佛說盂蘭盆經疏 2.55

2.55

梵語僧伽，此云眾和合。謂若眾而不和，如群商群吏及軍眾等，不名僧寶。若和而不眾，如二人同心之類，亦非僧寶。眾而和合為福之因，方名僧寶。和合者，此有六種，謂身和同事、語和同默、意和同忍、戒和同修、見和同解、利和同均也。儒說小人君子或和或同，今釋子比丘和而同也。今云十方者，法無限局，豈隔親疎？眾僧者，唐梵重標，譯人之拙。七月十五日者，前三月夏安居竟，故可自恣。自恣有三日，或十四、十五、十六，今舉中間也。此剩僧字，去之又句闕，亦是譯人之失也，何不云「共自恣時」？自恣者，自己之過，恣他所舉。謂一夏安居九旬加行，不階四果亦得四禪，佛設教門本意如此。正像末法僧等皆然，雖後五百歲，亦有持戒修福者故。然將超苦海，謹護浮囊，猶恐當局者迷，必藉旁觀得失。縱不斷惑證果，還希罪滅福生，故褊袒於眾中，白大德長老：「或見我過、或聞我罪、或疑我犯，恣任所舉。哀愍語我，我當懺悔。」如此則身心清淨猶如琉璃，禪定解脫或有之矣。供養此者力用可知，豈不拔濟先亡、資熏現在？故三藏云：「比丘受歲之日、大眾自恣之時，僧多獲道於四果，故能濟厄於七代。」

In Sanskrit it is called saṅgha; here [in Chinese] it is translated as a harmonious assembly. If there are many people but they are not harmonious, like groups of merchants, clerks, or troops, they are not called the Saṅgha Jewel. If there is harmony but not a multitude, like two people of one mind, they are likewise not the Saṅgha Jewel. A multitude in harmony, serving as a cause of merit, is only then called the Saṅgha Jewel. As for harmony, there are six kinds: physical harmony in sharing the same activities, verbal harmony in maintaining silence together, mental harmony in bearing forbearance together, moral harmony in practicing the same precepts, view-based harmony in understanding alike, and material harmony in sharing benefits equally. The Confucians speak of petty men and noble persons as being either harmonious or uniform; here the Buddha's sons, the monks, are both harmonious and unified. Now, "of the ten directions" indicates that the Dharma has no limits or boundaries; how could it discriminate between close and distant? "The saṅgha" (眾僧) is a redundancy of Chinese and Sanskrit, a clumsiness on the part of the translator. "On the fifteenth day of the seventh month": the previous three months of the summer retreat having ended, pravāraṇā can therefore be held. There are three days for pravāraṇā: either the fourteenth, fifteenth, or sixteenth; here the middle one is cited. Here the character "saṅgha" (僧) is redundant; yet if it were removed, the phrasing would be incomplete, which is also a lapse by the translator—why not say "the time of communal pravāraṇā"? Pravāraṇā (自恣) means to allow others freely to point out one's own faults. That is to say, throughout the ninety days of intensive practice in the single summer retreat, even if one has not attained the four fruits, one has still attained the four dhyānas; such was the Buddha's original intention in establishing this teaching. This holds true for the saṅgha in the True, Semblance, and Final Dharma periods alike, because even in the final five hundred years there are still those who uphold the precepts and cultivate merit. Yet when about to cross the sea of suffering, one carefully protects the floating buoy; still fearing that those directly involved may be blind to their own faults, one must rely on bystanders to judge success and failure. Even if one does not sever delusions to realize the fruits, one still hopes that sins will be extinguished and merit produced. Therefore, baring one's shoulder among the assembly, one addresses the venerable elders: "Whether you have seen my fault, heard of my transgression, or suspect my offense, I invite you freely to point it out. Out of pity speak to me, and I shall repent." In this way, body and mind become pure as lapis lazuli, and meditative concentration and liberation may perhaps be attained. The efficacy of making offerings to such ones can well be known: how could it fail to deliver departed ancestors and nurture and perfume the living? Thus the Tripiṭaka Master says: "On the day when monks receive their monastic year and the great assembly conducts pravāraṇā, the saṅgha mostly realizes the path of the four fruits; hence they can rescue seven generations from distress."