菩薩戒本疏 2.99

2.99

違正業故制。大小俱制，道俗同防。然文列五事，第五不敬好時，未必皆同，至文當列。文中邪業，凡列五事：一、身謗三寶，詐現親附；二、口便說空，行在有中；三、為白衣媒嫁；四、媒合男女；五、齋時作惡。餘皆文顯。第五事中，若破齋犯戒，隨事別結。今不敬好時邊，通結一罪。此一事，於聲聞法，未必制為別戒；菩薩法中，為於善法生殷重故，制之為戒。一云：唯制在家，出家盡壽持齋，不論時節故。一云：亦通出家，為敬時故，雖有常戒，當於齋日，應更受之。准《藥師經》，出家五眾，亦受八戒，蓋為增長善法故也。「六齋日」者，黑白各三。於此日中，鬼神得勢力故，傷害人民。劫初聖人為人之免害，以制齋法，避鬼神害，唯斷中後食為齋，未制戒法。佛出世時，仍此舊法，復加八戒。黑白各第八及十四日，此是摩醯首羅分日，各十五日，是一切神分日，故月六中制受齋法。「年三長齋」者，《提謂經》云：「正月本齋十五日，五月本齋日十五日，九月本齋十五日，為歲三長齋日。」因緣如經廣說。《優婆塞經》云：為亡者修福則有三：春正月，夏五月，秋九月。《十住論》云：於三氣日，鬼神得勢故，遮三氣持齋法，謂冬至後四十五日為三氣也。

This is instituted because it violates right action. Both the Greater and Lesser [Vehicles] prohibit it, and monastics and laity alike guard against it. However, the text lists five matters; the fifth, failing to respect auspicious times, is not necessarily identical [between them], as will be listed when reaching the text. Among the wrong actions in the text, five matters are listed in total: first, slandering the Three Jewels in person while feigning intimacy and allegiance; second, preaching emptiness with the mouth while conduct remains in existence; third, acting as a matchmaker for laypeople; fourth, bringing men and women together; fifth, committing evil during poṣadha times. The rest are clear from the text. In the fifth matter, breaking the poṣadha fast and violating precepts are separately judged according to the deed. Here, on the side of failing to respect auspicious times, it is collectively judged as a single offense. This single matter, in the śrāvaka Dharma, is not necessarily instituted as a separate precept; in the bodhisattva Dharma, in order to generate deep reverence for wholesome dharmas, it is instituted as a precept. One explanation says: It only restricts householders, because monastics uphold the poṣadha for their entire lives, regardless of seasons. Another explanation says: It also applies to monastics; to show reverence for the times, although they have permanent precepts, on poṣadha days they should receive them anew. Based on the Bhaiṣajyaguru-sūtra, the five renunciant assemblies also receive the eight precepts, precisely in order to increase wholesome dharmas. As for 'the six poṣadha days,' there are three in each of the dark and bright fortnights. On these days, ghosts and spirits gain strength and therefore harm people. In the beginning of the kalpa, holy ones instituted the poṣadha practice to allow people to avoid harm, avoiding injury by ghosts and spirits solely by abstaining from food after midday as a poṣadha, without yet instituting precept rules. When the Buddha appeared in the world, he followed this ancient practice and further added the eight precepts. The eighth and fourteenth days of both the dark and bright fortnights are the allotted days of Maheśvara; each fifteenth day is the allotted day of all spirits; therefore the poṣadha rules are instituted for six days in a month. As for the 'three long poṣadhas of the year,' the Tiwei jing states: 'The fifteen days of the original poṣadha of the first month, the fifteen days of the original poṣadha of the fifth month, and the fifteen days of the original poṣadha of the ninth month are the three long poṣadha days of the year.' The causes and conditions are explained in detail in the sūtra. The Upāsaka-[śīla]-sūtra states: In cultivating merit for the deceased, there are three times: spring in the first month, summer in the fifth month, and autumn in the ninth month. The Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā states: On the days of the three ethers, ghosts and spirits gain power; therefore, to counter the three ethers, the poṣadha practice is observed, referring to the forty-five days after the winter solstice as the three ethers.