Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood

　　By Bhikkhu Bodhi

　　八聖道之正語正業正命

　　淨化心靈的輔助

　　菩提長老著 林娟蒂朱怡康譯

　　The next three path factors — right speech, right action, and right livelihood — may be treated together, as collectively they make up the first of the three pisions of the path, the pision of moral discipline (silakkhandha). Though the principles laid down in this section restrain immoral actions and promote good conduct, their ultimate purpose is not so much ethical as spiritual. They are not prescribed merely as guides to action, but primarily as aids to mental purification. As a necessary measure for human well-being, ethics has its own justification in the Buddha”s teaching and its importance cannot be underrated. But in the special context of the Noble Eightfold Path ethical principles are subordinate to the path”s governing goal, final deliverance from suffering. Thus for the moral training to become a proper part of the path, it has to be taken up under the tutelage of the first two factors, right view and right intention, and to lead beyond to the trainings in concentration and wisdom.

　　正語、正業和正命可一起看待，它們整體組成八聖道叁部分中的第一個部分 —戒，它們並非只作爲行爲的指導方針，重點是作爲淨化心靈的輔助，它們是達成人類福祉的必要工具，在佛法中也有其正當性，其重要性不可被低估。

　　八聖道中的叁道支：正語、正業和正命或許可以一起看待，它們整體組成八聖道叁部分中的第一個部分—戒，雖然在這部分所訂定的規則，防製了非道德性的行爲並鼓勵善行，然而，其最終目的主要的卻是精神性而非倫理性的。它們並非只作爲行爲的指導方針，重點是作爲淨化心靈的輔助，道德戒律是達成人類福祉的必要工具，在佛陀的教誨中也有其正當性，其重要性不可被低估。但是，在八聖道這特殊的內容裏，道德規範僅是從屬于八聖道的主要目標 —即最終的解脫。因此爲了讓道德訓練成爲道上合宜的一部分，它必須在前二道支也就是正見和正思惟的指導下，進一步走向正定和智慧的練習。

　　Though the training in moral discipline is listed first among the three groups of practices, it should not be regarded lightly. It is the foundation for the entire path, essential for the success of the other trainings. The Buddha himself frequently urged his disciples to adhere to the rules of discipline, “seeing danger in the slightest fault.” One time, when a monk approached the Buddha and asked for the training in brief, the Buddha told him: “First establish yourself in the starting point of wholesome states, that is, in purified moral discipline and in right view. Then, when your moral discipline is purified and your view straight, you should practice the four foundations of mindfulness” (SN 47:3).

　　雖然道德戒律的訓練列在戒、定、慧叁組練習中的最前面，卻不應輕視它，因爲它是整條道路的基礎，是其他練習可以成功的重要因素。佛陀經常督促學生要遵循戒條，「在細微的錯誤中看見危機」。有一次，一位比庫親近並請教佛陀，請他簡要說明修行。佛陀告訴他：「首先，使自己保持在善的狀態中，那即是在淨化的道德戒律中，並具正知見，你應練習四正勤。」(《雜部》 47：3)

　　The Pali word we have been translating as “moral discipline,” sila, appears in the texts with several overlapping meanings all connected with right conduct. In some contexts it means action conforming to moral principles, in others the principles themselves, in still others the virtuous qualities of character that result from the observance of moral principles. Sila in the sense of precepts or principles represents the formalistic side of the ethical training, sila as virtue the animating spirit, and sila as right conduct the expression of virtue in real-life situations. Often sila is formally defined as abstinence from unwholesome bodily and verbal action. This definition, with its stress on outer action, appears superficial. Other explanations, however, make up for the deficiency and reveal that there is more to sila than is evident at first glance. The Abhidhamma, for example, equates sila with the mental factors of abstinence (viratiyo) — right speech, right action, and right livelihood — an equation which makes it clear that what is really being cultivated through the observance of moral precepts is the mind. Thus while the training in sila brings the “public” benefit of inhibiting socially detrimental actions, it entails the personal benefit of mental purification, preventing the defilements from dictating to us what lines of conduct we should follow.

　　我們翻譯作「道德戒律」的巴利語「 sila」，在文本中有許多相互交疊的意義，它們都與正確的行爲…

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