四分律行事鈔資持記 3.720

3.720

次敷床中，《僧祇》，初明敷床。俗不知法，故令教之。飲食亦爾，同上敷具。若施主下，次明尼處。得教安設者，以提舍中制尼指授故。在別處者，息嫌疑故；或在僧下，但令相遠。不勝僧者，尊卑倒故。《長含》，有三意：一示佛位在中，二明道俗處別，三知俗眾得同齋會。雖有此通，終成參濫，多不生善；幸有別室，異處彌善。

Next, under 'Spreading the Bedding,' in the Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya, it first explains spreading the bedding: since laypeople do not know the Dharma, one instructs them to do so. Food and drink are also like this, treated the same as the spreading accessories above. From 'If the donor...' onward, it clarifies the nuns' place. That monks may instruct the arrangement is because the prātideśanīya rules forbid nuns from directing it. Placing them in a separate room dispels suspicion; or if below the monks, simply keep them at a distance. That they must not surpass the monks is because high and low would be inverted. The Dīrgha Āgama contains three intentions: first, to show the Buddha's seat is in the center; second, to clarify that the monastic and lay places are separate; third, to show that lay assemblies may join the vegetarian banquet. Although this allowance exists, it ultimately results in confusion and mingling, rarely generating wholesome roots; if fortunately there is a separate room, having different quarters is far better.