370 Buddhist Ethics (8) (9) (10) (11) monks, elders, new monks, as well as those who are one’s regular companions in the discipline The actual instruction on the right outlook: to learn the scriptures and become expert in the subjects of the aggregates, the experiential elements, the experiential media, interdependent origination, and in what is proper and improper behavior; to understand what one does not know, to realize what what one has not yet realized, etc The instruction on what a monk should be concerned with after being ordained: to listen to the detailed description of the disciplinary code given in the Personal Liberation Discourse recited at each bimonthly confession and to become proficient in this code by learning it from the preceptor, the teacher, or others The instruction on the training: to have respect for the Buddha’s doctrine and particularly for the training in discipline The instruction on the root of all discipline subsequent to the monk’s ordination: to maintain conscientiousness, the means to attain the state of perfect peace (Gunaprabha’s HFP, ff 110b3-116b1; Pema Karpo’s TV, vol Nga, ff 33b5-34a2; and Tsonapa’s SIRD, ff 57b6-61a7.) 75 The request and a repetition of the appropriate formula 76 Concerning the vow of strict observance of celibacy (tshangs spyod la nye bar gnas pa’i sdom pa), Gunaprabha states that the bestowal of this vow constitutes the intermediate part of the nun’s ordination In the first part, her request to become a nun is forwarded to the abbess with a report on whether she is free from obstacles to her ordination (not having received permission from family or husband, being pregnant, etc.) The second part of the ceremony consists of her request for the vows of strict observance of celibacy, which is forwarded to the abbess along with a report confirming that she will abide by such a vow (determined from further questioning), and the final agreement by the abbess which signals the conferral of the vow In the third part, she is fully ordained by a group of both monks and nuns An extensive explanation of the rules for nuns concludes the ceremony (HFP, ff 122b6-141a2) Pema Karpo mentions that a woman cannot receive this vow if she has any of the following five obstacles: having both the male and female organ or having neither; menstruating continuously or having no menstruation (including women below twelve and above fifty); having no feeling in the vagina, etc.; and having been a nun before (TV, vol Nga, f 35a5) 77 Eleven of the twelve points of discipline are the same eleven instructions for the monks (see note 74), except that there are eight (not four) defeating offenses for a nun, and the instruction to live under a tree is omitted in order to safeguard her vow of celibacy The twelfth point consists in the instruction concerning the eight severe precepts (see note 36) For a detailed discussion of the nun’s vows, see Gunaprabha’s SD, ff 50a3-56b7 78 The causes for losing the vows (sdom pa gtong ba’i rgyu) See the section with this name (below) Notes to Chapter II 371 79 Asanga discusses ten conditions for damaging the vows (sdom pa nyams pa’i rgyu bcu): (1) To have assumed the monastic vows for improper reasons and not in order to seek one’s liberation; (2) Weak observance of the ethical code (lack of shame, remorse, etc.); (3) To have regret for what is not a fault; (4) Carelessness (not remembering what the transgressions to the rules are, not acting in accordance with the doctrine, perpetuating one’s mistakes, etc.) and laziness; (5) To have the wrong aspiration, such as wishing to be born as a god by maintaining the vow of celibacy, to gain profit or honor for oneself, or to cause others to gain them, etc.; (6) Corruption of the monastic style of life by allowing one’s conduct, daily activities, and cultivation of virtue to degenerate; (7) Degeneration of one’s means of livelihood by becoming overdesirous, lacking contentment, craving clothes, food, medicines, dwelling, and bedding, etc.; (8) To fall into either of the two extremes, the extreme of luxury—by being attached to good food, etc.—or the extreme of asceticism—by practicing extreme forms of asceticism, such as sleeping on a bed of thorns or in ashes, burning oneself, staying in water, standing on one leg, etc.; (9) To think that by simply observing morality and discipline one will attain liberation; (10) To allow the ethics one has promised to observe to degenerate by being careless, to have no regard for monastic life, and to be immoral or evil, like a rotten tree (Proclaimers’ Stages [⁄r›vakabhÒmi; Nyan thos kyi sa] [henceforth cited as PS] [Toh 4036], ff 16a3-21b2.) 80 Asanga discusses this point as follows: as soon as an impulse to act with body, speech, and mind arises, a monk must examine the nature of the act, by reflecting on whether the action would be harmful or useful to himself and others If harmful, the monk ponders the unpleasant consequences that would ensue; if useful, the favorable results Having understood that an action would be harmful, he should avoid it; seeing that it would be useful, he should perform it In the same way, he should investigate his past actions, and if he realizes that he has done something improper, should confess it in front of a wise and saintly fellow monk Day and night, the monk should follow a positive course (PS, ff 22b7-23b7) 81 Causes that hinder mind’s clarity (sems rab tu dang ba la gegs byed pa’i rgyu): sleeping, overeating, remaining in the sun, etc 82 See below, the section called “Conditions for Living Comfortably.” 83 Lit the three white foods (zas dkar gsum): milk, curd, and butter; the expression is to be understood in a broader sense as to eat vegetarian food 372 Buddhist Ethics 84 Tsonapa says that one is called venerable (gomin, btsun pa) because although one has assumed layman’s vows, as an indication of a life-long determination to maintain them, one wears the attire of a renunciate (SIRD, f 38b7) 85 Sthavira (gnas brtan pa): one of the four original schools of the Individual Way, which derives its name from sthavira, meaning elder monk 86 This a reference to Atisha’s Commentary on the Lamp for the Path, f 245b2-4 For an explanation of the nature of the refuge, see Instruction on Taking Refuge (Skt Sara˚agamanadeŸan›; sKyabs su ’gro ba bstan pa) (Toh 3953), also by Atisha 87 Votive image (tsa tsa) in the shape of a miniature reliquary or moulded image 88 The full verse is cited in Pema Karpo’s TV, vol Nga, f 7b, as follows: Practicing the teachings even while wearing jewelry, He abides in the pure vow of chastity Renouncing injury to all elemental spirits, Yashas is a brahmin, a virtuous practitioner, and a monk (rGyan gyis brgyan bzhin du ni chos spyad de / Dul zhing yang dag sdom pa tshangs spyod la / ’Byung po kun la chad pa spangs pa ni / De ni bram ze dge sbyong dge slong yin.) These words (from the discipline scriptures) were spoken by the Buddha with reference to one of his disciples, Yashas (YaŸas, Grags pa), when he perceived the truth while wearing lay clothing 89 Tsonapa says that the venerable person who observes a life-long purificatory fast (bsnyen gnas) (mentioned above) is an actual lay practitioner (dge bsnyen) (SIRD, f 38b7) 90 Sönam Drakpa provides the more common list of thirty-six novice rules prohibiting the following: (1-4) the four types of killing, (5) theft, (6) sexual intercourse, (7) untruth, (8) groundless accusation or accusation for a trivial reason, (9) causing a schism in the monastic community, (10) taking sides, (11) causing a layperson to lose faith, (12) consciously telling a lie, (13) accusing a monk of favoritism, (14) censuring the caretaker, (15) accusing a monk of teaching for a little food, (16) accusing a monk of having incurred a partial defeat, (17) disparaging the discipline, (18) covering rice with vegetables to get more rice [or vice versa], (19) drinking alcohol, (20) singing, (21) dancing, (22) playing music, (23) wearing jewelry, (24) wearing cosmetics, (25) using perfumes, (26) wearing necklaces, (27) using luxurious beds, (28) high beds, (29) luxurious seats, (30) high seats, (31) eating after noon, (32) accepting gold, (33) accepting silver, (34) adopting the attire of a layperson, (35) giving up the monastic attire, and (36) despising one’s preceptor (Sun Illuminating the Discipline with Reasons and Scriptures [So thar tshul khrims kyi pad tshal rgyas byed pan chen bsod grags kyis mdzad pa’i ’dul ba’i legs bshad lung rigs kyi nyi ma] [henceforth cited as SID for vol I and SID16 for vol II] [SID, f 150a5-b1]) 91 Concerning “related minor infractions” (phyogs mthun nyes byes), Shakhyaprabha states that during the ordination, a novice promises not to commit murder and so forth, to renounce the lay lifestyle, to adopt the renunciate’s attire, Notes to Chapter II 373 and to accept his preceptor What are infractions related to these (phyogs mthun)? To use an example, a novice has taken the vow not to have sexual intercourse; related precepts would be not to ejaculate, not to use sexual language, etc Even though the novice has not specifically assumed those precepts, they are implied in his discipline, and he should refrain from violating them Thus, they are called “related.” Infractions related to murder would be to fail to eliminate potential causes of aggression, to be violent, to engage in a battle, to strike someone, to cause regret in someone, etc Infractions related to theft would be to appropriate offerings donated to the community, to sit on a seat that is not intended for oneself, to hide another’s possessions for a joke, etc (Commentary on the Three Hundred Stanzas on the Novitiate [MỊlasarv›stiv›diŸr›ma˚erak›rik›v¸ttiprabh›vati; ’Od ldan/ ’Phags pa gzhi thams cad yod par smra ba’i dge tshul gyi tshig le’ur byas pa’i ’grel ba ’od ldan] [Toh 4125] [henceforth cited as CTHSN], ff 75b7-76a5) 92 Ibid 93 The thirteen appear in CTHSN, f 76a7-77b1 94 Vishakadeva, Stanzas on the Discipline/ Garland of Flowers (Vinayak›rik›; ’Dul ba tshig le’ur byas pa/ Me tog phreng rgyud) (Toh 4123), f 45b5-7 95 The seven admissible transgressions for a postulant nun (dge slob ma’i gnang ba’i nyes med bdun) are listed in Pema Karpo’s TV, vol Nga, f 244b2: For the postulant nun, to keep [an extra begging bowl and robes], To be separate [from the monastic robes], to light a fire, Resume eating, damage seeds, [Urinate or] defecate in a place where there is green grass, Or climb trees [do not constitute transgressions] 96 See chapter I, note 27, point 97 The ceremony for accepting a tutor is simple: The candidate kneels before the teacher with his two hands touching his feet and asks the teacher three times: “Venerable One, please heed me I ask you to take me, known as (so and so), as your student.” The teacher replies positively, and after the third recitation, the teacher states, “That is the skillful way!” The student replies, “Yes, indeed!” thus concluding the rite (Pema Karpo’s TV, vol Nga, f 37b1-2) 98 This does not mean that a novice must live in the same quarters or area as the tutor, but rather that he is entrusted to his spiritual care (Gunaprabha’s SD, f 8b2-3) 99 Gunaprabha’s SD, f 3a4 100 The new monk cannot go further than forty-nine fathoms (’dom) from his quarters without asking permission from his teacher (SD, f 3a4) Tsonapa (SIRD, f 62a6-7) states that if the new monk lives within the same boundary as his tutor, he should seek his advice three times a day; if at a distance of an earshot, once a day; if at a distance of five or six earshots, once every five or six days, etc 374 Buddhist Ethics 101 Pema Karpo includes among the various obligations of the student the following: having respect for and serving the teacher, procuring begging bowls and robes for him, helping the sick, dispelling regret caused by having committed a transgression, renouncing opinions contrary to the doctrine, willingly undergoing disciplinary measures when one is at fault, etc The obligations of the tutor include instructing the disciple, turning him away from bad friends who have let their ethics degenerate, inspiring him to practice the wholesome (which means to engage in study and meditation and to rise above moral transgressions), helping him to engage in right livelihood, imposing on him disciplinary measures only when necessary, and being patient with worthy disciples, etc (TV, vol Nga, ff 40b1-43a6) 102 According to Tsonapa, the defeating offenses (pham pa) deserve serious punishment; the partial defeats (lhag ma) (lit “with remainder”) can be purified by ritual while openly confessing to one’s fellow monks; the downfalls [that require forfeiture or confession alone] (ltung byed) and the offenses that must be individually confessed (so sor bshags par bya ba) can also be purified in the same way as the partial defeats; the minor infractions (nyes byas) are downfalls that not belong to the above four classes (SIRD, f 146a6-b4) 103 K›r˝›pa˚a: a coin or weight of fluctuating value used in ancient India According to the Summary of Discipline, one karshapana was worth twenty masaka (a tiny red and black bean weighing about an eighth of a gram) of gold A quarter karshapana was therefore equal to five masaka, which during a period of no famine was worth five bushels of [dry] barley (Dharmashri’s Commentary on the Three Vows, ff 57b2-58a2) 104 On this point, Tsonapa states: A fetus in its nineteenth week of development onward is called a human being (mi) as it has already formed all the sensory organs A fetus in its eighteenth week or less is called a forming human being (mir chags pa) Both are considered human beings (mir gyur ba) To murder a human being is a defeat (pham pa), since a human is the basis for (i.e., could become the embodiment of) the Three Jewels and the three types of ethics (vows of personal liberation, vows of meditative absorption, and uncontaminated vows) To murder a non-human (a god) amounts to a serious violation (sbom po), since non-humans can be the basis for only two of the three Jewels and only two types of ethics In fact, among the gods, there are many saints who embody the Jewels of the community and of the doctrine and live by the ethics derived from contemplation and uncontaminated wisdom To kill an animal is a downfall [that requires confession alone] (ltung byed), since animals are neither the basis for the Three Jewels nor for the three types of vows (SIRD, ff 195a3-196b3) 105 Vasubandhu’s Treasury of Phenomenology, f 13b4 106 Lit “claiming to have qualities superior to human ones” (mi’i chos bla mar smra ba) 107 Vishakadeva’s Stanzas on the Discipline, f 25b5-6 ... human is the basis for (i.e., could become the embodiment of) the Three Jewels and the three types of ethics (vows of personal liberation, vows of meditative absorption, and uncontaminated vows)... maintain them, one wears the attire of a renunciate (SIRD, f 38b7) 85 Sthavira (gnas brtan pa): one of the four original schools of the Individual Way, which derives its name from sthavira, meaning... animals are neither the basis for the Three Jewels nor for the three types of vows (SIRD, ff 195a3-196b3) 1 05 Vasubandhu’s Treasury of Phenomenology, f 13b4 106 Lit “claiming to have qualities