Four Precepts for Acquiring the Purity of Mind, Body and Speech
The First Precept: Renouncing Sexual Desire
Ananda straightened his robes, placing his palms together and bowed. Now that he had realized the perfect path, he felt both joyfully and sorrowfully. For the sake of all beings of the future, he bowed and respectfully said to the Buddha, “The Most Compassionate World-Honored One, now I understand how to become a Buddha, and I can practice accordingly without any doubt. The Buddha often says that Bodhisattvas resolve to help others cross, even though they haven’t made the crossing themselves, which is different from Buddhas who have completed the crossing and therefore are totally capable of enlightening others. I have not completed the crossing, but I vow to bring along all beings who live in the Dharma ending age, as they will have become further and further distant from the Buddha and engulfed in distorted teachings from all kinds of false teachers as countless as the sand-grains of rivers. So I have to ask this – how can they establish a safe practice in order to keep themselves from demonic disturbances, stop themselves from retrogressing, and focus their minds on entering Samadhi?”
The Buddha praised Ananda before the whole assembly: “Excellent, Ananda! I will tell you exactly how to safeguard practitioners from sinking and drowning during the age of Dharma ending. Now listen carefully! You have often heard me speak of the three essential steps of spiritual practice: Precepts (disciplining the mind), Samadhi (the fruition from observance of precepts), and Wisdom (the fruition of perfect Samadhi). They are called the threefold study of ending outflows.
“Ananda, why do I define precepts as disciplining the mind? If beings in the six realms can rid their minds of sexual desire, they can free themselves from the endless cycles of death and rebirth. If one doesn’t get rid of sexual desire, one will forever be bound in earthly entanglements without transcendence, no matter how much effort they put into Samadhi practice. Even those who are skillful in attaining Samadhi will surely fall into the realm of demons if they don’t renounce sexual desire. At best they will be reborn as kings among demons, at intermediate levels they become pawns of demon hordes, or with further lower ranking they may become female demons. All these demons will tell their followers that they have attained perfect enlightenment. After my nirvana, during the Dharma ending age, such demons will sweep across the world like wildfire, disguising as enlightened masters while in fact misleading beings to wrong views and wrong roads deviating from the Bodhi Path.
“Therefore, when you introduce Samadhi to worldly people, you should first teach them to steer their minds clear of sexual desire. This is the foremost loud and clear precept established by all the Buddhas of the past.
“Ananda, practicing meditation without renouncing sexual activity is like cooking sands in the hope of making rice. Even after a hundred thousand eons of cooking, it will still be hot gravel only. Why? Because you’re cooking with the wrong thing. Seeking the enlightenment of the Buddha with a lustful mind, whatever understanding you may come to will still be rooted in lust, which will keep you in bondage to the three lowly realms (hells, ghosts, and animals) destined for endless cycles of death and rebirth. How can you possibly realize the Tathagata’s nirvana then?
“The only hope for you to attain the Bodhi of the Buddhas is to thoroughly eradicate sexual desire, from both physical level and mental level, until even the slightest stirs completely cease, to the point where you no longer have anything to rid of. This is the Buddhas’ teaching. Anything other than this must be coming from Mara (the king of demons).”
阿難整衣服。望大眾中合掌頂禮。心迹圓明悲欣交集。欲益未來諸眾生故。稽首白佛大悲世尊。我今已悟成佛法門。是中修行得無疑惑。常聞如來說如是言。自未得度先度人者菩薩發心。自覺已圓能覺他者如來應世。我雖未度願度末劫一切眾生。世尊此諸眾生去佛漸遠。邪師說法如恒河沙。欲攝其心入三摩地。云何令其安立道場遠諸魔事。於菩提心得無退屈。
爾時世尊於大眾中稱讚阿難。善哉善哉。如汝所問。安立道場救護眾生末劫沈溺。汝今諦聽當為汝說。阿難大眾唯然奉教。
佛告阿難汝常聞我毘奈耶中。宣說修行三決定義。所謂攝心為戒因戒生定因定發慧。是則名為三無漏學。阿難云何攝心我名為戒。若諸世界六道眾生其心不婬。則不隨其生死相續。汝修三昧本出塵勞。婬心不除塵不可出。縱有多智禪定現前。如不斷婬必落魔道。上品魔王中品魔民下品魔女。彼等諸魔亦有徒眾。各各自謂成無上道。我滅度後末法之中。多此魔民熾盛世間。廣行貪婬為善知識。令諸眾生。落愛見坑失菩提路。汝教世人修三摩地先斷心婬。是名如來先佛世尊。第一決定清淨明誨。是故阿難若不斷婬修禪定者。如蒸沙石欲其成飯。經百千劫秖名熱沙。何以故此非飯本石沙成故。汝以婬身求佛妙果。縱得妙悟皆是婬根。根本成婬輪轉三途必不能出。如來涅槃何路修證。必使婬機身心俱斷斷性亦無。於佛菩提斯可希冀。如我此說名為佛說。不如此說即波旬說。
Buddha Mind 