འདལ་བ་གཞ intro.119
The Chapter on Going Forth; The Chapter on the Restoration Rite; The Chapter on Lifting Restrictions; The Chapter on the Rains; The Chapter on Medicines intro.119
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intro.119
The exact meaning of the word prāti- in the title Prātimokṣa Sūtra and the related term prātimokṣasaṃvara (“Prātimokṣa Vow”) has been the subject of debate for centuries.³⁴ Ācārya Śūra relates the three (Mūla-)sarvāstivādin interpretations in his Guide to The Prātimokṣa Sūtra.³⁵ The first interpretation reads prati (with a short a) to mean “first.” Mokṣa here, as in the next two interpretations, means “liberated,” so pratimokṣa means “first liberated.” Ācārya Śūra explains that Buddhist vow holders first obtain a vow or saṃvara after repeating a pledge three times.³⁶ Thus, a prātimokṣasaṃvara is the “vow” by which one is “first liberated” from not having that vow. Here, the Sanskrit prefix prati is apparently used in its sense of “in opposition to, against, counter,”³⁷ as suggested by Ācārya Śūra’s opposition of vow-holding and not vow-holding.