Contemplations to Inspire Purity in Moral Conduct

From Nagarjuna's Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom
(Dharmamitra Translation)

If one wishes to obtain great wholesome benefit, then one should solidly uphold the precepts as if one were cherishing a valuable treasure and as if one were guarding one's own physical life. Why? Just as the myriad beings possessed of physical form all rely upon the earth and abide there, so too it is with the precepts. The precepts are the dwelling place of all wholesome dharmas.

Moreover, it is like wishing to walk without legs, like wishing to fly without wings and like wishing to cross over a body of water without a boat. This cannot be done. If one is lacking in the precepts and one wishes to obtain a fine result, it is just the same. If a person casts off and relinquishes these precepts, although he may abide in the mountains, practicing ascetic practices and eating fruits and taking herbs, he is still no different from the birds or the animals.

There may be people who take on the discipline of drinking only water, drinking only milk or consuming only vital energy, of shaving off the hair, of letting the hair grow long, of reserving a only a small patch of hair atop the head, of wearing a ka.saaya robe, of wearing a white robe, of wearing clothes made of grass, of wearing clothes made of tree bark, of plunging into water in winter, of burning themselves with fire in the summer, of throwing themselves off of a high cliff, of washing themselves in the Ganges River, of taking three baths each day, of repeatedly making offerings to fire, of carrying out all kinds of sacrificial offerings, of resorting to all sorts of spells and prayers, or of taking on the observance of ascetic practices. However, because they do not possess these precepts, those practices are useless and there is nothing gained through them.

Although a person may abide in exalted halls and grand palaces wearing fine clothes and consuming exquisite cuisine, if he is nonetheless able to cultivate these precepts, he will be able to be born into a fine place and eventually will achieve the fruit of the cultivating the Way. No matter whether one is of noble or humble social station and no matter whether one has little status or great status, if one is able to cultivate these precepts of purity he will gain a great benefit. However, if one breaks these precepts, there are no considerations reserved for noble or humble class or greater or lesser status. In every case one will be unable to succeed in being born in a good place which accords with one's aspirations.

Moreover, a person who breaks the precepts is like a clear and cool pool which contains a poisonous snake. One does not bathe in it. He is also like a tree which possesses fine flowers and fruit but which has an abundance of thorns. Although a person may abide in a noble house, may possess a body which is handsome and fine and may have accumulated an abundance of learning, if he finds no pleasure in upholding the precepts and his mind is devoid of loving-kindness and pity, he is just like this. His situation is as described in this verse:

If one is noble but has no wisdom, this is ruination.
If one is wise but arrogant, this too is ruination.
If one is an upholder of precepts but then destroys the precepts,
In this life and later lives, all is ruination.
Although one may be poor and of low social station, still, if one is able to uphold the precepts this is superior to being wealthy or of noble status while yet being a breaker of the precepts.

The fragrance of flowers and the fragrance of the trees is such that one is unable to smell them from afar. The fragrance from upholding the precepts universally pervades throughout the ten directions. The person who upholds the precepts perfects peacefulness and bliss. His name his heard in faraway quarters and his is revered and cherished by both men and gods. In the present life he always achieves all manner of happiness. If he desires wealth, nobility and long life in the heavens or among people it is not difficult for him to obtain it. If one is pure in upholding the precepts, he gains whatever he wishes.

Moreover, a person who upholds the precepts observes the precept breaker's suffering and affliction through undergoing punishment, confinement, beating and flogging, knows himself that he has eternally transcended such situations, and is overjoyed on that account. If a person who upholds the precepts sees a good person gaining a good name, fame and happiness, in his mind, he thinks to himself, "In just the same fashion as he has come by a good reputation, I too have a measure of that." When the life of a person who upholds the precepts comes to an end and the knife-like wind cuts loose the body and the sinews and blood vessels are severed, he knows that he has upheld the precepts purely. His mind is free of fearfulness. This situation is as described in a verse:

Amid the disease of great evil,
The precepts are a fine medicine.
In the midst of great fearfulness,
The precepts are a guardian protector.

Amidst the darkness of death,
The precepts are a bright lamp.
Among the wretched destinies,
The precepts serve as a bridge.

Within the waters of the sea of death,
The precepts are a great ship.

Furthermore, the person who upholds the precepts always succeeds in being revered and supported by people of the present era. His mind is blissful and does not experience regret. He has no shortage of either clothing or food. When he dies he is born in the heavens and later he gains the buddha way. For the person who upholds the precepts there is no matter in which he is not successful. For a person who breaks the precepts everything is lost.

. . .

Furthermore, the fragrance of the name of the person who upholds the precepts pervades both the heavens and the human realm in this and later lives. Additionally, the person who upholds the precepts is one to whom people enjoy making gifts, not cherishing even their valuable possessions. He does not cultivate worldly profit and yet there is nothing in which he is wanting. He succeeds in being born in the heavens. He enters the way of the three vehicles in the presence of the buddhas of the ten directions and so achieves liberation. It is only in a case where all manner of erroneous views figured in one's upholding of precepts that there would be nothing gained later.

Then again, although a person may not have left the home life, if he is able only to cultivate and practice the dharma of the precepts, he too will succeed in being reborn in the heavens. If a person is pure in his upholding of the precepts while also cultivating dhyaana and wisdom, and if he seeks thereby to cross himself over to liberation from the suffering of aging, sickness and death, this wish will certainly be realized. Although a person who upholds the precepts may not have [the protection of] military weapons, the awful events will not befall him. The wealth of upholding precepts is such that none can steal it away. The upholding of precepts is the most intimate of intimates. Although one dies, one is still not separated from it. The adornment furnished by the upholding of precepts is superior to that of the seven precious things. For these reasons one should be protective of the precepts just as one is protective of one's own physical life and just as one cherishes precious things. The person who breaks the precepts undergoes a myriad forms of suffering. He is like that man who used to be poor, [became rich], but then broke the vase and lost everything. For these reasons one should uphold the precepts of purity.

Moreover, when the person who upholds the precepts observes the punishments of those who have broken the precepts he should encourage himself to single-mindedly uphold the precepts. What is meant by "the punishments of those who have broken the precepts"? A person who breaks the precepts is not respected by others. His house is like a tomb. People do not go there. The person who breaks the precepts loses all meritorious qualities. He is like a dead and leafless tree. People take no pleasure in it. A person who breaks the precepts is like a frost-damaged lotus. People take no delight in looking on it.