten directions, The subtle and pure Dharma-body Has perfected the marks thirty-two, Using the eighty beautiful features As a means of adorning the Dharma-body. 191 As far as I was able to determine, there is no special meaning to these numbers. Ikeda (Gendaigoyaku-hen, p. 219), however, translates: clothing made by cutting [cloth] into nine, seven, or ve strips are not the only kind of clothing. I do not know how Ikeda arrived at this translation. 192 In the Hsiao chih-kuan (T 46.461b17) Chih-i gives four types, or four sources, of food: 1. the situation of the mountain ascetic, who gathers his own food; 2. the dhta, who begs for his food; 3. the food given by sponsors and donors directly to the monk; and 4. the food given to the Sangha and managed for the sake of the members. Here in the Mo-ho chih-kuan Chih-i combines the third and fourth into a single third category, and interprets these three categories with his usual threefold pattern.

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First are those who dwell deep in the mountains, who have eliminated all their traces [in mundane society] and gone far away from the human community. Their only provisions are sweet fruits and luscious water, and one vegetable or fruit at a time. Perhaps their only nourishment for sustaining life is pine [needles] or oak [leaves]. Like [the sage of] the Himalayas [who survived on] sweet [fruits], fragrant [owers], lotus [roots], and so forth,193 after nishing a meal they concentrate the mind and ponder while sitting in meditation, without any other activity. This kind of food is for superior sages. Second, the mendicants (dhta) in a secluded place (raya) beg [for their food]. This is a place for cultivating the path @ 1 , removed even from the sounds of the pastures. The seven Buddhas [of the past] all claried the Dharma of begging, so that one is insulated and self-sufcient, and the [Vaipulya] Dhra, Pratyutpanna [Samdhi], and the Lotus stras all tell of begging for food F7.194 If the road is too far, you are isolated and hampered in your task [to beg for food]; if it is too near [human habitation], then there is the cacophony of people and things. If it is neither too far nor too near, then begging can be done easily. This kind of food is for middling sages. Third, for those who are not able to fast [by abstaining] from grains and fruit, and also are not able to beg for food like a mendicant, there is the [possibility of] receiving external support from a donor (dnapati) who sends food and offerings [directly]. Also, food can be accepted through an intermediate in accordance with the prescribed method . This [situation with regard to food] is for inferior sages. [42a23] If we were to clarify [the meaning of] food in terms of the contemplation of the mind [we could say as follows]. The Mahparinirva Stra says, Although you bhikus practice begging for food, you have not yet attained the food of the Mahyna Dharma.195 The food of the Dharma 7 is joy in the Tathgatas Dharma ] and the ecstasy of (dhyna) meditation , v . This joy in the Tathgatas Dharma is equanimity f and great wisdom ^; one can contem193 See the story of the sage of the Himalayas (referred to above) in the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.691b1113. 194 For the Vaipulya-dhra Stra see the passage (T 21.645a9b13) which tells of the story of the monk who begs for offerings to give to the Buddha (see Appendix E; also quoted under Mo-ho chih-kuan 13b). The story opens (645a911), Also, good sons, at one time there was a bodhisattva named Prvagama, who as a mendicant entered the city to beg for food. For the Pratyutpanna Samdhi Stra see the phrase almost at the end of the stra (T 13.919a25), bhikus go from house to house begging for food. For the Lotus Stra see the passage in chapter 14 on The Practice of Peace, T 9.37c7. Hurvitz, Lotus Stra, p. 211, translates: When he enters a village to beg for food, Let him take a bhiku with him. If there is no bhiku, He is single-mindedly to recollect the Buddha. 195 From same passage quoted above (Mo-ho chih-kuan 41c2021) in the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.616a29b1. The full passage reads: You bhikus, although you are clothed with robes, your minds are not yet dyed with the cloak of the Mahyna Dharma. You bhikus, although you practice begging for food and pass through many places, you do not yet seek the food of the Mahyna Dharma. You bhikus, although you have removed your hair, you have not yet removed the bonds of afiction for the sake of the true Dharma.

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plate all dharmas without any obstruction. The Vimalakrti Stra says, One who has equanimity with regard to food also has equanimity with regard to the Dharma; one who has equanimity with regard to the Dharma also has equanimity with regard to food.196 Passionate afictions are like rewood, and wisdom the rethrough these conditions you cook the food of nirva, and all disciples can experience the sweet taste [of awakening]. This food is nourishment for the Dharma body and enhances the life of wisdom. It is like eating milk with rice [42b] gruel; no other [nourishment] is required.197 This is true liberation, and true liberation is [the mark of] the Tathgata. One traverses all Dharmas by means of this joy in the Dharma and the ecstasy of meditation. These [Dharmas] are not without [the characteristic of] a single avorthat is, there is not a single color or a single scent that is not the Middle Way.198 The Dharma of the Middle Way includes all Dharmas, so one should be completely satised and not need anything else. It is like the superior sage deep in the mountains to whom a single blade of grass or a single piece of fruit is sufcient for nourishing the body. As for mendicants who beg for food, if these ascetics are not able in their actions to cultivate the true aspects of wisdom as the Middle, then they should [practice] the gradual and progressive threefold contemplation to regulate their minds and realize the Middle Way. This is called begging for food because it is a gradual and successive contemplation. Again, they should be satised with this perception of the Middle Way. This is [food] for middling sages. As for those to whom food is sent by donors, if these people are not able in their activity to achieve penetrating understanding, or are not able to perform contemplation in line with the Dharma teachings, then they are not really getting food [that nourishes the spirit]. They should follow a good teacher who is able to expound praj-wisdom, and who is able to distinguish [the good from the bad
196 An almost verbatim rephrasing from the Vimalakrti Stra, T 14.540b2122, where Subhti is trying to excuse himself from visiting Vimalakrti, who appears to have taken ill. Boin, Vimalakrti Stra, p. 5455, translates the context: Then the Blessed One said to the Venerable Subhti: Subhti, go and ask the Licchavi Vimalakrti about his illness. Subhti replied: Blessed One, I am not capable of going to ask that worthy man about his illness. And why? Blessed One, I remember that one day, in the great town of Vail, I went according to the systematic order, begging for my food to the house of the Licchavi Vimalakrti, when the latter after having saluted me, seized my bowl, lled it with excellent food, and said to me: Honourable Subhti, take, then, this food if you can, through the sameness of material objects (miasamat), penetrate the sameness of all dharmas (sarvadharmasamat) and, through the sameness of all dharmas, penetrate the sameness of all the attributes of the Buddha.

phrase from the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.634b22, within a discussion of the characteristics of liberation. The context reads: Again, liberation is called knowing what is sufcient F. It is like a hungry person who is able to come across some sweet delicacies and eat them without becoming satiated. Liberation is like this. It is like eating milk with rice gruel; no other [nourishment] is required. famous phrase appears in the opening section of the Mo-ho chih-kuan, T 46.1c23. See the commentary in the above section.
198 This

197 A

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and what is helpful from what is not]. By following what they hear, they can attain understanding and perceive the Middle Way. Such people have dull faculties, but can arouse understanding through hearing [the Dharma]. This is an attainment of food [for those called inferior sages]. This is like those people who, like the two cases above, are not able [to support themselves in the forest or in a monastery] and are allowed to have food sent to them by others. Again, there may be an intermediate person within the Sangha with regard to [managing and providing] food, so that [the practicers] can attain the merits of meditative (dhyna) concentration. To attain enlightenment through concentration is called the food of the Sangha. Thus the practicers should always be mindful of the food that is the Mahyna Dharma, and not be mindful of other tastes.

3. A Secluded Dwelling in a Quiet Place [42b23]

Third is a secluded dwelling in a quiet place E_.199 Even though you are supplied with [the minimum of] food and clothing [as explained in the previous section], how about your dwelling? If [you are practicing the samdhi of] following ones thoughts H[,200 you can stay in any place that you happen to come in contact with. The [other] three types of samdhi201 require an appropriate place. There are three types of appropriate places: 1. Deep in the mountains and far valleys L[X. 2. [A place suitable for] mendicants [to go on their] begging rounds wj7. 3. A secluded [forest] monastery 08/ (araya, sagha-rma). [First,] if you are deep in the mountains and far valleys, where the paths and roads are difcult and dangerous, then you can be cut off from human contact for a long time. Who, then, will cause troublesome commotion?202 You can then concentrate on the practice of meditative contemplation, with each thought dwelling on the [practice of the] path, and there is no arising of praise or criticism. Such a place is most superior.
199

Compare the very short exposition in the Hsiao chih-kuan, T 46.463b914: Third, obtain a sacluded dwelling in a quiet place. Secluded refers to [being at a place where there is] no performing of various [secular] activities; this is called seclusion. Quiet refers to a lack of commotion and noise. There are three [kinds of] places where it is possible to cultivate meditative concentration. First is a place deep in the mountains, cut off from [all] people. Second is a place suitable for mendicants (dhta) to do their begging, separated from [human] inhabitants by at least three or four li [either about one to one-and-a-half kilometers, or eleven to fteen kilometers]. Here there is no sound of herders or grazing animals, and no [human] commotion and noise. Third is a pure monastery, a place far from the dwellings of lay people. These are all called secluded and quiet places.

See also the Tzu-ti chan-men, T 46.487b27.

200 The fourth of the Four Samdhis, in which you practice cessation-and-contemplation in any and all places and situations by concentrating on each thought as it arises in the mind (see Mo-ho chih-kuan 14b2720a24). There is no particular place required for this practice. 201 202

The samdhis of constantly-sitting, constantly-walking, and both-walking-and-sitting. Or, [in such a situation] who will be bothered and distracted?

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Second, [a place suitable for] mendicants should be at least three li =203 [from human habitations], and their associations with the inhabitants should be limited. Otherwise passionate afictions will be aroused. This is the next best place [to dwell]. [42c] Third, a secluded [forest] monastery is a quiet and secluded temple where people are alone in their own rooms, not involved in various [mundane] activities, sit quietly within closed gates, and ponder the correct truth. This place is the least [ideal among these three places for cultivating cessation-and-contemplation]. There are no alternatives apart from these three places [that are suitable for the proper practice of cessation-and-contemplation]. The occasional observances of the lay life in villages only invite fault and shame. The bustling temples near the marketplace also are not appropriate places. In order calm the body and realize the path, one must be choosy [about an appropriate place]; one must be cautious and not rash. If one obtains an suitable place, one should not move frequently. 1. Interpretation of Place in Terms of Contemplation of the Mind [42c5] The place of the contemplation of the mind is the principle of truth 7. [The Middle:] The Dharma of the Middle Way is mysterious and distant, deep and profound XL]. You do not reach this far even after completing the seven types of preparatory means ).204 Therefore it is called deep. [People who realize this] are lofty, expansive, and immovable like a mountain. They are far removed from the two extremes, so they are called quiescent. They are not born and do not arise; thus they are called secluded. The Pacaviati Stra says, If a person arouses the mind of a rvaka a thousand yojanas away, though this person is physically far away, the mind [of this person] is not far away [from those who are enlightened]; [in such a case] commotion and noise are no commotion and noise, and there is no distant separation [from enlightenment]. If you dwell near a city but do not arouse the mind of those of the two vehicles, then this is called [true] distant separation [from enlightenment].205 This refers to the most superior place [i.e., deep in the mountains, corresponding to contemplation of the middle].
203 One li is either about 400 meters or 3.93 kilometers. Thus, three li would be either about 1.2 kilometers or about twelve kilometers. If the mendicants needed to be close enough to human habitations to go on their daily begging rounds, it is more likely that the minimum distance would be a little more than a kilometer. 204 Or, seven preparatory stages: the three levels of acquiring erudition and the four stages of good roots; see under the Mo-ho chih-kuan, 20a27. Chan-jan (BTIII, p. 3) adds, The seven means are as explained previously. This refers to the growth of the three types of grasses and two types of trees (in the parable of the herbs in the Lotus Stra). These have seven stages. The growth of the small grass is that of human and divine beings. The growth of middling-size grass is that of those of the two vehicles. The superior grass and two types of trees correspond to the bodhisattvas of the [rst] three Teachings (Tripiaka, Shared, and Distinct). The three kinds of grasses and two kinds of trees all depend [for their growth] on the ground. The seven types of means are grounded on reality. Therefore the three types of grasses and two types of trees obtain growth, though each in accordance with its own nature. Ultimately, however, their roots will not prosper without rain and the ground. The ground is the principle of the Perfect [Teaching].

the nal analysis, it is not the physical distance or separation from anything that is important, but ones state of mind. A summary from the Pacaviati Stra, T 8.353a21b16.

205 In

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[Conventionality:] The place of the mendicant corresponds to the contemplation of transcending [mere emptiness by realizing] conventionality mx. This contemplation involves connecting emptiness [with conventionality], like lining up forest temples (araya) with a village. The contemplation of transcending conventionality involves having the mind come to rest within the mundane truth (samvti-satya), being able to discriminate [the proper] medicine for dis-eases, to brush away ignorance, and to purify ones wisdom of the path. This is the next [best] place. [Emptiness:] A room in a secluded temple corresponds to the contemplation of realizing emptiness from conventionality ZxW. A temple basically is a place in the midst of various commotions, but where one is able to nd peaceful quiet in a room. The conventional involves stirring up the dust [of afflictions]; but you should realize that this conventional reality is indivisible with emptiness. You should know that this is the place of the real truth (paramrta-satya). One should rest in the principle of the threefold truth. This is the real place of cessation-and-contemplation. This means that you should not escape to the shadows of the mountain forests, or stay hidden in a private room.206

4. Putting an End to Mundane Responsibilities [42c18]

Fourth is putting an end to mundane responsibilities U$Y. There are many reasons why mundane responsibilities hinder [the practice of] dhyna meditation. The bhikus of the forest shun noise and seek quiet; how, then, can they be involved in mundane responsibilities that destroy their practice in the forest? You should not be involved in [such responsibilities]. There are four types of mundane responsibilities:207 1. daily life 2. personal relations ^ 3. technical skills 4. scholarship First, the mundane responsibilities of daily life refer to managing daily tasks and
206 Unlike in the Hsiao chih-kuan, here Chih-i clearly implies that secluding oneself in the mountains and ignoring the mundane world is not the superior path for a Buddhist, and that the responsibility to return to the market place is a higher calling. 207 Compare the shorter version in the Hsiao chih-kuan, T 46.463b1420: Fourth, put an end to mundane responsibilities. There are four meanings here. First, put an end to the mundane responsibilities of daily [secular] life, and do not perform worldly [conditioned] matters and business. Second, put an end to personal relations. Do not pursue and ask after lay people, friends, and relatives. Cut off the coming and going of all personal relations. Third, put an end to responsibilities concerning technical matters and industrial arts, and do not perform matters that involve worldly technology, industrial arts, medical matters, forbidden spells and fortune-telling, calculations, and so forth. Fourth, put an end to mundane scholarly responsibilities. Reading, chanting, listening, and studying [scholarly matters] should all be abandoned. This is what it means to put an end to mundane responsibilities. Why should you do this? Because if you have many [secular] responsibilities, then you must abandon the practice of the path, and ones mind will be confused and difcult to restrain.

See also the Tzu-ti chan-men, T 46.487b715.

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matters of lifestyle. Contact with the path [while maintaining the routine of daily life] causes disarray; while you may gain one thing, you then loses some other thing. This causes you to forfeit the path and confuse the mind. If one is involved in [secular] business and various [mundane] matters, then [the appropriate practice for such people is] encompassed by [the samdhi of] following ones thoughts, and will not be discussed here.208 Second, personal relations refer to [the activities involved in relationships between people such as] congratulations and condolences, various obligations, humbling or exalting [oneself], responding to or inviting [people]. This involves going here and there until there is no end to coming and going. How much more [troublesome and distracting] if you pursue complicated associations with various people that throw you into confusion! Differing from your parents and separating from your teachers is fundamental to seeking the essential path;209 this can unite three countries and bring about esteem among ve districts.210 What is it that you truly desire[, worldly life or the search for enlightenment]? [If you intend to seek the Buddhist path, and yet cling to personal relationships,] this is like looking for your collar by lifting your skirt, or seeking ice to light a re. [Being involved in secular personal relations] is not appropriate [for a person on the path]. Third, technical skills refer to medical training, fortunetelling, working in
Ikeda (Gendaigoyaku-hen, p. 225) has, running the activities necessary for a life of cultivating [the path] is explained [in the section on][the samdhi of] following ones thoughts.
209 208

Compare the Biblical injunction where Jesus says, Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a mans foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who nds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will nd it. (Matthew 10:3439)

There is no agreement as to what this really refers to. Chan-jan (BT-III, p. 7) explains: The people of three countries refers to [the story of] the covenant between a father and his sons. The eldest was the father, next was the eldest son, and next was the baby brother. The father ordered that the river [banks?] be lled in to build a house, and though they tried to ll it for a long time, it was not completed. Because of the father they received much criticism. The two sons took a vow, saying that if they were truly lial and sincere, they would strive to ll in the river [banks]. After making this vow, they completed lling in the river. Again, the Hsiao-tzu fu [{ (Transmissions of lial piety) says that in the past there were three people who each lived in a [different] country. They were all alone and isolated. The three people met secretly under a tree, questioned each other, and made a friendly pact. Two of them agreed and made a pact to be like father and son. The three were separated when the Liang dynasty fell. As for the ve districts, a Buddhist text says that a district is a place where many people assemble. The emperor rules over land of a thousand li, and divides it into a hundred districts. The Hsiao-tzu fu says that in the past there were people of ve districts. These ve people left their home villages andalone and without their parentswent to each others countries and were united like brothers. The details behind this saying are not very clear. Perhaps the people in Chih-i or Chanjans time recognized the stories and they were meaningful without detailed explanation.

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mud and wood, painting, chess, calligraphy, magical spells, and so forth. [It includes working with] designs on skins or with beautiful horns [to create artful objects], cooking with animal fat, or forging metal bells. You hurt your own body [through these activities]211how much more so [does it impede] the cultivation of the transworldly path! As the trees of the forest attract the birds212 and the [43a] smell of rotten food lures ies[, the pursuit of such technical skills distracts from practicing the path], so you should rmly avoid such [activities that attract] corruption and disgrace! Fourth, scholarship refers to the reading and chanting of stras and treatises for [participation in] competitive debates, and so forth. Carrying out such tasks, and the memorizing it involves, fatigues the mind and wearies the heart. If arguments go back and forth, then the water is muddied and the jewels darkened.213 How then can one have time to cultivate cessation-and-contemplation. Even these matters should be abandoned; how much more so the rst three! 1. Interpretation of Responsibilities in Terms of Contemplation of the Mind [43a5] [Matters of] daily life [in terms of] contemplation of the mind: passions ( are the dharmas that foster karmic deeds, as water nurtures seeds. Passions are the cause of sorrow , and sorrow causes fear. If you are able to sever the passions, this is called putting an end to the mundane responsibilities of daily life. Personal relations also [contribute to the accumulation of] karmic deeds. Karmic deeds give birth to coming and going in the ve destinies of the triple world. Karmic deeds are fostered by passions, thus giving rise to birth in various places. If there are no karmic deeds, then there is no fostering of the passions. Although karmic deeds have power, they do not pursue one who does not produce them. If [karmic deeds are] not produced, then one has severed [the cycle of] birth-and-death. As for technical skills, if you have not yet obtained the noble path, then you cannot [properly] cultivate supranormal powers F. Vain and deluded teachings
211 Ikeda (Shkai Makashikan, p. 225) has, as skins with designs are torn off [the animals bodies], beautiful horns are broken [and carved], animal fat is boiled to make oil, and metal bells are broken by being struck, so technical skills involve harming oneself.

A similar phrase is found in the I chiao ching, T 12.1111c1415, though it is not clear whether or not Chih-i intended to be quoting this passage here.
213

212

See the analogy of the spring lake in the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.617c310: Suppose that in the springtime there are some people who are riding on a boat on a large lake and making merry. [In the midst of their partying] they drop some lapis lazuli jewels into the deep water. At that time all the people jump into the water to try and nd the treasure. They ght with each other over tiles, rocks, grass and trees, sand and stones, each thinking to obtain the lapis lazuli jewels [and muddying the water in the process]. They rejoice when they think they have discovered them, but then realize [they are mistaken and] they are not real. At that time the lapus lazuli is in the water, and through the power of the jewels the water becomes clear, and the group of people can see the jeweled treasure in the water at the bottom [of the lake], like gazing at the empty shape of the moon. Then one wise person in the midst of the group uses skillful means to enter the water safely and obtain the jewels.

This analogy has been quoted in the Mo-ho chih-kuan previously, though for a different point (i.e., mistaking tiles and stones for lapus lazuli); see the note under 20b15.

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obstruct praj-wisdom. Praj-wisdom is like emptinessit involves neither vain argument nor words. If you obtain praj-wisdom, this is like obtaining the maijewel. You should cultivate this single-mindedly. Why should you hastily rush to use supranormal powers eF? As for fostering study, if you have not yet obtained the patience [that comes from understanding] that there is no [substantial] arising (anutpattika-dharmaknti), and yet you cultivate worldly skills in rhetoric and a quick memory, and can make various [academic] distinctions, these [skills] are like tiles, stones, grass and trees instead of the true treasured jewel. If you are able to stop and stay put [without kicking up mud], then the water will become clear, the lapis lazuli can be seen on the bottom, and it will be easy to pick up the treasure.214 If you know well the arising and perishing of the phenomenal features of this world, what is there about the various activities [in the world] that you will not know? One knows through universal wisdom s)J, and perceives with the Buddha eye. If one wishes to practice the great path, one should not learn with a limited scope .

5. Acquiring Good Friends [43a18]

A good [spiritual] friend 3F (kalya-mitra)215 is a great cause and condition $ [for advancing on the path]. [Such a person] converts and guides you, and leads you to attain the insight of a Buddha.216 [It is written,] nanda said, A good friend is half the cause and condition for attaining the path. The Buddha said, That is not so. Such a person is a full and complete cause and condition.217
See the analogy from the Mahparinirva Stra in the note above. the very short exposition in the Hsiao chih-kuan, T 46.463b2024: Fifth is approaching a good friend. There are three types of good friends. First are good friends who provide external protection. These manage the supply of subsistence and provide security for the practicers, so that they are not distracted [by mundane concerns]. Second are good friends that are companions [in practice]. Together [with you] they cultivate the single path [of Buddhahood] and mutually encourage each other, so that there is no confusion and disorder. Third are the good friends that are teachers. They use the internal and external means and the Dharma teachings of dhyna meditation to teach and indicate [the path], and bring about benet and joy. See also the Tzu-ti chan-men, T 46.487b1519.
215 Compare 214

Chih-i does not identify it as such, but this entire phrase is verbatim from the next to the last chapter of the Lotus Stra , on Former Affairs of the King Fine Adornment, T 9.60c1011. Hurvitz (Lotus Stra, pp. 32930), translates: If a good man or good woman, in order to plant wholesome roots, in age after age gains a good friend, that good friend can do the Buddhas business, demonstrating, teaching, proting, delighting, and causing entry into anuttarasamyaksabodhi. O great king! Let it be known that a good friend is a great cause and condition. This means that he converts and guides, making possible the vision of a Buddha and the opening up of the thoughts to anuttarasamyaksabodhi. Chih-i has quoted this passage in the Mo-ho chih-kuan previously; see under 46.3a28b1.
217 From the The Transmission, the same text used in the introduction to the Mo-ho chihkuan for the biographies of the patriarchs [see 1ab]. The original passage (T 50.322a2325) is a bit more detailed: It is like in the past when nanda said to the Buddha, World Honored One. A good

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There are three kinds of good [spiritual] friends: 1. an external guardian  2. a fellow practicer | 3. a teacher b4 [First, one who provides external protection.] If you are deep in the mountains or at an isolated locale, you can get no assistance nor any provisional protection [with regard to mundane needs]. But if you cultivates the [rst] three kinds of samdhi [in a monastery or village temple], you must depend on special help $.218 [A good friend who provides] external protection does not discriminate between good and bad Rw [practicers], but simply manages what is necessary, not seeing [the practicers] faults, nor touching on their afictions, nor praising them, nor in any of their actions bothering [their practice]. [These guardians] should bring about regularity and harmony, as a mother nurtures her child and a tiger her cub. A person who has practiced the path since old times is able to do this well. This is called [a good friend who provides] external protection. Second is a fellow practicer. When practicing [the samdhi of] following ones thoughts H[ or the practices of peace H,219 [you can practice alone, so] a companion is not necessary. Practicing the Vaipulya or the Pratyutpanna methods,220 however, certainly requires a favorable companion. Thus [the companions] can encourage each other not to fall asleep or be distracted, and can be refreshed every day, mutually polishing and rening $ [each others virtues]. They become of one mind and intent, as if they are riding in the same boat. They respect and look on each other as if they are perceiving the World Honored One. [43b] These are called fellow practicers. Third is a teacher. This refers to one who can expound on praj-wisdom and signify what is the path and what is not the path, use the internal and external means to penetrate all the obstructions and hindrances [to Buddhahood], skillfully expound the Dharma to signify and teach, and bring benets and joy,221 and convert peoples minds. If one is fully in control of various means, then one is able to practice alone, but if one has not yet l not abandon the assistance [of a teacher]. A stra says, Through following a good teacher one can attain the vision of the Buddhas that number as many as the sands of the Ganges River.222 Such a person is called a teacher.
friend helps one to attain the path, and is half the cause and condition. The Buddha said. No. A good friend is the complete cause and condition for one to attain the path.
218 Lit., superior conditions, presumably the assistance provided by people for the mundane needs of the monks, which allows them to concentrate on practicing the Buddhist path. 219 See the discussion of these practices above in the Mo-ho chih-kuan, 14a. 220 The samdhi practices based on the Great Vaipulya Dhra Stra (part of the bothwalking-and-sitting samdhi) and the Pratyutpanna Samdhi Stra (the constantly-walking samdhi). See the Mo-ho chih-kuan, 12a1914b25.

This phrase is found in the Lotus Stra in the passage quoted above (see note above; T 9.60c8), which Hurvitz translates as demonstrating, teaching, proting, delighting, as well as numerous other places in the Lotus Stra. The last line in the chapter on the Preachers of the Dharma in the Lotus Stra, T 9.32b15. Hurvitz, Lotus Stra, p. 182, translates the context:
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1. Contemplation of the Mind as a Good Friend [43b6] Considering the contemplation of the mind as a good friend is as follows. The Pacaviati Stra says, Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and arhats are good friends; the six perfections and the thirty-seven practices for attaining the path are good friends; Dharma nature (dharmat) and reality-as-it-is ! are good friends.223 If Buddhas and bodhisattvas cover and groom you with their majestic light, this is external protection. The six perfections and the various practices of the path 1 are gates for entering the path; these are fellow practicers. The nature of the Dharma and true reality is the true principle 7 and teacher of all Buddhas, the objective realm that arouses wisdom; this is a teacher. Each [of the these three typesthe noble ones, the practices, and the nature of reality] has three meanings. First [with regard to the noble ones it is said that they] cover and protect like the Buddhas majestic light; this is external protection. Second, the Buddhas and Noble Ones remove their necklaces and wear dirty garments, taking up a shovel to remove dung,224 and benet things [in this world] by softening their light M2].225 Is this not a fellow practicer? Third, Buddhas and bodhisattvas preach the Dharma with a single soundrevealing, arousing, transforming and guidingso that each [sentient being] is led to attain understanding.226 This is [the meaning of] teacher. Thus three meanings are included. [In the second type,] the six perfections and the [thirty-seven] practices of the path also include three meanings. [First,] the auxiliary [practices of the] path 1 are called protective assistance ; the auxiliary [practices of the] path arouse the proper [practices of the] path. This is [the meaning of] external protection. [Second,] since the proper and auxiliary [practices of the path] are associated [with each other], this is [the meaning of] fellow practicers. If you depend on these proper and auxiliary [practices], and not surrender the regulations [of the Buddhist community, i.e., the precepts], you will penetrate and enter the gate of threefold liberation Xm0. This is [the meaning of] teacher. [The third type,] the nature of the Dharma, also includes three meanings. The objective realm is a teacher; it benets secretly and in the dark. This is external protection. The objective realm and wisdom mutually correspond; this is [the
If anyone can be close to the Dharma-master, He can quickly gain the bodhisattva-path. One who studies under the guidance of this master Shall contrive to see Buddhas numerous as Ganges sands. A summary of a passage from the Pacaviati Stra, T 8.353c11354a. Phrases from the parable of the poor son in the Lotus Stra, T 9.17a15, where the rich father dresses down in order to join his son, who is cleaning the latrines. Hurvitz, Lotus Stra, p. 87, translates the context: Then, on another day, through a window he saw the gure of his son, weak and emaciated, wasted away, grimy and soiled with dung, dirt, and dust. Straightway he removed his necklaces, his ne outer garments, and his ornaments, and put on instead a rough, torn, dirty, tar-stained garment, and, smearing dust over his body, took in his right hand a dung-shovel. Now frightful in appearance, he addressed his workmen: you men, work! You may not slacken! by this means contriving to approach his son.
224 223

Reminiscent of the more famous phrase M|a, dimming his light and mixing with the dust, an expression for the Buddha humbling himself to appear in this world to save sentient beings. The phrase is originally from Lao-tzu.

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meaning of] fellow practicers. When you have not yet perceived the principle [of reality], this is like being blind. When the Dharma truth is made manifest, it is like having your eyes opened; wisdom functions without error. A stra says, Those who cultivate my Dharma teachings will realize enlightenment on their own. If there is no real practice in their mind, then what can I ask [to help them]?227 This is [the meaning of] teacher. [43b22] Together, these three [types] with three [meanings] give a total of nine categories; together with the original [three] we have twelve categories. The rst three and the next three correspond to good friends in deed F; the other six correspond to good friends in principle 7F. Discussing these in terms of the threefold truth is as follows: when you realize the contemplation of emptiness, the assembly of Noble Ones are your external protectors, the indivisibility of emptiness and the practices of the path corresponds to fellow practicers, and the real [ultimate] truth corresponds to the teacher. Thus there are six categories of actual deeds and six of principle. The two contemplations of conventionality and the Middle are also likewise. If you merge [all the meanings of good friends in terms of] the threefold truth, there are thirty-six categories: eighteen of actual deeds and eighteen of principle. If we discuss this in terms of the four siddntas, then there are further numerous meanings of good friend. If you are able to fully interpret this teaching of the good friend, you can understand the signicance of Sudhana entering the dharmadhtu [through visiting fty-three teachers].228 These various [meanings] are all the same in referring to [good] friends. However, according to the Avatasaka Stra, There is a demonic % [aspect of] good [43c] friends, a demonic [aspect of] samdhi, and a demonic [aspect of] bodhi-mind.229
A similar expression is found in the Vimalakrti Stra, T 14.538a2: The Buddha preaches the Dharma with a single sound, and the sentient beings, in accordance with their type, each attains understanding. The source of this quote is unknown. The classical commentaries (see BTIII, p. 28) refer to a passage in the Avatasaka Stra, T 9.676c, which is the beginning of the story of Sudhanas journey to visit fty-three masters and thus attain enlightenment (entering the dharmadhtu).
228 229 227 226

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

From a list of ten types of mra in the Avatasaka Stra, T 9.663a510: The mra of the ve skandhas 2%, because of the covetous attachments of the skandhas. The mra of passionate afictions (klea) %, because of the stains of passionate afictions. The mra of karma %%, because it is able to obstruct [the attainment of enlightenment]. The mra of the mind %, because of self-conceit. The mra of death |%, because one becomes separated from receiving further birth. The mra of divine beings %, because one arouses haughtiness and debauchery. The mra of losing ones good roots 3%, because ones mind is not repentant. The mra of samdhi X*%, because of attachments to tastes. The mra of good friends 3F%, because through them one may arouse thoughts of attachments. The mra of not knowing the bodhi-wisdom of the true Dharma #F%, because one is not able to accomplish all of ones vows.

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These demonic forces are able to manipulate people to abandon the good and follow after evil. They are also able to transform people so that they fall back into the stages of the two vehicles. If this is so, then [it is possible that] the arhats may not be [truly] good friends if they only practice the real truth.230 [On the other hand,] one can accept as a [good] friend one who internally and secretly [practices as a bodhisattva] but externally appears as a rvaka #l231and bodhisattvas can also become divine beings or nga-dragons232 and lure beings into realizing the true marks [of reality]; why only arhats? This refers to those of the Shared [Teaching]. It is not impossible for these gures to be good friends. What I mean by speaking of demonic forces here is [to illustrate the mistake of referring to] one who leads people only as far as the conjured castle233 as a true arhat; this is not a truly good friend, but merely a partially P234 good friend. Such a person practices bodhi-wisdom partially and gets rid of passionate afictions only partially. If we were to clarify both what such persons take away and what they give, [we must say that] they are in some ways good friends and in some ways demonic forces. Those of the Distinct Teaching who do not attain the [ultimate] intent [of the Buddha] will not encounter the Middle Way, and [thus] these also [can be somewhat] demonic friends. The three types of people of the Perfect Teaching are surely the true good friends. [The good friends and demonic forces of] samdhi and bodhi-mind should be understood in the same way.235

Chih-i discusses the various types of mra in more detail later in the Mo-ho chih-kuan. That is, if they seek enlightenment only for themselves by realizing the real truth, and are not concerned for those left in the midst of this world of the mundane truth. Perhaps these could be labelled anonymous bodhisattvas? See the verse in the Lotus Stra, T 9.28a17; Hurvitz (Lotus Stra, p. 160) translates: For even those of limited desires and of no effort Shall eventually be enabled to become Buddhas. Inwardly concealing their bodhisattva-conduct And outwardly showing themselves to be voice-hearers, Though of slight desires and disgusted with birth-and-death, They are in fact, and of their own accord, purifying Buddha-lands. Perhaps representing the eight kinds of mythical beings: divine being (deva), dragon (nga), yaka, gandharva, asura, garu^a, kinara, and mahoraga.
233 Which represents a stage only part of the way along the goal of the Buddhist path. See the parable of the conjured castle in the seventh chapter of the Lotus Stra. 232 231 230

Lit., half-word or letter, in contrast to a full word or complete set of letters that makes up a word. See the analogy of the letters in the Mahparinirva Stra, T 12.653c17655b11, where it is explained that letters of the alphabet themselves are only half-words, and though these form the basic foundation for all verbal communication, it is only when they are put together to form words that they are complete letters . Thus in Tien-tai the Hnayna teachings are called the teaching of half-words P.
235

234

That is, they can be good friends, but if misused, can be a force for evil.

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