ACI Course 7 — The Vows of the Bodhisattva · Class 7 · 次要违犯 1–16

Reading Seven: Secondary Offenses against Giving and Morality for Collecting Goodness

The following reading is taken from folios 18a-19b of the String of Shining Jewels, by Geshe Tsewang Samdrup (early 19th Century), a tutor of His Holiness the Tenth Dalai Lama.

Here next we will explain the forty-six different secondary offenses against the vows of a bodhisattva.

(1) The secondary offense of failing to make offering to the Jewels through the three doors of expression

You commit this when a single period of 24 hours passes, and you have not yet made offering to any one or combination of the Three Jewels by means of the three doors of expression; that is, through bowing down with your body, and praising with your words, and admiring with your thoughts.

(2) The secondary offense of allowing thoughts of desire to go on

You commit this when you fail to try to stop a thought that comes up in yourself such as an inordinate desire for an object, or not being satisfied with what you have, an attachment to having others pay you honor, or anything of the like.

(3) The secondary offense of failing to pay respect to one's elders

You commit this with a person who is your elder in the sense of having taken the precepts of the bodhisattva before you, and who has good qualities, and is worthy of your honor. The offense is done when you fail to pay them respect by honoring them in some way, or the like.

(4) The secondary offense of failing to answer questions

You commit this when out of anger or laziness you fail to give an appropriate answer to a person who has asked you a question in a sincere and well-meaning way.

(5) The secondary offense of failing to accept an invitation

You commit this when someone invites you to partake of a meal, accept some article of clothing, or anything of the like, but out of pride, or a wish to hurt them, anger, or laziness, you refuse to come.

(6) The secondary offense of failing to accept gold or the like

You commit this when, out of a desire to hurt them, or out of anger or laziness, you refuse to accept gold or silver or any other kind of material wealth that a sponsor has tried to offer to you.

(7) The secondary offense of failing to give the Dharma to those who wish it

You commit this when—out of a desire to hurt them, or out of anger or envy or laziness—you fail to give the Dharma to those who wish it.

The seven secondary offenses just listed all work against the practice of giving for collecting goodness.

(8) The secondary offense of rejecting persons with sullied morality

Suppose you encounter persons with sullied morality: those who have committed one of the immediate misdeeds, or one of the root downfalls. You commit this offense when, because of what they have done, and with feelings of wanting to hurt them, or out of anger or laziness, you reject and ignore them completely.

(9) The secondary offense of failing to follow the rules, which leads other persons to develop faith

You commit this when you fail to follow the rules of the teachings on discipline, just as though you were someone who belonged to the tradition of the listeners, for this is something that protects the minds of others.

(10) The secondary offense of performing deeds which are only of lesser benefit for all living beings

A bodhisattva need not necessarily observe certain kinds of proscribed morality from the teachings on discipline in the same way that a person of the listener tradition would. An example would be the downfalls which are exclusively proscribed, such as the one in the "abandonment" group, where a monk has kept cloth for over ten days. If it is not incumbent on you to do so and yet still you observe this vow in exactly the same way that someone of the listener tradition would, then you have committed this offense.

(11) The secondary offense of failing to break a rule out of compassion

There are certain extraordinary situations where specific misdeeds—the seven of taking life and the rest—are allowed for a person who possesses the wish for enlightenment, and who is practicing the precepts of the bodhisattva in the proper way. If you are this kind of person and it would be of extraordinary benefit to others if you did commit such a deed, then you have committed this offense when you fail to do so.

(12) The secondary offense of taking up wrong livelihood

You commit this when you take up any one or combination of the five kinds of wrong livelihood, and fail to take some corrective measure. These five are trying to obtain things through pretending, flattering, hinting, forcing, or

baiting.

(13) The secondary offense of forgetting yourself and acting wild

You commit this when you forget yourself and act wild, distracting yourself with fun and games or chattering on in a silly way. You also do so if you try to get others to act wild and so on.

(14) The secondary offense of thinking that you only have to travel through the circle of suffering life

You commit this when you think to yourself, and also say to others, the following: "Bodhisattvas don't like to reach nirvana; in fact, they work for the opposite. They have no fear of the mental afflictions, and they do not try to keep their minds totally away from these thoughts. They only want to achieve Buddhahood, and they wander around in the circle of suffering life for three 'countless' eons."

(15) The secondary offense of failing to put a stop to rumors about yourself

Suppose you have said or done something that has led to some vile rumors or slanderous talk which might cause people to doubt the veracity or purity of what you say. You commit this offense when you fail to take steps to clarify the situation and stop the rumors.

(16) The secondary offense of failing to correct someone when it must be done in a negative way

Suppose another person is committing bad deeds in their actions or speech, and you realize that if you took some very forceful action towards them you would be able to set them straight. You commit this offense when, for no more reason than to have them maintain their good opinion of you, you fail then to take this step.

These nine secondary offenses, from the offense of rejecting those with sullied morality down to this last one, work against the practice of morality.