Both Fearing and Not Fearing Ill Repute Are Shelter for Sentient Beings

Original text from the sixty-first volume of the Sutra on the Mindfulness of the True Dharma: Such evil persons should not be approached by any bhikkhu. Why? Associating with such persons causes the loss of the bhikkhu way. People in the world will think thus: 'This bhikkhu associates with such a person; they must be companions.' When a bhikkhu habitually associates and travels with such a person, it gives rise to such thoughts in all people. Therefore, a bhikkhu should fear ill repute and should not tread even a single footstep on the same path as such a person engaged in impure deeds.
Explanation: Why does the Buddha require bhikkhus to avoid evil persons and fear ill repute? Because bhikkhus are monastics who represent the Three Jewels and are the refuge for sentient beings. If a bhikkhu travels with evil persons, their reputation will be affected, causing sentient beings to disdain them. This leads sentient beings to disrespect the Three Jewels, lack reverence and trust in the Three Jewels, and even slander the Three Jewels, creating unwholesome karma. Therefore, the Buddha instructs bhikkhus to avoid the aforementioned types of evil persons to prevent being implicated, acquiring a bad reputation, and inviting ridicule and disdain from sentient beings. Thus, all actions of a bhikkhu should accord with the precepts and norms. If it is for the sake of liberating sentient beings, one should still find ways to avoid misunderstandings from other sentient beings. If there are matters that cannot be clearly explained or are prone to misunderstanding, one should avoid letting others know. This is similar to how adults handle affairs: if a matter is utterly incomprehensible to a child’s intellect, one should avoid it and not let the child know. Sentient beings are like children—what can be done? They will understand when they mature.
As for bodhisattvas who seek to liberate sentient beings, if these evil persons have ripened conditions and need to be liberated, then skillful means and appropriate methods must be employed, striving to avoid misunderstandings and slander from sentient beings. Such matters cannot be handled harmoniously by those lacking wisdom; only those with great wisdom can accomplish them, because sentient beings are afflicted by various defilements and ignorance, making them difficult to deal with. If the conditions with evil persons are not yet ripe, then one should avoid them when possible and attend to more important matters. With limited energy, one should make choices, selecting what brings the greatest benefit—this is the wise decision.
The Buddha requires bhikkhus to fear ill repute but instructs lay bodhisattvas not to fear ill repute. Both are for the protection of sentient beings, only the methods of handling the issue differ. However, although bodhisattvas do not fear ill repute, they must still make wise decisions. It does not mean that because they do not fear ill repute, they care about nothing, disregarding the welfare of sentient beings and the interests of Buddhism, allowing Buddhism to bear a bad name, causing multitudes of sentient beings to ridicule and disdain the Three Jewels, creating all kinds of unwholesome karma. Therefore, those who propagate the Dharma must be pure in body and mind, with minimal afflictions, selfless and egoless, prioritizing the greater good of Buddhism and the welfare of sentient beings. They must guide sentient beings back to the right path with pure actions of body, speech, and mind, and must not defile sentient beings or add to their afflictions, turning the liberation of sentient beings into harming them.
Lay practitioners walking the bodhisattva path should liberate those who can be liberated and influence those who can be influenced by wholesome dharmas to the best of their ability. As long as they remain vigilant against being assimilated or counter-influenced, this is immensely beneficial! The Buddha does not allow bhikkhus to openly associate or work with evil persons for fear that sentient beings will misunderstand, ridicule, and disdain them, leading to slander of the Three Jewels. Because the monastic identity is special—representing the Three Jewels and serving as the refuge for sentient beings—they must not provoke ridicule or slander from sentient beings. If a bhikkhu lacks strong self-control, has not yet attained liberation, and their mind is unsteady, they should indeed stay far away from evil persons and deeds to avoid being influenced and assimilated.
Those who have not severed their afflictions, whether monastic or lay, are easily defiled by evil influences. Even after awakening, if one is not careful, they can still be defiled. Maintaining meditative stability and vigilance, along with wisdom, makes one less susceptible to defilement. Only at the Buddha stage is one completely free from defilement. Bodhisattvas at the Eighth Ground and above experience extremely subtle defilement, while those from the First to the Seventh Ground experience slightly more. Bodhisattvas below the First Ground cannot avoid being defiled because they have not severed the root afflictions—let alone ordinary people. Therefore, a person in a pure community will be influenced toward purity, while in a defiled community, their mind will unconsciously become defiled—this is unavoidable. I too fear defilement; from childhood until now, I have also been influenced. Thus, I strenuously avoid those with heavy afflictions; even if not defiled, it requires effort to reject and disentangle, causing mutual discomfort. Bodhisattvas who have severed afflictions experience only minor, branch-like defilements; after studying the Dharma, these are quickly shaken off, not affecting the fundamental state. Any transgressions are purified through confession without lingering effects, and the karmic retribution is light.