Acharanga Bhasyam: Sūtras 3-8 : Perverse Conduct

8.3 ihamegesiṃ āyāra-goyare ṇo suṇisaṃte bhavati, te iha āraṃbhaṭṭhī aṇu-vayamāṇā haṇamāṇā, ghāyamāṇā, haṇato yāvi samaṇujāṇamāṇā.

There are some monks who have not been well-instructed in the subject of conduct. Such monks indulge in violence and endorse those who perpitrate violence. They themselves kill living beings, get them killed and approved of the killing.

Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 3

The aforesaid prohibition is for the sake of the purification of faith. Now, the cause of that prohibition is being clarified. The Sūtra shows the faults arising from association with the heretics and the like. There are some monks who are not well-instructed in the discipline of right conduct, that is, the right conduct has not been properly understood by them. Such persons indulge in violence.^[1] Some assert that there is no harm in violence. Some of them may endorse violence by saying, 'what is the fault here?' By means of such endorsement, they themselves indulge in violence and make others to similarly indulge and also approve of such indulgence.

8.4 aduvā adinnamāiyaṃti.

Or they take what has not been given.

Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 4

Or, they appropriate what does not belong to them while taking the life of the earth-bodied beings and the like. The landlord has permitted them for taking the clay and the like, but the earth-bodied beings and the like have not approved of killing themselves. This is the reason why the violence done to them is also a kind of appropriation of what was not given to them.^[2]

8.5 aduvā vāyāo viuṃjaṃti, taṃ jahā - atthi loe, ṇatthi loe, dhuve loe, adhuve loe, sāie loe, aṇāie loe, sapajjavasite loe, apajjavasiteloe, sukaḍetti vā dukkaḍeti vā, kallāṇetti vā pāvetti vā, sāhutti vā asāhutti vā, siddhīti vā, asiddhīti vā, ṇiraetti vā, aṇiraetti vā

Or, they propound mutually contradictory doctrines such as: The world exists, the world does not exist; the world is permanent, the world is non-permanent; the world has beginning, the world has no beginning; the world has end, the world has no end; this world is well-created, this world is not well-created; this (issue in question) is beneficial, this is harmful; he (ascetic in question) is a genuine monk, he is a fake monk; there is liberation, there is no liberation; there is hell, there is no hell.

Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 5

Or, they assert diverse theories:^[3]

The world exists - that is the world has a real existence. The world does not exist - that is the world is like hallucination, magic or dream.

The world is eternal—that is the world is immutably eternal—or the solar orb is stationary.

The world is not eternal - that is it changes every moment or the solar orb is rotating.^[4]

The world has beginning - that is it has been created by God.^[5] The world is beginningless - it has been uncreated.^[6] Those who believe the world to have a beginning must accept that the world has an end.^[7] According to those who believe the world to have no beginning, the world must have no end. Similarly, there are diverse theories in regarding the well-done or ill-done nature of an act; and act as beneficial or harmful; or monk as genuine or fake; or there is liberation or there is no liberation; or there is hell or there is no hell. There are many such contradictory doctrines.^[8]

8.6 jamiṇaṃ vippaḍivaṇṇā māmagaṃ dhammaṃ paṇṇavemāṇā.

Thus, the heretics who accept the mutually contradictory doctrines propound their own respective doctrines.

Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 6

While thus engaged in speaking of mutually opposed doctrines,^[9] they are found to propound their own doctrines. For instance, they claim that liberation is possible only through their own doctrine and not through any other doctrine.

8.7 etthavijāṇaha akasmāt.

Here also you should know that they are absolutistic doctrines without any logic behind them.

Bhāṣyaṃ Sutra 7

The disciples, on account of their being not firm in their own doctrine, owing to their association with the heretics, propounding contradictory doctrines, get confused. This is why their association with these people is prohibited. But, if for the sake of a sick monk or any other reason, there occurs association with such people and there occurs an occasion for discussions of doctrines, he should address them thus—you should know that such doctrines are partial one and fortuitous,^[10] that is, without any reason or relevance.^[11]

8.8 evaṃ tesiṃ ṇo suakkhāe, ṇo supaṇṇatte dhamme bhavati.

Thus their doctrines are neither well-spoken nor well-propounded.

Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 8

The absolutistic view accompanied by deluded prejudices generates impediment to the exposition of reality or truth. In this way the religious doctrine of those explaining the truth with absolutistic standpoint, not based on any valid reason, is not well-spoken or well-propounded.