Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood

　　By Bhikkhu Bodhi

　　八圣道之正语正业正命

　　净化心灵的辅助

　　菩提长老著 林娟蒂朱怡康译

　　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.

　　正语、正业和正命可一起看待，它们整体组成八圣道三部分中的第一个部分 —戒，它们并非只作为行为的指导方针，重点是作为净化心灵的辅助，它们是达成人类福祉的必要工具，在佛法中也有其正当性，其重要性不可被低估。

　　八圣道中的三道支：正语、正业和正命或许可以一起看待，它们整体组成八圣道三部分中的第一个部分—戒，虽然在这部分所订定的规则，防制了非道德性的行为并鼓励善行，然而，其最终目的主要的却是精神性而非伦理性的。它们并非只作为行为的指导方针，重点是作为净化心灵的辅助，道德戒律是达成人类福祉的必要工具，在佛陀的教诲中也有其正当性，其重要性不可被低估。但是，在八圣道这特殊的内容里，道德规范仅是从属于八圣道的主要目标 —即最终的解脱。因此为了让道德训练成为道上合宜的一部分，它必须在前二道支也就是正见和正思惟的指导下，进一步走向正定和智慧的练习。

　　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).

　　虽然道德戒律的训练列在戒、定、慧三组练习中的最前面，却不应轻视它，因为它是整条道路的基础，是其他练习可以成功的重要因素。佛陀经常督促学生要遵循戒条，「在细微的错误中看见危机」。有一次，一位比库亲近并请教佛陀，请他简要说明修行。佛陀告诉他：「首先，使自己保持在善的状态中，那即是在净化的道德戒律中，并具正知见，你应练习四正勤。」(《杂部》 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.

　　我们翻译作「道德戒律」的巴利语「 sila」，在文本中有许多相互交叠的意义，它们都与正确的行为…

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