緇門警訓 3.28

3.28

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.