Śīla
| Key Term | śīla |
|---|---|
| Hover Popup Choices | ŚĪLA; moral discipline; virtuous conduct; morality; good conduct; ethical conduct |
| In Tibetan Script | ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་ |
| Wylie Tibetan Transliteration | tshul khrims |
| Devanagari Sanskrit Script | शील |
| Romanized Sanskrit | śīla |
| Romanized Pali | sīla |
| Tibetan Phonetic Rendering | tsultrim |
| Chinese Script | 戒 |
| Chinese Pinyin | jiè |
| Japanese Transliteration | kai |
| Korean Script | kye |
| English Standard | Discipline |
| Alternate Spellings | sīla; tshul khrims; sila; morality; ethics |
| Term Type | Noun |
| Source Language | Sanskrit |
| Simon's Dharma Corner Explanation | Simon's Dharma Corner discussion goes here : ) |
| NEW: Context Descriptions (Glossary-DefinitionTsadra) |
Abhidharma (Indo-Tibetan): In Abhidharma, śīla (T. tshul khrims) is primarily understood as the mental factor of volition (cetanā) associated with abandoning unwholesome bodily, verbal, and mental actions, and the actual abstention itself. It is often analyzed in terms of the ten unwholesome courses of action (akuśalakarmapatha; T. mi dge ba bcu'i las kyi lam) and their wholesome counterparts. While śīla itself is not always listed as a distinct primary mental factor (caitasika), its basis lies in wholesome volitions and associated factors like conscientiousness (apramāda), shame (hrī), and decorum (apatrāpya), which prevent engagement in non-virtue. The observance of prātimokṣa vows by monastics is a key expression of śīla, directly leading to the purification of conduct as a basis for higher attainments. Pramāṇa (Indo-Tibetan): While pramāṇa focuses on epistemology, the cultivation of śīla is considered a prerequisite for developing the mental clarity and stability necessary for valid cognition (pramāṇa) of subtle truths, especially those realized through meditative insight (bhāvanāmayī prajñā). A disciplined ethical life reduces mental agitation and biases, allowing for a more objective and penetrating analysis of reality. Mahāyāna (Indo-Tibetan): In Mahāyāna, śīla is elevated to the status of a perfection (pāramitā), known as śīlapāramitā (T. tshul khrims kyi pha rol tu phyin pa). This perfection is not merely about adherence to rules but is deeply infused with bodhicitta (the aspiration to attain enlightenment for all beings) and the wisdom realizing emptiness (śūnyatā). The scope of Mahāyāna śīla is traditionally defined by three cumulative categories:
Vajrayāna (Indo-Tibetan): In Vajrayāna, while fully incorporating the foundational principles of śīla from the Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna, there is an additional layer of specific vows and commitments known as samaya (T. dam tshig). These are taken in relation to the tantric guru, deities, and practices. Maintaining pure samaya is considered paramount in Vajrayāna for spiritual progress and avoiding obstacles. The three types of śīla (restraint, gathering virtue, benefiting beings) are understood and practiced within the unique framework of tantric view and methods, often emphasizing the transformation of all experiences into the path. Theravāda/Pāli Tradition Context: In the Pāli tradition, sīla (T. tshul khrims) refers to virtuous conduct and is the first of the three trainings (sikkhā: sīla, samādhi, paññā). It is the foundation upon which concentration and wisdom are built. Sīla generally involves abstaining from unwholesome actions of body and speech. Key components include the Five Precepts (pañcasīla) for lay practitioners, the Eight or Ten Precepts for more committed lay practitioners or during observances, and the extensive Pāṭimokkha rules for monastic sangha. Its cultivation leads to a blameless life, mental calm, and favorable rebirth, and is indispensable for progress towards Nibbāna. The Pāli term khrims is given the etymology of "cooling" the fevers of defilements. East Asian Buddhism Context: Śīla (Ch. jiè, Jp. kai, Kr. kye) is a fundamental concept across East Asian Buddhist traditions. Monastic discipline (vinaya) and the upholding of precepts are central, with specific developments like the Bodhisattva precepts of the Brahmajāla Sūtra (Ch. Fanwang jing) being particularly influential in Mahāyāna schools. Various schools may emphasize different aspects, from strict monastic adherence (e.g., Risshū in Japan) to interpretations that integrate precepts with specific meditative practices or philosophical views, such as in Zen (Ch. Chan) where precepts are often seen as expressions of the inherently pure Buddha-nature. |
| NEW: Glossary-PopUpBeginnerDefinition | The Buddhist practice of ethical behavior, like being honest, kind, and not harming others. It means following guidelines for good conduct, which helps calm the mind and live a wholesome life. It is the first of the Three Higher Trainings (triśikṣā: śīla, samādhi, prajñā), and the second of the six perfections (pāramitās). In daily practice, śīla is cultivated through mindful attention to one's actions, regular reflection on precepts, and the development of wholesome habits. |
| NEW: Glossary-PopUpScholarDefinition | Śīla (Skt. śīla; P. sīla; T. tshul khrims) refers to ethical conduct, moral discipline, or virtue, forming a cornerstone of Buddhist praxis. It is the first of the Three Higher Trainings (triśikṣā: śīla, samādhi, prajñā) and the second of the Six Perfections (pāramitā) in Mahāyāna. Śīla involves abstaining from unwholesome actions (akuśalakarmapatha), such as the ten non-virtues, and actively cultivating wholesome ones. It is commonly categorized into three types: 1) the discipline of restraint (saṃvaraśīla), such as observing lay (e.g., pañcaśīla) or monastic (prātimokṣa) vows; 2) the discipline of accumulating virtuous qualities (kuśaladharmasaṃgrāhakaśīla); and 3) particularly in Mahāyāna, the discipline of acting for the welfare of sentient beings (sattvārthakriyāśīla or sattvānugrāhakaśīla). Śīla provides the essential foundation for developing mental concentration (samādhi) and transformative wisdom (prajñā). |
| NEW: Glossary-DefinitionBodhicittaWiki | Śīla (T. tshul khrims), as the Perfection of Moral Discipline (śīlapāramitā), is an indispensable aspect of the Bodhisattva path and is cultivated in conjunction with bodhicitta. It involves not only refraining from harmful actions but actively engaging in virtue and working for the benefit of all sentient beings. For a Bodhisattva, śīla is motivated by the profound aspiration to lead all beings to enlightenment and is guided by wisdom. The three types of Mahāyāna śīla—restraining from negativity, accumulating virtue (such as practicing the other pāramitās), and benefiting beings—are all expressions of bodhicitta in action. Pure śīla creates the ethical foundation necessary for the development of profound meditative stability (samādhi) and the liberating wisdom (prajñā) that realizes emptiness, ultimately supporting the Bodhisattva's compassionate activities and journey to Buddhahood. Without the ethical grounding of śīla, the cultivation of bodhicitta and the other perfections would lack a stable basis. |
| NEW: Glossary-DefinitionLotsawas | Morality; ethics; moral discipline; ethical conduct; good conduct; discipline; virtue; moral purity; rule of discipline; moral law |
| Definitions | |
| Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism |
śīla. (P. sīla; T. tshul khrims; C. jie; J. kai; K. kye 戒). In Sanskrit, “morality”; those practices whose aim is to restrain nonvirtuous deeds of body and speech, often in conjunction with the keeping of precepts. Morality constitutes one of the three trainings (TRIŚIKṢĀ), together with SAMĀDHI and PRAJÑĀ, and the second of the six perfections (PĀRAMITĀ). In the traditional organization of the constituents of the noble eightfold path (ĀRYĀṢṬĀṄGAMĀRGA) under the rubrics of the three higher trainings (adhiśikṣā), the “morality group” (śīlaskandha; see ADHIŚĪLAŚIKṢĀ) consists of right speech (S. SAMYAGVĀC; P. sammāvācā), right action (S. SAMYAKKARMĀNTA; P. sammākammanta), and right livelihood (S. SAMYAGĀJĪVA; P. sammājīva). The term also appears in the five precepts, or PAÑCAŚĪLA, the five precepts taken by the Buddhist laity: “I undertake the training rules (ŚIKṢĀPADA) to abstain from” (1) killing living creatures, (2) stealing, (3) sexual misconduct, (4) false speech, and (5) consuming intoxicants. In the context of the bodhisattva’s perfection of morality (ŚĪLAPĀRAMITĀ), the meaning of śīla is expanded to encompass the taking and keeping of the bodhisattva precepts (BODHISATTVASAṂVARA); see SAṂVARA; ŚĪLAPĀRAMITĀ; ŚĪLATRAYA. It is clear that the work was known to the Pāli exegete BUDDHAGHOSA, who made use of it in composing his VISUDDHIMAGGA, although he does not cite it by name. Like the Visuddhimagga, the Vimuttimagga sets forth the path in terms of the three trainings in morality (P. sīla; S. ŚĪLA), meditation (SAMĀDHI), and wisdom (P. paññā; S. PRAJÑĀ). The mokṣabhāgīyas are generally concerned with the temporary allayment of the influence of the three major afflictions (KLEŚA)—viz., greed (LOBHA), hatred (DVEṢA), and ignorance (MOHA)—by cultivating the three kuśalamūlas of nongreed (ALOBHA), nonhatred (ADVEṢA), and nondelusion (AMOHA). These factors are “conducive to liberation” by encouraging such salutary actions as giving (DĀNA), keeping precepts (ŚĪLA), and learning the dharma. |
| Tshig mdzod Chen mo | ཤཱིལ སྤོང་བའི་སེམས་པ་སྟེ། ཚུལ་འཆལ་གྱི་གདུང་བ་སེལ་བའམ། བཅས་རང་གི་ཁ་ན་མ་ཐོ་བ་སྤོང་བའི་སེམས་པའོ། མིང་གི་རྣམ་གྲངས་ལ་སྡོམ་ཁྲིམས་དང༌། སྡོམ་པ། ཚངས་པར་སྤྱོད་པ་བཅས་སོ། |