攝大乘論 第七分 增上戒學分
走完十地的地圖，接下來三分講貫穿全程的「三增上學」——更高一階的戒、定、慧。這一分講第一學：戒。問題只有一句：菩薩的戒，憑什麼比聲聞的戒更殊勝？無著答以「四種殊勝」。（這是全論最短的一分——因為無著明說：細目都在《菩薩地》裡，我這裡只標綱領。）
四種殊勝是：差別——菩薩戒有三品，不只『守住自己不作惡』（律儀），還要『主動行善』（攝善法）、『主動利益眾生』（饒益有情）；不利生，本身就是一種虧欠。共不共——本質的惡（性罪，如殺、盜）菩薩和聲聞一樣絕不犯；但某些『防護性』的細戒，菩薩為利益眾生反而可以開。而且菩薩的戒連『起心動念』都管（身、語、心三戒），聲聞只管身、口（身、語二戒）。廣大——戒條、福德、存心、目標，四面都大到無邊。甚深——這是最深、最須謹慎的一面：菩薩若純出大悲、又有善巧智慧，縱使示現去做殺生等本是惡業之事，不但無罪，反生大福（經典的例子如示現作國王行刑、或本生中『似惱而實攝』）。
這『甚深』一面，點出菩薩戒的靈魂：戒的根本不在死守條文，而在「饒益眾生」。這個『開』，是以圓滿的大悲與智慧為前提的極特殊情形。
四種殊勝怎麼一一展開、三品戒的內容、共不共與甚深的分際——這些，可循本分一段一段讀下去。但你不必一上來就跳進細節——先記住這一句就夠了：菩薩戒的重點，不是『不做什麼』，而是『為了眾生，該做什麼』。
With the map of the ten grounds complete, the next three chapters take up the thread that runs the whole length of the road — the "three higher trainings," a loftier grade of morality, concentration, and wisdom. This chapter takes the first: morality. The question is just one line: in what is the bodhisattva's morality more excellent than the śrāvaka's? Asaṅga answers with "four excellences." (This is the treatise's shortest chapter — because Asaṅga says plainly: the details are all in the Bodhisattva Grounds; here I set out only the headings.)
The four are: distinction — the bodhisattva's morality has three kinds, not merely "guarding oneself from doing evil" (restraint) but also "actively doing good" (gathering wholesome dharmas) and "actively benefiting beings"; to fail to benefit beings is itself a falling-short. Common and uncommon — what is evil by nature (natural offenses, such as killing and stealing) the bodhisattva, like the śrāvaka, never commits; but certain "safeguard" precepts the bodhisattva may, for beings' benefit, even open. And the bodhisattva's morality governs even the stirrings of thought (the three moralities of body, speech, and mind), where the śrāvaka governs only body and speech. Vastness — its precepts, merit, intent, and goal are boundless on every side. Profundity — the deepest and most delicate face: if the bodhisattva acts purely from great compassion and with skillful wisdom, then even where he displays deeds ordinarily unwholesome, such as killing, he is not only without fault but generates great merit (the classic illustrations: appearing as a king who wields punishment, or the birth-stories where he seems to afflict while truly gathering in).
This "profound" face points to the soul of the bodhisattva's morality: its root is not clinging to the letter of the rules, but "benefiting beings." This "opening" is an utterly exceptional case predicated on fully developed compassion and wisdom.
How the four excellences unfold one by one, the content of the threefold morality, where the lines of the common-and-uncommon and the profound are drawn — you can follow these one stretch at a time. But you need not plunge into the details at once — it is enough to keep this one line: the point of the bodhisattva's morality is not "what not to do," but "for beings' sake, what to do."
七 增上戒學分 〔T31 0146b05〕
如是已說因果修差別，此中增上戒殊勝，云何可見？如菩薩地正受菩薩律儀中說。 復次，應知略由四種殊勝故此殊勝：一、由差別殊勝，二、由共不共學處殊勝，三、由廣大殊勝，四、由甚深殊勝。 差別殊勝者，謂菩薩戒有三品別：一、律儀戒，二、攝善法戒，三、饒益有情戒。此中律儀戒，應知二戒建立義故；攝善法戒，應知修集一切佛法建立義故；饒益有情戒，應知成熟一切有情建立義故。 共不共學處殊勝者，謂諸菩薩一切性罪不現行故，與聲聞共；相似遮罪有現行故，與彼不共。於此學處，有聲聞犯菩薩不犯，有菩薩犯聲聞不犯。菩薩具有身語心戒，聲聞唯有身語二戒，是故菩薩心亦有犯非諸聲聞。以要言之，一切饒益有情無罪身語意業，菩薩一切皆應現行，皆應修學。如是應知說名為共不共殊勝。 廣大殊勝者，復由四種廣大故：一、由種種無量學處廣大故，二、由攝受無量福德廣大故，三、由攝受一切有情利益安樂意樂廣大故，四、由建立無上正等菩提廣大故。 甚深殊勝者，謂諸菩薩由是品類方便善巧行殺生等十種作業，而無有罪，生無量福，速證無上正等菩提。又諸菩薩現行變化身語兩業，應知亦是甚深尸羅。由此因緣，或作國王示行種種惱有情事，安立有情毘柰耶中。又現種種諸本生事，示行逼惱諸餘有情，真實攝受諸餘有情，先令他心深生淨信，後轉成熟。是名菩薩所學尸羅甚深殊勝。 由此略說四種殊勝，應知菩薩尸羅律儀最為殊勝。如是差別菩薩學處，應知復有無量差別，如毘柰耶瞿沙方廣契經中說。
The canonical text stands in Chinese only. This edition renders the essence, the plain reading, the exposition and the apparatus into English — never the sūtra itself. Switch to 漢讀本 or 並行雙語 above to read it.
前面幾分，已經把『因果的修行差別』（也就是菩薩十地的修行階差）說過了。從這一分起，要講十項殊勝裡的後三項——更上一層的戒、定、慧三學。這一分先講『增上戒』（更上一層的戒）。以下順著無著的話講下來。
一、增上戒殊勝，要到哪裡去看
無著說：上面已經講完『因果的修行差別』，那麼這裡所說『更上一層的戒』（增上戒）的殊勝，又該怎麼去認識呢？答：就像《菩薩地》裡「正受菩薩律儀」那一段所說的（菩薩正式受持菩薩戒的內容，那裡講得明白）。
二、總提：由四種殊勝，見此戒之殊勝
接著無著總提：要知道，簡略說，由四個方面的殊勝，就見得這『菩薩戒』確實殊勝——
- 由差別殊勝（戒的品類分得殊勝）；
- 由共不共學處殊勝（與聲聞戒之間，哪些共通、哪些不共，分得殊勝）；
- 由廣大殊勝；
- 由甚深殊勝。
以下逐一解說。
三、差別殊勝：菩薩戒分三品
什麼叫「差別殊勝」？是說菩薩戒有三品（三類）的分別——
- 律儀戒（防非止惡、守護儀則的戒）；
- 攝善法戒（收攝、積集一切善法的戒）；
- 饒益有情戒（利益一切眾生的戒）。
這三品各有所立的意思：
- 這當中的律儀戒，要知道，是依著『兩種戒』而建立的；
- 攝善法戒，要知道，是依著『修習、積集一切佛法』這個意思而建立的；
- 饒益有情戒，要知道，是依著「成熟一切眾生」這個意思而建立的。
四、共不共學處殊勝：與聲聞戒哪裡同、哪裡不同
什麼叫「共不共學處殊勝」（在所學的戒條上，與聲聞既有共通、又有不共之處，這一點殊勝）？是說——
諸菩薩對於一切『性罪』（事情本身就是惡、不待佛制就有罪的，如殺、盜等），一概不去現行（絕不沾犯）——這一點，菩薩與聲聞是共通的。至於那些「相似遮罪」（本身不是惡，只因恐其招譏、防其流弊，佛才遮止的戒條），菩薩在某些情況下卻有現行——這一點，就與聲聞不共了。
在這些所學的戒條上，於是出現這樣的情形：有聲聞算犯、菩薩卻不算犯的；也有菩薩算犯、聲聞卻不算犯的。再者，菩薩具足『身、語、心』三方面的戒（身、口、意都要守），聲聞卻只有『身、語』兩方面的戒（只管身、口）；正因如此，菩薩連起心動念也會有犯，這在諸聲聞那裡是沒有的（聲聞不問起心）。
總而言之：凡是利益眾生、又沒有罪過的身業、語業、意業，菩薩一切都應當去做、都應當修學。這樣就該知道，這就叫「共不共殊勝」。
五、廣大殊勝：由四種廣大
什麼叫「廣大殊勝」？又由四個方面的廣大來說——
- 由種種『無量的所學戒條』而廣大（要學的戒，門類無量）；
- 由「攝受無量福德」而廣大（持這戒，能收攝無量的福德）；
- 由『攝受利益安樂一切眾生的那份願心（意樂）』而廣大（這戒所懷抱的，是要利樂一切眾生的廣大願心）；
- 由『建立無上正等菩提（成就佛果）』而廣大（這戒所指向的，是無上的覺悟）。
六、甚深殊勝：菩薩的善巧方便
什麼叫「甚深殊勝」？是說——
諸菩薩由於通達某一類的善巧方便，竟能去做殺生等十種『作業』（指十不善業道一類的事相），而不但沒有罪過，反倒生出無量的福德，並且能迅速證得無上正等菩提。
又：諸菩薩所現行的『變化身』（神通變化所現之身）上的語業、身業（用變化身去說、去做的事），要知道，也同樣是甚深的戒（尸羅）。憑著這樣的因緣，菩薩或者示現作一位國王，故意表現出種種惱害眾生的事相，藉此把眾生安立、引入『毘奈耶』（戒律的軌範）當中（以權巧的逆行，反把眾生導歸於戒）。又示現種種『本生』之事（過去世捨身濟物一類的事跡），表面上像是在逼迫、惱害其餘的眾生，其實是在真實地攝受那些眾生——先讓對方心裡深深生起清淨的信心，然後再轉而使他成熟（道業漸熟）。這就叫菩薩所學之戒的「甚深殊勝」。
七、結語：四種殊勝，故菩薩戒最為殊勝
由上面這樣簡略說的四種殊勝，就該知道：菩薩的「尸羅律儀」（菩薩所受持的戒），是最為殊勝的。
像這樣分門別類的菩薩所學戒條，要知道，還另有無量無邊的差別——這些，就如《毘奈耶瞿沙方廣契經》（一部廣說戒律的大乘經）裡所說的那樣（其詳盡內容，當於彼經求之）。
The previous chapters have already covered "the differences in practice with respect to cause and effect" (that is, the graded stages of the bodhisattva's practice across the ten grounds). From this chapter on, the text takes up the last three of the ten points of excellence — the higher training in discipline, in mind, and in wisdom. This chapter treats the first of these, the "higher discipline" (a discipline raised to a higher level). What follows runs straight through Asaṅga's words.
1. The excellence of the higher discipline — where to go to study it
Asaṅga says: the "differences in practice with respect to cause and effect" have now been covered; so how is one to recognize the excellence of the "higher discipline" (the higher training in discipline) spoken of here? Answer: it is just as set out in the Bodhisattva-bhūmi, in the section on "rightly receiving the bodhisattva discipline" (where the content of a bodhisattva's formal receiving and upholding of the bodhisattva precepts is spelled out plainly).
2. The general statement: the excellence of this discipline is seen through four kinds of excellence
Asaṅga then states the matter in general: you should know that, put briefly, the excellence of "the bodhisattva discipline" is seen through four aspects of excellence —
- by the excellence of its distinctions (the grades of the discipline are distinguished in an excellent way);
- by the excellence of its shared and not-shared points of training (which points are held in common with the śrāvaka discipline, and which are not, are distinguished in an excellent way);
- by the excellence of its vastness;
- by the excellence of its profundity.
These are explained one by one below.
3. Excellence of distinctions: the bodhisattva discipline divides into three grades
What is meant by "excellence of distinctions"? It means that the bodhisattva discipline has three grades (three kinds) of distinction —
- the restraining discipline (the discipline that wards off wrong and stops evil, guarding the rules of conduct);
- the gathering-the-good discipline (the discipline that gathers in and accumulates all wholesome states);
- the benefiting-beings discipline (the discipline that benefits all sentient beings).
Each of these three grades is established with its own meaning:
- among these, the restraining discipline, you should know, is established on the basis of the "two disciplines";
- the gathering-the-good discipline, you should know, is established on the basis of the meaning of "cultivating and accumulating all the Buddha's teachings";
- the benefiting-beings discipline, you should know, is established on the basis of the meaning of "bringing all sentient beings to maturity."
4. Excellence of shared and not-shared training: where it agrees with the śrāvaka discipline and where it differs
What is meant by "excellence of shared and not-shared points of training" (the excellence of the fact that, in the precepts trained in, there is both common ground with the śrāvakas and a point not held in common)? It means this —
The bodhisattvas, with respect to every "natural offence" (a thing that is evil in itself, carrying fault even apart from the Buddha's having laid down a rule — such as killing, stealing, and the like), never let it come into action (they never commit it at all): in this, the bodhisattva and the śrāvaka are shared (they agree). But as for the "quasi-prohibitory offences" (acts not evil in themselves, which the Buddha prohibited only out of concern that they would invite censure or open the way to abuses), the bodhisattva does in certain situations let them come into action: in this, the bodhisattva is not-shared with the śrāvaka (they differ).
So, on these points of training, this situation arises: there are cases the śrāvaka counts as a transgression but the bodhisattva does not; and there are cases the bodhisattva counts as a transgression but the śrāvaka does not. Further, the bodhisattva possesses discipline in all three of "body, speech, and mind" (body, speech, and thought all to be guarded), whereas the śrāvaka has only the two of "body and speech" (only body and speech are looked after); for just this reason, the bodhisattva can transgress even in the stirring of a thought, which is not the case among the śrāvakas (the śrāvaka does not inquire into the stirring of the mind).
In sum: any act of body, speech, or mind that benefits sentient beings and is without fault — the bodhisattva should in every case bring into action, should in every case train in. This, then, you should know, is what is called the "excellence of shared and not-shared."
5. Excellence of vastness: by four kinds of vastness
What is meant by "excellence of vastness"? It is spoken of, again, through four aspects of vastness —
- vast by way of the manifold "immeasurable points of training" (the precepts to be trained in are of immeasurable kinds);
- vast by way of "taking in immeasurable merit" (upholding this discipline gathers in immeasurable merit);
- vast by way of "taking in the aspiration (the heart's intent) to bring benefit and ease to all sentient beings" (what this discipline holds in its heart is the vast aspiration to benefit and bring ease to all sentient beings);
- vast by way of "establishing supreme, perfect awakening (the attainment of buddhahood)" (what this discipline points toward is the supreme awakening).
6. Excellence of profundity: the bodhisattva's skilful means
What is meant by "excellence of profundity"? It means this —
The bodhisattvas, through their mastery of a certain class of skilful means, can perform killing and the other ten "courses of action" (referring to the matters of the ten unwholesome courses of action and the like), and not only is there no fault, but on the contrary immeasurable merit is produced, and they are able swiftly to realize supreme, perfect awakening.
Again: the acts of speech and acts of body that the bodhisattvas bring into action upon a "transformation body" (a body manifested by spiritual power and transformation) — the things spoken and done by means of a transformation body — you should know, are likewise a profound discipline (śīla). By this means, a bodhisattva may appear as a king and deliberately display all sorts of acts that vex and harm sentient beings, and thereby settle and lead those beings into the vinaya (the framework of the discipline). Again, the bodhisattva may manifest various "birth-stories" (jātaka — episodes such as giving up one's body to rescue others in past lives): on the surface this looks like coercing and harassing the other beings, but in truth it is taking in those beings — first causing deep, pure faith to arise in their minds, and then turning them toward maturity (their progress on the path ripening). This is what is called the "excellence of profundity" in the discipline the bodhisattva trains in.
7. Conclusion: because of the four kinds of excellence, the bodhisattva discipline is the most excellent
By the four kinds of excellence stated briefly above, you should know that the bodhisattva's "discipline of restraint in śīla" (the discipline a bodhisattva receives and upholds) is the most excellent of all.
The bodhisattva's points of training, sorted out by category in this way, you should know, have besides this immeasurable, boundless further distinctions — these are just as set out in the Vinaya-ghoṣa Vaipulya-sūtra (a Mahāyāna sūtra that expounds the discipline at length); for the full detail, one should seek it in that sūtra.
經論宗依
根本論明說菩薩律儀如《瑜伽師地論·菩薩地》所說，本分只以四種殊勝攝其綱。世親、無性二釋尤其說明共不共學處與甚深開遮的條件；義疏須連同大悲、後得智與無罪之限界而讀，不把特殊開遮化成一般許可。
到了第七分，菩薩道的地圖其實已經畫完了。前面分六講『十地』，把從初發心到成佛要走的階位一階一階鋪了出來。接下來三分，無著要回過頭來，講貫穿這整條路的功夫——三增上學：增上戒、增上心（定）、增上慧。所謂『增上』，就是『更高一層、更為殊勝』的意思：同樣叫戒、定、慧，菩薩的這一套，比聲聞的高出一截。這一分先講第一學：戒。
於是這一分底下，那個真正要回答的問題就浮出來了：菩薩也持戒，聲聞也持戒，這兩種戒，到底差在哪裡？為什麼有些聲聞絕不能犯的，菩薩反而開許去做？
無著的回答乾淨利落：菩薩戒比聲聞戒殊勝，殊勝在四個地方——差別、共不共、廣大、甚深。下面就順著這四殊勝，一面一面講開。
不過先要記住一件事，這一分為什麼特別短。一開頭，無著就明白地把讀者支到另一部論去：細目，「如《菩薩地》正受菩薩律儀中說」——也就是《瑜伽師地論》裡專講菩薩戒的那一品，戒條的細目全在那裡，他這一分只標綱領。所以這一分像一張提要，不是一本戒本；它要交代的，不是『該守哪些條』，而是『菩薩這套戒，憑什麼比聲聞高』。
一、第一勝：差別——菩薩的戒，分成三品
聲聞的戒，主要是「別解脫戒」——管住自己的身、口不去造惡，守好這一身，求個人的解脫。菩薩戒不一樣，它分成三品，格局一下子就大了出去：
- 律儀戒——守住身、口不作惡。這一層，菩薩和聲聞是一樣的，講的是『止惡』。
- 攝善法戒——主動去修集一切佛法。無著說，這一品『以修集一切佛法而建立』，講的是『行善』。
- 饒益有情戒——主動去成熟一切眾生。無著說，這一品『以成熟一切有情而建立』，講的是『利生』。
一個止、一個行、一個利他。請看出這裡的轉折——菩薩的戒，不只是『不做壞事』就算數，更要求你『必須去做好事、必須去利益眾生』。對菩薩來說，該利生而不去利生，本身就是一種虧欠、一種犯戒。光是潔身自好，在菩薩戒裡是不夠的。這就是第一種殊勝：從格局上，就和聲聞分了高下。
二、第二勝：共不共——哪裡和聲聞一樣，哪裡不一樣
第二勝講得最細，要分辨菩薩戒與聲聞戒『哪裡共、哪裡不共』。要看懂這一段，得先把『罪』分成兩類：
- 性罪——本質就是惡的事，像殺、像盜。它不必等佛立下戒條，做了當下就是罪，因為它本身就壞。
- 遮罪——事情本身不算惡，是佛為了防護修行人、額外制下來的，像某些威儀上的細則。守它是為了不出岔子，但破了它，並非那件事本身有什麼惡。
分清這兩類，無著的判法就清楚了：對性罪，菩薩一概不犯——這一點和聲聞完全相同，叫『共』；但對那些「相似遮罪」，菩薩在「能利益眾生」的前提下，有時反而該去做——這一點聲聞死守、菩薩有開，叫『不共』。於是會出現一種有趣的交錯：同樣一條學處，有『聲聞算犯、菩薩不算犯』的，也有『菩薩算犯、聲聞不算犯』的。
還有更要緊的一層分別。聲聞的戒，只管『身、語』兩業——要真做出來、真說出口，才算犯。菩薩的戒，卻管『身、語、心』三業——光在心裡起一個惡念，菩薩就已經算犯戒了。為什麼這麼嚴？無性在他的釋論裡點明：這個『心犯』，指的是「唯內起欲、恚、害等諸惡尋思」——單單在心裡動了貪、瞋、害這類惡念頭，哪怕還沒落到身、口上，菩薩就成犯了。世親也同樣說：「菩薩心亦有犯，非諸聲聞」，因為這是聲聞戒裡所沒有的。道理在於：菩薩的目標是利益一切眾生，一念自私的惡心，就已經背離了那個方向。
所以這第二勝，無著用一句話總攝：凡是『能利益眾生、又沒有過失』的身、語、意三業，菩薩都應該去做、都應該學。共在性罪，不共在遮罪與心戒——這就是第二種殊勝。
不過這裡世親還細揀了一處，免得讀者把「能利益眾生」想偏：並不是只要打著利生的名義就一律無罪。他舉例說——「或雖饒益而非無罪，如以女等非法之物授與他人」：有些事看起來像在饒益對方，其實是把不如法的東西塞給人，這種就仍是有罪的，戒裡為了遮這種事，才特別說明哪些才算『無罪』。可見「饒益有情無罪」這六個字，是連著『無罪』一起看的，不是一句空泛的開脫。
三、第三勝：廣大——四個方向，都大到無邊
第三勝，講菩薩戒的『廣大』。無著從四個方向說它大：
- 學處廣大——菩薩要學的戒條種類，無量無邊，不是區區幾百條可以框住的。
- 福德廣大——持這套戒所生出來的福德，無量無邊。
- 意樂廣大——存的那份心，是要利益、安樂一切眾生，不為一己。
- 菩提廣大——終極要奔的目標，是無上正等菩提，也就是成佛。
所學的戒、所積的福、所存的心、所向的果——四面都大到沒有邊際，所以叫「廣大殊勝」。聲聞戒守的是一身一世的清淨，菩薩戒撐開的卻是盡眾生界、盡未來際的格局。這是第三種殊勝。
四、第四勝：甚深——最深的一面，也是最須謹慎的一面
到了第四勝，就觸著了菩薩戒最深、也最容易被誤解的一面，這也是歷來戒律學上著名的難題：菩薩戒的『開』。
無著的原話是這樣：諸菩薩若具「方便善巧」，便能「行殺生等十種作業，而無有罪，生無量福，速證無上正等菩提」。也就是說——菩薩在具足方便善巧的情況下，即使去做『殺生』等本來是十種惡業的事，不但沒有罪，反而能生出無量的福，迅速證得無上的佛果。
這句話份量極重，要點全繫在「方便善巧」這四個字上。它不是一句空話，無性在釋論裡把這個條件講得很實——他說「由是品類方便善巧者」，指的是菩薩「悲願相應後得妙智」：是以大悲與本願相應、又有後得智的判斷力為依的。再往下，他把那「十種作業」科開來講：所謂『後三』，是指把貪、瞋、邪見三者翻轉過來的正心——「愛樂善法、憎惡不善、見諸邪性」；『前七』則是身、語上的七種作業。他說，正是『依止此〔正心〕故，行殺等前七而無有罪，生無量福，速證菩提』。無性甚至把那一念心的起處也辨明了：菩薩這類惡業若起，是「不能招苦故無有罪，能助道故生無量福」。
無著接著還舉了兩種情形，把這『甚深』說得更具體：
其一，菩薩可能「現行變化身語兩業」——以神通變化所現的身、語之業，這也屬於甚深的尸羅（戒）。由此因緣，菩薩或作國王，示行種種惱害有情之事，而把有情安立在毘柰耶（戒律法度）之中。
其二，菩薩又「現種種諸本生事」——在過去生的種種事蹟裡，示行逼惱其餘的有情，而其實是真實地攝受他們：先讓對方的心對法深生淨信，然後再慢慢把他度向成熟。
這『看似惱害、實為攝化』，連同神通變化所現的身語之業，都屬於甚深的戒。無著末了一句收住：「是名菩薩所學尸羅甚深殊勝。」
這裡要說明白：以上這個『開』，它的『無罪』條件，是無著立、無性申的——繫於悲願後得妙智、繫於那翻轉貪瞋邪見的『後三』正心所依、繫於『不招苦、能助道』。這些是古德所立的條件；論文沒有另給後人重新裁量的通則。無著已經把「方便善巧」這個條件立在那裡。也正因為這個開例如此深細，讀到此處尤其須謹慎。
結語
回頭看這一分，無著用短短一張提要，把『菩薩戒為什麼殊勝』說得乾淨利落——差別（三品：止惡、行善、利生）、共不共（性罪共、相似遮罪開；且菩薩連起心動念都在戒中）、廣大（學處、福德、意樂、菩提四面皆大）、甚深（具方便善巧時，似惱而實攝、開作十業而無罪）。這四種殊勝合起來，無著的斷語是：菩薩的「尸羅律儀」，遠勝於聲聞。
至於更細的戒條，無著一再把人支回兩處——廣在《菩薩地》戒品，又如《毘柰耶瞿沙方廣契經》中所說。他這一分，只任綱領。
從第八分起，無著要接著講三增上學的第二學——增上心，也就是『定』。戒守住了身、語、心的方向，接下來，是把這顆心收攝、安定下來：那些「首楞伽摩」『虛空藏』一類甚深的三摩地，正是下一分要展開的境地。
承衍
本分把六度中的戒別立為增上戒；分八、分九接著別立增上心與增上慧，三學由此成組。《瑜伽師地論·菩薩地》廣說三聚淨戒，可供回讀其細目；攝論此處仍守四殊勝之綱。
Scriptural and Commentarial Ground
The root treatise expressly refers the bodhisattva discipline to the Bodhisattva Stage and gathers it here under four excellences. The two ancient commentaries clarify the shared and unshared rules and, above all, the conditions governing the profound exceptions; this exposition does not turn a bounded exception into general permission.
By the time we reach Chapter 7, the map of the bodhisattva path has in fact already been drawn. The preceding Chapter 6 expounded the "ten grounds," laying out stage by stage the whole ladder one climbs from the first arising of the mind up to buddhahood. In the three chapters that follow, Asanga turns back to expound the practice that runs through this entire road — the three higher trainings: the higher training in discipline, the higher training in mind (concentration), and the higher training in wisdom. The word "higher" (增上) means "a level higher, more excellent": though they go by the same names — discipline, concentration, wisdom — the bodhisattva's set of all three stands a notch above the sravaka's. This chapter takes up the first training: discipline.
And so, underneath this chapter, the question it really has to answer surfaces plainly: the bodhisattva keeps discipline, and the sravaka keeps discipline too — so where exactly do these two kinds of discipline differ? Why is it that some things a sravaka may absolutely never transgress, the bodhisattva is on the contrary permitted to do?
Asanga's answer is crisp and clean: the bodhisattva's discipline is more excellent than the sravaka's, and it is more excellent in four respects — differentiation, the shared-and-unshared, vastness, and profundity. In what follows we will take these four excellences and open each one up, side by side.
First, though, one thing should be kept in mind, which explains why this chapter is so unusually short. Right at the start, Asanga openly sends the reader off to another treatise for the particulars: "as stated in the Bodhisattva Grounds, in the section on formally receiving the bodhisattva discipline" — that is, the chapter of the Yogacarabhumi that deals specifically with the bodhisattva discipline, where the detailed list of precepts all resides. He gives only the headings in this chapter. So this chapter reads like a synopsis, not a precept-manual; what it sets out to convey is not "which articles one should keep" but "on what grounds the bodhisattva's discipline stands higher than the sravaka's."
I. The First Excellence: Differentiation — the bodhisattva's discipline falls into three grades
The sravaka's discipline is principally the "discipline of individual liberation" (pratimoksa) — reining in one's own body and speech so they commit no evil, guarding this one body well, seeking personal liberation. The bodhisattva discipline is different: it falls into three grades of discipline, and the scope all at once opens out:
- The discipline of restraint — guarding body and speech against doing evil. At this level the bodhisattva and the sravaka are the same; what it speaks of is stopping evil.
- The discipline of gathering the good — actively cultivating and accumulating all the buddha-dharma. Asanga says this grade "is established in the sense of cultivating and accumulating all the buddha-dharma"; what it speaks of is doing good.
- The discipline of benefiting beings — actively maturing all sentient beings. Asanga says this grade "is established in the sense of maturing all sentient beings"; what it speaks of is benefiting beings.
One stopping, one doing, one benefiting others. Notice the turn here — the bodhisattva's discipline does not count as fulfilled merely by "not doing bad things"; it further requires that you "must do good, must benefit beings." For the bodhisattva, to fail to benefit beings where benefit is called for is itself a kind of shortfall, a kind of transgression. Keeping oneself merely clean is, within the bodhisattva discipline, not enough. This is the first excellence: in scope alone, it already divides high from low against the sravaka.
II. The Second Excellence: Shared-and-Unshared — where it is the same as the sravaka's, and where it is not
The second excellence is argued in the finest detail, and it has to distinguish where the bodhisattva discipline is "shared" with the sravaka's and where it is "unshared." To follow this passage one must first sort "offences" into two classes:
- Natural offences — acts that are evil by their very nature, such as killing and stealing. These need not wait for the Buddha to lay down a precept; the moment they are done they are offences, because they are intrinsically bad.
- Prohibitory offences — acts not in themselves evil, which the Buddha set down as an extra measure to protect practitioners, such as certain fine points of deportment. Keeping them is a way of not slipping into trouble, but breaking one is not a case of the act itself being in any way evil.
With these two classes distinguished, Asanga's ruling is clear: as for natural offences, the bodhisattva never commits any — and on this point he is exactly the same as the sravaka, which is called "shared"; but as for those "quasi-prohibitory offences," the bodhisattva, on the precondition of "being able to benefit beings," should at times on the contrary do them — and on this point the sravaka holds rigidly fast while the bodhisattva has a permission, which is called "unshared." Hence an interesting crossover arises: for one and the same training-point, there are cases where "the sravaka counts as transgressing while the bodhisattva does not," and cases where "the bodhisattva counts as transgressing while the sravaka does not."
There is a further, more important distinction. The sravaka's discipline governs only the two karmas of "body and speech" — only when something is actually done or actually spoken does it count as a transgression. The bodhisattva's discipline, however, governs the three karmas of "body, speech, and mind" — the mere arising of one evil thought in the mind already counts, for the bodhisattva, as a transgression of discipline. Why so strict? Asvabhava, in his commentary, makes it explicit: this "mental transgression" refers to "merely the inward arising of evil deliberations such as craving, hatred, and harm" — the mere stirring in the mind of evil thoughts of this kind, greed, anger, harmfulness, even before they descend to body and speech, makes the bodhisattva a transgressor. Vasubandhu says the same: "the bodhisattva can transgress in mind as well, which the sravaka cannot," because this is something the sravaka discipline does not contain. The principle is this: the bodhisattva's aim is to benefit all sentient beings, and a single selfish evil thought has already turned away from that direction.
So this second excellence Asanga sums up in a single sentence: whatever karma of body, speech, or mind "is able to benefit beings and is also without fault," the bodhisattva should do it all, should train in it all. Shared in the natural offences; unshared in the prohibitory offences and the discipline of mind — this is the second excellence.
But here Vasubandhu adds one fine discrimination, so the reader will not get "able to benefit beings" wrong: it is not that anything done under the banner of benefiting beings is for that reason without fault. He gives an example — "or though it benefits, it is not without fault, as in handing over women and the like, or unlawful things, to another person": some acts look as if they are benefiting the other party, but in fact they thrust something improper upon a person, and such acts are still faulty; it is precisely to fence off such cases that the discipline specially spells out what does count as "without fault." So the six words "benefiting beings without fault" are to be read together with the "without fault" — not as some vague exoneration.
III. The Third Excellence: Vastness — four directions, all boundlessly vast
The third excellence speaks of the "vastness" of the bodhisattva discipline. Asanga calls it vast from four directions:
- Vastness of training-points — the kinds of precepts the bodhisattva must train in are measureless and boundless, not to be hemmed in by some mere few hundred articles.
- Vastness of merit — the merit produced by keeping this discipline is measureless and boundless.
- Vastness of intention — the heart that is held is to benefit and bring ease to all beings, not for a single self.
- Vastness of awakening — the ultimate goal it runs toward is unsurpassed perfect awakening, that is, buddhahood.
The discipline trained in, the merit accumulated, the heart held, the fruit aimed at — all four sides are vast beyond any limit — and so it is called the "excellence of vastness." The sravaka discipline guards the purity of one body and one lifetime; the bodhisattva discipline stretches open a scope spanning the whole realm of beings and the whole of future time. This is the third excellence.
IV. The Fourth Excellence: Profundity — the deepest side, and the side that most demands caution
With the fourth excellence we touch the deepest side of the bodhisattva discipline, and also the side most easily misunderstood; this is, moreover, the famous hard problem in the study of discipline down the ages: the bodhisattva discipline's "permission."
Asanga's own words run thus: bodhisattvas who possess "skill in means" can "perform the ten kinds of karma such as killing, yet be without offence, give rise to measureless merit, and swiftly realize unsurpassed perfect awakening." That is to say — a bodhisattva, in the condition of being furnished with skill in means, even in doing such things as "killing," which are by nature ten evil karmas, not only incurs no offence but on the contrary gives rise to measureless merit and swiftly realizes the unsurpassed buddha-fruit.
This sentence carries enormous weight, and the whole crux hinges on those words "skill in means." It is no empty phrase. Asvabhava, in his commentary, spells this condition out very concretely — he says "by being of this category, skilled in means" refers to the bodhisattva's "subsequently-attained marvelous wisdom in accord with compassion and vow": it rests upon great compassion and the original vow being in accord, together with the discriminating power of the subsequently-attained wisdom. Going further, he breaks open those "ten kinds of karma" and explains them: the so-called "latter three" refer to the upright mind that has reversed the three of craving, hatred, and wrong view — "delighting in the good dharma, abhorring the unwholesome, seeing into all wrong natures"; the "former seven" are the seven karmas of body and speech. He says it is precisely "in reliance on this [upright mind] that one performs the former seven, killing and the rest, without offence, gives rise to measureless merit, and swiftly realizes awakening." Asvabhava even clarifies where that one thought of mind arises: when such evil karma of the bodhisattva arises, it is "without offence because it cannot summon suffering, and gives rise to measureless merit because it can aid the path."
Asanga then gives two further cases, making this "profundity" more concrete still:
First, a bodhisattva may "display the two karmas of body and speech by transformation" — the karmas of body and speech manifested through the transformation body (i.e. by supernatural transformation); this too belongs to the profound sila (discipline). By this cause and condition, a bodhisattva may become a king and display the doing of all manner of things that vex and harm beings, and thereby establish those beings within the vinaya (the law and measure of discipline).
Second, a bodhisattva further "displays all manner of birth-stories (jataka)" — in the various deeds of past lives, displaying the vexing and oppressing of the remaining beings, while in truth gathering them in: first causing the other's mind to give rise to deep pure faith in the dharma, then gradually leading him toward maturity.
This "seeming to vex and harm, yet in fact gathering and converting," together with the karmas of body and speech manifested by supernatural transformation, all belong to the profound discipline. Asanga closes with a final line: "this is called the profound excellence of the sila in which the bodhisattva trains."
Here it should be stated plainly: as for this "permission" above, its "without offence" condition is one that Asanga set down and Asvabhava elaborated — resting upon the subsequently-attained marvelous wisdom in accord with compassion and vow, resting upon the basis of that upright mind of the "latter three" that has reversed craving, hatred, and wrong view, resting upon "not summoning suffering, able to aid the path." These are the conditions stated by the classical masters; the text does not supply a new rule for re-weighing them. Asanga has himself already set "skill in means" in place there. Precisely because this exception is so deep and fine, it remains the point in bodhisattva discipline that most demands caution.
Conclusion
Looking back over this chapter, Asanga, in the space of a single short synopsis, states crisply and cleanly "why the bodhisattva discipline is excellent" — differentiation (three grades: stopping evil, doing good, benefiting beings), the shared-and-unshared (natural offences shared, quasi-prohibitory offences permitted; and the bodhisattva is held to discipline even in the stirring of a thought), vastness (training-points, merit, intention, awakening, all four sides vast), and profundity (when furnished with skill in means, seeming to vex yet in fact gathering in, performing the ten karmas under permission yet without offence). Taking these four excellences together, Asanga's verdict is: the bodhisattva's "discipline of sila and restraint" far surpasses the sravaka's.
As for the finer precepts, Asanga again and again sends one back to two places — at length to the discipline section of the Bodhisattva Grounds, and also "as stated in the Vinaya-ghosa Vaipulya Sutra." This chapter of his carries only the headings.
From Chapter 8 onward, Asanga will go on to expound the second of the three higher trainings — the higher training in mind, that is, "concentration." With body, speech, and mind held to their direction by discipline, the next step is to gather and settle this very mind: those profound samadhis such as "Surangama" and "Akasagarbha" are precisely the terrain the next chapter opens up.
Later Reception
This division sets discipline apart from the six perfections as the higher training in discipline; divisions eight and nine complete the set with higher mind and higher wisdom. The Bodhisattva Stage provides the fuller detail of the three collections of pure discipline, while this division retains its fourfold outline.
考據Apparatus
科判定位
此分在說什麼 — 第六殊勝『增上戒』，即菩薩律儀（bodhisattva-saṃvara / adhiśīla），三增上學之首。本分明引《菩薩地》律儀，自身不展開三品戒細目，僅標其四殊勝：（a）差別殊勝（三品戒：律儀/攝善法/饒益有情）；（b）共不共學處殊勝（性罪與聲聞共、相似遮罪不共；菩薩有身語心三戒，聲聞唯身語二）；（c）廣大殊勝（四廣大）；（d）甚深殊勝（方便善巧行殺生等十作業而無罪、生無量福）。
與全論的關聯 — 分七–九為三增上學（戒/心/慧），即分六十地修行之戒定慧三面；戒=六度之尸羅度別立。分七立其『增上』（大乘戒勝於聲聞戒）之四義。
異譯·平行對勘
『增上戒』三系：玄奘 增上戒 / 真諦 依戒學 / 佛陀扇多 增上戒（表在分一考據 〈異譯·平行對勘〉甲；玄奘、佛陀扇多同作『增上戒』，真諦作『依戒學』）。三品戒名三系逐字對勘：
| 品 | 玄奘 T1594 | 真諦 T1593〔戒學勝相品·0126c24〕 | 佛陀扇多 T1592〔0107b24〕 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 律儀 | 律儀戒 | 攝正護戒 | 受戒（分五作 止戒·0106c03） |
| 攝善 | 攝善法戒 | 攝善法戒 | 攝善法戒 |
| 饒益 | 饒益有情戒 | 攝眾生利益戒 | 作眾生益戒 |
中品三系全同「攝善法戒」；初品 玄奘『律儀』·真諦『攝正護』·佛陀扇多『受／止』，末品 玄奘「饒益有情」·真諦「攝眾生利益」·佛陀扇多「作眾生益」。底本從玄奘。
經論宗依
| # | 引文 | 攝論標稱出處 | T1594 出處 | 現存漢譯／古釋關係 | 出處性質 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 如菩薩地正受菩薩律儀中說 | 《菩薩地》（瑜伽菩薩地） | 0146b07 | 真交叉引用：《瑜伽師地論·菩薩地》T30n1579 戒品確載 菩薩律儀 / 律儀戒 / 攝善法戒 / 饒益有情戒；攝論明引彼處，三品戒細目讓彼不重出 | 明引現存《瑜伽菩薩地》戒品（實證） |
要點：分七是攝論唯一明引另一論（《菩薩地》）、自身不展開細目之分——體現『綱要』性格（攝論綱、瑜伽目）。無疑難，無嵌偈。
所引古德論 — 分七明引《瑜伽師地論·菩薩地》戒品（T30n1579，第1項，慈氏／無著系）。攝論原典已佚；本版不補無古德傳本可核的梵語。古德釋：世親 T1595–97 · 無性 T1598；菩薩戒細目見《瑜伽菩薩地》戒品 · 《菩薩戒本》。
本論釋要
分七不破他派，而以四殊勝顯大乘戒勝聲聞戒。下列依兩個單元概括本論立義，並列世親 T1597、無性 T1598 二釋。開遮中『無罪』的條件由本論提出、無性申明，範圍不作擴張。
- 共不共之辨（0146b–c） 本論： 性罪與聲聞共（皆不現行）；相似遮罪不共（菩薩有現行）；菩薩身語心三戒／聲聞身語二戒——心亦有犯，非聲聞所有。 古釋： 世親（T1597 0361a14 以下）順釋——「菩薩心亦有犯非諸聲聞者，謂唯內起欲等尋思，菩薩成犯，非聲聞等」，並揀「或雖饒益而非無罪，如以女等非法之物授與他人，為遮此事故說無罪」；無性（T1598 0426b24 以下）順釋近同，別加性罪／遮罪之界定——『殺盜婬等貪等所生名為性罪，斷生草等非貪等生說名遮罪……心亦有犯，謂唯內起欲恚害等諸惡尋思，不為發起身語二業』。是正立處，二釋近並，無性以性罪／遮罪之界定稍詳。
- 甚深殊勝·開遮（0146c） 本論： 「諸菩薩由是品類方便善巧，行殺生等十種作業而無有罪，生無量福，速證無上正等菩提」；現變化身語兩業、現種種本生事，示行逼惱有情而真實攝受。 古釋： 此甚深開遮之段落，世親（T1597 0361b06 以下）順錄論文；無性（T1598 0426c24 以下）則詳申古德自設之「無罪」義據——「由是品類方便善巧者，謂諸菩薩悲願相應後得妙智。行殺生等十種作業而無有罪等者，謂愛樂善法、憎惡不善、見諸邪性說名後三，依止此故行殺等七而無有罪，生無量福速證菩提。或行前七不起後三，大數言十。或已伏除，為試彼力故心暫起，不能招苦故無有罪，能助道故生無量福」。是甚深處，無性顯詳；其所申「開」之條件（悲願後得妙智·後三正心為依·前七身語·不招苦·能助道）即無著立、無性申之古德自設義據，古釋所設條件如上。
總之，戒相分判處二釋大體相近；甚深開遮處，無性詳明『無罪』所依的條件，包括悲願相應後得妙智、後三正心、不招苦與能助道。主要出處為共不共世親 T1597 0361a14／無性 T1598 0426b24，以及開遮世親 T1597 0361b06／無性 T1598 0426c24。
分七以四殊勝立『增上戒』：菩薩戒於聲聞戒上，差別（三品）、共不共（心戒）、廣大、甚深（開遮無罪）四義皆勝；細目讓《菩薩地》，此但顯其『增上』。
諸家異釋
分七『增上戒』：世親釋（bhāṣya）真諦 T1595 · 笈多 T1596 · 玄奘 T1597；無性釋（upanibandhana）玄奘 T1598。分七論本唯舉綱——「如菩薩地正受菩薩律儀中說」（T1594；明引《瑜伽·菩薩地》戒品而自身不展戒目）＋四殊勝（差別／共不共／廣大／甚深）；二釋於四殊勝多順釋（「依增上戒而學」），唯甚深殊勝（開遮）見無性詳出義據。下標一處。
〔一〕甚深殊勝（方便善巧行殺生等十業而無罪）之釋——『無罪』之義據
- 無性釋（T1598 0426c24–28）：釋「由是品類方便善巧」＝菩薩「悲願相應後得妙智」；並科十業——「愛樂善法、憎惡不善、見諸邪性」說名後三（貪／瞋／邪見之翻轉），『依止此〔正心〕故行殺等前七而無有罪』。即『殺生等無罪』之據在大悲＋後得妙智＋後三正心所依。
- 世親釋（T1597）：此段釋較簡（未逐字引，不另補）。
- 〔異點〕無性以「悲願相應後得妙智」與十業科判（後三心／前七身語）說明『無罪』的條件；世親釋較簡。這不是對字面行為的普遍開許，本論把條件繫於悲願、後得妙智與後三正心；可與分八〈隨覺密語〉的轉變祕密互讀。
總之，分七根本論只舉綱要，明引《菩薩地》而不展戒目；二釋都順釋四殊勝，無性另於甚深開遮處詳出義據。戒品細目可與《瑜伽師地論·菩薩地》戒品及《菩薩戒本》互讀；以上異說並列，未另作取捨。
術語
關鍵詞 — 菩薩律儀（saṃvara）· 三品戒（律儀/攝善法/饒益有情戒）· 共不共學處 · 身語心三戒 · 甚深尸羅（十作業無罪）.
術語義界以本分根本論、古釋與三系異譯為限；無古德傳梵可核者從闕，不以後出重構補作原語。
譬喻·修辭
本分以四殊勝立菩薩戒，所錄本論與古釋未另立中心譬喻；戒相與開遮只依原文條件說明。
互讀·承衍
- 瑜伽師地論·菩薩地戒品（T30n1579）：分七明引之處，三品戒廣說（攝論綱、瑜伽目）。
- 分五：六度之尸羅波羅蜜多——分七為其『增上』別立。
- 分八·分九：增上心（定）·增上慧——三增上學之餘二。
校本定位
- 玄奘 T31n1594 · 分七（增上戒學分）0146b05–0146c09（卷下）。
- 真諦 T31n1593 · 依戒學勝相品 佛陀扇多 T31n1592 · 卷下。
- 釋論分七對應段出處：T1597 0360c10 T1598 0426a23 T1595〈依戒學勝相品六〉0232a09 T1596〈增上戒學勝語六〉0304c14。
Structural Location
What this chapter does — the sixth eminent point, "higher ethics," i.e. the bodhisattva discipline (bodhisattva-saṃvara / adhiśīla), first of the three higher trainings. The chapter explicitly cites the Bodhisattva-ground for the discipline and does not itself unfold the three grades of precepts in detail, marking only its four supremacies: (a) supremacy of difference (the three grades: restraint / gathering-good-dharmas / benefiting-beings); (b) supremacy of shared-and-unshared training (natural offenses shared with śrāvakas; analogous prohibitive offenses unshared; the bodhisattva has body-speech-mind precepts, the śrāvaka only body-speech two); (c) supremacy of vastness (four vastnesses); (d) supremacy of depth (the skillful performing of killing etc., the ten acts, without offense and producing immeasurable merit).
Relation to the whole — Fen 7–9 are the three higher trainings (ethics / mind / wisdom), the ethics/concentration/wisdom faces of the ten-ground practice of fen 6; ethics = the separately-established perfection of morality from the six. Fen 7 establishes the four senses of its being "higher" (Mahāyāna ethics surpassing śrāvaka ethics).
Recensions and Parallels
"Higher ethics": Xuanzang and Buddhaśānta both read 增上戒, while Paramārtha reads 依戒學. The three grades of precept are compared across the recensions:
| grade | Xuanzang T1594 | Paramārtha T1593〔戒學勝相品·0126c24〕 | Buddhaśānta T1592〔0107b24〕 |
|---|---|---|---|
| restraint | 律儀戒 | 攝正護戒 | 受戒（fen 5 作 止戒·0106c03） |
| gathering-the-good | 攝善法戒 | 攝善法戒 | 攝善法戒 |
| benefiting-beings | 饒益有情戒 | 攝眾生利益戒 | 作眾生益戒 |
The middle grade is identical across all three, 攝善法戒; the first grade is Xuanzang 律儀 · Paramārtha 攝正護 · Buddhaśānta 受／止, the last grade Xuanzang 饒益有情 · Paramārtha 攝眾生利益 · Buddhaśānta 作眾生益. Base text follows Xuanzang.
Canonical Foundations
| # | Citation | Saṃgraha's stated source | T1594 locus | Source evidence | Source relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | As stated in the Bodhisattva-ground's reception of the bodhisattva discipline | the Bodhisattva-ground (Yogācārabhūmi) | 0146b07 | The Yogācārabhūmi Bodhisattva-ground T30n1579 Ethics chapter contains 菩薩律儀 / 律儀戒 / 攝善法戒 / 饒益有情戒; the Saṃgraha cites it and leaves the three-grade detail there | explicit cross-reference to the extant Bodhisattva-ground Ethics chapter |
Fen 7 is the only chapter where the Saṃgraha explicitly cites another treatise and leaves the detail there, embodying its summary character. It contains no embedded verses.
Ancient treatise cited — fen 7 cites the Yogācārabhūmi Bodhisattva-ground Ethics chapter (T30n1579, Maitreya/Asaṅga lineage). No ancient transmitted Sanskrit of the Saṃgraha survives. Ancient commentaries: Vasubandhu T1595–97 · Asvabhāva T1598; fuller precept treatments appear in the Yogācārabhūmi Ethics chapter and the Bodhisattva-prātimokṣa.
Root-Treatise Exposition
The four supremacies show Mahāyāna ethics surpassing śrāvaka ethics. The two units below preserve the root text's conditions for the precept-exception without extending their scope.
- Shared vs unshared (0146b–c) Root treatise. Natural offenses are shared with śrāvakas, who likewise do not perform them; analogous prohibitive offenses are unshared and may be performed by a bodhisattva. Bodhisattva discipline includes body, speech, and mind, whereas śrāvaka discipline is framed through body and speech; for a bodhisattva the mind itself can offend. Commentaries. Vasubandhu (T1597 0361a14ff.) explains the bodhisattva's mental offense as the inward arising of desire and related thoughts, and restricts the claim that a beneficial act is without offense. Asvabhāva (T1598 0426b24ff.) additionally distinguishes natural offenses born of craving from prohibitive offenses such as cutting living plants, and likewise identifies evil thoughts of desire, hatred, and harm as mental offenses.
- The supremacy of depth · the precept-exception (0146c) Root treatise. The text says that a bodhisattva, "by such skillful means," may perform the ten acts without offense, produce immeasurable merit, and swiftly realize supreme enlightenment; it also speaks of manifested body-speech acts and birth-stories that distress beings while truly gathering them. Commentaries. Vasubandhu (T1597 0361b06ff.) follows the root. Asvabhāva (T1598 0426c24ff.) defines the skillful means as subsequently-attained wondrous cognition joined with compassion-vow. He grounds the former seven bodily and verbal acts in the latter three transformed mental orientations, also gives the alternative of performing the former seven without arousing the latter three, and limits "no offense" to what cannot summon suffering and can aid the path. These stated conditions bound the exception.
Fen 7 establishes "higher ethics" by four supremacies: the bodhisattva discipline surpasses the śrāvaka's in difference (three grades), shared-and-unshared (the mind-precept), vastness, and depth (the blamelessness of skillful transgression); the detail is left to the Bodhisattva-ground, this only shows its "higher."
Ancient Commentarial Readings
Vasubandhu's bhāṣya survives in Paramārtha T1595, Dharmagupta T1596, and Xuanzang T1597; Asvabhāva's upanibandhana survives in Xuanzang T1598. The root cites the Yogācārabhūmi Bodhisattva-ground for the detailed discipline and sets out the four supremacies of difference, shared and unshared rules, vastness, and depth. The commentaries closely follow that outline, while Asvabhāva explains the conditions of the precept-exception more fully.
〔1〕 The supremacy of depth (the skillful performing of killing etc., the ten acts, without offense) — the ground of "no offense"
- Asvabhāva commentary (T1598 0426c24–28): glosses "by such skillful means" = the bodhisattva's "subsequently-attained wondrous cognition, joined with compassion-vow"; and parses the ten acts — "loving the good, hating the unwholesome, seeing the perverse" are called the latter three (the turning-about of greed / hatred / wrong-view); "grounded on these 〔right mind〕, the former seven [bodily/verbal] killing etc. are performed without offense." That is, the ground for "killing etc. without offense" lies in great compassion + subsequently-attained wondrous cognition + the latter-three right mind as its support.
- Vasubandhu commentary (T1597): this passage is glossed more briefly (not cited verbatim, not separately supplied).
- Difference. Asvabhāva grounds "no offense" in subsequently-attained wondrous cognition joined with compassion-vow and distinguishes the latter three mental orientations from the former seven bodily and verbal acts; Vasubandhu is brief. The exception is therefore bounded by conditions stated in the root and commentary, not a general permission.
The Yogācārabhūmi Bodhisattva-ground Ethics chapter and the Bodhisattva-prātimokṣa provide the broader precept context; they are not commentaries on the Saṃgraha.
Terminology
Keywords — bodhisattva discipline (saṃvara) · the three grades of precepts (restraint / gathering-good-dharmas / benefiting-beings) · shared-and-unshared training · the body-speech-mind triad of precepts · the depth of ethics (the ten acts without offense).
Similes and Rhetoric
This chapter establishes bodhisattva discipline through four excellences. The recorded root and commentaries give no central simile; the exceptions are stated only under their textual conditions.
Cross-Reading and Reception
- Yogācārabhūmi Bodhisattva-ground, Ethics chapter (T30n1579): the place fen 7 explicitly cites, the full treatment of the three-grade precepts (the Saṃgraha the outline, the Yogācārabhūmi the detail).
- Fen 5: the perfection of morality among the six — fen 7 is its separately-established "higher" form.
- Fen 8 · Fen 9: higher mind (concentration) · higher wisdom — the other two of the three higher trainings.
Textual Location
- Xuanzang T31n1594 · fen 7 (Higher Training in Discipline) 0146b05–0146c09 (fasc. 3).
- Paramārtha T31n1593 · Chapter on the Ethics Training (fasc. 3).
- Buddhaśānta T31n1592 · fasc. 3.
- Commentary loci: T1597 0360c10 · T1598 0426a23 · T1595 〈Ethics-Training chapter 6〉 0232a09 · T1596 〈Higher-Ethics division 6〉 0304c14.