緇門警訓 3.28

3.28

鈔云。問律中僧列二百五十戒。戒本具之尼。則五百此言虛實（五百之言乃出智論與律不同故問決之）答兩列定數約指為言（約即略也）故諸部通言不必依數。論其戒體唯一無作。約境明相。乃量塵沙。且指二百五十以為持犯蹊徑耳。律中尼有三百四十八戒。可得指此而為所防。今準智論云。尼受戒法略則五百。廣則八萬。僧則略有二百五十。廣亦同尼律儀。

The Chao says: Question: In the vinaya, two hundred and fifty precepts are listed for monks, and the prātimokṣa contains them in full; for nuns, there are five hundred. Is this statement real or provisional? (The statement of five hundred comes from the Dazhidulun and differs from the vinaya, so it is asked to resolve it.) Answer: Both listings are fixed numbers, spoken as approximate designations (approximate means abbreviated). Therefore all the schools generally say that one need not adhere strictly to the numbers. In terms of their precept-essence, it is solely the single non-manifesting [essence]. Clarifying the aspects with respect to the objects, they are measured like dusts and sands. It merely points to two hundred and fifty as the pathway for holding and breaking. In the vinaya, nuns have three hundred and forty-eight precepts; these can be designated as what is prevented. Now, based on the Dazhidulun, it says: The precept rules received by nuns are five hundred in the brief, and eighty thousand in the extensive. For monks, there are briefly two hundred and fifty, and in the extensive, it is also identical to the moral conduct of the nuns.