四分比丘戒本疏 2.72

2.72

Forty-second: Having accepted an invitation, entering a village before or after the meal without informing [others]. The precept text says 'before the meal and after the meal'; the Sanskrit syntax is inverted, and reversing the words it should read 'before the meal and after the meal'. According to the Vinaya, 'before the meal' is from the appearance of dawn until the time of the midday meal. 'After the meal' is from after the midday meal until noon. Entering a village after noon incurs the precept below on entering a village at improper times, and is not subsumed under this precept. 'Visiting another house' means not going to the inviting house, but instead going to another house. If one wishes to go, informing another person so they know makes it not an offence. According to this precept, the text has four exemptions, which when fully reasoned out become five. As for the four: 1. Informing another monk. Traditionally handed down, when informing one should say: 'Venerable Sir, focus your mind! I, the monk named so-and-so, previously accepted an invitation from so-and-so. Now having some affair, before the meal I wish to enter such-and-such a village and go to such-and-such a house; I announce this for the Venerable Sir's knowledge.' The other replies: 'It may be so.' Announcing after the meal can be understood accordingly. Examining it now: one only needs clearly to inform someone so that they know and remember it well. One must find someone who knows; it is not strictly necessary to use words such as 'Venerable Sir, focus your mind!' 2. The time of illness; 3. The time of robe-making; 4. The time of robe-giving. Within the time of robe-giving, there are two kinds of exemptions, explained according to the precept on parampara-bhojana above; therefore, they total five exemptions.