The Aim and General Principles of Precepts

Ordinary sentient beings predominantly commit more evil than good, frequently creating unwholesome karma. As they revolve through the cycle of unwholesome karma, they become constant visitors to the three evil realms. To enable sentient beings to sever the suffering of birth and death within the six realms, the Buddha gradually established numerous precepts. When the Buddha first attained enlightenment, the conditions for formulating precepts had not yet arisen. To restrain the bodily, verbal, and mental actions of his disciples and guide them onto the correct path of practice, the Buddha admonished them: "Refrain from all evil, perform all good, purify your own mind—this is the teaching of all Buddhas." This statement serves as the overarching principle guiding cultivation and the very essence and general outline of the precepts. From this outline, specific branches and detailed items can be expanded to guide sentient beings in progressively and deeply upholding various precepts, perfecting the threefold training of precepts, meditation, and wisdom, and gradually advancing toward Buddhahood. The meaning of this outline is: Do not commit any evil deeds, practice all wholesome dharmas, and purify your own mind—this is the disciplinary conduct taught by all Buddhas of the ten directions.

Severing all evil and cultivating all good, exhausting evil conduct and perfecting wholesome conduct, leads to the attainment of Buddhahood. This process inherently encompasses the training in meditation and wisdom, for without meditation, one cannot sever evil or cultivate good; without wisdom, one likewise cannot sever evil or cultivate good. Only with wisdom can one fully recognize and discern good and evil along with their karmic consequences, thereby enabling the severing of evil and cultivation of good. The deeper and more subtle the meditation, the deeper and more subtle the evil that is severed, and the deeper and more subtle the wholesome dharmas that are cultivated. The deeper and more subtle the wisdom, the more extensive and subtle the evil that is severed, and the more extensive and subtle the wholesome conduct that is cultivated. Therefore, the threefold training of precepts, meditation, and wisdom is an indivisible whole. If separated, the path to Buddhahood cannot be achieved. Thoughts that seek wisdom alone while rejecting precepts and meditation are extremely biased and unwise. Thus, what cultivation truly entails should be clear to our minds.

Severing evil and cultivating good is the general outline. Under this outline, it branches into numerous divisions ranging from coarse to subtle and shallow to deep. As the branches become progressively deeper and more subtle, they reveal increasingly profound wisdom, with ignorance and afflictions growing lighter until they are extinguished. These branches correspond to the various Vinaya (disciplinary) systems of the Greater and Lesser Vehicles. The most fundamental and elementary are the Five Precepts, Ten Wholesome Deeds, and Eight Precepts of the Lesser Vehicle. Slightly deeper and more refined are the Śrāvaka (Hearer) precepts of the Lesser Vehicle: Śrāmaṇera (novice monk) precepts, Śrāmaṇerikā (novice nun) precepts, Bhikṣu (fully ordained monk) precepts, and Bhikṣuṇī (fully ordained nun) precepts. The deepest and most subtle are the Bodhisattva precepts of the Greater Vehicle: lay Bodhisattva precepts, monastic Bodhisattva precepts, and the Bodhisattva precepts from the Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra. All these branch precepts are inseparable from the general outline and the fundamental purpose of severing evil and cultivating good. The branch precepts respectively correspond to wisdom of varying depths. The Lesser Vehicle precepts correspond to the wisdom of the patient endurance of the non-arising [of dharmas] (anutpattika-dharma-kṣānti) from the first fruition (Srotāpanna) to the fourth fruition (Arhat) and the Pratyekabuddha. The Greater Vehicle precepts correspond to the wisdom of the patient endurance of the non-arising [of dharmas] from the Ten Abodes to the Ten Dedications stages and the patient endurance of the non-arising of dharmas from the First Ground (Bhūmi) to the Tenth Ground.

The degree of severing evil and cultivating good differs according to the level of wisdom. This wisdom manifests in the ability to distinguish and recognize good and evil along with their boundaries, thereby enabling the abandonment of unwholesome dharmas and the practice of wholesome dharmas. When sentient beings are deeply entrenched in ignorance and lack wisdom, they fail to recognize what constitutes unwholesome dharmas and what constitutes wholesome dharmas, nor do they consider the consequences of their wholesome and unwholesome actions. Wisdom is categorized into mundane cognitive wisdom, Lesser Vehicle cognitive wisdom, and Greater Vehicle cognitive wisdom. The level of wisdom determines the understanding of wholesome and unwholesome dharmas.

In the process of upholding precepts, the accurate discernment of good and evil is crucial. What are unwholesome dharmas? Unwholesome dharmas are actions that harm the interests of others. Such actions may benefit oneself or may not, but ultimately, they cause harm to oneself. Therefore, unwholesome actions are actions born of afflictions and lack of wisdom. Any bodily, verbal, or mental action that harms the interests of others is an unwholesome action, arising from ignorance. The heavier the ignorance, the heavier the unwholesome action. The degree to which ignorance is eliminated determines the degree to which unwholesome dharmas diminish. The coarsest unwholesome actions cause the greatest harm to sentient beings and are generally recognizable and perceptible. Slightly subtler unwholesome actions cause harm that is less obvious and direct, making them harder to recognize and perceive. They are often habitual and difficult to reflect upon. The subtlest evil requires the deepest wisdom to eradicate. If ignorance is not removed and wisdom is insufficient, one cannot recognize the evil or overcome the afflictions. Thus, it is evident that severing evil requires wisdom. Without wisdom, one cannot recognize the harm and consequences of unwholesome dharmas and thus cannot subdue the unwholesome mind.

What are wholesome dharmas? Contrary to unwholesome dharmas, any bodily, verbal, or mental action that benefits sentient beings is a wholesome dharma. Moreover, any action that benefits sentient beings also benefits oneself. Therefore, actions that benefit both self and others are acts of wisdom. Without wisdom, one cannot perform wholesome actions. The deeper the wisdom, the greater the wholesome conduct, and the greater the benefit to both self and others.

Overall, the Buddha Dharma is the method for enabling sentient beings to sever evil and cultivate good. Upholding precepts is cultivation itself, permeating the entire process of practice—from the gross evils of the mundane world, to the minor evils of the Lesser Vehicle, and finally to the subtle evils of the Greater Vehicle, ultimately extinguishing all ignorance to become purely wholesome. Simultaneously, it progresses from the minor wholesome deeds of the mundane world, to the wholesome deeds of selfless liberation in the Lesser Vehicle, to the great wholesome deeds of benefiting others in the Greater Vehicle, and further to the Bodhisattvas’ great compassion of impartiality (mettā), sympathetic joy (muditā), loving-kindness (karuṇā), equanimity (upekṣā), the Ten Infinite Vows, and ultimately to the supreme goodness of the Buddhas, establishing pure lands in the ten directions to deliver all sentient beings, reaching the ultimate pinnacle of goodness. Precepts, meditation, and wisdom are originally an indivisible whole, manifesting as three for the expedient means of guiding sentient beings in gradual cultivation. Therefore, upholding precepts is crucial. We should constantly reflect on our bodily, verbal, and mental actions in daily life, avoiding the unconscious flow of unwholesome habits. Self-awareness is a vital aspect of cultivation. Only upon knowing can one correct; upon correction, afflictions and karmic obstacles are subdued, placing one on the correct path of cultivation, leading inevitably to Buddhahood sooner or later.