The Sutra of Forty-two Chapters - 4佛說四十二章經 第4章後漢 西域沙門迦葉摩騰 竺法蘭 同譯Translated jointly by Indian Sramana Kasyapa matanga and Dharmaraksa in the Later Han Dynasty
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第4章 善惡並明
Distinguish between Good and Unwholesome Deeds佛言。眾生以十事為善。亦以十事為惡。何等為十。身三。口四。意三。 The Buddha said: "There are ten things considered good by all beings, and ten things evil. What are they? Three of them depend upon the body, four upon the mouth, and three upon thought.
身三者。殺盜淫。Three evil deeds depending upon the body are: killing, stealing, and committing adultery.
口四者。兩舌 惡口 妄言 綺語。The four depending upon the mouth are: slandering, cursing, lying, and flattery. 意三者。嫉恚癡。The three depending upon thought are: envy, anger, and infatuation. 如是十事。不順聖道。名十惡行。All these things are against the Holy Way, and therefore they are evil. 是惡若止。名十善行耳。"When these evils are not done, there are ten good deeds." 英文版经文转载自 菩提字幕屋，英译者 D.T. SuzukiEnglish version sourced from Bodhi Fansubs, translated by D.T. Suzuki
Commentary: Distinguish between good and unwholesome deeds
This is a chapter dedicated to lay Buddhists. It talks about the ten good deeds; deeds showing compliance and non-compliance with the ten are considered good and unwholesome respectively. Among the ten are three bodily deeds, four verbal deeds and three mental deeds. The ten good deeds are not only the basic criteria for rebirth in heaven and human realms, but also the foundation of Sravaka and the Bodhi path.
For the vehicle of human, followers only need to uphold the five precepts, and avoid committing unwholesome deeds. As for the vehicle of deva, followers need to proactively practise the ten good deeds, including taking caution against bad inclinations such as greed, hatred, and ignorance. Taking not stealing as an example, what followers of the human vehicle need to do is not to take possession of others’ belongings. But for followers of the deva vehicle, in addition to that they also need to exercise alms giving extensively and overcome their greed mentally.
In Sutra “The discourse of ten wholesome way of actions”, the karmic results corresponding to each of the ten good deeds are enumerated clearly. We can use it as a reference to pry into our past lives. Similarly, if we follow the ten good deeds today in our daily life, we can shape our good future.
