中天竺舍衛國祇洹寺圖經 2.18

2.18

時大迦葉禮阿難已，右遶三匝，至前問訊如佛無殊，便問阿難：「汝隨如來二十餘年，世尊所制毘尼教門先於何處？若布薩時，當用何籌？籌為長短？說戒之時作何方法？最初受戒，師僧弟子若為昇壇？最初戒壇若為集眾，高下、闊狹何依何時肘量？安舍利不？四面周匝周用何物砌？開幾階道？遶壇四面作何形像？無石國中得作壇不？無土國中得用沙不？伽藍院宇何方相？邊方受戒幾僧得受？末法時中無清淨僧，初受戒者若為能具比丘尼戒，先無尼眾，比丘得不？」如是次第三千八百問。

Then Mahākāśyapa, having prostrated to Ānanda and circumambulated him to the right three times, went before him to inquire after him no differently than to the Buddha, and asked Ānanda: 'You followed the Tathāgata for more than twenty years: where was the teaching of the Vinaya formulated by the World-Honoured One first established? At the time of the poṣadha, what tally should be used? What is the length of the tally? What method is used when reciting the precepts? When ordination was first received, how did the preceptors and disciples ascend the platform? When the first ordination platform assembled the community, what cubit measurements did its height and width rely upon, and from what era? Were śarīra placed therein or not? What material was used to pave all around the four sides? How many stair-paths were opened? What forms and images were made circling the four sides of the platform? In a land without stone, can a platform be made? In a land without earth, can sand be used? What are the orientations and forms of the monastery's compounds? How many monks are needed to confer ordination in a border region? In the period of the final Dharma, when there are no pure monks, how can a novice receive the full precepts? If there is no previous bhikṣuṇī community, can bhikṣus confer the bhikṣuṇī precepts?' In this sequence, there were three thousand eight hundred questions.