Acharya Mahaprajna
1.90 taṃ ṇo karissāmi samuṭṭhāe.
Resolving, "I shall not indulge in violent actions", the monk initiates himself into the practice of non-violence.
1.91 maṃtā maimaṃ abhayaṃ vidittā.
Pondering over the existence of all living beings, and appreciating that every one wants to live free from fear, the intelligent one (does not indulge in acts of violence properly understanding the principle of the similarity of all others with oneself).
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtras 90,91
An ascetic, at the time of initiation, takes the vow of restraining himself from injury to the six classes of beings. This is why he repeats the resolve: 'Now I am a monk who has taken the vow of abstaining from any kind of injury to six classes of beings. I should not therefore indulge in any kind of harm to the plant-beings, as I have been doing till now as a householder'.
Abstaining from injury to the plant-world is not rooted in ignorance about the latter. But an intelligent person abstains from such injury after fully deliberating about the animate nature of the plant-world. Although undeveloped in respect of consciousness, certainly the plant-bodied beings wish that nobody should frighten them to death. The monk desists from injury to them by realizing their desire for immunity from fear.
Immunity from fear: The Cūrṇi considers the words joy, happiness, emancipation and immunity from fear as synonyms.
1.92 taṃ je ṇo karae esovarae, etthovarae esa aṇagāretti pavuccai.
He who does not indulge in violence is an undertaker of the vow of desisting from injury to the plant-world. Such observer of the vow deserves to be called an ascetic.
Bhāṣyaṃ Sūtra 92
The ascetic who realizes their desire for immunity from fear and consequently does not indulge in harm to the plant-world is designated abstainer, from harmful acts. The householders build their houses by causing injury to the plant, world. In those times the Buddhist monks actually built houses[1] by cutting trees, which was denounced by the Buddha. The Sūtra refers to such activities of theirs by asserting that the person who does injury to the plant-world is a householder. He cannot be considered a homeless monk. Only he is homeless who abstains from injury to the entire vegetation world, not only the trees, never indulging in building houses.[2]
Vinayapiṭake 'pācittiya pāli' ekādasaṃ pācittiyaṃ (2) paṅjatti - atha kho bhagavā etasmiṃ nidāne etasmiṃ pakaraṇe bhikkhusaṅghaṃ sannipātāyetvā ālavake bhikkhū paṭipucchi - saccaṃ kira tumhe, bhikkhave rukkhaṃ chindathāpi chedopauthāsῑtti? saccaṃ bhagāvaṃ tti.
