大智度論 兩不和合品之上Dazhidulun — Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa · The Two Discords, Part 1 of 2

The Two Discords, First Part: Four Pairs of Deeds of Māra between Speaker and Hearer; The Simile of Seeking Fire with a Fire-Drill; The Dhūta Practices Are Not Precepts, and Not Practising Them Is No Offence; The Causes and Conditions of the Twelve Dhūta Practices One by One

What Is Being Asked

The deeds of Māra in the previous chapter were the hindrances within the practitioner's own person—scattered recollection, making light of the Dharma and exalting oneself, clinging to flavours and clinging to places. This chapter turns the lens to what lies between two people: the writing out, upholding, reading, reciting, asking the meaning, and right recollection of prajñā have never been the affair of one person; there must be a person who speaks the Dharma and a person who hears it, and only when the two minds come together can it be accomplished. The chapter title is 「兩不和合」 tr. "the two discords": the "two" are the speaker of the Dharma and the hearer of the Dharma; "discord" does not require that either of them be a bad person—one side wishes to write out and uphold while the other is slack, one side wishes to stay while the other wishes to go, one side values offerings while the other has few desires and knows contentment, one side takes up the dhūta practices while the other does not; each side has its own reasons, yet so long as 「二心不和」 tr. "the two minds are not in accord", prajñā cannot be written out and cannot be upheld, and the sūtra text judges every such case a deed of Māra. In the First Part, a single unit, the sūtra text sets out four such pairs, and each pair is stated once forwards and once in reverse—the speaker of the Dharma being thus while the hearer is so is a deed of Māra, and reversed, the hearer being thus while the speaker is so is likewise a deed of Māra—the fault attaches not to one side but to the discord. At the very opening the treatise-author points out why: every conditioned dharma arises from the coming together of causes and conditions, as when one seeks fire with a fire-drill—only when there is the drill and there is the base can the fire come out; the writing out of prajñā is accomplished by the inner and outer causes and conditions of teacher and disciple being 「同心同事」 tr. "of one mind and one undertaking". Then two rounds of question and answer determine the root of the sickness on each side—in the teacher, the five hindrances cover the mind, so that he can speak but cannot practise; in the disciple, the five wholesome roots are dull, he clings to worldly pleasure, and he is a hearer of the Dharma in name only—and teach the bodhisattva here to 「覺是魔事，防令不起」 tr. "be aware that this is a deed of Māra, and guard against it so that it does not arise". At the end the fourth pair draws out the twelve dhūta practices; the treatise-author explains, practice by practice, the causes and conditions for taking each one up, and fixes their standing with a single sentence: the dhūta practices are not called precepts; if one can practise them, the precepts are adorned; if one cannot practise them, one does not break the precepts; the Buddha's Dharma takes wisdom alone as its root and does not put suffering first. Why the coming together of teacher and disciple is so easily ruined, and why the dhūta practices are an adornment and not precepts—these are the two questions the First Part sets out to answer.

Passage by Passage

1. The first pair—slack and not wishing to speak, and not wishing to receive it. The sūtra text sets out the first pair: the hearer of the Dharma wishes to write out and uphold prajñāpāramitā, to read, recite, ask the meaning, and rightly recollect it; 「說法人懈墮，不欲為說」 tr. "the speaker of the Dharma is slack and does not wish to speak it for him"—know that this is a deed of Māra for the bodhisattva-mahāsattva. The reverse holds as well: the speaker of the Dharma's mind is not slack, and he wishes to have prajñā written out and upheld; 「聽法者不欲受之。二心不和，當知是為魔事」 tr. "the hearer of the Dharma does not wish to receive it. The two minds are not in accord; know that this is a deed of Māra". One wishes and the other does not wish, and the matter cannot be accomplished; with its very first pair the sūtra text lays down the sentence pattern of the whole chapter—stated once forwards and once in reverse, both directions judged alike as deeds of Māra; the fault lies in the two minds not being in accord, not in either side taken on its own.

2. The second pair—wishing to write out and uphold, and wishing to go to another region. If the hearer of the Dharma wishes to write out and uphold prajñā, to read and recite it and so on up to rightly recollecting it, and 「說法者欲至他方」 tr. "the speaker of the Dharma wishes to go to another region", know that this is a deed of Māra. If the speaker of the Dharma wishes to have prajñā written out and upheld, and the hearer of the Dharma wishes to go to another region, the two minds are not in accord, and this too is a deed of Māra. In this pair one cannot even tell good from bad—going far away is not necessarily a fault, and staying is not necessarily a virtue; it is only that one goes and one stays, and the matter of writing out and upholding is broken off. The subtlety of the deeds of Māra lies exactly in such places, where no offence can be pointed to and yet the work fails on the verge of completion.

3. The third pair—valuing offerings, and having few desires and knowing contentment. The speaker of the Dharma 「貴重布施衣服、飲食、臥具、醫藥、資生之物」 tr. "values the giving of clothing, food and drink, bedding, medicine, and the things that support life"; the hearer of the Dharma has 「少欲知足，行遠離行，攝念精進，一心智慧」 tr. "few desires and knows contentment, practises the practice of remoteness, gathers his mindfulness and is vigorous, with a one-pointed mind and wisdom". The two are not in accord and cannot write out prajñā, receive and uphold it, read, recite, ask the meaning, and rightly recollect it: know that this is a deed of Māra; conversely, when the hearer of the Dharma values offerings and the speaker of the Dharma has few desires and knows contentment, it is likewise a deed of Māra. The crucial point is this: having few desires and knowing contentment, remoteness, vigour, a one-pointed mind and wisdom—all five are virtues; yet when one side values gain and offerings and the other values remoteness, their aims do not match, and prajñā still cannot be written out—a virtue paired with the wrong counterpart also becomes a condition for a deed of Māra.

4. The fourth pair—taking up the twelve dhūta practices and not taking them up. The speaker of the Dharma takes up the twelve dhūta practices: 「一、作阿蘭若，二、常乞食，三、納衣，四、一坐食，五、節量食，六、中後不飲漿，七、塚間住，八、樹下住，九、露地住，十、常坐不臥，十一、次第乞食，十二、但三衣」 tr. "first, dwelling in the araṇya; second, always begging for food; third, wearing robes of cast-off rags; fourth, eating at one sitting; fifth, eating in measured quantity; sixth, not drinking juices after midday; seventh, dwelling among the tombs; eighth, dwelling under a tree; ninth, dwelling in the open; tenth, always sitting, never lying down; eleventh, begging from house to house in order; twelfth, keeping only the three robes"; the hearer of the Dharma does not take them up; the two are not in accord, and this is a deed of Māra. The reverse—the hearer of the Dharma takes them up and the speaker of the Dharma does not—is the same. The dhūta practices are an adornment of austerity: the one who takes them up takes them up for himself, and the one who does not take them up commits no offence—precisely because both sides are in the right, the difference in their ways of practice becomes the crack through which they are set apart; and this pair is also the occasion for the treatise-author's extended explanation of the twelve dhūta practices below.

5. The simile of seeking fire with a fire-drill—only when teacher and disciple are of one mind and one undertaking can the writing out be completed. The treatise-author explains: 「一切有為法，因緣和合故生，眾緣離則無。」 tr. "Every conditioned dharma arises because causes and conditions come together; when the conditions part, it is not." It is like seeking fire with a fire-drill: 「有鑽、有母，二事因緣得火」 tr. "there is the drill and there is the base, and by the causes and conditions of the two things the fire is got"; the writing out of prajñā, and so on up to right recollection, is likewise: it arises because inner and outer causes and conditions come together, 「所謂師、弟子同心同事故，乃得書成」 tr. "that is to say, only because teacher and disciple are of one mind and one undertaking can the writing out be completed". With the drill-stick but no base-stick the fire does not come out, and with the base-stick but no drill-stick it is the same—the accomplishing of prajñā rests on the meeting of two conditions, and this simile is the key to the whole chapter: every pair of discord that follows is one of the two sticks taken away.

6. The five wholesome roots and the five hindrances—a first judgement on the root of the sickness on each side. Therefore the Buddha tells Subhūti: the hearer of the Dharma, 「信等五善根發故」 tr. "because the five wholesome roots, faith and the rest, have been aroused", wishes to write out and uphold prajñā and so on up to rightly recollecting it; the speaker of the Dharma, 「五蓋覆心故，不欲說」 tr. "because the five hindrances cover his mind, does not wish to speak it". When faith, vigour, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom are aroused, a person naturally turns toward the Dharma; when desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness and remorse, and doubt cover the mind, the mouth can speak but the mind does not wish to speak. The first layer of the pathology of the two discords is just this: the wholesome roots and the coverings rise and fall in turn in the two persons.

7. The question—how can one whose mind the five hindrances cover be a teacher? Question: 「若五蓋覆心故不欲說，何以作師？」 tr. "If, because the five hindrances cover his mind, he does not wish to speak, how can he be a teacher?" Since the coverings and entanglements cover his mind and he does not wish to speak the Dharma, on what grounds does such a person still occupy the place of a teacher? This question brings into the open, on the reader's behalf, the most unsparing of doubts: can the place of a teacher and the virtue of a teacher be separated?

8. The answer—he can know and speak but cannot himself practise; the disciple has nowhere else and must consult this person. Answer: this person clings to worldly pleasure and does not contemplate emptiness and impermanence; 「雖能心知、口說，不能自行」 tr. "though he can know it in his mind and speak it with his mouth, he cannot himself practise it". The disciple, though he surely wishes to practise, cannot know; 「不能知故，更無餘處，必諮此人」 tr. "because he cannot know, there is nowhere else for him, and he must consult this person". The answer is plain and level: knowing and practising can come apart; a teacher is a teacher by his ability to know and to speak, and what the disciple seeks is knowledge and insight—there is no other place to ask, and he can only consult this one. The place of a teacher is not the same as the virtue of a teacher—once this is seen clearly, the disciple need not abandon the Dharma because the teacher has coverings, and the teacher has no ground for relying on his place.

9. The teacher's compassion is aroused, and the disciple is dull and not aroused. Or at times it is the other way round: because the teacher's compassion is aroused, he wishes to have prajñā written out and upheld; the disciple, 「信等五善根鈍不發故，著世間樂故」 tr. "because the five wholesome roots, faith and the rest, are dull and not aroused, and because he clings to worldly pleasure", does not wish to receive it, write it out, uphold it, and so on up to rightly recollecting it. The waxing and waning of coverings and roots does not belong fixedly to either party—above, the teacher had the coverings and the disciple had the roots; here the teacher's compassion is aroused and the disciple's roots are dull. Each party is by turns the stronger and the weaker, which shows precisely that the fault of discord has no fixed owner.

10. The question—if he does not wish to receive and uphold it, how is he called a hearer of the Dharma? Question: 「若不欲受持，何以名為聽法者？」 tr. "If he does not wish to receive and uphold it, how is he called a hearer of the Dharma?" Since he does not wish to receive it, from where does the name 「聽法者」 tr. "hearer of the Dharma" get established? This question is symmetrical with the seventh: the earlier question concerned the emptiness of the name of teacher; this one concerns the emptiness of the name of disciple.

11. The answer—having heard and received a little or much, he cannot bring it to completion, and is only called a hearer of the Dharma. Answer: 「少多聽、受、讀、誦，不能究竟成就故，但名聽法。」 tr. "Because he has heard, received, read, and recited a little or much, but cannot bring it to final accomplishment, he is only called a hearer of the Dharma." He has heard some, and has read and recited some, only he cannot bring it to final accomplishment, and so he is only called a hearer of the Dharma. The reality under a name can be thick or thin—the one who is only called a hearer of the Dharma is a person standing at the doorway: one foot inside, and so he gets the name; one foot outside, and so he lacks the reality.

12. When good minds are shared, prajñā is attained; be aware of Māra and guard against his arising—where one falls short oneself, one should make it complete. The treatise-author judges the whole: 「若二人善心共同，能得般若波羅蜜；若不同則不能得，是名魔事。」 tr. "If the two persons' good minds are shared, they can attain prajñāpāramitā; if they are not shared, they cannot attain it, and this is called a deed of Māra." When afflictions arise within and the Māra who is a son of the gods creates causes and conditions from without, one is parted from this prajñā; the bodhisattva should be aware that this is a deed of Māra and 「防令不起。若自失，當具足；若弟子失，當教令得」 tr. "guard against it so that it does not arise. If the failing is his own, he should make it complete; if the failing is the disciple's, he should teach him so that he gains it". This passage is where the practice of the whole chapter lies: the deeds of Māra are not for pointing at the other party; they are for illuminating oneself—whichever stick one is missing oneself, one supplies oneself; whichever the disciple is missing, one teaches him to supply; when both ends are supplied, the fire can at last be drilled out.

13. The various causes and conditions for going to another region. The treatise-author explains the second pair: the teacher may be one whose 「慈悲心薄，捨弟子至他方」 tr. "mind of kindness and compassion is thin, who abandons his disciple and goes to another region"; or the water and soil do not suit him and the four great elements are not in harmony, or wholesome dharmas gain no increase, or flood and drought are ill-timed, or the land is laid waste and in disorder—for all such various causes and conditions he goes to another region; 「弟子亦種種因緣不能追隨」 tr. "the disciple too, for various causes and conditions, cannot follow after him". A whole string of reasons for going far away is listed—there is the fault of a thin mind, and there are also the unavoidable circumstances of water, soil, and the times; the disciple's not following also has its own causes and conditions. The treatise-author does not assign blame item by item; he only records the scattering of the conditions—when the conditions scatter, the matter fails, and this is exactly the basic mark of conditioned dharmas.

14. Valuing gain and offerings is like the five hindrances covering the mind above. 「貴重利養者，如上五蓋覆心等。」 tr. "As for valuing gain and offerings, it is like the five hindrances covering the mind and so on, above." The root of the sickness in the third pair needs no separate explanation—valuing gain and offerings is simply the covering of desire presently at work, of one kind with the five hindrances covering the mind above. It is passed over in a single sentence, which shows precisely that in the treatise-author's eyes the four pairs of the sūtra text come from one source: the unevenness between the covering and the arousing of the roots.

15. Both persons have faith and have precepts; one adorns them with the dhūta practices, and one cannot. The treatise-author explains the fourth pair: 「是二人皆有信、有戒，而一人以十二頭陀莊嚴戒，一人不能。」 tr. "These two persons both have faith and have precepts, but one adorns the precepts with the twelve dhūta practices and one cannot." First the premise is fixed—in this pair both parties have faith and both keep the precepts; neither is a breaker of the precepts; the difference is only that one further adorns his precepts with the dhūta practices and one cannot. Discord can arise between two good people, and this is the clear proof.

16. The question—why is it that one cannot? Question: 「一人何以故不能？」 tr. "Why is it that one cannot?" Since he has faith and has precepts, why is it that the dhūta practices cannot be carried out? This question leads into the judgement below on the standing of the dhūta practices—is it that he will not do them, that he cannot do them, or that they were never required in the first place?

17. The answer—the dhūta practices are not precepts; if one can practise them, they are an adornment; if one cannot, it is no offence; the simile of giving. Answer: the precepts laid down by the Buddha are received and upheld by the disciples; 「十二頭陀不名為戒，能行，則戒莊嚴；不能行，不犯戒」 tr. "the twelve dhūta practices are not called precepts; if one can practise them, the precepts are adorned; if one cannot practise them, one does not break the precepts". It is like giving: if one can practise it one obtains merit, and 「不能行者無罪」 tr. "one who cannot practise it has no fault"; the dhūta practices are likewise. Therefore when the two are not in accord, it is a deed of Māra. This is the most crucial judgement of standing in this unit: the precepts are laid down by the Buddha, the base line that must be received and upheld; the dhūta practices are an added practice, an adornment, which the practitioner chooses for himself. Precisely because the dhūta practices have nothing to do with keeping or breaking the precepts, to belittle and reproach one another over having or not having them is all the more unjust—it takes an adornment for a ruler of precepts, and whether measuring others or measuring oneself, it is a misuse.

18. The araṇya—the body far removed from clamour, the mind far removed from the five desires and the five hindrances. The treatise-author explains the twelve dhūta practices one by one. The practitioner, 「居家多惱亂故」 tr. "because household life has much vexation and disturbance", leaves his father and mother, wife and children, and kin, and goes forth to practise the path; yet 「師徒、同學還相結著，心復嬈亂」 tr. "teacher and disciples and fellow students again become bound to one another, and the mind is disturbed once more", and therefore he takes up the practice of the araṇya, so that his body is far removed from clamour and dwells in a quiet, empty place. As for remoteness, 「最近三里，能遠益善」 tr. "the nearest is three leagues; the farther one can go, the better"; having attained the body's remoteness, he 「亦當令心遠離五欲、五蓋」 tr. "should also make the mind far removed from the five desires and the five hindrances". Going forth leaves behind the entanglements of the household, and within the Saṅgha new entanglements arise—it is exactly this layer that the araṇya treats; and the distance of three leagues is only the point of entry: the body's remoteness must in the end come down to the mind's remoteness, or else one has nothing but a quiet, empty plot of ground.

19. Always begging for food—the faults of invitation meals and Saṅgha meals. Whether one accepts invitation meals or eats the food of the assembly of the Saṅgha, it 「起諸漏因緣」 tr. "gives rise to the causes and conditions of the outflows". One who accepts invitation meals, when invited, prides himself, 「我是福德好人故得」 tr. "I get this because I am a person of merit and goodness"; when not invited, he resents the one who invites—「不應請者請，應請者不請」 tr. "he invites those who should not be invited and does not invite those who should be invited"—or he belittles himself, is vexed, reproaches himself, and gives rise to sorrow and suffering: 「是貪、憂法，則能遮道」 tr. "these are dharmas of greed and sorrow, and they can obstruct the path". One who eats the Saṅgha's food, having entered the assembly, must follow the ways of the assembly—settling affairs, expelling people, managing the business of the Saṅgha, making arrangements, running errands—and 「心則散亂，妨廢行道」 tr. "the mind is then scattered, and the practice of the path is hindered and neglected". Therefore he takes up the practice of always begging for food. Begging for food with a single bowl avoids both ends: the greed and sorrow of accepting invitations, and the scattering of following the assembly—when begging for food does not pick where the food comes from, the mind has nothing to cling to.

20. Wearing robes of cast-off rags—fine robes as a cause for falling into wrong livelihood and inviting the calamity of thieves. Because of fine robes, one 「四方追逐，墮邪命中」 tr. "chases after them in the four directions and falls into wrong livelihood"; accepting fine robes from people gives rise to close attachment, and if one is not closely attached, the donor resents it; obtaining robes within the Saṅgha has the faults of entering the assembly described above. Again, fine robes are 「未得道者生貪著處」 tr. "a place where those who have not attained the path give rise to craving and clinging", and fine robes are a cause that 「招致賊難，或至奪命」 tr. "invites the calamity of thieves, which may even go as far as the taking of life". Because there are troubles such as these, he takes up the practice of shabby robes of cast-off rags. Of a single fine robe the treatise-author counts out four calamities: the wrong way of losing one's life in pursuit of robes, the attachment of being bound by a gift received, the disorder of obtaining robes within the Saṅgha, and the danger of inviting thieves and losing one's body—what the shabby robe of rags discards is not the robe but these four threads of calamity.

21. Eating at one sitting—the Buddha's Dharma is for the sake of practising the path, not for the benefit of the body. The practitioner thinks thus: 「求一食尚多有所妨，何況小食、中食、後食！若不自損，則失半日之功，不能一心行道。」 tr. "Seeking even one meal hinders much—how much more the small meal, the midday meal, and the after-meal! If I do not cut back on my own account, I lose half a day's work and cannot practise the path with one mind." The Buddha's Dharma is for the sake of practising the path, not for the benefit of the body, 「如養馬、養猪」 tr. "as one feeds a horse or feeds a pig". Therefore he cuts off eating again and again and takes up the practice of one meal. The simile of feeding a horse and feeding a pig is exceedingly sharp—if nourishing the physical body has nothing to do with practising the path, how is it different from feeding livestock? What eating at one sitting cuts off is the two Chinese characters 「數數」 tr. "again and again": it is not that one does not eat; it is that one does not let the search for food eat up half a day of the work of the path.

22. Eating in measured quantity—leaving one part in three; Śāriputra's five or six mouthfuls. Some people, though they eat once, 「貪心極噉，腹脹氣塞，妨廢行道」 tr. "eat to the utmost with a greedy mind, so that the belly swells and the breath is blocked, and the practice of the path is hindered and neglected"; therefore one takes up the practice of eating in measured quantity. To measure the quantity is, according to what one is able to eat, to 「三分留一分」 tr. "leave one part out of three"; then the body is light and at ease, the food is easily digested and there is no trouble, and when there is no harm to the body there is no neglect of the practice of the path. As Śāriputra says in a sūtra: 「我若食五口、六口，足之以水，則足支身。」 tr. "If I eat five or six mouthfuls and fill up with water, that is enough to support the body." Among the people of Qin, this would be about ten mouthfuls. Eating at one sitting limits the number of meals, eating in measured quantity limits the amount—greed can shrink into a single meal and go on at its work, and so one more layer must be added; leaving one part is not tormenting the body; it is precisely the measure of nourishment that is 「於身無損」 tr. "without harm to the body".

23. Not drinking juices after midday—the simile of the horse fitted with the bridle. Some people, though they eat in measured quantity, 「過中飲漿，則心樂著」 tr. "drink juices after midday, and then the mind delights and clings", and seek all kinds of juices—fruit juice, honey juice, and the like—seeking and desiring without being sated, and cannot cultivate wholesome dharmas with one mind. It is like a horse not fitted with the bridle, which 「左右噉草，不肯進路」 tr. "eats grass to the left and right and will not go forward on the road"; if it is fitted with the bridle, the thought of eating grass is cut off, and it goes where the rider wishes. Therefore one takes up not drinking juices after midday. Greed has retreated again into juices—the meals are limited, the amount is limited, and yet one mouthful of sweet juice can still lead away the whole mind. The simile of the bridle makes it plain: it is not that juice carries some great offence; it is that where there is no limit the mind is sure to stray aside, and where there is a limit the thought is cut off and the road goes forward.

24. Dwelling among the tombs—seeing impermanence with one's own eyes; the contemplation of the nine marks is the first gate of leaving desire. 「無常、空觀是入佛法門，能厭離三界。」 tr. "The contemplation of impermanence and of emptiness is the gate of entry into the Buddha's Dharma; it can make one weary of and leave the three realms." Among the tombs there are always sounds of grieving and weeping, and corpses lie strewn about; one 「眼見無常」 tr. "sees impermanence with one's own eyes"; afterwards they are burned by fire or eaten by birds and beasts, and before long they are utterly gone; by means of this contemplation of corpses, among all dharmas one 「易得無常相、空相」 tr. "easily attains the mark of impermanence and the mark of emptiness". Again, dwelling among the tombs, one sees corpses stinking, rotting, and impure, and so 「易得九相觀，是離欲初門」 tr. "easily attains the contemplation of the nine marks, which is the first gate of leaving desire". Therefore one takes up the practice of dwelling among the tombs. The first six items treat the greed for food and clothing; from here the next four choose dwelling places as provisions for the practice of contemplation—the tombs are the fiercest of classrooms: impermanence is not read from a book but seen directly in the corpse before one's eyes.

25. Dwelling under a tree—following the dharma of the buddhas, one always stays under a tree. Having been able to practise the contemplations of impurity, impermanence, and the rest, 「得道事辦，捨至樹下」 tr. "having attained the path and accomplished the matter, one leaves and goes to the foot of a tree"; or, for one who has not yet attained the path, the mind is not greatly wearied, and he takes up this mark and reflects on it under a tree. As with the Buddha, 「生時、成道時、轉法輪時、般涅槃時，皆在樹下」 tr. "when he was born, when he attained the path, when he turned the wheel of the Dharma, and when he entered parinirvāṇa, he was always under a tree"; the practitioner, following the dharma of the buddhas, always stays under a tree. The tombs are the place of the preparatory practice, and the foot of the tree is the place of abiding—those whose contemplation is accomplished move here to chew it over, and those whose contemplation is not yet accomplished take up the mark and continue contemplating; and the single phrase 「隨諸佛法」 tr. "following the dharma of the buddhas" points out another layer of meaning in the foot of the tree: the four great events of the Buddha's whole life all took place under a tree, and to sit under a tree is to walk in the Buddha's footsteps.

26. Dwelling in the open—the two faults of the foot of a tree; the moonlight shines everywhere and the mind easily enters emptiness. The practitioner may regard the foot of the tree as 「如半舍無異，蔭覆涼樂，又生愛著」 tr. "no different from half a hut, shaded, cool, and pleasant, and again gives rise to loving attachment"—where I dwell is good, that other tree is not as good—and because outflows arise in such ways, he goes to dwell in the open. He reflects that the foot of a tree has two kinds of fault: 「一者、雨漏濕冷，二者、鳥屎污身，毒蟲所住」 tr. "first, the rain leaks through and it is damp and cold; second, bird droppings soil the body, and poisonous insects dwell there"; open ground has none of these troubles. Dwelling in the open, one puts on and takes off one's robes as one pleases, in ease and joy; 「月光遍照，空中明淨，心易入空三昧」 tr. "the moonlight shines everywhere, the sky is bright and clear, and the mind easily enters the emptiness samādhi". Even a patch of tree-shade can give rise to the clinging of 「我所」 tr. "mine"—here the subtle marks of greed are laid entirely bare. The item of dwelling in the open is not only the removal of troubles; it also has a positive benefit: overhead there remain only the bright moon and empty space, the mind and its object resemble each other, and the emptiness samādhi easily comes into accord.

27. Always sitting, never lying down—the thieves of the afflictions are always watching for their chance. Among the four postures of the body, 「坐為第一」 tr. "sitting is foremost": food is easily digested, and the breath is harmonious. For one who seeks the path, 「大事未辦，諸煩惱賊常伺其便，不宜安臥」 tr. "the great matter is not yet accomplished, and the thieves of the afflictions are always watching for their chance; it is not fitting to lie down at ease"; if one walks or stands, the mind moves and is hard to collect, and one cannot keep it up for long either. Therefore one takes up the practice of always sitting; if one wishes to sleep, 「脇不著席」 tr. "the flank does not touch the mat". Each of the four postures of walking, standing, sitting, and lying has its loss: lying down gives the thieves their chance, walking and standing shake the mind, and only sitting is well-balanced—always sitting keeps the body in the one posture most fit for the work; and the phrase about the flank not touching the mat means that even when drowsiness comes, the guard is not withdrawn.

28. Begging from house to house in order—not clinging to flavours and not belittling beings. The practitioner, 「不著於味、不輕眾生、等心憐愍故，次第乞食；不擇貧富故，受次第乞食法」 tr. "because he does not cling to flavours, does not belittle beings, and pities them with an equal mind, begs from house to house in order; because he does not choose between poor and rich, he takes up the practice of begging from house to house in order". If in begging for food one picks the doorways, the two sicknesses of greed for flavour and contempt for people arise from it—picking rich houses is greed on the tongue, passing over poor houses is contempt in the mind. Begging in order, walking past house after house equally, flavours cannot be picked and people cannot be belittled, and pity with an equal mind is carried out under one's own feet.

29. Keeping only the three robes—leaving the two extremes and abiding in the middle way. The practitioner has few desires and knows contentment; 「衣趣蓋形，不多不少故，受但三衣法」 tr. "clothing is only for covering the body, neither too much nor too little, and so he takes up the practice of keeping only the three robes". The white-robed, seeking pleasure, keep many kinds of clothing, while some of the outside paths, for the sake of austerity, go naked and without shame; therefore the Buddha's disciples 「捨二邊、處中道行」 tr. "leave the two extremes and practise abiding in the middle way". Because dwelling places and food are in constant use there are many matters concerning them; 「衣不須日日求，故略說」 tr. "clothing need not be sought every day, and so it is spoken of briefly". The single item of the three robes goes so far as to express the great meaning of the middle way: keeping many is the extreme of indulging in pleasure, going naked is the extreme of austerity, and the three robes, neither too many nor too few, are precisely a bodily teaching of leaving the two extremes. The last sentence also explains for itself why the treatment is detailed or brief—because the matter of clothing is simple the text speaks of it briefly; it is not that its weight is light.

30. The Buddha's intent in praising the twelve dhūta practices—following the practice of the path and relinquishing worldly pleasure. 「是十二頭陀，佛意欲令弟子隨道行、捨世樂故，讚十二頭陀。」 tr. "As for these twelve dhūta practices, the Buddha praised the twelve dhūta practices because his intent was to have his disciples follow the practice of the path and relinquish worldly pleasure." Having explained the twelve items one by one, the treatise-author first gathers them up in one sentence: the Buddha's praise of the dhūta practices praises their effect of following the path and relinquishing pleasure, not suffering in itself. This sentence lays the road in advance for the closing passage, 「不以苦為先」 tr. "it does not put suffering first".

31. The dhūta practices as the root, and wisdom as the root—among the four noble lineages, the dhūta practices are three of them. It is the Buddha's intent 「常以頭陀為本；有因緣，不得已而聽餘事」 tr. "always to take the dhūta practices as the root; when there are causes and conditions, he permits other things because he cannot do otherwise". So when he turned the wheel of the Dharma and the five bhikṣus first attained the path, they said to the Buddha, 「我等著何等衣」 tr. "What kind of robes should we wear?", and the Buddha said, 「應著納衣」 tr. "You should wear robes of cast-off rags"; again, in the procedure of receiving the precepts, one wears robes of cast-off rags, begs for food, dwells under a tree, and uses discarded medicine for the rest of one's life—「於古四聖種中，頭陀即是三事」 tr. "among the ancient four noble lineages, the dhūta practices are three of them". And at the end the treatise-author gathers up both sides: 「佛法唯以智慧為本，不以苦為先。是法皆助道、隨道故，諸佛常讚歎。」 tr. "The Buddha's Dharma takes wisdom alone as its root; it does not put suffering first. Because these dharmas all aid the path and follow the path, the buddhas always praise them." The dhūta practices as the root is the constant provision of the gate of teaching; wisdom as the root is the settled aim of the Buddha's Dharma—the two uses of the word 「本」 tr. "root" do not obstruct each other: the dhūta practices receive praise precisely because they aid the path and follow the path; they are an adornment that leads toward wisdom, not an austerity contending with wisdom for its place.

Do Not Misread

Do not read 「兩不和合」 tr. "the two discords" as a matter of pursuing the guilt of one side. Every pair in the sūtra text is stated once forwards and once in reverse—the speaker of the Dharma being slack is a deed of Māra, and the hearer of the Dharma not wishing to receive is likewise a deed of Māra; and even where one side has few desires and knows contentment while the other values offerings, a virtue paired with craving also makes a deed of Māra. The criterion is from beginning to end 「二心不和」 tr. "the two minds are not in accord", not the goodness or badness of either side; to read this chapter as a denunciation of evil teachers or evil disciples is to miss exactly its deepest layer—between two good people, a deed of Māra still takes place.

Do not read the teacher whose mind the five hindrances cover as one who cannot be relied upon. The treatise-author states plainly that this person, 「雖能心知、口說，不能自行」 tr. "though he can know it in his mind and speak it with his mouth, he cannot himself practise it", while the disciple, 「不能知故，更無餘處，必諮此人」 tr. "because he cannot know, there is nowhere else for him, and he must consult this person"—the place of a teacher and the virtue of a teacher are examined separately, and knowledge and insight can still be gained from him. If one reads it as saying that a teacher with coverings and entanglements must always be abandoned, the disciple would truly have nowhere to hear the Dharma; what the sūtra text judges is the failing of two minds not in accord, not a pronouncement on who is unfit to be a teacher.

Do not read the twelve dhūta practices as rules of precept. The treatise-author settles it with one stroke: 「十二頭陀不名為戒，能行，則戒莊嚴；不能行，不犯戒」 tr. "the twelve dhūta practices are not called precepts; if one can practise them, the precepts are adorned; if one cannot practise them, one does not break the precepts", and uses giving as a simile—if one can practise it one obtains merit; if one cannot practise it there is no fault. If one reads the dhūta practices as precepts, the one who takes them up grows proud and the one who does not grows ashamed, and both sides add to the crack of belittling each other; the sūtra text lists precisely the having or not having of the dhūta practices as a condition of discord, and what it warns against is exactly this mutual reproach that mistakes their standing.

Do not read the dhūta practices as taking suffering as the path. The causes and conditions of every item are tied to practising the path—eating at one sitting so as not to lose half a day's work, eating in measured quantity so that the body is light and at ease, 「於身無損」 tr. "without harm to the body", dwelling in the open so that the mind easily enters the emptiness samādhi; and at the end it says outright, 「佛法唯以智慧為本，不以苦為先」 tr. "the Buddha's Dharma takes wisdom alone as its root; it does not put suffering first". The dhūta practices are an adornment that aids the path, and suffering is only the price that comes along with them; if one turns it around, putting suffering first and taking self-torment as virtue, one falls to the side of the outside paths' going naked that the sūtra text points to.

Do not read 「防令不起」 tr. "guard against it so that it does not arise" as guarding against the other party. The treatise-author's practice is 「若自失，當具足；若弟子失，當教令得」 tr. "if the failing is his own, he should make it complete; if the failing is the disciple's, he should teach him so that he gains it"—the action that follows awareness of a deed of Māra is to supply oneself and to teach the other, bringing both ends to completion, not to be on guard at both ends. Awareness of the deeds of Māra is a mirror for illuminating oneself, not a searchlight trained on others.

Bearing on Practice

Use the four pairs to examine the conditions of learning together. Whenever one accomplishes a matter of the Dharma together with others—reading together, cultivating together, requesting the Dharma, transmitting the Dharma—first take the four pairs of this unit and hold them up against it: does one wish while the other is slack? Does one stay while the other goes? Does one value gain and offerings while the other values remoteness? Are their ways of practice far apart in strictness and leniency? When one feels that the matter will not move forward, do not hurry to blame the other person; first recognise that this is the mark of the deed of Māra of 「二心不和」 tr. "the two minds are not in accord" appearing before one—to recognise it is to be aware, and to be aware is already to guard.

Use 「若自失，當具足；若弟子失，當教令得」 tr. "if the failing is his own, he should make it complete; if the failing is the disciple's, he should teach him so that he gains it" to settle the responsibility of the present moment. When the conditions between teacher and disciple break down, it is easiest to fall into pointing at one another: the teacher blames the disciple's dullness, the disciple blames the teacher's slackness. The sūtra and treatise give only one direction for setting to work—where the lack is in oneself, supply oneself; where the lack is in the other, help the other. In seeking fire with a fire-drill, neither of the two sticks can be missing; rather than deciding who should bear the responsibility, let each hand over his own stick.

Use the standing of the dhūta practices to protect harmony between oneself and others. If one practises the dhūta practices oneself, remember that they are an adornment and not precepts, and do not on this account belittle those who do not practise them; if a companion practises the dhūta practices and one cannot, remember 「不能行，不犯戒」 tr. "if one cannot practise them, one does not break the precepts", and there is no need for self-reproach, nor any need to mock the other's austerity. Differences in ways of practice are fundamentally the scenery along the path; only when they are mistaken for high and low do they become the crack that sets people apart.

Take the twelve dhūta practices as a chest of medicines for counteracting. One need not take up all twelve, but one can recognise the medicines one by one: if one craves invitations and craves the assembly, learn the intent of begging for food; if one clings to clothing, think of the frugality of shabby robes of rags; if one is heavy and dull after eating, try eating in measured quantity and leaving one part; if lying down much makes one lose mindfulness, collect the mind while sitting; if one picks and chooses among the people who make offerings, practise the equality of begging in order. The treatise-author has made the causes and conditions of every item clear—recognise one's own sickness and take the right single medicine, and do not regard taking them all up as the higher thing.

Constantly recite 「唯以智慧為本，不以苦為先」 tr. "takes wisdom alone as its root; it does not put suffering first" to check the direction of one's effort. When austerity begins to show a little strength, it is easiest to take suffering secretly for merit itself, piling on self-torment while wisdom does not increase. Ask oneself with this sentence: is this measure of suffering aiding the path and following the path, or is it only accomplishing an 'I' who can endure suffering? If it aids the path, continue; if it accomplishes the 'I', let it go.

Further Resonances

The First Part, a single unit of one sūtra passage and one treatise passage, establishes the general outline and the first listing of the chapter of the two discords. The four pairs of the sūtra text—slack and not wishing to speak, wishing to go to another region, valuing offerings against having few desires, taking up the dhūta practices or not—are set out both forwards and in reverse, and the criterion is fixed in the four Chinese characters 「二心不和」 tr. "the two minds are not in accord"; the treatise-author holds the whole chapter together with the one simile of seeking fire with a fire-drill—only when teacher and disciple are of one mind and one undertaking can the writing out be completed—and goes on to judge the root of the sickness on each side by the five wholesome roots and the five hindrances, to examine in two rounds of question and answer the emptiness or reality of the name of teacher and the name of disciple, and to conclude in the mutual supplying of self and other, 「覺是魔事，防令不起」 tr. "be aware that this is a deed of Māra, and guard against it so that it does not arise"; at the end, on the occasion of the fourth pair, he explains the twelve dhūta practices at length, setting out the causes and conditions of each item, fixing their standing with 「十二頭陀不名為戒，能行，則戒莊嚴；不能行，不犯戒」 tr. "the twelve dhūta practices are not called precepts; if one can practise them, the precepts are adorned; if one cannot practise them, one does not break the precepts", and fixing their aim with 「唯以智慧為本，不以苦為先」 tr. "takes wisdom alone as its root; it does not put suffering first". When the conditions come together the fire comes out; when the conditions part the matter fails—the First Part establishes this principle. As for the further pairs of the two discords—faith and goodness against breaking the precepts, able to give against begrudging, making offerings against not receiving them, keenness and dullness far apart, knowing and not knowing the twelve divisions of the scriptures, having and not having the six perfections and the power of skilful means, obtaining and losing dhāraṇī, parting from and meeting with the five hindrances, and on to the outer hindrances of urging one to take nirvāṇa and of praising the gods, the four types of Māra's conjured appearances—transforming into a bhikṣu, the body of a Buddha, the Buddha with the Saṅgha, and hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas—and the simile of the precious things of Jambudvīpa with their many thieves and many difficulties—the Last Part of this chapter goes on to unfold them; they are not anticipated here.