..續本文上一頁t to let the conversation stray into pastures where the restless mind, always eager for something sweet or spicy to feed on, might find the chance to indulge its defiling propensities.
绮語，是沒有意義的言談，談話沒有目的或深度。這般的談話溝通不具任何價值，只在自己和他人心中激起煩惱。佛陀建議：應抑製绮語，且言談應盡可能侷限在真正重要的事物。對比庫而言，如上文所引述，說話應具選擇性，重點擺在佛法的核心關懷。在家衆會有較多跟朋友、家人寒暄聊天的須要，與相識者禮貌性地交談，還有和工作事務有關的談話。但是，即使如此，他們更需注意，不要讓談話有如放牛吃草般。散亂的心總是喜歡黏著甜美的、有味道的東西，可能就會乘機耽于染著的習性。
The traditional exegesis of abstaining from idle chatter refers only to avoiding engagement in such talk oneself. But today it might be of value to give this factor a different slant, made imperative by certain developments peculiar to our own time, unknown in the days of the Buddha and the ancient commentators. This is avoiding exposure to the idle chatter constantly bombarding us through the new media of communication created by modern technology. An incredible array of devices — television, radio, newspapers, pulp journals, the cinema — turns out a continuous stream of needless information and distracting entertainment the net effect of which is to leave the mind passive, vacant, and sterile. All these developments, naively accepted as “progress,” threaten to blunt our aesthetic and spiritual sensitivities and deafen us to the higher call of the contemplative life. Serious aspirants on the path to liberation have to be extremely discerning in what they allow themselves to be exposed to. They would greatly serve their aspirations by including these sources of amusement and needless information in the category of idle chatter and making an effort to avoid them.
對绮語的傳統注釋，指的是避免參與此種談話本身。但是，也許今日賦予不同的觀點是有意義的，尤其是針對我們這時代的某些發展是迫切的，以避免經常性地暴露在現在科技所創造出的傳播媒體的轟炸之下。這些發展在佛陀時代還有傳統注疏中，是不爲所知的。一大批不可思議的媒材，如電視、收音機、報紙、渲染的刊物、影片等，如流水般的無用訊息和令人分心的娛樂，其連鎖反應是使人心變得消極、空虛與貧乏。這些發展被無知地認定爲「進步」，使我們的審美能力和心靈感知變得遲鈍，並使我們聽不到更深層的禅修呼喚。一心志求解脫之道的修行者，必須敏銳地審辨：哪些是他們允許自己暴露的環境。爲了有更多時間投入于自己的志向，他們會將那些娛樂放逸的來源和無用的資訊，列入绮語的範疇，並努力避免。
Right Action (samma kammanta)
正業
Right action means refraining from unwholesome deeds that occur with the body as their natural means of expression. The pivotal element in this path factor is the mental factor of abstinence, but because this abstinence applies to actions performed through the body, it is called “right action.” The Buddha mentions three components of right action: abstaining from taking life, abstaining from taking what is not given, and abstaining from sexual misconduct. These we will briefly discuss in order.
正業，指的是不隨著身體自然的表現方式，而做出不善行。此一道支的核心，其實是節欲的心所。由于節製是透過身體行爲來展現，所以它被稱爲「正業」。佛陀指出了「正業」的叁項內容：不殺生、不偷盜、不邪淫。以下我們將依序簡短地討論之：
(1) Abstaining from the taking of life (panatipata veramani)
不殺生
Herein someone avoids the taking of life and abstains from it. Without stick or sword, conscientious, full of sympathy, he is desirous of the welfare of all sentient beings.28
不殺生，指的是不取奪衆生的生命，並遠離殺生的行爲。一個不殺生的人，會放下棍棒與刀劍，富有良知與同情，並關懷一切有情衆生的福祉。(《增支部》 10：176；《佛陀的話》，頁 53)
“Abstaining from taking life” has a wider application than simply refraining from killing other human beings. The precept enjoins abstaining from killing any sentient being. A “sentient being” (pani, satta) is a living being endowed with mind or consciousness; for practical purposes, this means human beings, animals, and insects. Plants are not considered to be sentient beings; though they exhibit some degree of sensitivity, they lack full-fledged consciousness, the defining attribute of a sentient being.
除了單純的「不殺人」之外，「不殺生」還有著更廣的含意：不殺害任何一個有情衆生。有情衆生，指的是有思想或知覺的生命。就實際意涵而言，他們指的是人類、動物以及昆蟲。至于植物，並不被認爲是「有情衆生」，因爲雖然它們的確展現出某種程度的感知力，但由于它們沒有完整的意識，故不符合「有情衆生」的定義。
The “taking of life” that is to be avoided is intentional killing, the deliberate destruction of life of a being endowed with consciousness. The principle is grounded in the consideration that all beings love life and fear death, that all see…
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