四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 3.57

3.57

First: The Sarvāstivāda-vinaya asks: Is this method of pure donation real or nominal? Answer: Among all the ninety-six kinds of tīrthikas, there is no method of pure donation; it is through the power of the Buddha's great compassion and expedient means that he taught them to perform pure donation; this is an expedient donation, not a real donation; it enables his disciples to keep extra possessions without transgressing the precepts. Question: Why did the Buddha not simply allow the keeping of extra possessions, instead of strictly formulating the precept and then establishing this expedient? Answer: The Buddha's teaching takes fewness of desires as its foundation; therefore, he formulated the precept prohibiting keeping them; yet sentient beings differ in their capacities and nature, and their awakenings vary; just as in the past he once allowed dwellings of the seven jewels, and when bhikṣus entered them they realized the noble path; therefore, in accordance with their capacities and karmic fruits, he prohibited first and allowed later. Why was an allowance of ten days granted? Answer: The Buddha knows the nature of phenomena; being neither too lax nor too strict, he specifically allowed ten days so that one might assess donors, sew and make robes, and perform the pure donation. The [Vinaya]mātṛkā says: If through negligence one does not perform pure donation, because of a bad mental state, before the ten days are complete, one commits a nissaggīya-pācittiya in every case. In the Bodhisattvabhūmi, the bodhisattva rules also contain a method of pure donation. The Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra is likewise.