四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 2.183

2.183

Precept six: chanting together with an unordained person. Five conditions: First, it is Dharma spoken by the Buddha. Second, it possesses syllables, phrases, and meaning. Third, an unordained person. Fourth, chanting together in unison. Fifth, once the words are spoken distinctly, it constitutes an offense. In the vinaya, 'Dharma' refers to what is spoken by the Buddha, what is spoken by the śrāvakas, and what is spoken by ṛṣis and devas; whether transmitted orally or in writing. If spoken distinctly, one incurs a pāyattika. If the teacher does not instruct by saying, 'I have finished speaking, you may speak,' the teacher incurs a duṣkṛta. The *Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya* says: If spoken by śrāvaka disciples, other people, and so forth, and sanctioned by the Buddha, it incurs a pāyattika (this resolves the ambiguous text in the *Dharmaguptaka Vinaya*). The *Samantapāsādikā* says: Regarding all of the Tripiṭaka, what was spoken by the Buddha and compiled by the arhats, chanting together incurs a pāyattika; if one compiles texts oneself, up to mundane books, because they are not spoken by the Buddha, there is no offense. The *Daśādhyāya-vinaya* says: According to each chapter, each section, or each paragraph, each incurs a pāyattika. This vinaya merely says 'chanting together,' without distinguishing the number of words or phrases. The *Sarvāstivāda-vinaya-vibhāṣā* says: If both people are proficient in the scriptures, chanting alongside each other is without offense. If a bhikṣu has nowhere to receive the Dharma, he may even receive it from a śrāmaṇerī; he need only seek a person who upholds the precepts and has weighty virtue to serve as a witnessing companion, and he may also receive the Dharma from a layperson, but must not call him an ācārya. Understand other cases by this analogy; only pay attention [to propriety] so that decorum is not lost. Under non-offense in the vinaya: saying 'I have finished speaking, you speak,' or one person reciting while the other writes, or two persons of the same status chanting together, or speaking mistakenly—in all such cases, neither commits an offense.