English
Therein, the supramundane path, when cultivated, engages in three kinds of action: for restraint from misconduct committed by body should be understood as bodily; restraint from misconduct committed by speech should be understood as verbal. Thus, right action is bodily action, right speech is verbal action. When these two are taken, right livelihood is also taken, being on the same side. But restraint from misconduct committed by mind should be understood as mental. It is fivefold in terms of view, thought, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. This fivefold is called mental action. Thus, the supramundane path, when cultivated, engages in three kinds of action. In this place, there is what is called the connection of the doors. For in the doors of body and speech, there is reaching impulsion without reaching the path of action, and in the mind-door, there is reaching the stage of habitual practice without reaching the path of action; taking that, they made it only on the side of that door. Here is the method: one who prepares a bow, thinking, "I will go hunting," He sharpens the knife, He sets the trap, He eats the meal, He puts on the clothes, Thus, incitement occurs at the body door. Having wandered in the forest all day, He obtains not even a hare or a cat. Is this called unwholesome bodily action, or not? It is not. Why? Because it does not reach the path of action. However, it should be understood as merely bodily misconduct. The same method applies even to suitable efforts such as fishing. Also, at the door of speech, Having ordered, "I will go hunting," "Quickly prepare the bows and other things," And obtaining nothing in the forest in the manner described above, Although incitement occurs at the door of speech, Bodily action does not occur because it does not reach the path of action. However, it should be understood as merely verbal misconduct. But at the door of mind, Merely with the arising of the intention to kill, There is a breach of the path of action. And that is in terms of ill-will, Not in terms of taking life. For unwholesome bodily action arises at the doors of body and speech, Not at the door of mind; Likewise, unwholesome verbal action. But unwholesome mental action arises at all three doors; Likewise, wholesome bodily, verbal, and mental actions. How? For one who kills a living being with his own hand, Or takes what is not given, Or engages in sexual misconduct, The action is bodily action alone. And the door is the body door alone. Thus, unwholesome bodily action arises at the body door. But the covetousness, ill-will, and wrong view That arise together with those thoughts Are either on the side of intention, Or are non-transactional. But for one who orders, "Go, deprive so-and-so of life, Steal such-and-such a thing," The action is bodily action, But the door is the door of speech. Thus, unwholesome bodily action arises at the door of speech. But the covetousness, ill-will, and wrong view That arise together with those thoughts Are either on the side of intention, Or are non-transactional. This much is called the teachers' explanation of similar meaning. But the sophist says, "Unwholesome bodily action also arises at the door of mind." He cites a sutta "established in the three aggregates..." He was asked to recite it, and he recited this Kulumba Sutta: "Furthermore, monks, here some ascetic or brahmin, possessed of psychic power, master of mind, is unkind, with evil intent, towards a fetus in the womb of another, thinking, 'Oh, may this fetus in the womb not safely emerge!' Thus, monks, there is injury to the fetus." Having recited this sutta, he said: "Merely by thinking thus, the fetus in the womb dissolves like a lump of foam. Here, where is bodily action or verbal action? This unwholesome bodily action arises only in the mind-door." Then, saying to him, "We will weigh the meaning of your sutta," they weighed it thus: "You speak of harming others by psychic power. What is psychic power? There are these: the psychic power of resolve, the psychic power of transformation, the mind-made psychic power, the psychic power of the spread of knowledge, the psychic power of the spread of concentration, the noble psychic power, the psychic power resulting from karma, the psychic power of the meritorious, the psychic power of knowledge. Psychic power is tenfold, in that it succeeds by means of appropriate application in each case. Which psychic power do you speak of?" "That born of development." "Does action harming others occur by psychic power born of development?" "Yes, some teachers say it occurs once. Just as when one throws a pot filled with water intending to strike another, both the pot is broken and the water is lost, so too, by psychic power born of development, action harming others occurs once. But thereafter it ceases." Then, saying to him, "Action harming others does not occur even once or twice by psychic power born of development," they asked him, approaching that concept: "Is psychic power born of development wholesome, unwholesome, or indeterminate? Is it associated with pleasant feeling, associated with painful feeling, or associated with neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling? Is it with applied and sustained thought, with sustained thought alone, or without applied and sustained thought? Is it of the sense-sphere, of the form-sphere, or of the formless-sphere?" Now, whoever knows this question... Then he will say thus: ‘The Iddhi born of cultivation is either wholesome or indeterminate; It is only of the nature of neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, Only without initial and sustained thought, Only belonging to the realm of form.’ He should be asked: ‘Which category among the wholesome, etc., does the volition of killing living beings belong to?’ Knowing, he will say: ‘The volition of killing living beings is only unwholesome, Only of the nature of painful feeling, Only with initial and sustained thought, Only belonging to the sense-sphere.’ ‘Thus being the case, your question agrees Neither with the triad of wholesome, etc., Nor with the triad of feeling, Nor with the triad of thought, Nor with the realm.’ ‘Is such a great Sutta then meaningless?’ ‘No, it is not meaningless; But you do not know its meaning. For here, in “Possessed of psychic power, master of mind,” The Iddhi born of cultivation is not intended, But the Athabbaṇa-iddhi is intended. For that is obtainable here. But that cannot be done after abandoning the doors of body and speech. For beings with Athabbaṇa-iddhi, Having eaten saltless food for a week, Having spread out grass and lying on the earth, Having practiced austerity, On the seventh day, having decorated the charnel ground, Standing on the seventh step, Having turned and turned the hand, They recite the spell with their mouth. Then their action succeeds. Thus, this Iddhi too cannot be done after abandoning the doors of body and speech.’ ‘One should arrive at this conclusion: “Bodily action does not arise at the mind-door.”’ However, for one speaking falsehood, etc., with a hand gesture, The action is speech-action, But the door is the body-door. Thus, unwholesome speech-action also arises at the body-door. But the covetousness, ill-will, wrong-desire, and wrong-view That arise together with those thoughts Are either on the side of volition Or are non-conventional. However, for one speaking falsehood, etc., after making a speech-break, The action is speech-action, And the door is also the speech-door itself. Thus, unwholesome speech-action arises at the speech-door. But the covetousness, ill-will, wrong-desire, and wrong-view That arise together with those thoughts Are either on the side of volition Or are non-conventional. This much is called the teachers’ discourse of similar meaning. Refutation. Firstly, he said, "Unwholesome verbal action arises even in the mind-door." Then, when told, "Bring a sutta that supports these three categories," he brought this sutta from the Uposathakkhandhaka: "If a bhikkhu, while being reminded up to three times, Being mindful, does not reveal an existing offense, It is an intentional lie." Having brought this sutta, he said, "Thus, not revealing an offense, he incurs another offense while remaining silent. Where is the bodily instigation or verbal instigation here? But this unwholesome verbal action arises only in the mind-door." He should be asked, "Is this sutta of interpretable meaning or definitive meaning?" "It is of definitive meaning to me," he will say. He should say, "Do not say so, I will weigh its meaning," and then ask him thus: "What results from an intentional lie?" Knowing, he will say, "A wrong-doing results from an intentional lie." Then he should be told, "The Vinaya has two roots: body and speech. For all offenses have been prescribed by the Perfectly Enlightened One in these two doors only. There is no prescribing of offenses in the mind-door. You are exceedingly knowledgeable in the Vinaya, who prescribe an offense in a place not prescribed by the Teacher. You accuse the Perfectly Enlightened One, you strike the wheel of the Conqueror!" Having rebuked him with such words, a further question should be asked: "Does an intentional lie arise from action or from non-action?" Knowing, he will say, "From action." Then he should be told, "What action does he do while not revealing?" Surely, not seeing the action, he will fall into confusion. Then he should be made to understand the meaning of this sutta. This is the meaning here: that which is said, "It is an intentional lie," what results from that offense? The meaning is, "What offense results?" "A wrong-doing results." And that is not by the characteristic of a lie, but it should be understood that by the word of the Blessed One, an offense arises in the speech-door from non-action. And this has been said: "Not speaking out by a person, Let him not speak words that are base; Let him suffer verbal, not bodily, harm.