四分比丘戒本疏 1.16

1.16

From here below is the second [section], prescribing identical practices. The community's essence consists in the six harmonies: karmavācanā corresponds in meaning to harmony in views, while recitation of the prātimokṣa corresponds in meaning to harmony in precepts; the remaining four harmonies support and fulfill these two. Because possessing the six harmonies entails great merit, in all teachings holy bodhisattvas and others pay reverent homage to the Saṃgha, to say nothing of ordinary beings below them. However, at the time of the recitation of the prātimokṣa, four or more persons must perform a simple motion (ñatti) and extensively recite the prātimokṣa. As explained in this text, if there are only three persons or fewer, all must assemble within the boundary and may not receive [another's] consent (chanda); face-to-face, each in turn says: "Venerables, attend with single-mindedness. Today, on the fifteenth day of the bright fortnight (naming the dark fortnight accordingly), the community of monks performs the recitation of the prātimokṣa. I, the monk so-and-so, am pure" (spoken three times). If there are only two persons, one simply says: "Venerable, attend with single-mindedness," with the remaining words being the same as above. If there is only one person, directly before the Buddha one says: "Today, the bright fortnight..." and so forth, without needing the words "Venerable, attend with single-mindedness," with the remaining words being the same as before. For three persons or fewer, face-to-face and mental declarations are applicable throughout natural boundaries and ritually marked boundaries; assembling according to whichever boundary, they do not recite the prātimokṣa. This differs from the Vinayavibhāṣā, where, after face-to-face declarations and so forth are completed, they still recite the prātimokṣa. If there are difficulties during the community's recitation, an abbreviated recitation in three or five [sections] is also permitted. Furthermore, regarding the day for the recitation of the prātimokṣa, it is permissible on any of the three days—the fourteenth, fifteenth, or sixteenth—as extensively explained in the Vinaya.