The Second Treatise on the Perfections – 2747
give him permission to practise meditation. Then Ven. Tissa, depending upon his
morality, which was not tarnished by lust, made efforts throughout the night
until dawn when he became an Arahat.
[1600]
The Story of a Senior Monk
Once there was a senior monk who was very ill and unable to eat with his hands.
He lay rolling around, smeared with his own urine and excrement. Seeing him, a
young monastic exclaimed: “Oh, how painful is the life process!” The senior
monk said: “Friend, if I die now, I will surely achieve divine bliss. I have no
doubt of that. The bliss obtained by breaking
428
this morality is like forsaking
becoming a monk and becoming a layman. But I am determined to die with my
morality intact.”
429
So saying, he lay in the same place, contemplating the same
illness inherent in the five aggregates of mind and matter and became an Arahat.
The morality of both these noble venerables is irreproachable (
aparāmaṭṭha-
sīla
).
5. Morality of Arahats, etc.
430
which is purified through subsidence of the fires
of defilements is called morality that is calmed in purity (
paṭippassaddhi-
pārisuddhi-sīla
).
Morality is of five kinds:
1. Morality through abandoning (
pahāna-sīla
).
2. Morality through abstaining (
veramaṇi-sīla
).
3. Morality through intention (
cetanā-sīla
).
4. Morality through restraint (
saṁvara-sīla
).
5. Morality through non-transgression (
avitikkama-sīla
).
1. Morality observed by abandoning killing, stealing, etc. is called morality
through abandoning (
pahāna-sīla
).
Here, “etc.” covers not only the wrong deeds of sexual misconduct and so
on but also abandoning of everything that ought to be abandoned through
428
To break morality (
sīla
) means to die without becoming an Arahat.
429
“Morality intact,” means passing away only after attaining the Arahat fruition.
430
Here, “etc.” refers to other Awakened Ones, namely, Paccekabuddhas and Sammā-
sambuddhas.