四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 2.56

2.56

The *Sarvāstivāda-vinaya-vibhāṣā* also states: 'Throughout the great trichiliocosm, down to Avīci and up to Neither-Conception-nor-Non-Conception, toward all sentient beings, whether killable or unkillable, and up to whether deceivable or undeceivable; toward each of these sentient beings, and up to the Tathāgata, toward all living beings, through three causes and conditions, one obtains the precepts toward each and every one.' Deducing from this further, that the ordained monks and nuns, as well as the lower three assemblies, uphold the vase of precept virtue, follow the holy traces in their practice, and occupy a rank higher than humans and devas, is truly due to this. Folding their hands and guarding themselves, merit constantly flows. Therefore the *Vinayavibhāṣā* states: 'The river of merit of forty-two thousand constantly flows.' The commentary explains: 'This means that the forty-two thousand training rules all constantly flow, just like river water, washing away the defilements of breaking the precepts. Speaking of forty-two thousand: the root precepts number four hundred and twenty. The reason for this is: as in the *Vasu-vinaya*, there are two hundred precepts, mostly explaining minor precepts; in the *Upadeśa*, there are one hundred and twenty-one precepts, mostly explaining grave precepts; and the bhikṣuṇīs' distinct precepts are ninety-nine; combined, they make four hundred and twenty. Each single precept has ten merits, such as gathering the saṃgha; each merit can produce ten kinds of right practice, namely the five faculties such as faith, the three wholesome roots such as non-attachment, and the two protections of body and speech; each precept thus entails one hundred, combining to make four hundred and twenty, which is indeed forty-two thousand.' Another explanation states: 'The unconditioned (apraṇihita) Vinaya means that when the third karman is completed, the forty-two thousand training rules arise simultaneously, with not a single precept failing to arise, and hence it is called unconditioned.' Seeking on this basis, the virtue of the precepts constantly flows. Question: 'The numbers of precepts for the two assemblies of monks and nuns are each distinct; why does the unconditioned Vinaya simply state forty-two thousand?' One explanation: 'This speaks by mentioning the two assemblies together; if one takes the actual principle, each accords with their own root precepts.' Another explanation: 'On the grounds of the doctrine of faculty transformation, proving that a bhikṣu implicitly generates and obtains the bhikṣuṇī precepts in advance, both possess the forty-two thousand.'