律相感通傳 1.112

1.112

"Your recent explanation of the sitting mat was extraordinarily remarkable; relying on the sūtras and treatises, it had no error or discrepancy. However, it was not complete from beginning to end, which is why I respectfully discuss it again. Originally, when the Buddha first delivered the five persons, down to the Kāśyapa brothers, he regulated that the kāṣāya be on the left arm and the sitting mat beneath the kāṣāya. The kings and ministers of India all wore white cotton cloth draped over their left shoulders; therefore the Buddha regulated that the corner of the robe should rest on the arm to differ from secular people. When the monk Aśvajit delivered beings through his dignified comportment, the Dharma robes at that time were not yet draped over the shoulder. Later, as the disciples he delivered gradually multiplied, young monks were handsome and elegant in appearance, and entering the city to beg for food, they were often loved by women. Because of this, the Buddha regulated that the corner of the robe be on the left shoulder. Later, because it was blown by the wind, he permitted placing a heavy object to weigh it down. The monks did not understand the Buddha's intention and fashioned their own objects to weigh down the robes with various adornments, incurring ridicule and censure from the laity. The monks reported the matter to the Buddha, who said: 'What I previously permitted as a heavy object was the niṣīdana; anything else is improper.'