Does Ananda Count as Breaking the Precepts?

Question: The Śūraṅgama Sūtra says that Ānanda had attained the first fruit, yet was seduced by Mātaṅgī and almost broke the precepts. If he had not been rescued by the Śūraṅgama Mantra, would he have fallen into the three evil destinies because of breaking the precepts?

Answer: Ānanda was lured into the prostitute's house by Mātaṅgī's mother using a heterodox evil mantra; he did not walk into the prostitute's house of his own accord. Ānanda's meditative concentration (samādhi) power of the first fruit was clearly insufficient to withstand the powerful evil mantra of the heterodox; the evil mantra had a binding effect on Ānanda and would cause him to lose his power of resistance. But Ānanda would absolutely never voluntarily violate any precept, and therefore he would not fall into the three evil destinies. It is like a person whose meditative concentration power is insufficient and who cannot withstand the bewitching power of alcohol; once alcohol enters the mind, one becomes dazed and unclear. This alcohol may not have been drunk voluntarily by oneself, but was forcibly poured in by others, or poured in through a scheme; therefore it does not count as breaking the precept against drinking alcohol.

Ānanda's situation was one of having a mantra forcibly imposed on him by a heterodox practitioner; because his power was insufficient, he could not withstand the force of the evil mantra—it was not that Ānanda was willing to accept the evil mantra. Once the evil mantra entered his mind, Ānanda had no way to become clear-headed again. When a person is under the hallucinatory effect of a psychedelic drug, they lose awareness; this is not a matter of personal volition, not a voluntary willingness to lose oneself, so it does not constitute a deliberate act of breaking the precepts arising from mental afflictions, and one would not fall into the three evil destinies. If, while being bewitched, Ānanda did not give rise to greedy desire, then no matter what, Ānanda committed no violation of the precepts. Being completely unmoved, without any greedy desire, requires cultivation to the third fruit or above, with greedy desire fully eradicated. Ordinary people need the control of the mind consciousness, but the mind consciousness is easily controlled by external forces; therefore, if one only cultivates the mind consciousness and engages in broad learning and much hearing, the power of the Path cannot become sound and complete—the result is exactly what happened to Ānanda.

If there is an extremely strong external force acting upon a practitioner whose power of the Path is insufficient, then it is inevitable that they will be affected, because when the aggregate of form among the five aggregates (pañca-skandha) is not exhausted, one must be affected by the aggregate of form; when the aggregate of feeling among the five aggregates is not exhausted, one must be affected by the aggregate of feeling; when the aggregate of perception is not exhausted, one must be affected by the aggregate of perception—there is no way around this.

When can one be free from the influence of the five aggregates and attain the exhaustion of the aggregate of form, the aggregate of feeling, and the aggregate of perception? At the very least, this is only possible when one has cultivated the fourth dhyāna; only within the fourth dhyāna can the aggregate of form, the aggregate of feeling, and the aggregate of perception be fully eradicated; otherwise, anyone would be affected by the five aggregates. Having a body means having this great calamity; without a body, there is no calamity. This is precisely why one must cultivate the Path, must cultivate meditative concentration (samādhi), and must cultivate to the level of the manas, in order to eradicate the five aggregates subject to grasping and attain liberation of the mind.

Those of the Small Vehicle judge whether a person has violated or broken the precepts solely by outward behavior; as long as the behavior conforms to the five precepts, the bhikṣu precepts, or the bhikṣuṇī precepts, they say the precepts are not broken. The Great Vehicle, however, judges whether a bodhisattva has violated or broken the precepts mainly by looking at whether the bodhisattva's mind has violated the precepts, whether there has been any stirring of the mind within their actions; if the mind has not been stirred, then it is pure. But ordinary people can only look at outward behavior and cannot see a person's true mental activity, so the probability of misjudgment is very high. If a person appears to be doing good deeds on the surface, appears to be benefiting others, while their mental activity is entirely for personal gain, their behavior being a cover and a false appearance, with the mind's purpose inconsistent with the behavior, then this person is not doing good deeds, not benefiting others, but benefiting themselves, or even harming others. Such deception using behavior as a false appearance brings not only no merit but also offense.