Did Ānanda violate the precepts?

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

Answer: Ānanda was lured into the prostitute's house by Mātaṅgī's mother using an external-path evil mantra; he did not walk into the prostitute's house of his own accord. Ānanda's meditative concentration (samādhi) from attaining the first fruit was clearly insufficient to withstand the powerful evil mantra of the external path. The evil mantra had a binding effect on Ānanda, causing 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 is insufficient to withstand the bewitching power of alcohol: once alcohol enters the mind, one becomes dazed and unclear. If this alcohol was not drunk voluntarily, but was forcibly poured into one by another person, or poured in through a scheme, then it does not count as breaking the precept against consuming alcohol.

Ānanda's situation was one of having an external-path mantra forcibly cast upon him. 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 remain clear-headed. When a person is under the hallucinatory effect of a psychedelic drug, they lose awareness of themselves; this is not a matter of personal volition, not a voluntary willingness to lose oneself. Therefore it does not constitute an active act of breaking precepts with an afflicted mind, and one would not fall into the three evil destinies. If, while being bewitched, Ānanda did not give rise to a mind of craving desire, then no matter what, Ānanda had no act of breaking precepts. To be completely unmoved, without any craving desire, requires cultivation to the third fruit or above, with craving desire fully eliminated. 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 studies broadly and hears much, 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 at work, then when a practitioner's power of the Path is insufficient, it is inevitable that they will be affected. Because the aggregate of form (rūpa) among the five aggregates (pañcaskandha) is not exhausted, one must be influenced by the aggregate of form; because the aggregate of feeling (vedanā) among the five aggregates is not exhausted, one must be influenced by the aggregate of feeling; because the aggregate of perception (saṃjñā) is not exhausted, one must be influenced by the aggregate of perception. This is something that cannot be helped.

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 after 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 eliminated; otherwise, anyone will be influenced by the five aggregates. With a body, there is this great peril; without a body, there is no peril. This is precisely why one must cultivate the Path, must cultivate meditative concentration, and must cultivate all the way to the manas, in order to eliminate the five aggregates subject to grasping and attain liberation of mind.

Those of the Small Vehicle judge whether a person has violated or broken 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 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 was not stirred, then it is pure. But ordinary people can only see 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—where their behavior is a cover and a false appearance, and the mind's aim is inconsistent with the behavior—then that person is not doing good deeds, not benefiting others, but rather benefiting themselves, or even harming others. Such deception using behavior as a false appearance brings not only no merit but also guilt and offense.