四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 1.535

1.535

三尼來請出過法。若無尼眾來，依常自恣，不須同說戒，問尼有無。若尼來者，當自恣前，語令在眼見不聞處立。眾僧自恣若至五三人，量時早晚，令尼得還者，上座勅五德且住，待尼自恣。當命之至僧中，禮足已，令說三事見、聞、疑等，如別法明。大眾良久默然，上座勅尼云：大眾上下各並默然，不云見罪者，良由尼等內無缺犯，外得清淨，各精勤行道，謹慎如法自恣。至寺當傳此教，告尼僧令知。餘同尼法。此謂白日法。今時多在十四夜或十五夜自恣者，若尼明日來時，鳴鐘集僧，不來者索欲。大眾集已，尼來僧中，如常威儀，請求三事，餘同前示。問：此非僧法，何須盡集索欲？答：以尼依僧住，溥使舉罪，若一人不和，則不成自恣。故律云：若僧不滿，若不和合，則令問訊禮拜，不得如廣自恣法。處既有僧，通須舉治無濫，故須集之。《僧祇》教誡中，本無羯磨法，亦令隨緣說欲訖，然後教誡。由是僧法，理不偏別，故今僧尼自恣，同是僧法，準用不疑。《五百問》：夏末尼來受歲，若二尼已上得，一尼不得。以尼獨行出界，犯重罪故。

Third, the procedure when nuns come to request the pointing out of faults. If no nuns come, perform pravāraṇā according to the ordinary way, without needing, as in the upoṣadha recitation, to ask whether nuns are present. If nuns come, prior to the pravāraṇā they should be told to stand where they can be seen but not heard. When the monks' pravāraṇā reaches three to five persons, judging the time whether early or late so that the nuns may return, the senior monk orders the five-virtue [monks] to pause and wait for the nuns' pravāraṇā. They should be called into the saṃgha, and after paying homage at the feet, be made to state the three matters of seen, heard, and suspected [offenses], as clarified in the separate procedure. After the assembly remains silent for a long while, the senior monk instructs the nuns, saying: "The assembly, senior and junior, are all silent and do not speak of seen offenses; this is truly because you nuns are inwardly free from fault and outwardly pure. Strive diligently in practicing the Way and be cautious to perform pravāraṇā according to the Dharma. When you reach your monastery, transmit this instruction and inform the bhikṣuṇī-saṃgha." The rest is the same as the bhikṣuṇī procedure. This refers to the daytime rite. Nowadays it is mostly performed on the fourteenth or fifteenth night; if the nuns come the next day, strike the bell to assemble the saṃgha, and solicit chanda from those who do not come. Once the assembly has gathered, the nuns come into the saṃgha, adopt the standard deportment, and request the three matters, the rest being as shown above. Question: This is not a saṃgha karman, so why must everyone assemble and chanda be solicited? Answer: Because the nuns dwell in reliance on the monks and universally ask for offenses to be brought up, if even one person is not in concord, the pravāraṇā is not constituted. Thus the Vinaya says: If the saṃgha is incomplete or not harmonious, they are ordered to pay respects and make inquiries, and cannot perform it according to the extensive pravāraṇā procedure. Since there are monks present, all must participate in bringing up and resolving offenses without irregularity, hence they must assemble. In the Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya's instruction [to nuns], originally there is no karman procedure, yet it also orders them to convey chanda according to circumstances and then give instruction. Because it is a saṃgha rite, in principle there is no one-sided exception; thus the pravāraṇā of monks and nuns today is likewise a saṃgha rite, to be applied accordingly without doubt. The Five Hundred Questions states: At the end of the summer, when nuns come to receive the year[-end pravāraṇā], two or more nuns are permissible, but one nun is not permissible, because a nun traveling alone outside the boundary incurs a grave offense.