The Standard for Breaking Precepts

Question: The Śūraṅgama Sūtra says that Ānanda had attained the first fruit, yet was seduced by Mātaṅgī and almost broke the precepts. If he had not been saved by the Śūraṅgama mantra, would he have fallen into the three evil destinies because of breaking the precepts?

Answer: Ānanda was lured into the prostitute's house by Mātaṅgī's mother using a heterodox evil mantra; he did not walk into the prostitute's house of his own accord. The meditative concentration power of Ānanda's first fruit was clearly insufficient to withstand the powerful evil mantra of the heterodox. The evil mantra had an obstructive effect on Ānanda, causing him to lose his power of resistance, but Ānanda would absolutely never actively violate any precept, and would not fall into the three evil destinies. It is like a person whose meditative concentration power is insufficient to withstand the bewitching power of alcohol; once alcohol enters the mind, one becomes dazed and unclear. This alcohol may not have been drunk voluntarily, but was forcibly poured in by others, or poured in through a scheme. Ānanda's situation was that a heterodox person forcibly applied a mantra spell to him; because his power was insufficient, he could not resist it—it was not that Ānanda was willing to accept the evil mantra. Once the evil mantra entered his mind, Ānanda had no way to become clear-headed again. When a person is under the hallucinatory effect of a psychedelic drug, they lose awareness of themselves; this is not a matter of personal volition, not an active willingness to lose oneself. Therefore it does not constitute an active act of breaking the precepts driven by mental afflictions, and he would not fall into the three evil destinies. If, while being bewitched, Ānanda did not give rise to greedy desire, then no matter what, Ānanda would not be guilty of breaking the precepts, nor would it count as passively breaking the precepts. To be completely unmoved without any greedy desire requires cultivation to the third fruit or above, with greedy desire completely eradicated. Ordinary people need the control of the mind consciousness, but the mind consciousness is easily controlled by external forces. Therefore, if one only cultivates the mind consciousness and engages in broad learning and much hearing, the power of the Path cannot become sound—the result is exactly what happened to Ānanda. 

If there is an extremely strong external force acting upon a practitioner whose power of the Path is insufficient, then it is inevitable that they will be affected, because when the aggregate of form among the five aggregates is not exhausted, one must be influenced by the aggregate of form; when the aggregate of feeling among the five aggregates is not exhausted, one must be influenced by the aggregate of feeling; when the aggregate of perception is not exhausted, one must be influenced by the aggregate of perception—there is no way around this. 

When can one be free from the influence of the five aggregates and attain the exhaustion of the aggregate of form, the aggregate of feeling, and the aggregate of perception? At the very minimum, this is only possible when one has cultivated the fourth dhyāna; only within the fourth dhyāna can the aggregate of form, the aggregate of feeling, and the aggregate of perception be completely eradicated. Otherwise, anyone will be influenced by the five aggregates. Where there is a body, there is this great calamity; without a body, there is no calamity. This is precisely why one must cultivate the Path, must cultivate meditative concentration, and must cultivate all the way to the manas, in order to eradicate the five aggregates of clinging and attain liberation of the mind. 

Hīnayāna practitioners judge whether a person has violated or broken the precepts solely by external behavior; as long as the behavior conforms to the five precepts, the bhikṣu precepts, or the bhikṣuṇī precepts, they say the precepts are not broken. Mahāyāna, however, judges whether a bodhisattva has violated or broken the precepts mainly by looking at whether the bodhisattva's mind has violated the precepts, whether there was any movement of mind in the course of the behavior; if there was no movement of mind, then it is pure. But ordinary people can only see external behavior and cannot see a person's true mental activity, so cases of misjudgment are extremely numerous. If a person appears to be doing good deeds, appears to be benefiting others, while their mental activity is entirely for personal gain, and their behavior is a cover and a false appearance—the mind's aim being inconsistent with the behavior—then this person is not doing good deeds, not benefiting others, but benefiting themselves. Such deception using behavior as a false appearance brings not only no merit but also offense.