釋門章服儀 1.48

1.48

The robes of the holy lineage are made distinctive by means of the Dharma; robes devoid of the Dharma are not worthy of reverence. As prescribed in the Vinaya, one must receive and uphold them, yet the liturgy was not recorded in the text, presumably because the transmission was abbreviated. Surveying other lineages overall, they all possess formulas for receiving them; therefore, one must master them thoroughly and distinguish their protection according to their reception. From antiquity, the karman liturgies have all cited their texts, thus citing other traditions to jointly complete this school's teachings. Some employ the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya to perform the adhiṣṭhāna for receiving and upholding them, on the premise that the Dharma was originally one, only branching off into different flavors along its course. Yet one must understand that in guarding them in practice, the meanings are not identical. The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya defines loss of possession by the boundary of the dawn light, whereas the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya allows an exception at the moment darkness departs and light arrives. Thus, regarding observance and transgression, how could such a heaven-wide divergence be unified? To accept the formula following another tradition is truly impermissible. The Sarvāstivāda Vinaya's clear determinations do not differ from the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya; one may rely on its text to perform the adhiṣṭhāna for these robes.