Record of the Brahma's Net Sutra, Volume 1(Preface)

Transmitted by Monk Chuan Ao of Beijing's Stone Wall Temple

The Pratimoksha is the teacher of the Bodhisattva. Even the slightest good is recorded, the tiniest flaw is corrected. It guards against subtle faults in retreat and prevents misconduct in speech and action when advancing. It serves as the foundation for all virtues and the source of the ten bodies. Thus, it was personally transmitted in the Lotus Treasury and passed down through a thousand blossoms. Is it not fitting for this to be the essential teaching for learners?

Yet since its inception in the Yao Qin era, it has traversed distant ages, spreading across the world. Many recite it, but few truly understand its meaning. Although ancient masters wrote extensive commentaries with profound insights, later generations often ponder without studying.

In this land, most followers of the Dharma study the Mahayana. Though they receive the precepts of the Śrāvakas, their practice embodies the Bodhisattva path. To avoid faults and regrets, one must deeply understand. Without clarification, progress remains difficult.

Therefore, from the broad commentaries, I have extracted this separate text. Where differences arise, I have made revisions, humbly offering my insights to complete the whole. If one attains its essence, then the means may be set aside.

This explanation of the Bodhisattva Precepts Sutra is divided into two main parts. First, the title is explained.

The Brahmajala Sutra: The Chapter on the Mind-Ground Dharma Gate Spoken by Buddha Vairocana, the Bodhisattva Precepts Text.

The explanation is divided into two parts. The first three characters, "Fan Wang" (梵網), form the general title of the entire scripture, with "Fan" (梵) meaning "Brahma" and "Wang" (網) meaning "net," thus serving as a metaphor.

"Fan" refers to the Brahma King, fully transliterated as "Fan Lan Mo," meaning "supreme purity"—free from desire, filth, and evil, attaining ultimate purity. "Wang" refers to the banner-net of that heavenly realm. When the Brahma King brought this net to the Buddha's assembly as an offering and to listen to the Dharma, the Buddha saw it and used it as a metaphor. This metaphor has both general and specific meanings.

Generally, it illustrates the distinctions among sentient beings and their environments, and how the Buddha's teachings adapt accordingly. As stated later in the text: "From the seat of the silent extinction of the Way, seated on the Vajra Flower Light King's throne, up to the palace of Maheshvara Heaven, across ten successive abodes, the teachings spoken therein." At that time, the Buddha observed the banner-nets of the great Brahma Kings and thus spoke of the infinite worlds, like the meshes of a net, each world distinct and different, just as the gates of the Buddha's teachings are also infinitely varied.

Specifically, it metaphorically represents the threefold collection of pure precepts for bodhisattvas: 1. The precepts of moral discipline are like a net protecting a tree, preventing birds and filth from invading. 2. The precepts of cultivating wholesome dharmas are like a tree supported by a net, flourishing with flowers and fruits. These two support each other. 3. The precepts of benefiting sentient beings are like casting a net in a river to rescue fish and bring them ashore.

However, according to the text below, the Buddha, from beneath the Bodhi tree up to the Akaniṣṭha Heaven, taught the Dharma in ten assemblies. The first nine represent the general metaphor, while the tenth represents the specific metaphor. Moreover, the general encompasses the specific, but the specific does not encompass the general. "Jing" (經, scripture) refers to the portion explained within the metaphor. Its meanings are manifold, constant, and all-encompassing, as commonly discussed.

The second part, "Lu She Na Fo" (盧舍那佛), is the specific title of this chapter. Within this, there are general and specific aspects: the general refers to the overall name of the chapter, while the specific refers to the particular meanings within the chapter.

First, "Lu She Na Fo" is the master who expounds the teaching. "Lu She Na" translates as "perfect purity," meaning all obstructions and defilements, whether coarse or subtle, are completely eradicated. "Fo" is the abbreviated form of the Sanskrit "Buddha," meaning "the awakened one"—the perfectly pure awakened one. "Awakened" refers to the person, distinguishing this from the partially pure awakened ones among the two vehicles and bodhisattvas. Thus, only the abbreviated "Fo" is used here.

However, according to the Sanskrit original, it should be "Vairocana," meaning "illumination pervading everywhere," referring to the light of both body and wisdom shining inwardly and outwardly. The previous interpretation focuses on the removal of obstructions, while this one emphasizes the manifestation of virtues. Although the approaches differ, their principles converge.

"Xin Di Fa Men Pin" (心地法門品) indicates that there are sixty-one chapters in total, and this one is distinguished from the others. "Xin" (心) refers to the mind that is cultivated and developed, namely the fifty minds such as faith. "Di" (地) refers to the stages relied upon and accomplished, namely the three grounds: the ground of faith and practice before the path of seeing, the ground of purity upon seeing the truth, and the ground of the Tathāgata from the path of cultivation onward. "Ground" metaphorically signifies generation, maturation, and support, as these three grounds give rise to and sustain all virtues. All are wondrous methods, and since sages traverse them, they are called "gates." The distinctions among categories are termed "pin" (品, chapter).

"Pu Sa Jie Ben" (菩薩戒本) refers to the specific meaning within this chapter, as there should be other principles as well. Otherwise, why would "Bodhisattva Precepts" be separately indicated below the chapter title? The meaning of "bodhisattva" is as commonly explained. "Jie" (戒) means filial piety, obedience, and restraint, as elaborated below. "Ben" (本) means the root source of the bodhisattva. Thus, "precepts are the root" is an explanatory compound, while "the root of bodhisattva precepts" is a determinative compound. In terms of fruition, it is also the root of Buddhahood, as stated below: "the source of all Buddhas, the foundation for practicing the bodhisattva path." Here, it is discussed in relation to the practitioners and thus called "bodhisattva."

Moreover, the heavy and light precepts are not exhaustively listed here; this is an abridged version serving as the basis for the expanded text. Hence, each section below points to the detailed text, such as the "Chapter on the Eighty Thousand Fine Practices." The *Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom* states: "The abridged version has eighty thousand, while the expanded version is as numerous as grains of sand." Thus, this text is the most concise within the abridged version. Below, it says, "as minute as a hair-tip," yet heaven and earth, spring and autumn, are known from a single leaf. Those with round faculties can infer the rest from this.

This title contains two layers of general and specific meanings, which can be understood upon careful examination. Thus, both the Dharma and the metaphor are clarified, the teacher's instruction is highlighted, and the meaning and purpose are established together. The general and specific are both named, with concise text encompassing comprehensive principles, placed at the beginning of the chapter. Hence, it is titled "Brahma's Net," etc.

Generally speaking, the bodhisattva precepts have their basis. According to the tradition passed down by Kumārajīva, in the Western Regions, there is a version in one hundred thousand verses and sixty-one chapters. If fully translated, it would comprise over three hundred volumes. As Kumārajīva upheld the bodhisattva precepts, he particularly recited the "Chapter on the Mind-Ground Dharma Gate," briefly clarifying the aspects of the bodhisattva precepts. When this scripture reached this land during the reign of Yao Xing of the Later Qin, Kumārajīva had already translated over fifty sutras and treatises. Finally, at the Xiaoyao Garden, he translated this sutra in the third year of the Hongshi era. The expanded version has not yet reached this region.

The explanation of the title is now complete.

The second section below explains the main text. The main text is divided into three parts: first, the origin of the precepts; second, the proper teaching in response to circumstances; third, the conclusion encouraging their dissemination. The first part is further divided into two sections: first, prose; second, a restatement in verse. The prose section is also divided into two: first, a general outline of the main points and their details; second, a specific explanation of the true and manifested origins. The first of these is further divided into two: first, the proper explanation.

At that moment, Vairocana Buddha, for the sake of this great assembly, briefly revealed a mere speck—like the tip of a hair—from the heart of the Dharma, which is as vast and countless as the sands of a hundred thousand Ganges rivers.

The text explains: "At that time" means the very moment when Vairocana Buddha transmitted the Dharma to Shakyamuni in the Lotus Treasury World. "Vairocana Buddha" refers to the one who expounds the teaching—the true essence of the responsive manifestation, as briefly mentioned before. "For this great assembly" refers to those before the first ground—the three virtuous stages and all ordinary beings. "Briefly revealing" refers to the Dharma being expounded. "Brief" means a small portion. The matter of the Ganges River is explained similarly in various places. "Inexpressible" refers to what is described in the Avatamsaka Sutra as an immense number, indicating that each grain of sand represents one inexpressible number, amounting to hundreds of thousands of Ganges sands, and even beyond expression. This is the method of counting. "Dharma gates" refer to the teachings being counted. There are precisely this many Dharma gates, all expounded by Vairocana. "The mind-ground like the tip of a hair" means that among the vast and numerous teachings, only a tiny fraction is revealed—comparable to the tip of a hair—for the sake of those before the first ground.

Question: Why not expound everything in full, but only briefly? Answer: Even those in the stage of virtuous wisdom cannot fully receive teachings as vast as clouds and rain. How much less can vessels as small as a cup or a spoon contain the measure of a great ocean? Therefore, it is not possible. This is spoken from the perspective of the fundamental pointing toward the provisional, specifically referring to those before the first ground. It is said that Vairocana personally transmitted to this assembly, and this assembly is the manifested form of Shakyamuni, personally receiving the teaching. Thus, from the perspective of the teacher and the occasion, we know this is the time of the Lotus Treasury. By considering the Dharma and the assembly, we understand it is the assembly before the first ground. However, it is Shakyamuni Buddha who introduces this here. The following text similarly reveals the vast Dharma gates, showing only a small portion of the teachings—like opening a national treasury and bestowing but a single piece of gold—to demonstrate the authentication.