The Ten Straightforward Minds, and Five Departures of Restraint
The treatise turns, at last, to Vimalā, the Ground Free of Defilement. Vajragarbha names ten kinds of straightforward mind that arouse entry into the Second Ground, each explained through its own texture — gentle, tamed, quiescent, genuine, unmixed — before the threefold framework of pure precepts opens onto the ten wholesome courses of action themselves: departure from killing, from stealing, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, and from slander, each one analyzed through its own cause, its own antidote, and its own resulting conduct.
The Ten Straightforward Minds, and the Three Clusters of Pure Precepts
論曰：菩薩如是已證正位，依出世間道、因清淨戒，說第二菩薩離垢地。此清淨戒有二種淨：一、發起淨；二、自體淨。發起淨者，說十種直心。
經曰：爾時金剛藏菩薩摩訶薩言：諸佛子！若菩薩已具足初地，欲得第二地者，當生十種直心。何等為十？一、直心；二、柔軟心；三、調柔心；四、善心；五、寂滅心；六、真心；七、不雜心；八、不悕望心；九、勝心；十、大心。菩薩生是十心，得入第二菩薩離垢地。
論曰：十種直心者，依清淨戒直心性戒成就，隨所應作自然行故。
直心復有九種：一者柔軟直心，共喜樂意持戒行故。二者調柔直心，自在力故，性善持戒煩惱不雜故。三者善直心，守護諸根不誤犯戒，猶如良馬性調伏故。四者寂滅直心，調伏柔軟不生高心故。五者真直心，能忍諸惱如真金故。六者不雜直心，所得功德不生厭足，依清淨戒更求勝戒樂寂靜故。七者不悕望直心，不願諸有勢力自在故。八者勝直心，為利益眾生不斷有願故。九者大直心，隨順有果而不染故。自體淨者，有三種戒：一、離戒淨；二、攝善法戒淨；三、利益眾生戒淨。離戒淨者，謂十善業道，從離殺生乃至正見，亦名受戒淨。攝善法戒淨者，於離戒淨為上，從菩薩作是思惟：眾生墮諸惡道，皆由十不善業道集因緣，乃至是故我應等行十善業道，一切種清淨故。利益眾生戒淨者，於攝善法戒為上，從菩薩復作是念：我遠離十不善業道，樂行法行乃至生尊心等。
Commentary: A bodhisattva, having thus realized the true station, in dependence on the supramundane path, through the cause of pure precepts, is taught to enter the Second Ground, the bodhisattva's Ground Free of Defilement. This purity of precepts is of two kinds: the purity of arousal, and the purity of essence. The purity of arousal is what is taught through the ten kinds of straightforward mind.
Sūtra: At that time, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva Vajragarbha said: Sons of the Buddha! Should a bodhisattva, having already fulfilled the First Ground, wish to attain the Second Ground, he should give rise to ten kinds of straightforward mind. What are the ten? First, the straightforward mind; second, the gentle mind; third, the tamed mind; fourth, the wholesome mind; fifth, the quiescent mind; sixth, the genuine mind; seventh, the unmixed mind; eighth, the mind free of expectation; ninth, the supreme mind; and tenth, the great mind. A bodhisattva who gives rise to these ten minds is thereby able to enter the Second Ground, the bodhisattva's Ground Free of Defilement.
Commentary: These ten kinds of straightforward mind mean that, in dependence on the straightforward mind of pure precepts, the precepts of one's own nature are accomplished, so that whatever should be done is spontaneously carried out.
The straightforward mind is, again, of nine kinds. First, the gentle straightforward mind, since the upholding of precepts is accompanied by a mind of joy and delight. Second, the tamed straightforward mind, through the power of self-mastery, since the precepts are, by nature, well upheld, unmixed with affliction. Third, the wholesome straightforward mind, guarding every sense-faculty so that the precepts are never mistakenly transgressed, just as a fine horse is tamed by its own nature. Fourth, the quiescent straightforward mind, tamed and gentle, giving rise to no arrogant mind. Fifth, the genuine straightforward mind, able to endure every affliction, just like true gold. Sixth, the unmixed straightforward mind, never satisfied with the merit already attained, but, in dependence on pure precepts, seeking ever more supreme precepts and delighting in quiescence. Seventh, the straightforward mind free of expectation, wishing for none of the mastery and power belonging to any of the three realms of existence. Eighth, the supreme straightforward mind, since, for the benefit of sentient beings, the vow to remain within existence is never severed. Ninth, the great straightforward mind, according with the fruit of existence yet remaining undefiled by it. The purity of essence is of three kinds of precept: first, the pure precept of restraint; second, the pure precept of gathering wholesome dharmas; and third, the pure precept of benefiting sentient beings. The pure precept of restraint means the ten wholesome courses of action, from departure from killing all the way to right view; it is also called the pure precept of receiving the precepts. The pure precept of gathering wholesome dharmas is superior to the pure precept of restraint, since the bodhisattva reflects thus: sentient beings fall into the evil destinies entirely through the causes and conditions gathered by the ten unwholesome courses of action; therefore I should, in every respect, practice the ten wholesome courses of action equally, so that they become pure in every kind. The pure precept of benefiting sentient beings is superior to the pure precept of gathering wholesome dharmas, since the bodhisattva further reflects thus: having departed from the ten unwholesome courses of action, delighting in the practice of the Dharma, all the way to giving rise to a mind of honoring others, and the rest.
Huiyuan reads the ten named kinds of straightforward mind as one head term plus a further ninefold analysis, not ten independent items of equal rank: 直心有九，就總開別 — "the straightforward mind is of nine kinds, opening the general term into its particulars" — with the first-listed straightforward mind itself serving as the umbrella under which the nine that follow (gentle, tamed, wholesome, quiescent, genuine, unmixed, free of expectation, supreme, and great) are grouped. Of these nine, he assigns the first seven to the precept of restraint, the eighth — the supreme mind — to gathering sentient beings, and the ninth — the great mind — to gathering wholesome dharmas: 九中初七是律儀戒，次一攝生，後一攝善. Within the first seven, a further nested division applies: the first two, gentle and tamed, name the very essence of upholding precepts, while the remaining five belong to their cultivation — and even this five splits again, the first three (wholesome, quiescent, genuine) forming one's own already-accomplished portion (自分) and the last two (unmixed, free of expectation) forming further advancement toward what still lies ahead (勝進). A single list of ten names conceals, on this reading, four layers of nested structure rather than one flat enumeration.
Huiyuan is equally precise about how the identical vocabulary of restraint and of gathering wholesome dharmas can look like it names two unrelated things, when each in fact depends on the other: 前律儀中有止有作，因離果離是其止行，對治離者是其作行，舉作助止說為律儀 — "within restraint there is both cessation and active conduct: departure through cause and departure through resulting conduct belong to its cessation, while departure through the antidote belongs to its active conduct — active conduct is cited here only to assist cessation, and this is why it is called 'restraint.'" The reverse holds for gathering wholesome dharmas: 攝善戒中亦有止作，舉止助作說為攝善 — "within gathering wholesome dharmas there is likewise both cessation and active conduct, but here cessation is cited only to assist active conduct, and this is why it is called 'gathering wholesome dharmas.'" The identical threefold structure of cause, antidote, and resulting conduct that will organize each of the ten precepts to come is read differently depending on which of the three clusters of precepts it serves — the same three categories, weighted in opposite directions.
Departure from Killing, and Departure from Stealing
經曰：諸佛子！菩薩住菩薩離垢地，自性成就十善業道，遠離一切殺生，捨棄刀杖無瞋恨心。有慚有愧具足憐愍，於一切眾生生安隱心慈心。是菩薩尚不惡心惱諸眾生，何況於他眾生起眾生想故起重心身行加害。
論曰：說十善業道遠離一切殺生者，示現遠離勝利益勝故。依離殺生有三種離：一者因離，如經「捨棄刀杖無瞋恨心，有慚有愧具足憐愍」故。二者對治離，如經「於一切眾生生安隱心慈心」故。三者果行離，如經「尚不惡心惱諸眾生，何況於他眾生起眾生想故，起重心身行加害」故。於中殺生有二種因：一、受畜因；二、起因。受畜因有二種，所謂刀、杖。刀者斫截事，杖者捶打事。如經「捨棄刀杖」故。乃至呪術諸藥能殺之具，悉皆遠離。起因有二種，所謂貪、瞋。為財利故造諸惡業，乃至沒命心無恥悔，對治是等，如經「有慚有愧」故。為貪眾生捕養籠繫令生苦惱，對治是等，如經「具足憐愍」故。離此二種，故言因離。對治離有二種：一者安隱心，於一切眾生而作利益，以善法教化令住善道涅槃因故。二者慈心，令彼眾生得人天報、涅槃樂果故，如經「於一切眾生生安隱心慈心」故。如是於因果中不顛倒求，離愚癡心殺生祭祀等，對治者即名為離，故名對治離，彼能離故。言眾生者，示諸眾生非常非斷，隨命根因緣，乃至現得壽命住世，死則依業煩惱力未來還生故。果行離有二種：一者微細心，念害故；二者麁重身，行惱害故。如經「是菩薩尚不惡心惱諸眾生，何況於他眾生起眾生想故起重心身行加害」故。於中麁行有五種：一者身，如經「他」故。二者事，如經「眾生」故。三者想，如經「眾生想」故。四者行，如經「故起重心」故。五者體，如經「身行加害」故。
經曰：離諸劫盜，資生之物常自滿足，不壞他財。若物屬他、他所用事、他守護想，不生盜心。是菩薩乃至草葉不與不取，何況其餘資生之具。
論曰：依離劫盜有三種離：一、因離；二、對治離；三、果行離。因離者，自資生不足，此對治，如經「資生之物常自滿足」故。對治離者，所謂布施，於自資生捨而不著，以無貪故不壞當來資生。如經「不壞他財」故。果行離者有二種：一者微細物不與不取，二者麁重物不與不取。此五種示現：一者身，如經「若物屬他」故。二者事，如經「他所用事」故。三者想，如經「他守護想」故。四者行，盜心取故，如經「不生盜心」故。五者體，所謂微麁，如經「乃至草葉不與不取，何況其餘資生之具」故。
Sūtra: Sons of the Buddha! A bodhisattva dwelling in the bodhisattva's Ground Free of Defilement accomplishes the ten wholesome courses of action through his own nature, departing entirely from killing, casting aside knife and staff, his mind free of anger or resentment. Possessed of a sense of shame and a sense of conscience, complete with compassion, he gives rise to a mind of ease and a mind of loving-kindness toward every sentient being. This bodhisattva does not even harbor an evil mind that troubles sentient beings — how much less would he, perceiving another as a sentient being, give rise to a grave intention and inflict bodily harm.
Commentary: "Teaching the ten wholesome courses of action, departing entirely from killing" makes manifest the excellence of the benefit of departure. In dependence on departure from killing, there are three kinds of departure: departure through its cause — as the sūtra says, "casting aside knife and staff, his mind free of anger or resentment, possessed of a sense of shame and a sense of conscience, complete with compassion"; departure through its antidote — as the sūtra says, "gives rise to a mind of ease and a mind of loving-kindness toward every sentient being"; and departure through its resulting conduct — as the sūtra says, "does not even harbor an evil mind that troubles sentient beings — how much less would he, perceiving another as a sentient being, give rise to a grave intention and inflict bodily harm." Here, killing has two kinds of cause: the cause of what is kept in hand, and the cause of what arouses it. The cause of what is kept in hand is of two kinds, namely knife and staff — the knife being the matter of cutting, the staff being the matter of striking — as the sūtra says, "casting aside knife and staff." All the way to spells, incantations, and every poison capable of killing — all of these are departed from entirely. The cause that arouses it is of two kinds, namely greed and anger. Committing every evil deed for the sake of wealth and profit, all the way to being unashamed and without regret even at the cost of one's own life — the antidote to this is as the sūtra says, "possessed of a sense of shame and a sense of conscience." Capturing, raising, and caging sentient beings out of greed, causing them suffering and distress — the antidote to this is as the sūtra says, "complete with compassion." Departing from these two causes is what is called departure through its cause. Departure through the antidote is of two kinds: first, the mind of ease, working for the benefit of every sentient being, teaching and transforming them through wholesome dharmas so that they abide in the cause of the wholesome path and of nirvāṇa; and second, the mind of loving-kindness, causing sentient beings to attain the retribution of birth among humans or gods, and the joyful fruit of nirvāṇa — as the sūtra says, "gives rise to a mind of ease and a mind of loving-kindness toward every sentient being." Thus, seeking neither cause nor fruit in an inverted way, one departs from the deluded mind that kills for the sake of sacrifice and the like; this antidote is itself what is called departure, and so it is called departure through the antidote, since it is what is able to bring about that departure. As for the word "sentient beings," this shows that sentient beings are neither eternal nor annihilated: in accordance with the causes and conditions of the life-faculty, they attain a present lifespan and abide in the world, and, upon death, through the power of karma and affliction, they are again born in the future. Departure through resulting conduct is of two kinds: the subtle aspect of mind, the thought of doing harm; and the coarse aspect of body, the act of causing injury — as the sūtra says, "this bodhisattva does not even harbor an evil mind that troubles sentient beings — how much less would he, perceiving another as a sentient being, give rise to a grave intention and inflict bodily harm." Here, the coarse conduct is of five kinds: the body — as the sūtra says, "another"; the matter — as the sūtra says, "sentient being"; the perception — as the sūtra says, "perceiving as a sentient being"; the intention — as the sūtra says, "gives rise to a grave intention"; and the essence — as the sūtra says, "inflicts bodily harm."
Sūtra: Departing from all theft and robbery, he is constantly satisfied of himself with the objects that sustain life, never damaging another's wealth. If an object belongs to another, is used by another, or is perceived as being guarded by another, he gives rise to no thought of theft. This bodhisattva does not take even a blade of grass or a leaf unless it is given — how much less any other object that sustains life.
Commentary: In dependence on departure from theft and robbery, there are three kinds of departure: departure through its cause; departure through its antidote; and departure through its resulting conduct. Departure through its cause: the antidote to one's own insufficiency in the objects that sustain life is as the sūtra says, "constantly satisfied of himself with the objects that sustain life." Departure through its antidote means giving: relinquishing one's own objects that sustain life without attachment to them, and, being free of greed, never damaging the objects that will sustain life in the future — as the sūtra says, "never damaging another's wealth." Departure through resulting conduct is of two kinds: not taking a subtle object unless it is given; and not taking a coarse object unless it is given. These are made manifest through five aspects: the body — as the sūtra says, "if an object belongs to another"; the matter — as the sūtra says, "is used by another"; the perception — as the sūtra says, "is perceived as being guarded by another"; the intention, taking with a thief's own mind — as the sūtra says, "gives rise to no thought of theft"; and the essence, namely the subtle and the coarse — as the sūtra says, "does not take even a blade of grass or a leaf unless it is given — how much less any other object that sustains life."
Huiyuan pauses specifically on the treatise's own aside about the word "sentient beings" within its treatment of killing, since the point is doing real philosophical work rather than merely defining a term: 示非常斷 — "this shows [sentient beings to be] neither eternal nor cut off" — glossed, on one side, as 隨命因緣…是故非常 — "in accordance with the causes and conditions of the life-faculty a lifespan is attained, and for this reason it is not eternal," since an eternal thing does not arise from causes at all, while a lifespan plainly does — and, on the other side, as 依業煩惱未來生者，釋非斷也…依此生彼，是故非斷 — "this explains 'not cut off': in dependence on karma and affliction, one is born again in the future — depending on this, that arises, and for this reason it is not annihilated." Killing heads the ten precepts, on this reading, not merely because it heads the traditional list, but because its own antidote requires exactly this middle position between two extremes: a being killed is not permanently destroyed, so killing cannot be excused as inflicting no real loss, yet is not some fixed, eternal self either, so killing cannot be excused as merely rearranging an indestructible substance — karmic continuity is what makes killing a genuine wrong in the first place.
Huiyuan also catches a gap a careful reader might notice: greed and anger are named as the two causes that arouse killing, but delusion — the third of the three poisons — is conspicuously absent. His answer is that delusion's role is relocated, not omitted: 起殺之癡必是邪見，邪見難遣，非治不離 — "the delusion that gives rise to killing is necessarily wrong view, and wrong view is not easily dispelled — it is departed from only through its own antidote, and is not simply enumerated here." He extends the same logic of a distinctive, non-shared cause to every precept that follows: greed, anger, and delusion each remain a "common cause" (共因) running beneath every unwholesome deed alike, but each precept also carries its own "uncommon cause" (不共因) unique to it — knife and staff for killing, insufficiency of one's own wealth for stealing, discontent with one's own wife for sexual misconduct — and it is this uncommon cause, not the shared poisons, that the treatise names first under "departure through cause" for each precept in turn.
Departure from Sexual Misconduct, False Speech, and Slander
經曰：離於邪婬，自足妻色不求他妻，他守護女人及以他妻、姓親標護、戒法所護，是菩薩乃至不生貪求念想之心，何況彼此二形從事，況復非處。
論曰：依離邪婬有三種離：一、因離；二、對治離；三、果行離。因離者，自妻不足，此對治，如經「自足妻色」故。對治離者，現在梵行淨故，不求未來妻色，如經「不求他妻」故。果行離者有二種：一者微細，所謂心中；二者麁重，謂身相中。身相有三種：一、不正；二、非時；三、非處。不正者，他守護女共不共等。共者，他守護故。不共者，他妻故。如經「他守護女人及以他妻」故。姓親標護者，所謂父母親族姓護，及已許他，標識所護故。如經「姓親標護」故。女人者，示現遠離非眾生數女名故。非時者，謂修梵行時，如經「戒法所護」故。非處者，謂非道行婬，如經「況復非處」故。細麁者，謂意業身業二種遠離故，如經「乃至不生貪求念想之心，何況彼此二形從事」故。
經曰：離於妄語，常作實語、諦語、時語。是菩薩乃至夢中，不起覆見、忍見，無心欲作誑他語，何況故妄語。
論曰：依離妄語，有二種離：一、對治離；二、果行離。對治離者即是因離。何以故？彼身業有二種離，妄語中無外事故，復無異因故。如離殺生中受畜因有二種，謂刀、杖，外事如彼中說離棄捨刀杖故。離妄語中無彼身業二種外事故。無異因者，殺生因貪瞋癡等。妄語因者，謂誑他心。遠離彼故即實語成，如是實語對治誑他心即是因離。依彼生此故言無異因，如是對治離即是因離。復對治離有三種：一者隨想語，如經「常作實語」故。二者善思量如事語，如經「諦語」故。三者知時語，不起自身他身衰惱故，如經「時語」故。果行離者，一細、二麁，如經「是菩薩乃至夢中不起覆見忍見，無心欲作誑他語，何況故作妄語」。夢中者是細故，作者是麁。覆見、忍見易解，智見名為見。
經曰：離於兩舌，無破壞心、不恐怖心、不惱亂心，此聞不向彼說此壞故，彼聞不向此說彼壞故。不破同意者，已破者不令增長。不喜離別心，不樂離別心，不樂說離別語，不作離別語，若實若不實。
論曰：依離兩舌，有二種離：一、對治離；二、果行離。對治離者，謂不破壞行：一者心、二者差別。隨其所聞往異處說，此二種用，心受憶持，口業言說，破壞心故。如經「此聞不向彼說此壞故，彼聞不向此說彼壞」故。差別者有三種：一、身壞；二、心壞；三、業壞。身壞有二種：一、未壞；二、已壞。此對治，如經「不破同意者，已破者不令增長」故。心壞亦有二種：一者未破者欲破；二者已破者隨喜。此對治，如經「不喜離別心故，不樂離別心」故。業壞亦有二種：一細、二麁實不實語。此對治，如經「不樂說離別語、不作離別語，若實若不實」故。
Sūtra: Departing from sexual misconduct, he is content of himself with his own wife's beauty and seeks no other's wife — whether a woman guarded by another, another's own wife, one marked and protected by clan or kin, or one protected by a precept-vow — this bodhisattva does not even give rise to a thought of greedy longing, how much less would he engage in the union of the two bodily forms, still less in an improper place.
Commentary: In dependence on departure from sexual misconduct, there are three kinds of departure: departure through its cause; departure through its antidote; and departure through its resulting conduct. Departure through its cause: the antidote to discontent with one's own wife is as the sūtra says, "content of himself with his own wife's beauty." Departure through its antidote: since his present pure conduct is undefiled, he does not seek another's wife or beauty in the future — as the sūtra says, "seeks no other's wife." Departure through resulting conduct is of two kinds: the subtle, namely within the mind; and the coarse, namely within bodily conduct. Bodily conduct is of three kinds: what is improper; what is untimely; and what is an improper place. "Improper" refers to a woman guarded by another, whether shared or unshared — "shared" meaning she is guarded by another, "unshared" meaning she is another's own wife — as the sūtra says, "a woman guarded by another, and another's own wife." "Marked and protected by clan or kin" means she is protected by her parents and kin of her own clan, and, having already been promised to another, is marked and protected as such — as the sūtra says, "marked and protected by clan or kin." "Woman" here shows that this departure excludes what is named "woman" yet does not belong to the class of sentient beings. "Untimely" refers to the time of cultivating pure conduct — as the sūtra says, "protected by a precept-vow." "Improper place" refers to committing sexual union through an improper passage — as the sūtra says, "still less in an improper place." "Subtle and coarse" refers to departing from both the karma of mind and the karma of body — as the sūtra says, "does not even give rise to a thought of greedy longing, how much less would he engage in the union of the two bodily forms."
Sūtra: Departing from false speech, he constantly speaks words that are truthful, words that accord with fact, and words that are timely. This bodhisattva, even in a dream, does not give rise to concealed seeing or complicit seeing, nor has he any intention to speak words that deceive others — how much less would he deliberately speak falsely.
Commentary: In dependence on departure from false speech, there are two kinds of departure: departure through its antidote; and departure through its resulting conduct. Departure through its antidote is itself departure through its cause. Why is this? Bodily karma has two kinds of departure, whereas, in the case of false speech, there is no external object, and moreover no separate cause. As in departure from killing, the cause of what is kept in hand is of two kinds, namely knife and staff — external objects, as explained there, cast aside as knife and staff. In departure from false speech, there are no such two external objects belonging to bodily karma. As for "no separate cause": the cause of killing is greed, anger, delusion, and the like, whereas the cause of false speech is the mind that deceives others. Departing from that mind is precisely what accomplishes truthful speech; thus truthful speech, as the antidote to the mind that deceives others, is itself departure through the cause. Since this arises in dependence on that, it is said there is no separate cause; and so departure through the antidote is itself departure through the cause. Departure through the antidote is, again, of three kinds: speech according with what is thought — as the sūtra says, "constantly speaks words that are truthful"; speech well considered and according with fact — as the sūtra says, "words that accord with fact"; and speech that knows its proper time, giving rise to no distress for oneself or for others — as the sūtra says, "words that are timely." Departure through resulting conduct is, first, subtle, and second, coarse — as the sūtra says, "this bodhisattva, even in a dream, does not give rise to concealed seeing or complicit seeing, nor has he any intention to speak words that deceive others — how much less would he deliberately speak falsely." What occurs in a dream is subtle; what is deliberately done is coarse. Concealed seeing and complicit seeing are readily understood; "seeing" here is named for the wisdom that discerns.
Sūtra: Departing from slander, he has no mind bent on causing division, no mind of instilling fear, and no mind of causing turmoil. Hearing something here, he does not go to speak of it there so as to cause division there; hearing something there, he does not go to speak of it here so as to cause division here. Toward those of like mind who are not yet divided, he does not divide them; toward those already divided, he does not cause the division to grow. He takes no delight in the thought of separation, finds no joy in the thought of separation, delights not in speaking words of separation, and does not utter words of separation, whether true or untrue.
Commentary: In dependence on departure from slander, there are two kinds of departure: departure through its antidote; and departure through its resulting conduct. Departure through the antidote means the conduct of not causing division: first, in mind; and second, in the particulars of division. Hearing something and going elsewhere to speak of it employs these two: receiving and retaining it in mind, and then speaking it through verbal karma, with a mind bent on causing division — as the sūtra says, "hearing something here, he does not go to speak of it there so as to cause division there; hearing something there, he does not go to speak of it here so as to cause division here." "The particulars of division" are of three kinds: division through the body; division through the mind; and division through karma. Division through the body is of two kinds: not yet divided; and already divided. The antidote to this is as the sūtra says, "toward those of like mind who are not yet divided, he does not divide them; toward those already divided, he does not cause the division to grow." Division through the mind is likewise of two kinds: wishing to divide those not yet divided; and delighting in those already divided. The antidote to this is as the sūtra says, "he takes no delight in the thought of separation, finds no joy in the thought of separation." Division through karma is likewise of two kinds: subtle and coarse, whether the words are true or untrue. The antidote to this is as the sūtra says, "delights not in speaking words of separation, and does not utter words of separation, whether true or untrue."
Huiyuan flags a deliberate ordering choice in the treatment of sexual misconduct that a plain reading might mistake for carelessness. Logically, "improper place" belongs third within the triad of what is improper, untimely, and out of place, yet the treatise's own commentary explicitly asks why this term is postponed to the very end of the passage rather than appearing in its expected position: 為欲舉輕況彼重業，顯明菩薩一切不為，故在後說 — "this is done in order to cite the lighter transgression and thereby imply the heavier one, making it clear that the bodhisattva does none of these at all — and this is why it is spoken of last." Naming the comparatively minor case last, after the graver ones, lets the passage's own closing words — 況復非處, "still less in an improper place" — carry the rhetorical weight of an argument from the lesser to the greater: if a bodhisattva will not commit the milder transgression, the graver one goes without saying.
Turning to false speech, Huiyuan notes a genuine structural exception to the threefold pattern of cause, antidote, and resulting conduct that has organized every precept up to this point: 對治離者即是因離 — "departure through the antidote is itself departure through the cause" — because, unlike killing, false speech involves no external instrument comparable to a knife or staff, and no cause distinct from the very deceptive intention the antidote already targets: 遠離彼故即實語成，如是實語對治誑他心即是因離 — "departing from that deceptive mind is precisely what accomplishes truthful speech; and so truthful speech, as the antidote to the mind that deceives others, is itself departure through the cause." Rather than forcing every precept into an identical three-part mold, the treatise lets each precept's own internal logic decide whether all three categories are genuinely distinct or whether two of them collapse into one — a flexibility easy to miss if one assumes the schema announced for killing must repeat unchanged ten times over.
Part 15 Complete
This closes Part 15: the ten kinds of straightforward mind that arouse entry into the Second Ground, the threefold framework of pure precepts — restraint, gathering wholesome dharmas, and benefiting sentient beings — and the first five of the ten wholesome courses of action under the precept of restraint, from departure from killing through departure from slander, each analyzed through its own cause, antidote, and resulting conduct. Part 16 continues within Vimalā, the Ground Free of Defilement, taking up the remaining five wholesome courses of action, from departure from harsh speech through departure from wrong view.
Continue to Part 16 — The Remaining Five Wholesome Courses of Action →