Four Precepts for Acquiring the Purity of Mind, Body and Speech
The Fourth Precept: No False Claims
“Ananda, although some beings in the six realms may have refrained from killing, stealing and sexual desire, they will still fail to realize pure Samadhi if they make false claims. They will only become demons of attachment and delusion and lose sight of their Tathagata seed. Craving for worldly fame, they will falsely claim that they have realized the states of srota-apanna, sakrdagamin, anagamin, arhat, pratyeka-buddha, or the ten stages of Bodhisattva Path, in order to attract offerings and worshipping from believers.
“These people have no faith in the Dharma, and they have ruined their Buddha seed in such a fatal way as if cutting down a tala tree and letting it die. The Buddha predicts that their Dharma roots have had permanent damages and that they will never regain right views. They will sink into the three oceans of suffering and may never achieve Samadhi.
“It is my command that after my nirvana, in the Dharma ending age, all Bodhisattvas and Arhats will manifest in all appropriate forms to rescue beings from the cycle of samsara. They may appear as monks or nuns, laypersons, kings, ministers, young people, or even as prostitutes, widows, villains, thieves, butchers, peddlers, etc., in order to encourage people from all walks of life to practice the Buddha Dharma and to enter Samadhi. But in order to conceal the Buddha’s esoteric intent from beginners, they should never disclose their true identities as Bodhisattvas or Arhats. Only when they are about to die, they may secretly show some proof of their transcendental power, so as to enhance their disciples’ faith in the teachings. That’s why anyone who claims to be a Bodhisattva or Arhat must be telling an egregious lie to delude people.
“Therefore, Ananda, when you introduce Samadhi to worldly people, you should teach them not to make false claims. This is the fourth precept, most definitive and clear, established by all the Buddhas of the past.
“Practicing meditation without refraining from telling lies is like molding a piece of excrement into the shape of a sandalwood statue and expecting it to be fragrant. How can that be possible? I teach the bhiksus to cultivate a mind pure and straightforward, which is to serve as a temple for practice, and there must be nothing false in all manner of activities in everyday life.
“Making false claims about one’s attainment is like someone poor claiming to be a king, which only invites failures and troubles. Even further miserable should one claim the title of Dharma King! If the causal ground is corrupted to start with, the fruits it bears will certainly be mistakes, and the quest for Buddha Bodhi will be as impossible as trying to bite one’s own navel!
“If all bhiksus keep their mind as straight as a lute-string, be truthful under all circumstances, then they will never encounter demons when they enter Samadhi. I affirm such practitioners are surely to realize the Supreme Bodhi of Bodhisattva. This is the Buddha’s teaching. Anything otherwise must be coming from Mara.”
阿難如是世界六道眾生。雖則身心無殺盜婬。三行已圓若大妄語。即三摩提不得清淨。成愛見魔失如來種。所謂未得謂得未證言證。或求世間尊勝第一。謂前人言。我今已得須陀洹果。斯陀含果阿那含果。阿羅漢道辟支佛乘。十地地前諸位菩薩。求彼禮懺貪其供養。是一顛迦銷滅佛種。如人以刀斷多羅木。佛記是人永殞善根無復知見。沈三苦海不成三昧。我滅度後勅諸菩薩及阿羅漢。應身生彼末法之中。作種種形度諸輪轉。或作沙門白衣居士。人王宰官童男童女。如是乃至婬女寡婦姦偷屠販。與其同事稱歎佛乘。令其身心入三摩地。終不自言我真菩薩真阿羅漢。泄佛密因輕言未學。唯除命終陰有遺付。云何是人惑亂眾生成大妄語。汝教世人修三摩地。後復斷除諸大妄語。是名如來先佛世尊。第四決定清淨明誨。是故阿難若不斷其大妄語者。如刻人糞為栴檀形。欲求香氣無有是處。我教比丘直心道場。於四威儀一切行中尚無虛假。云何自稱得上人法。譬如窮人妄號帝王自取誅滅。況復法王如何妄竊。因地不直果招紆曲。求佛菩提如噬臍人。欲誰成就。若諸比丘心如直絃。一切真實入三摩提永無魔事。我印是人成就菩薩無上知覺。如我是說名為佛說不如此說即波旬說。
Buddha Mind 