Chapter 3 Summary of Legal Studies

Lecture on Wanquan Ji at the Law Ceremony and Law Meeting of Chengtian Temple in Quanzhou in November of Yihai Since I became a monk, I have not dared to lecture on scriptures or precepts casually in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, let alone go to any monastery for preaching precepts. The reason is that I personally feel that my academic ability is insufficient.Although I have talked about some things in southern Fujian in the past three years, I always feel very ashamed.This time, the elders of this monastery have repeatedly called me to participate in the precept meeting, and I can’t let it go, so I came to talk to you today, but due to the rush of time, I couldn’t prepare, and there was a lack of reference books. There are three days in total.Today, I will talk about the history of Vinaya for those who are seeking to teach monks ordinances. Others will listen to it. Although they cannot understand it, it is also a matter of planting good roots.

A bhikkhu should first understand the reason why the precepts were introduced to this land, and the general rise and fall of the Vinaya sect in this land in ancient and modern times.From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the beginning of the Cao Wei Dynasty, monks had no practice of returning to precepts, but only shaving their hair.In the middle of Wei Jiaping's year, when monks from Tianzhu came to China to practice Dharma, they set up karma to receive the Dharma, which was the beginning of precepts.At that time, it can be regarded as the beginning of the real transmission of monk precepts, and gradually reached a prosperous period.

Most of the Guanglu, the "Ten Chanting Laws" was first passed down. The translator of Sibu Lulu was Master Kumarajiva in Yao Qin Dynasty, and Master Yuangong, the first ancestor of Lushan Jingzong, also tried his best to persuade and praise it.During the Six Dynasties, this law was most prosperous in the south.The second translation is "Four Parts Law", which is not far from the "Ten Chanting Law", but it was promoted as late as the Sui Dynasty, and it was very prosperous in the early Tang Dynasty.The third part is "The Law of the Monk", which was translated in the Eastern Jin Dynasty and was promoted a little in the North during the Six Dynasties.Following the "Monk Law" in Liu Song Dynasty, there was "Five Parts Law". The person who translated Silu was the one who translated the sixty volumes of "Hua Yan Jing". .Later, there was "Youbu Law", which was translated by Master Wu Zetian Shi Yijing of the Tang Dynasty, and it is the most popular law in Tibet.At the beginning, Master Yijing had a history of more than 20 years in India. He was erudite, memorized, and penetrated the subtleties of law, which was beyond the reach of other monks in India. He is truly an unprecedented Chinese barrister.Yijing returned to China, the translation was completed, he was old, and soon passed away, no one will promote it in the future, what a pity!pity!In addition, there are many law treatises in various ministries, too many to list.

Regarding "Youbu Law", I personally liked it very much at first, and studied it for many years. Later, due to the advice of my friends, I changed to study "Nanshan Law". Changes are suitable for the roots of the monks in our country.Now I will talk about the history of "Four Parts". The Tang Dynasty was the most prosperous period of "Four-Part Laws". What was promoted before was "Ten Chan Law", and "Four-Part Laws" was rarely promoted; until the beginning of Tang Dynasty, scholars of "Four-Part Laws" were flourishing, and there were three schools: one " "Xiangbu Law" focuses on practicing lawyers according to the law; second "Nanshan Law" focuses on lawyers Daoxuan; third "Dongta Law" focuses on lawyers Huaisu.Lawyer Fali worked for Daoxuan before, and Daoxuan studied under him.After Daoxuan, lawyer Huai Su also got close to Lawyer Fali Daoxuan.Although there are three major schools of Silu, the most popular in the world can be regarded as "Nanshanlu".There are so many books written by lawyers in Nanshan, among which "Xingshichao" is the most famous. At that time, scholars of any sect had to study Xingshichao; There are commentaries on many other sutras.After Yuanzhao, law studies gradually tended to decline, and few people took the initiative to promote it.

After the Southern Song Dynasty, Zen Buddhism flourished, and no one cared about the Law Studies. All the thousands of volumes of the Law Studies written by the Tang and Song Dynasties were lost; until the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, only one volume of "Nanshan Random Karma" survived. Looking at it this way, it is amazing Excited!At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the masters of Youyi and Jianyue wanted to revive the Lvzong, but the most regrettable thing was that the ancient books of the Tang and Song Dynasties could not be seen.At that time, Master Yi wrote "The Essentials of Vini Matters". At the first lecture, there were not many people, and there will be fewer after that; the results were sluggish.Lawyer Jianyue Honglu has quite a lot of achievements and has written a lot. Those who have explained "Random Karma" are written by Vini, which is quite different from Nanshan, because they can't see Nanshan's works!In addition, there is the most famous "Zhuan Jie Zheng Fan". From the end of Ming Dynasty to the present, this is the only book on Chuan Jie, and there is still a glimmer of hope in Chuan Jie, which depends on this book; However, its merits are very great and should not be underestimated; but the rituals of receiving precepts in modern times have slightly increased or decreased accordingly, and it is not the original face of Lawyer Yue's orthodoxy.

From the Southern Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, for more than 700 years, there were no writings on the legal studies of the Tang and Song schools; in the last years of the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, some of the legal books of the Tang and Song schools were returned from Japan. In the past ten years, the number of legal books published in Tianjin Hundred volumes.In addition, there are still hundreds of volumes of Sutras that have not been published separately. In the future, if someone concentrates on studying and promoting it, they can restore the ancient style of the Tang Dynasty, and all those who want to see Yi, Jianyue, etc. are all there now; we are living at this time, and we are actually much happier than the masters of Yi and Jianyue.

But learning the law is not an easy task. Although I have studied the law for nearly twenty years, it can only be said that I have glimpsed a little way for the preparation of learning the law. After a few more years of preparation, I can start to study it. After that, I will study it for at least 20 years. But there are some achievements.But now that I am old, I am afraid that I will not be able to live in the world for a long time. I really hope that some of you will make up your mind to study the precepts and follow my unfulfilled ambition. We should know: the current precepts and precepts that are circulated are not perfect books, let alone increase or decrease at will, so it is necessary to restore the ancient methods in the future; this is all your responsibility, and I really hope that everyone will encourage it together!

Today I will continue to talk about the three refuges, the five precepts, and even the outline of the bodhisattva precepts. The Three Refugees, the Five Precepts, the Eight Precepts, the Shamani Precepts, the Shichamana Precepts, the Bhikkhu and Bhikkhuni Precepts, the Bodhisattva Precepts, etc., generally speaking, the Bodhisattva Precepts are the Mahayana, and the rest are the Hinayana, but not necessarily. It depends.I have recently studied the Nanshan Law, and there is a saying in it: "No matter what precepts you accept, you must first develop a Mahayana heart." From this point of view, how can there be a precept specifically called Hinayana!Then on the method of receiving the precepts, such as: the three refuges, the five precepts, and the novice and samani precepts are all accepted by the three refuges; The precepts are not another precepts, which are different from the above.Then according to the classification of lay people and monks: Generally speaking, lay people include the three refuges, five precepts, and eight precepts, etc., and monks include novice monks, etc.When you hear this, you may doubt it. Now I will give an example, such as: Master Ming Lingfengyi, he also received the monk's precepts at the beginning, but later retreated to become a member of the Three Refugees. In this way, only the Three Refugees can be counted as a family member.

And if only the five precepts can be counted as monks, because after shaving their hair, they must first accept the five precepts, and then receive the novice precepts. Before receiving the novice precepts, they are only monks of the five precepts.Therefore, the five precepts are common to lay people and monks, and there are differences between lay upsakas and monks' upsakas; for example, Master Mingyi's eldest disciple Chengshi and Xingdan both call themselves monks and upasakas.Master Chengshi edited "Ten Essentials of the Pure Land" and "Lingfeng Zonglun", and Master Xingdan recorded the key explanations of Amitabha, both eminent monks in the late Ming Dynasty.

Why does Bajie become a monk at home? It is said in the "Medicine Master Sutra": Bhikkhus can also accept the eight precepts, and the bhikkhu accepts the eight precepts again in order to increase merit.From this point of view, the Bajie also applies to monks and laymen. The conclusions above are briefly discussed, and they will be discussed one by one below. Three Refuges: It does not belong to precepts, it is only called Three Refuges.Three Refugees: Take refuge in the Buddha, take refuge in the Dharma, and take refuge in the Sangha.One must understand the principles of the Three Refuges before accepting them, and not blindly follow nonsense in a muddle-headed way.

The so-called three treasures are divided into four types, one is the three treasures of the principle body, the other is the three treasures of transformation, the third is the three treasures of abbots, and the four are the three treasures of one body.Although it is very esoteric and complicated to talk about, let's focus on the abbot Sambo now.What is the meaning of the Three Jewels?Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.The so-called Buddha is the image, such as: Sakyamuni Buddha statue, Medicine Buddha statue, Amitabha Buddha statue, etc.; Dharma is the scriptures spoken by the Buddha, such as: "Lotus Sutra", "Surangama Sutra", etc., which are all revealed by the Buddha's golden mouth Dharma; a monk is a dignified person who has shaved his head and received precepts.The teachings of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha mentioned above are the most basic, and everyone can understand them. Refuge is the meaning of turning around. Because you have abandoned the Three Jewels before, and now you are turning to the Three Jewels, it is called refuge.However, whether you are a monk or a layman, if you accept the Three Refuges, there are two most important points: first, what is the meaning of taking refuge in the Three Jewels?Second, when accepting the Three Refuges, what the master says should be very clear, or what the master says is all in classical Chinese and cannot be understood. After hearing the general understanding, there are still one or two doubts, and the Three Refuges are not allowed.Also, at the time of teaching, there are three theories of "returning to the Buddha", "refuting to the Dharma" and "refuting to the Sangha". This is the most important and should be paid great attention to; Actually", it is called the three knots, and it is irrelevant; therefore, when you take the precepts, you should first understand the meaning of the three refuges. The above three refuges have been said.Let's talk about the five precepts. Five Precepts: As for the Five Precepts, please ask the teacher to explain them first.The five precepts: killing, stealing, adultery, lying, and drinking.When Master explains the meaning of the five precepts, he must use plain language, which is simple and clear, so that people can easily understand it.After listening to the precepts, the recipient should first consider whether the precepts can be kept. If you can't hold all the precepts, you can choose one, two, three, or four as you like;As far as killing is concerned, those who have not received the precept against killing should be guilty of the crime, but if they have received the precept not to kill, the crime will be twice as serious. It is terrible, isn't it terrible!Just think about it, if you can't accept and hold it, you are just asking for trouble!According to my opinion, among the five precepts, the easiest ones to keep are: no sexual misconduct and no drinking of alcohol. You can accept these two first, which are the most secure. As for killing and lying, there are big and small differences. Although the big ones are not easy to commit, the small ones are really difficult. and the most difficult one among the five precepts is the precept against stealing, which must not be accepted voluntarily until one has studied the precepts of stealing very clearly.Therefore, I hope that you will speak slowly about the precept of stealing, the most important thing!Most important!But judging from the current situation of teaching the precepts, in the gathering place of many people, it is actually impossible to accept one by one as above; I think that when accepting the five precepts now, it is better to accept the five precepts as a group, and after receiving the precepts, you can decide for yourself. It's not impossible; for those things that you can't uphold, you can give them up before the rite master or layman. This method is really very appropriate. It saves trouble for the teacher, and you can also avoid trouble.In addition, there is another important sentence. If anyone suspects that they can’t concentrate on thinking in this time when the crowd is chaotic and disturbed, or if they are afraid that they have not obtained the precepts, they may wish to ask the old Dharma master or other good teachers to re-instruct them again. They immediately mercifully agreed.Pay attention to the Three Refuge and the Five Precepts; when accepting the Five Precepts, you should know that the Three Refuges are the right way to obtain the precepts, and it is the most appropriate to pay attention to them;It is also necessary to ask the teacher to explain the breadth and narrowness of the five precepts; for example, one precept is to drink alcohol, not only not to drink the wine in Quanzhou hotels, but also to drink all the wines of the precepts in the empty realm of the Dharma Realm.The same goes for killing, stealing, prostitution, and lying.Therefore, the merits and virtues of taking precepts are universal in the Dharma Realm, which is really beyond the imagination of human beings. Baohuashan Jianyue Lawyer compiled the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts. All the teachings are mostly in parallel style. Those who hear it will never understand it.In addition, I would like to add: Recently, someone who taught the five precepts added the sentence of no smoking after not drinking alcohol, but this non-smoking need not be added; it should be advised separately and should not be added to the text of the five precepts. After talking about the five precepts above, let’s talk about the eight precepts below. Eight Precepts: It is said that there are eight precepts for fasting. "Close" means confining non-yi, shutting down all non-virtuous deeds. "Zhai" means to be clear, to get rid of all miscellaneous thoughts.There are originally nine articles in the Eight Passes, but the seventh article contains two articles, so there are eight articles in total.The first five are the same as the five precepts, and the last three are additional.Add three things later, namely: Sixth, smear the body with fragrant wreaths and fragrant oils. This is a custom of beautiful decoration in India. In our country, there are only floral fragrances, but no wreaths, etc.; And soap, etc., are not available. Seventh, Gao Sheng sat on the bed and went to watch and listen to the music.This is the two combined into one; now a little analysis: "high" means according to the Buddhist system, the foot of the bed for sitting and lying can not exceed one foot and six inches;But when he has no other choice, he can sit for a while: the Buddhist system is designed for self-control, which must be punished. If others have succeeded in not self-control, the crime is slightly less serious.Advocating music and music, watching and listening, music and movies, etc. all fall into this article; the word "Gu" should be noted in the so-called "going to watch and listen to old times", and it will not be violated if you hear or see it accidentally.The above Gao Sheng sat on the bed, and went to watch and listen to the advocacy of martial arts music, which is a total of one.Those who are subject to the eight precepts are not allowed to do so. Eighth, untimely food.After undergoing the eight-pass fasting in the Buddhist system, you can eat from dawn to noon. If you eat at a different time, it is called untimely food.That is what is usually called "don't eat after noon." But after noon, not only rice, but also milk and fruits are not available.For those who are seriously ill, as a last resort, they can eat porridge in a place where everyone can't see it. The eight fastings are generally accepted on the sixth fasting day; the six fasting days, namely: the eighth day, the fourteenth day, the fifteenth day, the third day of the first lunar month, and the last two days of the month; it is the best if you can take it every day up.The time of receiving should be when you wake up every morning, and the time limit is one day and one night-from dawn to night, and night to tomorrow morning. ——After taking the eight-pass fast, one should not eat after noon, and should not eat from noon today to dawn tomorrow.In addition, the Eight Precepts and the Bodhisattva Precepts are different from other precepts; because the Eight Precepts and the Bodhisattva Precepts are immediate precepts. (But the Bodhisattva precepts mentioned above refer to the Brahma net necklace and so on; if you follow the yoga precepts, it belongs to the gradual precepts.) What is the reason for this?If you have not received the five precepts, the novice precepts, or the bhikkhu precepts, you can immediately accept the bodhisattva precepts or the eight precepts, so it is said to be established immediately; if the precepts are gradually followed, they must be followed in order, such as the first five precepts, the second novice precepts, and the second bhikkhu precepts, going up layer by layer .The above-mentioned eight precepts have been accepted by laymen Waijiang very much; I think the area in southern Fujian should also be promoted in the future!If you think there are too many six days in a month, you can reduce it to one or two days; because you only receive one day, you will have great merit, not to mention receiving all six days! Shami Precepts: You already know about the Shami Precepts?These are the ten precepts in total.Nine of them are the same as the eight precepts, and one is added not to catch money and treasures, making them ten.However, ordinary people don’t understand the rule of not holding money and treasures, and they are afraid of hearing it. They don’t know that not holding money and treasures is an easy-to-follow precept. You can grasp it by yourself as usual: the most difficult one is that the ten precepts of the orthodox precepts should be learned, and those who commit crimes will be punished.I didn't know it when I first became a monk, but I learned it later when I was studying Vinaya.From this point of view, it is not easy to keep the novice precepts. Shamini precepts: that is, women, the Dharma precepts are the same as that of novice monks. Shichamana Precepts: Shichamana in Sanskrit means a girl who studies Dharma; in every jungle outside the river, it is said that the virgins at home are Shichamana, which is wrong.In southern Fujian, when the precepts were passed on in Kaiyuan Temple that year, virgins were not called Shichamana, but only the name of virgins. What kind of person can accept the Sichamana precept?Those who have received the novice precepts should receive the Sichamana method at the age of eighteen, study it for two years, and then receive the Bhikkhuni precepts; because the Buddha can only accept the precepts at the age of twenty, and at the age of eighteen, learn for two more years Just twenty years old.During the second year of study, the monk is a karma and learns precepts; after two years of study, he can receive the bhikkhuni precepts; but Shichamana has to learn three methods: first, learn the fundamental method, that is, the fourfold precepts.Two learning and six dharmas, - contact with one's heart, steal five coins, kill animals, tell small lies, eat out of season, drink alcohol.The three learning and practice methods are the precepts of Dani and the prestige. This is just a learned precept, not another precept, so it is different from other precepts.Let's talk about the bhikkhu precepts. Bhikkhu Precepts: Due to the short time, I can’t elaborate now, but a few important words will be briefly mentioned first: We are born in this Dharma-ending age, and neither the novice vows nor the bhikshu vows can be obtained. There are many, many reasons!Now let’s cite one example, that is, there is no one who can confer the novice precepts and bhikkhu precepts; to receive the novice precepts, two monks must confer, and at least five monks must confer the bhikkhu precepts; , and the novice precepts are also unacceptable.I have a very sad sentence to tell you: From the Southern Song Dynasty to the present for six or seven hundred years, it may be said that the monk species has been cut off!From an ordinary person's point of view, one would think that there are many monks in China, possibly reaching several million; in fact, it may not be easy to find a real monk among these millions!So how can one receive the precepts of novice monks?Since there is no one who can give precepts, how can one obtain precepts?I think you must be very disappointed when you hear this; or you think that since we can't quit, we are working hard for nothing, so it's better to go back earlier, why bother to do such a meaningless thing here?But it is wrong to be so suspicious: I advise you to take the novice precepts and bhikkhu precepts here carefully and calmly!Even if you don’t have the precepts, you can still plant good roots and learn all kinds of dignitaries. Wouldn’t it be good? If you want to learn the precepts in the future, you must first accept the precepts of monks and monks by name, otherwise you will be ridiculed by others if you study the precepts in white clothes. It is very good to take the precepts of novice monks! This time the elders of this monastery called me to talk about the general idea of ​​Vinaya, and I feel that there are various difficulties; what is the reason for this?For example, here I am, not according to the principles taught by the Buddha, blindly following others, caring for human beings and perfunctory, wouldn’t it be that I have harmed you!If I tell you the truth, I'm afraid it will arouse your doubts; so I find it very difficult.Therefore, I have no choice but to say two things to you: (1) To be honest, I must explain the truth about the precepts. I am afraid that after you come out of the precept hall, you will falsely call yourself a novice or a monk, and you will incur a serious crime. That is a terrible thing!I have an analogy, for example: there is a commander in Quanzhou, and the ignorant people also call themselves the commander. If the commander hears about it, they will definitely suffer bad results, and they may be in danger of being shot!It is this principle that those who have not obtained the precepts of novice monks and falsely claim to be novice monks or monks will definitely suffer evil retribution.I am driven by conscience, so I want to tell you the truth. (2) Judging from the current human habits and habits, I always advise you to accept the precepts and put up a false name, so that you can learn the law after receiving the precepts; otherwise, you will definitely invite others to slander you; To go one step further, if any of you really want to be a monk of Shaolong, there is also a special method for those who must obtain the precepts of monks and monks; You can get the novice bhikkhu precepts; there is no other way.Therefore, Master Yi said: "If you want to obtain the pure precepts in the last days, there is no other way than this method of observing the wheel." Because after obtaining the pure wheel, you can swear to always accept the Bodhisattva precepts, including the novice monks' precepts. , henceforth can be called Bodhisattva Bhikkhu.Although it is extremely difficult to obtain a pure wheel appearance through rites, chastisement, repentance, if you are truly ambitious, you can work hard. This is what I hope most of you.The bhikkhuni precepts are as follows: Bhikkhuni Precepts: I can’t go into details now.According to the Buddhist system, bhikkhuni precepts have to be repeated twice; first, the nuns teach this method, and then ask the eminent monk to give it.Finally, the Bodhisattva Precepts: Bodhisattva Precepts: Due to time constraints, I can't go into details.Now briefly mention three things: (1) To have the nature of a bodhisattva and to be able to arouse the bodhicitta, and then you can accept the bodhisattva precepts.What is caste?Simply put, it is a qualification achieved over many lifetimes.Therefore, when receiving precepts, the preceptor asked: "Are you a Bodhisattva?" The answer was: "I am a Bodhisattva!" This is the nature of a Bodhisattva.The preceptor asked again: "Since you are a Bodhisattva, have you aroused your bodhicitta?" The answer was: "Have you aroused your bodhicitta." This is to arouse your bodhicitta.Only in this way can one receive the bodhisattva precepts. (2) Ordinary people accept the Bodhisattva precepts in full; but according to the karma scriptures of Yingluo, you can share them with you, one or more; it is the same as the method of receiving the five precepts mentioned above. (3) The seriousness of the offence, there are various differences between the new and the new, and it should be done according to one's own strength. Let me give an example, such as: abstinence from lying, the old saying is a big lie, which is a crime of Parabari, the new saying, the small Lying is the crime of Parai.As for the desire to kill, steal, and commit adultery, that is, to offend Parayi, it is controlled by bodhisattvas on the ground.It is impossible for me to wait for ordinary people. Although the so-called bodhisattva precepts are not easy to obtain, if you have a sincere heart, it is not difficult; and you can accept it by yourself, unlike the novice monk who must ask others to give it; because the bodhisattva precepts, the five precepts, and the eight precepts can all be accepted by yourself, so we There is quite a hope of obtaining the Bodhisattva ring! Today I will briefly finish my lecture on Law Studies. I think there are some inadequacies or mistakes in it, and I ask for your forgiveness.Finally, I have a few words: It is very good for you to be ordained here.In modern times, the most famous place in Waijiang, although there are precepts, is not as complete as this place. This is because the work here is very enthusiastic, energetic, and orderly, and I admire and praise it.As far as teaching precepts is concerned, it is rare for other places to teach novice precepts, bhikkhu precepts, and Brahma Net Sutra during the precept period here.A few years ago, Dakaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou advocated discipline during the precept period, and everyone said it was an unprecedented move.The beauty of this monastery's preaching of precepts is actually the same as that of Dakaiyuan Temple a few years ago; and there are open-air lectures, so that outsiders also have the opportunity to plant good roots, and they are sincere and thoughtful.There are frequent natural disasters this year, and Quanzhou is no exception. In the midst of miserable people and depression, the monastery has opened the precepts on a very large scale and successfully. This is nothing more than the moral influence of the elders and the great guardians; I am really happy to come here, this is the truth, not flattery; this time I have this great opportunity to meet with you, I am very gratified, and finally I would like to congratulate you all.