四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 2.33

2.33

A bhikṣu has two hundred and fifty precepts. (The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: 'If one merely speaks of names, there are two hundred and fifty; in the Vinaya, briefly spoken of there are eighty-four thousand, and extensively spoken of they are immeasurable and boundless. Therefore, those who have left household life possess immeasurable and boundless moral disciplines; laypeople do not possess the full śīla-pāramitā, while renunciants possess the full perfection of precepts.') If one cultivates according to them and skillfully understands their six kinds of features, one will produce concentration and wisdom, and definitively eradicate defilements. If one is ignorant of the objects of conditioning, one will drift with the stream and be tainted by delusion. How could one turn back the flow of saṃsāra? Rather, one will sink further into the painful realms! Therefore, relying on the teachings, I bring out the features and fully reveal observance and transgression; if one acts definitively according to this, one may hope to avoid calamity! Now I merely point out the specific differences following each precept, directly setting forth whether to proceed or refrain; a comprehensive explanation of mind and object is fully presented in 'Models for Observance and Transgression.' The precepts are indeed the ferry across saṃsāra and the essential principle of renunciation; those who receive them take the dharmadhātu as measure, yet those who uphold them are scarcer than unicorn horns. Because they have truly not comprehended the fundamental explanation, they follow sense dust and generate defilement. Since both the noble and the wise share this revered preface, how could I suppress and endure it without discussing it? Thus I take up my brush and directly unfold it!