四分律行事鈔資持記 2.525

2.525

In examining the measurements of the foot: the first passage has three parts; first, an introductory marking. From "The Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya…" downward, the second part cites them directly. The Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya and the Vinayadvāviṃśatividyā-śāstra have the same measurement. The Samantapāsādikā specifies three feet. The Sarvāstivāda Vinaya Vibhāṣā specifies a cubit and a half, which is two feet seven inches. The Mahīśāsaka-vinaya is what is accepted here. From "The translators…" downward, the third part provides the reasons. There are two: first, differences in the places of translation; second, differences among the translators. Their experiences and observations were not uniform, each relying on what they had witnessed. "South" refers to the Yang capital (Jiankang), and "North" indicates the capitals Jing and Luo (Chang'an and Luoyang). Furthermore, the Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen consecutively formed the Southern Dynasties, while the Later Wei, Later Zhou, and Sui were called the Northern Dynasties. The Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya was translated by Buddhabhadra and Faxian under the Eastern Jin; the Vinayadvāviṃśatividyā-śāstra was translated by Paramārtha under the Chen; the Samantapāsādikā was translated by Saṅghabhadra under the Southern Qi; the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya Vibhāṣā's translator is lost, but the text was acquired in Western Shu; the Mahīśāsaka-vinaya was translated by Buddhajīva together with Zhu Daosheng under the [Liu] Song. Among them, Daosheng and Faxian were Chinese, while the rest were all Indian monks; hence it is said that their places of birth were different. "Spear" (máo) is a qiāng pike, and "shield" (dùn) refers to a side shield. (Han Feizi states: A man of Chu was selling spears and shields in the market. To a spear-buyer he said, "This spear is so sharp that it pierces anything." To a shield-buyer he said, "This shield is so solid that nothing can pierce it." Someone said, "What if one used your spear to pierce your shield?" He was left speechless. Here it is used as a metaphor for mutual contradiction.)