那什麼是失意罪呢？就是不注意而犯的，就是你失去了防護的意念，不能夠注意到，不小心，所以你犯這個罪；你沒犯重，但是你還是要懺悔。如果你當時還是想去犯的話，那就犯重了，重輕之間就在這裡。
「不起墮落，不淨有作」，不起墮落就是不起心懺悔，就會墮落惡趣。不淨有作，是不清淨的，有漏的惡作。如果不起心懺悔的話，這種不清淨的行為會讓我們墮落，感得未來種種的惡果。這是飲蟲水戒第十。
（輕）作田不求淨水陸種處戒第十八：若優婆塞（夷）受持戒已。若為身命須田作者。不求淨水及陸種處。是優婆塞（夷）得失意罪。不起墮落。不淨有作。
剛剛講喝水，現在講種田。佛陀小時看到牛犁田翻土，蚯蚓被翻出來，鳥就吃蚯蚓，大鳥又吃小鳥。佛陀一看，這個世界真是很可悲，眾生互相吞食，在這個娑婆世界輪迴真是很苦。
優婆塞（夷）「必須田作者」，如果他必須做這種工作，就必須要減少殺害眾生。譬如說我們種的作物，不管是果樹是菜蔬，我們澆水時要確定水裏沒有蟲。如果水裏有蟲，就不是清淨的水了。你把那水澆在泥土上，蟲離開了牠生活的環境，沒有了水就被曬死了，所以這一點也是我們要慈悲防護的。雖然我們沒有殺生的心，但是我們要預防犯這個殺害，不要造成殺生的果報。
所謂「菩薩畏因；眾生畏果。」雖然我們沒有殺心，有時還是有果報。
（輕）險難獨行戒第十一。若優婆塞（夷）受持戒已。險難之處無伴獨行。是優婆塞（夷）得失意罪。不起墮落。不淨有作。
前面講不殺別的眾生，但是我們也要保護自己的生命不被殺，所以這條戒是特別保護我們自己的。因為如果我們不愛惜自己的生命，就是不孝順父母；「身體髮膚受之父母，不敢毀傷。」所以我們考慮自己，也要考慮到關心我們的人，但是有開緣和遮止。如果我為了求法，為了度生，這是抱著大菩薩精神，難行能行，就不在這個範圍之內。
險難，可以分「自然的險難」，譬如有很多毒蛇的地方，有嚴重的山崩或者流行性疾病的地方，我們就盡量不過去。或者「人為的險難」，譬如戰爭、暴亂，我們要避開「梵行的險難」，這一點修清淨行的人要注意，如果是一個染污的地方，我們盡量不要去。你去的話，可能跟情愛纏在一起，因愛生恨就會發生不幸的事。這點我們要注意，愛有多少，恨就有多少，很麻煩的。
待續
◎本期稿擠，「陶淵明詩講錄」一文暫停。 |
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What is meant by an offense due to negligence? Negligence means that you violated the precept out of carelessness; you were not on guard and were not mindful and careful enough. You did not commit a major offense, but you still need to repent. However, if you had the intention to violate the precept at the time, then your offense is a major one. Therefore, the difference between a major and minor offense lies right here.
Failure to repent and reform will lead to a fall, caused by such an impure behavior. If you have no wish to repent, you will fall into the three evil paths. Impure behavior means one is not pure, having outflows of evil karma. If we are not repentant, we will fall into lower realms and undergo all kinds of evil retribution. This is the tenth precept against drinking water that contains bugs.
The eighteenth minor precept: The Precept Against Failure to Look for Pure Water to Irrigate the Crops when Engaged in Agricultural Work
“If an Upasaka/Upasika who has received and should be upholding this Precept needs to engage in agricultural work as a means to earn a livelihood, but fails to look for pure water to irrigate the crops, he/she thereby commits an offense through negligence. Failure to repent and reform will lead to a fall, caused by such impure behavior.”
We have just finished speaking of drinking water. Now we will talk about irrigating crops. When Buddha was young, he saw that when the land was tilled by oxen and the soil was flipped over, small birds would eat the earthworms and big birds would eat the small birds. The Buddha witnessed this and reflected on the pitiable state of living beings mutually devouring each other and transmigrating in this world full of suffering.
An Upasaka or Upasika who "needs to engage in agricultural work" refers to a person who performs this work as a means to earn a livelihood. Such a person needs to minimize the chance of harming or killing living beings. Take, for instance, the planting of fruit trees or vegetables. When we water the plants, we need to be certain that the water does not contain any bugs. Water that contains bugs is not pure water. If you sprinkle that water on the ground, the bugs are taken out of their natural environment. Without water, they will dry up and die. Therefore, we need to be compassionate and pay attention to this point. Even though we have no intention of killing, we still need to guard against violating this precept and not create the any cause for the retribution of taking life.
It is said that Bodhisattvas fear causes, but living beings fear results; even though we have no intent to kill, there is still a retribution.
The Eleventh Minor Precept: The Precept against Traveling Alone through Dangerous Places
"If an Upasaka/Upasika who has received and should be upholding this Precept travels without a companion through dangerous places, he/she thereby commits an offense through negligence. Failure to repent and reform will lead to a fall, caused by such impure behavior."
In our earlier discussion, we talked about the precept of not killing other living beings. However, we should also protect ourselves from being harmed or killed. Thus, this precept is specifically intended to protect ourselves. If we do not care for our lives, it is essentially not respecting our parents. There is a saying, "Our body, hair and skin are given by our parents; we should never harm them in any way." We should not just think of ourselves, but also consider those who care for us. Nevertheless, there are exceptions in certain circumstances. The exceptions apply if we practice the Bodhisattva Mahasattvas' practice of saving beings and enduring innumerable difficulties while traveling alone through dangerous places.
'Dangerous places' in this context includes "places that are inherently dangerous" - for instance, we should try to avoid places inhabited by poisonous snakes, mountains prone to serious landslides, or places where infectious diseases are present. Another context to avoid is "places with manmade dangers" - for example, places where war is going on. There are also "places that are dangerous to pure conduct." Cultivators of pure conduct should pay attention to this. They should avoid places that are impure. If you go to those places, you can easily be caught up in love and emotion, and it is easy to get into trouble when love turns into hatred. We should know however much love there is, there will be just as much hatred and it can cause a lot of trouble.
To be continued
The series "Lectures on Tao Yuanming's Poems" was temporarily discontinued for this issue. |
