四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 3.57

3.57

初中，《薩婆多》問曰：此淨施法，真耶？假耶？答：一切九十六種外道，無淨施法；佛大慈悲方便力故，教令淨施；是方便施，非真施也；令諸弟子得畜長財而不犯戒。問：佛何以不直令畜長財，而彊與結戒，設此方便？答：佛法以少欲為本，是故結戒，制令不畜；而眾生根性不同，悟入各異；如昔一時開七寶房舍，比丘入中，便證聖道；所以隨其機報，先制後開。何故開十日？答：佛知法相，不緩不急，正開十日，使籌量布施人，縫治作衣及說淨法。《母》云：若放逸不說淨者，以惡心故，不滿十日，皆犯捨墮。《地持》中，菩薩法亦有淨施法。《涅槃》亦爾。

First: The Sarvāstivāda-vinaya asks: Is this method of pure donation real or nominal? Answer: Among all the ninety-six kinds of tīrthikas, there is no method of pure donation; it is through the power of the Buddha's great compassion and expedient means that he taught them to perform pure donation; this is an expedient donation, not a real donation; it enables his disciples to keep extra possessions without transgressing the precepts. Question: Why did the Buddha not simply allow the keeping of extra possessions, instead of strictly formulating the precept and then establishing this expedient? Answer: The Buddha's teaching takes fewness of desires as its foundation; therefore, he formulated the precept prohibiting keeping them; yet sentient beings differ in their capacities and nature, and their awakenings vary; just as in the past he once allowed dwellings of the seven jewels, and when bhikṣus entered them they realized the noble path; therefore, in accordance with their capacities and karmic fruits, he prohibited first and allowed later. Why was an allowance of ten days granted? Answer: The Buddha knows the nature of phenomena; being neither too lax nor too strict, he specifically allowed ten days so that one might assess donors, sew and make robes, and perform the pure donation. The [Vinaya]mātṛkā says: If through negligence one does not perform pure donation, because of a bad mental state, before the ten days are complete, one commits a nissaggīya-pācittiya in every case. In the Bodhisattvabhūmi, the bodhisattva rules also contain a method of pure donation. The Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra is likewise.