四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 2.234

2.234

The *Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya* states: Regardless of whether it was received at the proper time or at an improper time, if it passes into the improper time by even as much as a hair's breadth or an eye-blink, eating it incurs a pāyattika; if it is kept past a muhūrta, eating the food that has been kept also incurs a pāyattika. (This means receiving food in the morning up until midday; once midday has passed, the limit is one muhūrta. If it passes both times, it is called the improper time.) When a bhikṣu rises in the morning, he should wash his hands clean up to the wrists; he must not be careless. In washing the five fingertips, he should wash and scrub them with ash or earth until they squeak; if after washing he rubs them together again, they become impure, and he must wash them again. (Nowadays, people place cakes and fruits upon towels; if oily grease forms an unbroken continuity, one incurs [the offenses of] keeping overnight, improper touch, and so forth; if the towel is clean, there is no fault.) The Vinaya commands that cakes and fruits be held with a towel. In the *Daśādhyāya-vinaya*, the towel is washed daily. The *Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya* states: After washing the bowl, one must not wipe it dry; one must let it sit to dry. When about to eat, one should protect the clean hands. If one touches one's head or mouth, or rubs the hands together, one must wash them according to the washing method above. If one touches the kaṣāya, one must wash them again. The *Samantapāsādikā* states: If while begging food one encounters wind and rain, and dust and dirt fall into the bowl, one should form the thought: 'I shall beg on behalf of a śrāmaṇera.' Having received the food, upon returning he explains the circumstances above to the śrāmaṇera; having received it, the śrāmaṇera says: 'This is food for the śrāmaṇera; I now bestow it upon the Venerable.' Taking the food entails no transgression.