English
If he is of little learning, And not established in virtue; They blame him in both ways, For his virtue and his learning. If he is of little learning, And well established in virtue; They praise him for his virtue, His learning succeeds for him. If he is of much learning, And not established in virtue; They blame him for his virtue, His learning does not succeed for him. If he is of much learning, And well established in virtue; They praise him in both ways, For his virtue and his learning. A learned one, a Dhamma-holder, Wise, a disciple of the Buddha; Like pure Jambonada gold, Who is fit to blame him? Even devas praise him, Praised is he even by Brahmā. The virtue of trainees, however, is not grasped by views, or the virtue of ordinary people not grasped by craving, should be understood as ungrasped purity, like the virtue of the Elder Tissa, son of a householder. For that venerable one, desiring to be established in Arahantship by relying on such virtue, said to his enemies – "Having broken both feet, I will make you understand; I am disgusted, I am ashamed, Of death with craving." "Thus having thought, And reflected thoroughly; When dawn arrived, I attained Arahantship." Another great elder, severely ill, unable to eat food with his own hands, lay wallowing in his own urine and feces, turning over. Seeing him, a certain young monk said, "Oh, how painful are the life-formations!" The great elder then said to him, "Friend, dying now, I will attain heavenly bliss; there is no doubt for me in this. But to gain prosperity by breaking this virtue is like having renounced the training and regained the state of a householder." Having said, "I will die with my virtue," he lay down right there, contemplating that very illness, attained Arahantship, and declared to the community of monks with these verses – "Struck by a certain illness, Severely afflicted and suffering from disease; This body quickly withers, Like a flower placed in dust in the sun. The ignoble, considered noble, The impure, considered pure; Full of various corpses, Not seeing its true form. Shame on me, a sick, putrid body, Foul-smelling, impure, subject to illness; Where heedless people, infatuated, Miss the path to a good destiny. But the virtue of Arahants and others, Because of its purity through the calming of all distress, Should be understood as the purity of calming. Thus, beginning with the purity of limits, it is fivefold. The Second Fivefold Virtue In the second fivefold, The meaning should be understood in terms of the abandonment of killing living beings and so on. This has been said in the Paṭisambhidāmagga – The five virtues: Abandonment of killing is virtue, Abstinence is virtue, Intention is virtue, Restraint is virtue, Non-transgression is virtue. Of taking what is not given, Of sexual misconduct, Of false speech, Of divisive speech, Of harsh speech, Of idle chatter, Of covetousness, Of ill-will, Of wrong view. By renunciation, sensual desire; By non-ill-will, ill-will; By the perception of light, sloth and torpor; By non-distraction, restlessness; By the discernment of phenomena, doubt; By knowledge, ignorance; By joy, discontent; By the first jhana, the hindrances; By the second jhana, applied thought and sustained thought; By the third jhana, rapture; By the fourth jhana, pleasure and pain; By the attainment of the dimension of infinite space, The perception of form, The perception of resistance, The perception of diversity; By the attainment of the dimension of infinite consciousness, The perception of the dimension of infinite space; By the attainment of the dimension of nothingness, The perception of the dimension of infinite consciousness; By the attainment of the dimension of neither perception nor non-perception, The perception of the dimension of nothingness; By the contemplation of impermanence, the perception of permanence; By the contemplation of suffering, the perception of pleasure; By the contemplation of non-self, the perception of self; By the contemplation of disenchantment, delight; By the contemplation of dispassion, lust; By the contemplation of cessation, origination; By the contemplation of relinquishment, clinging; By the contemplation of destruction, the perception of solidity. by observing decay, of striving; by observing change, of the perception of permanence; by observing the signless, of the sign; by observing the desireless, of desire; by observing emptiness, of attachment; by insight into higher wisdom of phenomena, of attachment to grasping the essence; by knowledge and vision of things as they are, of attachment to delusion; by observing danger, of attachment to clinging; by observing reflection, of non-reflection; by observing turning away, of attachment to fetters; by the path of stream-entry, of defilements rooted in wrong view; by the path of once-returning, of gross defilements; by the path of non-returning, of subtle defilements; by the path of arahantship, of the abandonment of all defilements. Morality, abstinence, intention, restraint, non-transgression is morality. Such moralities lead to non-regret of mind, they lead to joy, they lead to delight, they lead to tranquility, they lead to happiness, they lead to cultivation, they lead to development, they lead to making much of, they lead to adornment, they lead to requisites, they lead to retinue, they lead to fulfillment, they lead to utter disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, peace, direct knowledge, full enlightenment, Nibbana. (Paṭisambhidāmagga 1.41) Here, abandonment is not some phenomenon, but merely the non-arising of the aforementioned acts like taking life and so on. However, because each such abandonment is a firm establishment for its respective wholesome quality, and a commitment by making it unwavering. Therefore, it is called morality (sīla) in the sense of 'sīlana' (comportment/practice), which is the aforementioned firm establishment and commitment. The other four qualities (abstinence, restraint, intention, non-transgression) are spoken of with reference to the mind's activity in the manner of abstinence from this or that, in the manner of restraint of this or that, in the manner of intention conjoined with both, and in the manner of non-transgression of that which is not transgressed. The meaning of morality for these has already been explained earlier. Thus, it is fivefold in terms of abandonment-morality and so on. And thus, what is virtue? In what sense is it virtue? What are its characteristics, functions, manifestations, and proximate causes? What is the benefit of virtue? And of how many kinds is this virtue? The answering of these questions is completed. The defilement and purification of virtue 21. As for what was said: "What is its defilement, what is its purification?" In that regard, we say: the state of being broken, etc., is the defilement of virtue; the state of being unbroken, etc., is its purification. And that state of being broken, etc., is comprised of breaches due to causes like gain and fame, and by the seven kinds of sexual conjunction. For instance, if, in the seven groups of offenses, a precept is broken at the beginning or at the end, then that virtue is called 'broken' (khaṇḍa), like a robe torn at the edge. But if it is broken in the middle, then it is called 'perforated' (chidda), like a robe with a hole in the middle. If two or three are broken in succession, then it is called 'spotted' (sabala), like a cow with a dissimilar color, black or red, etc., appearing on its back or belly. If they are broken here and there, then it is called 'blotched' (kammāsa), like a cow variegated with dissimilar colored spots here and there. Thus, the state of being broken, etc., arises from breaches due to causes like gain. Similarly, by way of the seven kinds of sexual conjunction. For it was said by the Blessed One – "Here, brahmin, some ascetic or brahmin, claiming to be a perfectly chaste liver, does not indeed engage in sexual intercourse with a woman, but he enjoys rubbing, massaging, bathing, and anointing a woman. He delights in that, he desires that, and he finds satisfaction in that. This too, brahmin, is a broken, perforated, spotted, and blotched chastity. This one is said, brahmin, to live an impure chaste life, connected with sexual conjunction; he is not freed from birth, from old age, from death... (and so on)... he is not freed from suffering, I say." "Furthermore, brahmin, here some ascetic or... (and so on)... claiming..." He indeed does not with a woman engage in dual intimacy. Nor does he a woman's rubbing... enjoy. But indeed with a woman he laughs, he plays, he sports. He enjoys that... he is not freed from suffering, I say. Again, moreover, brahmin, a certain recluse or brahmin... indeed does not with a woman engage in dual intimacy. Nor does he a woman's rubbing... enjoy. Nor with a woman does he laugh, play, or sport. But indeed a woman's eye with his eye he gazes intently, he looks at. He enjoys that... he is not freed from suffering, I say. Again, moreover, brahmin, a certain recluse or brahmin... indeed does not with a woman... nor a woman's... nor with a woman... nor a woman's... looks at. But indeed he hears a woman's sound from behind a wall or behind a fence, whether laughing or speaking or singing or weeping. He enjoys that... he is not freed from suffering, I say. Again, moreover, brahmin, a certain recluse or brahmin... indeed does not with a woman... nor a woman's... nor with a woman... nor a woman's... weeping. But indeed those former laughings, speakings, and playings which were his with a woman, he recollects them. He enjoys that... he is not freed from suffering, I say. Again, moreover, brahmin, a certain recluse or brahmin... indeed does not with a woman... nor a woman's... nor does he recollect those former laughings, speakings, and playings which were his with a woman. But indeed he sees a householder or a householder's son