..续本文上一页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.
绮语，是没有意义的言谈，谈话没有目的或深度。这般的谈话沟通不具任何价值，只在自己和他人心中激起烦恼。佛陀建议：应抑制绮语，且言谈应尽可能侷限在真正重要的事物。对比库而言，如上文所引述，说话应具选择性，重点摆在佛法的核心关怀。在家众会有较多跟朋友、家人寒暄聊天的须要，与相识者礼貌性地交谈，还有和工作事务有关的谈话。但是，即使如此，他们更需注意，不要让谈话有如放牛吃草般。散乱的心总是喜欢黏着甜美的、有味道的东西，可能就会乘机耽于染着的习性。
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.
对绮语的传统注释，指的是避免参与此种谈话本身。但是，也许今日赋予不同的观点是有意义的，尤其是针对我们这时代的某些发展是迫切的，以避免经常性地暴露在现在科技所创造出的传播媒体的轰炸之下。这些发展在佛陀时代还有传统注疏中，是不为所知的。一大批不可思议的媒材，如电视、收音机、报纸、渲染的刊物、影片等，如流水般的无用讯息和令人分心的娱乐，其连锁反应是使人心变得消极、空虚与贫乏。这些发展被无知地认定为「进步」，使我们的审美能力和心灵感知变得迟钝，并使我们听不到更深层的禅修呼唤。一心志求解脱之道的修行者，必须敏锐地审辨：哪些是他们允许自己暴露的环境。为了有更多时间投入于自己的志向，他们会将那些娱乐放逸的来源和无用的资讯，列入绮语的范畴，并努力避免。
Right Action (samma kammanta)
正业
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.
正业，指的是不随着身体自然的表现方式，而做出不善行。此一道支的核心，其实是节欲的心所。由于节制是透过身体行为来展现，所以它被称为「正业」。佛陀指出了「正业」的三项内容：不杀生、不偷盗、不邪淫。以下我们将依序简短地讨论之：
(1) Abstaining from the taking of life (panatipata veramani)
不杀生
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
不杀生，指的是不取夺众生的生命，并远离杀生的行为。一个不杀生的人，会放下棍棒与刀剑，富有良知与同情，并关怀一切有情众生的福祉。(《增支部》 10：176；《佛陀的话》，页 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.
除了单纯的「不杀人」之外，「不杀生」还有着更广的含意：不杀害任何一个有情众生。有情众生，指的是有思想或知觉的生命。就实际意涵而言，他们指的是人类、动物以及昆虫。至于植物，并不被认为是「有情众生」，因为虽然它们的确展现出某种程度的感知力，但由于它们没有完整的意识，故不符合「有情众生」的定义。
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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