解脫道論 命清淨戒與根威儀戒

While explaining the “virtue of restraint of the faculties,” the author writes one sentence: “This virtue of restraint of the faculties is fulfilled through nine practices.”

He then begins the list: because, taking evil as the sign, one cuts off all the faculties; because its counteragent is not attended to; because it is never abandoned even for a moment, as though saving one’s burning head; because of deportment as seen in Nantuo; because the evil mind is subdued; because the mind is masterful with respect to the sign of concentration; because one keeps far from people who do not guard the faculties; and because one associates with people who guard the faculties.

Count them one by one.

Eight.

The statement says nine; the list gives eight.

Was one item lost, or did the count originally stand this way? The text itself does not tell us. All eight items have the same sentence form, each ending with “because”; no item shows any sign that two have been merged or that one can be divided again. The variant readings in this passage do not concern the count.

Nor is such a mismatch between a stated count and the actual contents unique in this treatise. In the Chapter on the Analysis of Wisdom, the question asks how many kinds of wisdom there are, and the answer says “two kinds, three kinds, and four kinds,” yet what follows forms eleven groups—a much larger difference. That passage too is recorded as written, without merging or supplying on its behalf.

So this passage is also recorded as written: retain “nine,” and retain the eight that are actually listed.

Not supplying an item is not excessive caution. It is that no item can be supplied. To supply a ninth, one would have to make up a sentence; that sentence would then be mixed among the eight, and later readers could not distinguish which sentence belonged to the author and which to the editor.

Better to leave an inconsistency in plain sight than a patch that cannot be seen.

The inconsistency itself is useful: it reminds you that this list is not a closed system but an actual working list. A list can lack one entry without losing its use; a system missing one link collapses.

Look also at the eight items themselves. The first four concern how to counteract; the fifth and sixth concern the state of mind; the last two concern people—keeping far from those who do not guard the faculties and associating with those who do.

From method, to mind, to people. Three layers.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Purity of Livelihood and Restraint of the Faculties · Doorway · Summer 2026

What Is Purity of Livelihood?

Question: what is called purified virtue? Answer: not engaging in wrong livelihood.

What is wrong livelihood? Laziness, flattery, hinting, hinting through anger and abuse, and giving in hope of receiving.

A direct count gives five items here. Each is explained below in order.

Laziness

What is laziness? Laziness occurs in three places: scheming to obtain what one wants, seeking the four requisites from others, and assuming solemn deportment while proclaiming oneself widely.

If a bhikkhu harbors evil desire and greedily delights in wealth and gain, yields good robes and food and goes in search of coarse and inferior ones, as though he did not want them and as though he pitied others—these four things are called calculated laziness.

If a bhikkhu, moved by evil desire and greedy for gain, falsely displays deportment, says that he enters meditative concentration, and recites scriptures in order to draw offerings—this is called laziness of deportment.

If a bhikkhu, greedy and deceitful, tells people that he has attained the noble Dhamma and dwells in quiet seclusion as though engaged in meditation, says that his teaching is profound and subtle, displays signs of being superior to others, greedily draws gain toward himself, and proclaims himself widely—this is called laziness.

One thing is recorded here exactly as the treatise gives it: the heading says “laziness occurs in three places,” while the closing phrases of the three paragraphs that follow are respectively “calculated laziness,” “laziness of deportment,” and “laziness.” The third paragraph’s closing phrase does not carry either of the earlier modifiers. Nothing is supplied here.

Flattery, Hinting, Hinting through Anger and Abuse, and Giving in Hope of Receiving

A flatterer follows his own designs, falsely commends others and praises them with pleasing words, plays upon their likes and dislikes in order to ingratiate himself and seek gain, and jokes with them to win their pleasure and draw gain toward himself—this is called flattery.

What is hinting? Teaching the Dhamma to people from whom gain may be had, seeking that gain for oneself while the mind cannot extend impartially—this is called hinting.

Hinting through anger and abuse means abusing others to make them afraid, maligning them without cause, or even striking or jostling them to frighten them and seek gain—this is called hinting through anger and abuse.

What is giving in hope of receiving? Delighting in making a small gift and then demanding a substantial return—this is called giving in hope of receiving.

These evils are called wrong livelihood.

Further Forms of Wrong Livelihood

Further forms of wrong livelihood are giving bamboo staffs; giving flowers, leaves, or fruit; giving tooth sticks or baths; divining signs and interpreting dreams; observing the stars; engaging in such work as skillfully interpreting the calls of birds and beasts; calculating good and bad fortune; using malicious words to cause division; burning flowers and serving fire; traveling as a merchant and selling goods; commanding troops; and keeping sharp weapons. Various things such as these are called wrong livelihood.

If one does not engage in them, this is called purified virtue.

One thing is recorded here exactly as it stands: five items were already listed above and closed with “these are called wrong livelihood,” while another list begins here with “further forms of wrong livelihood”; the two lists do not subsume one another. Moreover, the three acts “giving bamboo staffs, giving flowers, leaves, or fruit, and giving tooth sticks or baths” are almost word for word the same as those listed under “improper conduct” in the fifth section above, yet they are attached to different categories. They are recorded here exactly as they stand and are not merged.

Virtue of Restraint of the Faculties

Question: what is the virtue of restraint of the faculties?

Answer: with regard to seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing, and to visible form, sound, odor, taste, touch, and mental objects, one guards against the signs to which defilements attach and undertakes not to transgress—this is called the virtue of restraint of the faculties.

This virtue of restraint of the faculties is fulfilled through nine practices: because the faculties are cut off by taking evil as the sign; because its counteragent is not attended to; because it is never abandoned even for a moment, as though saving one’s burning head; because of deportment as seen in Nantuo; because the evil mind is subdued; because the mind is masterful with respect to the sign of concentration; because people who do not guard the faculties are kept at a distance; and because one joins with people who guard the faculties.

One thing is recorded here exactly as the treatise gives it: the stated number is “nine practices,” while a direct item-by-item count of what follows yields only eight. It is recorded exactly as it stands. No item is supplied and no number is changed.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Purity of Livelihood and Restraint of the Faculties · Vernacular · Summer 2026

Once Again, Defining by Negation

Of the four items in the fifth group, this section continues by explaining the second and third.

First look at how the second begins: “Question: what is called pure virtue? Answer: it means not engaging in wrong livelihood” 〔T32 403a16〕.

The question asks about “pure virtue”; the answer is “not engaging in wrong livelihood.”

Then for more than four hundred characters, everything concerns wrong livelihood—which five kinds there are, what each looks like, and what else also counts as wrong livelihood. As for the two characters translated “purity,” the author does not say a single positive word.

Only at the end does he add: “If one does not transgress, this is called pure virtue” 〔T32 403b08〕.

This is already the third time in this chapter.

The fifth section describes misconduct in detail and says positively only “the opposite of misconduct.” The sixth asks about proper resort but explains only improper resort, saying positively that “proper resort can be known.” This section asks about pure virtue but explains only wrong livelihood, saying positively, “one who does not transgress is called pure.”

Three times, the same method. When the author defines something good, he habitually writes out the bad side in full and then says, “It is simply not these.”

Why? Because “purity” cannot be written out as concrete content—you cannot list seventeen forms that purity takes. But wrong livelihood can be listed: feigning deportment and saying one has entered meditative concentration, divining signs and interpreting dreams, observing the stars, calculating good and bad fortune, burning flowers in service of fire, trading and selling, and keeping sharpened weapons 〔T32 403b04〕 and what follows. Only what can be listed is listed; what cannot is enclosed from the negative side.

Wrong Livelihood Is Listed Twice, and the Two Lists Do Not Encompass Each Other

The first list has five items: indolence, flattery and crookedness, hinting, hinting through angry abuse, and giving in hope of receiving 〔T32 403a16–17〕. Each of the five is explained in turn, and the passage closes with “this is called wrong livelihood.”

By ordinary expectation, that closure should be the end. But the author immediately writes, “There is further wrong livelihood: perhaps giving staffs and bamboo” 〔T32 403b04〕, and begins another long list.

The two lists do not encompass each other. The first five concern means of obtaining offerings—pretence, flattery, hinting, intimidation, and making a small gift to seek a large return. The second list concerns occupations used to make a living—divining signs, observing stars, calculating fortune and misfortune, burning flowers in service of fire, trading, and leading troops.

In the first, a monastic solicits people by improper means; in the second, a monastic takes up the occupations of householders.

Only when both nets are cast is the term “wrong livelihood” fully enclosed. This is the same thing seen in the fifth section, where “misconduct” is stated three times and the three accounts do not encompass each other.

One further point: the first three acts in the second list—giving staffs and bamboo, giving flowers, leaves, and fruit, and providing tooth sticks and bathing 〔T32 403b04〕—are almost word for word identical to the first three acts in the fifth section’s list of “misconduct” 〔T32 402c01〕.

The same three acts are called misconduct there and wrong livelihood here. The author does not explain this or connect the two places. The categories in this treatise therefore overlap from the beginning; do not assume that every item occupies its own inviolable territory.

Five Items, Each with Its Own Point of Entry

Look closely again at the five items of wrong livelihood, and it becomes clear that they are not five degrees of a single fault but five different points of entry.

Indolence 〔T32 403a17–19〕 is divided into three settings: planning to get what one desires, seeking the four requisites from others, and feigning solemn deportment while proclaiming oneself everywhere. Each setting receives its own passage of explanation. The first is “indolence of calculation”—harbouring evil desire and craving gain, yet passing over fine robes and food to seek coarse and inferior ones, putting on the appearance of not wanting them and of acting out of compassion for others 〔T32 403a21〕. The second is “indolence of deportment”—feigning deportment and saying that one has entered meditative concentration in order to draw offerings 〔T32 403a23〕. The third is still more direct—telling people that one has attained the noble Dhamma and dwells in quiet seclusion, displaying signs of being beyond ordinary people and widely proclaiming oneself 〔T32 403a25–26〕.

The three settings move from shallow to deep: first putting on an act, then claiming concentration, and finally claiming attainment of the noble Dhamma. What all three share is the word “gain.”

Flattery and crookedness 〔T32 403a26〕 operates through speech: falsely exalting others, praising them with pleasant words, manipulating likes and dislikes, and bantering to please them—saying pleasant things to draw gain toward oneself.

Hinting 〔T32 403a28〕 operates through teaching: teaching only for those from whom gain may come, so that the mind cannot be impartial.

Hinting through angry abuse 〔T32 403a29–403b01〕 reverses the means and uses intimidation: berating another to cause fear, groundlessly disparaging them, or using blows and physical contact to frighten people into providing gain.

Giving in hope of receiving 〔T32 403b02–03〕 operates through giving: one likes to make a slight gift but demands a weighty return.

Of the five items, one operates through conduct, one through speech, one through teaching, one through intimidation, and one through giving. The same greed, with five outlets.

The author does not rank their severity or say which should be guarded against more. He simply blocks all five outlets. If a reader remembers only “do not be greedy,” not one of the five outlets will be blocked, because none looks like greed. Posing as austere does not look like greed; saying pleasant things does not look like greed; choosing whom to teach does not look like greed; making a small gift in search of a large return does not look like greed.

This is precisely the use of listing five items: it makes something difficult to notice in oneself available for item-by-item examination.

Three Closing Formulas, Two with Qualifiers

In the explanation of “indolence,” there is a small unevenness.

The heading is “indolence has three settings” 〔T32 403a18〕: planning to get what one desires, seeking the four requisites from others, and feigning solemn deportment while proclaiming oneself everywhere.

Each of the three explanatory passages then has a closing formula: “this is called indolence of calculation” 〔T32 403a21〕, “this is called indolence of deportment” 〔T32 403a23〕, and “this is called indolence” 〔T32 403a25–26〕.

The first two carry qualifiers—calculation and deportment—while the third is simply the bare word “indolence.”

This kind of thing has appeared several times already in this chapter—a heading names three items but there are four closing statements; the three items of the three purities have only two closing statements; the final good among the three kinds of goodness has no closing statement. Record it as it stands; do not supplement it. What matters is simply knowing, as one reads, that the third passage explains the third of those three settings, not indolence in general.

It Says Nine, but Lists Only Eight

Now we reach the place in this section where one should most of all stop.

The third item, “virtue of restraint of the faculties,” is treated very briefly, in a little more than 120 characters. Its most important sentence is:

“This virtue of guarding the faculties is fulfilled through nine practices” 〔T32 403b10–11〕.

The author then begins to list them: because, taking evil as the sign, one cuts off all the faculties; because, as its countermeasure, one does not attend; because, as though saving one’s burning head, one never abandons it even briefly; because of deportment, as when seeing Nantuo; because the evil mind is subdued; because the mind is master over the sign of concentration; because one keeps far from people who do not guard the faculties; because one associates with people who guard the faculties 〔T32 403b11–403b14〕.

Count them one by one.

Eight.

The heading says nine; the list has eight.

Has one item fallen out, or was the count originally like this?

First make clear what can be established. All eight items have exactly the same sentence form: each ends with the character meaning “because,” and there is no sign that any item has been combined or can be divided again. None of the three variant readings in this passage concerns the count—the only one within this list concerns the character translated “person” in “a person who does not guard the faculties”; the Gong witness reads “long” 〔T32 403b14〕, but changing that one character does not alter the fact that this is one item.

The text itself therefore gives no indication of where the ninth item originally stood.

Now look at the treatise’s own habits. This kind of mismatch between heading and contents is not an isolated case. In Chapter Ten, the Chapter on the Analysis of Wisdom, the question asks how many kinds of wisdom there are, and the answer gives the three numbers “two kinds, three kinds, four kinds,” while what follows actually sets out eleven groups 〔T32 445a03–04〕—a much wider difference than here. That passage has already been handled by the rule “record it as it stands; do not merge on its behalf and do not supply.”

This passage follows the same principle: retain “nine” as written, retain the eight actually listed, and leave both in place.

Not supplying an item is not excessive caution; it is because no item can be supplied. To add a ninth, one would have to make up a sentence, and that sentence would be mixed among the eight so that later readers could not distinguish which was the author’s and which was the editor’s. Better to leave an inconsistency in plain sight than a patch that cannot be seen.

The inconsistency is itself useful: it reminds the reader that this list is not a closed system but an actual list—the author had one number in mind and set down another number in writing. A list can lack one entry without losing its use; a system missing one link collapses.

The eight items themselves are also worth reading. The first four concern how to counteract—taking evil as the sign, not attending, acting as though saving one’s burning head, and deportment as when seeing Nantuo. The fifth and sixth concern states of mind—subduing the evil mind and mastery of the mind with respect to the sign of concentration. The last two concern people—keeping far from people who do not guard the faculties and associating with people who do. From method, to mind, to people: three layers. The final two form a negative-positive pair, which is also why the reading “person” makes better sense than “long.”

Where This Section Stands in the Chapter

Of the four items in the fifth group, three have been explained by this point: the virtue of Pātimokkha restraint in the preceding two sections, the virtue of purity of livelihood, and the virtue of restraint of the faculties.

The fourth item, “virtue cultivated through conditions,” never appears again after being named.

The next section discusses “virtue of practising the four matters” 〔T32 403b15〕—a different name. Are the two the same thing? The treatise does not say.

Record them as they stand; do not pair them on the text’s behalf. At the end of the chapter, the author himself sets four things side by side as one group—the virtue of restraint, the virtue of purity of livelihood, the virtue of restraint of the faculties, and practice of the four matters 〔T32 403c28–404a02〕—using “practice of the four matters,” not “virtue cultivated through conditions.” This is a clue supplied by the text itself, but the author never states the connection outright.

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Shi Huijing · Waken · The Path of Freedom · Purity of Livelihood and Restraint of the Faculties · Exposition · Summer 2026