四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 1.107

1.107

先明律本者。《僧祇》中云：欲得五事利益，當受持此律。何等五也？一建立佛法。二令正法久住。三不欲有疑悔，請問他人。四僧尼犯罪者，為作依怙。五欲遊化諸方，而無有閡。是為篤信善男子五利。《四分》，持律人得五功德：一者戒品牢固。二善勝諸怨。三於眾中決斷無畏。四有疑悔者能開解。五善持毘尼令正法久住。又得十利，如攝取於僧等。《十誦》云：佛法幾時住世？佛答言：隨清淨比丘說戒法不壞，名法住世；乃至三世佛亦爾。二依律論中，《明了論》解云：本音毘那耶，此略言毘尼也，有五義：一能生種種勝利，謂引生世出世善。二能教身口二業清淨及正直。三能滅罪障。四能引勝義。在家者引令出家，乃至引到梵住、聖住、無餘涅槃。五勝人所行事。謂最勝人是佛，次獨覺及聲聞；是勝人等，皆行其中；若凡夫行者，亦是勝人，方能行此事。《薩婆多》云：毘尼有四義，餘經所無：一戒是佛法平地，萬善由之生長。二一切佛弟子皆依戒住，一切眾生由戒而有。三趣涅槃之初門。四是佛法纓絡，能莊嚴佛法。具斯四義，功強於彼。《善見》云：佛語阿難，我滅度後，有五種法令久住：一毘尼者，是汝大師。二下至五人持律在世。三若有中國十人，邊地五人，如法受戒。四乃至有二十人如法出罪。五以律師持律故，佛法住世五千年。《五百問》云：佛垂泥曰，阿難悲泣。佛問何以悲泣，乃至佛言，我不滅度，半月一來。又言：佛有二身，肉身雖去，法身在世。若敬法者，念法者，便敬佛念佛；若持五戒，即見法身；若護法者，便為護佛。如飲水殺蟲之喻。又如半月說戒，即見我也。《薩婆多》又云：何故律在初集？以勝故、秘故。秘故。如諸契經，不擇時、處、人說，而得名經；律則不爾，唯佛自說，要在僧中，故勝也。又如《分別功德論》云：由勝密故，非俗人所行，故不令見。《大莊嚴論》云：愚劣不堪護持此戒也。

First, explaining the root Vinayas: The *Mahāsāṃghika* states: 'If you wish to obtain five benefits, you should receive and uphold this Vinaya. What are the five? 1. Establishing the Buddhadharma. 2. Causing the true Dharma to endure long. 3. Not wishing to have doubts and regrets, and having to ask others. 4. Serving as a refuge for monks and nuns who have committed offenses. 5. Wishing to travel and convert in various directions without hindrance. These are the five benefits for a good son of devout faith.' In the *Dharmaguptaka*, the Vinaya-holder attains five virtues: 'First, the category of precepts is firm. Second, one overcomes all adversaries well. Third, one is decisive and fearless within the assembly. Fourth, one can resolve and explain doubts and regrets for those who have them. Fifth, one upholds the Vinaya well, causing the true Dharma to endure long.' Also, ten benefits are attained, such as gathering the saṃgha, and so forth. The *Daśādhyāya* states: 'How long will the Buddhadharma abide in the world?' The Buddha answered: 'As long as the pure bhikṣus' practice of upoṣadha recitation is not destroyed, it is called the Dharma abiding in the world; up to the Buddhas of the three periods of time, it is also thus.' Second, relying on the Vinaya treatises: The *Vinayavibhāṣā* explains: 'The original word is *vinaya*; here it is abbreviated as *vini*. It has five meanings: 1. It can generate various excellent benefits, meaning it brings about worldly and supramundane goodness. 2. It can instruct the twofold karma of body and speech to be pure and upright. 3. It can extinguish the hindrances of offenses. 4. It can guide toward superior meaning: it guides the householder to leave home, and leads further to the brahma-abidings, the noble-abidings, and nirvāṇa without remainder. 5. The activities practiced by superior persons: the most superior person is the Buddha, next are the pratyekabuddhas and śrāvakas; these superior persons all act within it. If an ordinary person practices it, they too are a superior person who is only then capable of performing these deeds.' The *Sarvāstivāda* states: 'The Vinaya has four meanings that other sūtras lack: 1. Precepts are the level ground of the Buddhadharma; all ten thousand virtues grow and develop from them. 2. All disciples of the Buddha abide relying upon precepts; all sentient beings exist because of precepts. 3. It is the primary gate for proceeding to nirvāṇa. 4. It is the ornament of the Buddhadharma, capable of adorning the Buddhadharma.' Possessing these four meanings, its power is greater than those others. The *Samantapāsādikā* states: 'The Buddha said to Ānanda: "After my nirvāṇa, there are five kinds of dharmas that cause it to endure long: 1. The Vinaya is your great teacher. 2. There are at least five Vinaya-holders in the world. 3. If there are ten persons in the Central Lands, or five in the border regions, to receive upasampadā in accordance with the Dharma. 4. Up to having twenty persons to perform mānatva rehabilitation in accordance with the Dharma. 5. Because the Vinaya masters uphold the Vinaya, the Buddhadharma will abide in the world for five thousand years."' The *Five Hundred Questions* states: 'When the Buddha was about to enter nirvāṇa, Ānanda wept bitterly. The Buddha asked why he wept, and went on to say: "I will not enter extinction; I will come once every half-month." He also said: "The Buddha has two bodies: though the physical body departs, the Dharma-body abides in the world. If you respect the Dharma and are mindful of the Dharma, you then respect the Buddha and are mindful of the Buddha; if you uphold the five precepts, you immediately see the Dharma-body; if you protect the Dharma, you then protect the Buddha." This is like the parable of killing insects while drinking water. It is also like seeing me when reciting the precepts every half-month.' The *Sarvāstivāda* also states: 'Why was the Vinaya compiled first? Because it is superior and because it is esoteric. "Esoteric": while the various sūtras are named sūtras without restriction of time, place, or person when spoken, the Vinaya is not so; it was only spoken by the Buddha himself and must be in the saṃgha, hence it is superior.' Also, as the *Fenbie gongde lun* states: 'Because it is superior and esoteric, it is not what worldly people practice, hence they are not permitted to see it.' The *Mahālaṃkāra-śāstra* states: 'The foolish and inferior are incapable of guarding and upholding these precepts.'