Mume mwenza,he he he.
Msamehe mke wako.
During their discussions some of the non-Buddhists asked, “Ah, you Śākya followers, does not your mendicant Gautama teach that misdeeds of the body are unattractive, ugly, and unpleasant, and that one should refrain from rejoicing in them even when they are done by another? We also consider misdeeds of the body to be unattractive, ugly, and unpleasant, and we do not rejoice in them even when done by others. Does not your mendicant Gautama teach that misdeeds of speech are unattractive, ugly, and unpleasant, and that one should refrain from rejoicing in them even when done by another? We also consider misdeeds of speech to be unattractive, ugly, and unpleasant, and we do not rejoice in them even when done by others. Does not your mendicant Gautama teach that misdeeds of the mind are unattractive, ugly, and unpleasant, and that one should refrain from rejoicing in them even when done by another? We also consider misdeeds of the mind to be unattractive, ugly, and unpleasant, and we do not rejoice in them even when done by others. What difference is there [F.82.b] [F.83.a] between your mendicant Gautama’s Dharma-Vinaya andour own? What are the ideas? What are the distinctive points? What makes the Dharma-Vinaya of your mendicant Gautama superior to ours?
The mendicant Gautama claims that he is omniscient.
When faced with these questions by the wandering non-Buddhist practitioners, the group of newly ordained monks neither approved nor responded because the venerable Śāradvatīputra was absent. Once they had completed their alms round, the large group of monks returned to the town of Nālati where they had their meal and then took their places amid the gathering of monks.
Later, venerable Śāradvatīputra also returned to the town of Nālati, having received his alms. When he arrived, the great gathering of monks went to see him and related to him what had transpired. Venerable Śāradvatīputra said, “If I had been traveling with you, venerable ones, and had met those wandering non-Buddhist practitioners along the Rājagṛha highway, at a crossing, or at a fork in the road, I would have defeated them in accordance with the Dharma.
But unfortunately, I did not witness what transpired in your discussion with those wandering non-Buddhist practitioners.
“Venerable ones, the eyes of the Blessed One perceive everything directly. He understands actions, their effects, and their ripening. [F.83.b] At present he is residing not far from here. Subduing all those whose views are extreme, he is teaching the Dharma of actions and their ripening results to hearers and laypeople, gods and humans. You must bring what happened before him. He will teach you everything about actions and their ripening. He will teach you that which is not seen by any god, māra, Brahmā, mendicant, brahmin, or any other being. What we fail to see the Blessed One sees directly. With his knowledge of actions and their ripening results, he will teach you.”
Chapter 1 THE TEN VIRTUOUS COURSES OF ACTION “Monks, there are three misdeeds of the body: killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct.
What, then, is killing? To take a life is to recognize another sentient being as a sentient being and knowingly slay it. Such an act may be of a great, intermediate, or minor kind. Great killing is the murder of a worthy one or the like. Such acts lead to the Hell of Ultimate Torment.
Intermediate killing occurs when one murders someone on the path. Minor killing is to kill an animal or someone of degenerate moral conduct. “An act of killing can also be categorized with respect to the past, future, or present, or in terms of whether that act is carried out due to desire, anger, or delusion.
Of these latter, killing out of desire occurs in hunting deer and other game. Killing out of hatred occurs in killing a snake, a mongoose, or the like. Killing due to delusion occurs in sacrificial killings and the like. Killing can likewise be categorized in terms of [F.85.a] acts done by oneself, acts ordered by others, and acts done both by oneself and on the order of others.
“In five cases killing will not incur any stain of evil: unwittingly killing insects, ants, and so forth that happen to be in one’s a path; unintentionally striking and killing someone with a weapon; dispensing the wrong type of medicine to a sick person, thereby accidently causing the person’s death while trying to help; as a mother, causing the death of one’s child by disciplinary beating; and unintentionally causing living beings to die due to their falling into fire. When killing occurs under these five circumstances there will not be any stain.
Further, killing may take place, again in three ways, by contracting others to do it, by performing the deed oneself, or by both of these methods.
“What is understood by a complete act of stealing? A spiritual practitioner, who observes and adheres to the Dharma, may understand this through having received teachings or having seen it to be the case by means of thedivine eye. A complete act of stealing is to rob something that belongs to another with the intention of making it one’s own.
“Which acts of this kind will have a minor effect? If one takes what was not given due to compliance with a royal decree; or if one takes what was not given for the sake of one’s guru, one’s sick parents, a solitary buddha, a worthy one, a non-returner, a stream enterer, or the like; or if one does so for the sake of the sick or the hungry. In such cases there will be a minor ripening of the act. Such cases of taking what was not given, when performed by someone who has not taken vows to take what was not given, also involve only a minor ripening.
Minor effects will also arise when one takes what was not given, but then mentally confesses, feels remorse, and abstains in the future, and when one prevents others from taking what was not given, confers vows upon them, [F.85.b] establishes them upon the path, and establishes them in the practice of abstaining from taking what was not given.
Similarly, only minor effects occur when the preparations, act, or conclusion is incomplete.
“What are the preparations for stealing? They involve deceiving the victim, giving secret instructions, engaging in fraud, or some other form of inappropriate activity. What is the act itself? It is to take the possessions of another without them being given. What is the act’s conclusion? This consists in rejoicing in, becoming habituated to, and increasing the act; rejoicing in the act while keeping it hidden; and making other disciplined individuals engage in such an act. When a misdeed of stealing lacks any of these three aspects, which include preparations and conclusion, its effect will be minor and experienced in indeterminate ways.
“What is sexual misconduct? This is understood by a spiritual practitioner who observes phenomena. Such a person will see that sexual misconduct occurs when one penetrates one’s own wife, or another man’s wife, through an opening other than the vagina, or when one rejoices in others performing such an act, or when one makes others engage in it even while refraining from doing so oneself.
“In which cases will the effects of sexual misconduct be minor? When the act is regretted and confessed, when one does not rejoice in it, when one discourages others from engaging in sexual misconduct and establishes them on the path, and when the preparation or conclusion is incomplete. When such factors of intention and discipline are present [F.86.a] the effects of an act of sexual misconduct will be minor and their experience indeterminate. When the three misdeeds of the body are of this kind their effects are lesser and weak.
Only those who hear these points from my hearers or from myself will understand the whole matter of karmic actions and their ripening effects. Thus, they will not be swayed by the accounts of others, but become independent. These points are not realized by wandering non-Buddhist practitioners. Neither are they realized by the world with its gods; nor by the māras; nor by Brahmā, mendicants, and brahmins; nor by gods, humans, and asuras.
“What are the misdeeds of speech? Spiritual practitioners who understand phenomena, as well as karmic actions and their maturation, will know that there are four misdeeds of speech: lying, divisive talk, harsh words, and chatter.
“What is lying? Lying is to deceive
