四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 2.186

2.186

Precept nine: Teaching the Dharma to a woman beyond the limit. Six conditions constitute [the offense]: first, it is a human female; second, one knows [she is]; third, she has not requested it; fourth, there is no intelligent lay male present; fifth, the sentences and words are distinct; sixth, exceeding five or six phrases, an offense is immediately committed. If she has not requested it, one is permitted up to five or six phrases; if she requests a teaching or asks about the meaning, it may be as many [phrases] as required. The Pañcavargika-vinaya states: "Because understanding can be attained through five or six phrases, the precept was formulated." The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya states: "Five phrases refers to 'form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness are nonself'; six phrases refers to 'the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind are impermanent.' One must not add a single phrase more." In the Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya: "If, after speaking six phrases, one says, 'May you swiftly put an end to suffering,' one incurs a pāyattika." The Vinaya states: "An intelligent male refers to one who understands and knows what is coarse and evil and what is not coarse and evil." The Sarvāstivāda-vinaya-vibhāṣā states: "An intelligent male understands human emotional speech and can act as a witness; if he does not distinguish right from wrong, he is not permitted. He must be a layperson; a monastic cannot [serve as the witness], because their circumstances are the same. Even if a saṃgha has gathered, if there are many women and no lay male, one must not speak [the Dharma] to them. A woman means one capable of engaging in sexual intercourse; if speaking to a bhikṣuṇī, it is permitted." The Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya states: "If he is blind or deaf, he is also regarded as absent; one blind person and one deaf person together count as one person. If he is asleep, he is also regarded as absent. If it is one's mother, sister, and so forth, it is also an offense. If he is under seven years of age, or if older but does not understand the meaning and flavor of good and bad, he is likewise regarded as an unintelligent male. The rest is as in the Great Commentary." The Madhyama Āgama states: "Whenever someone asks about the Dharma and its meaning, one should answer: 'Ask if you wish to ask; having heard it, I shall contemplate it.'" In the Vinaya, if the explanation is not completed, it is a duṣkṛta. Non-offenses: if five or six phrases; if exceeding them before an intelligent male; if replying at length when requested in the absence of an intelligent male; conferring the five precepts and the Dharma; conferring the eightfold upavasatha fast and speaking on the eightfold fast Dharma; the noble eightfold path, or the ten unwholesome actions; explaining at length when a woman asks about the meaning and fails to understand; or if one speaks in error—in all such cases there is no offense.