四分律刪繁補闕行事鈔 3.70

3.70

Under the first heading, the intent of the prescription: The reason why, after any of the five assemblies dies, [the property] all enters the saṃgha is that while alive one relied upon the Three Jewels to renounce the household life, yet property does not enter the Buddha or Dharma; because the six harmonies of renunciation uniformly comply with the essential path of release, and what the physical actions perform is entirely subsumed under the law of the saṃgha. Therefore, when people donate to the Buddha or Dharma, bhikṣus have no share; if they donate to the saṃgha, it is received according to status. Nor does it belong to the laity, because they are not merit fields. The Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya states: When Ājñātakauṇḍinya entered nirvāṇa in an empty forest, a cowherd sent his robes and goods to the king. The king then valued them at five coins and, in accordance with the law, returned them to the śramaṇas; and the Buddha said they belonged to the saṃgha. The Daśādhyāya-vinaya states: When Upananda died, his robes and goods were worth four hundred thousand ounces of gold. The kṣatriya king and his relatives all wanted to confiscate them. The Buddha said: "The king bestows [property] upon his ministers; bhikṣus do not obtain it. Even when relatives assemble, one does not see [the deceased] summon them. The property and rules of the monastic family are uniform; laypeople have no right to them; this belongs to the saṃgha's property."