法苑珠林 74.15

74.15

如寶梁寶印經云。佛法二物不得互用。由無與佛法物作主。復無可諮白。不同僧物。常住招提。互有所諮。若用僧物修治佛塔者。依法取僧和合得用。不和合者勸俗人修治。若佛塔有物。乃至一錢已上。以施主重心故捨。諸天及人。於此物中應生佛想塔想。乃至風吹爛壞。不得貿寶供養。以如來塔物無人作價也。又十誦律云。佛聽僧坊佛圖。畜使人及象馬牛羊等。各有所屬不得互用。又僧祇律云。供養佛物。華多聽轉賣買香燈。猶故多者轉賣無盡財中。又五百問事口決云。佛幡多者。欲作餘佛事用者得。若施主不許者不得。又四分律云。供養佛塔食。治塔人得食。又善見論云。佛前獻佛飯食。侍佛比丘得食。若無比丘白衣侍佛亦得食。又罪福決疑經云。初獻佛時。上中下座。必教白衣奉佛及僧。獻佛竟行與僧食不犯。若不爾者。食佛物故。千億歲墮阿鼻地獄。檀越不受師教。亦招前報。若生人間。九百萬歲墮下賤處。何以故。佛物無人能評價故（若汎爾齋家及在僧寺二時常食。獻佛聖僧食不局。入佛僧者不須收贖。唱餘食後一切得食。若情標施食。定入佛僧。不通白衣者。應贖己。取食也）。

As the Ratnarāśi-sūtra and the Bao yin jing state: 'Property belonging to the Buddha and property belonging to the Dharma must not be interchanged. Because there is no one acting as owner for the property of the Buddha and the Dharma, there is no one to consult. This is unlike the property of the Saṅgha: whether permanent property or property of the Saṅgha of the four directions, there are people to consult with one another. If one uses the property of the Saṅgha to repair a stūpa of the Buddha, if one takes it according to the Dharma with the harmony of the Saṅgha, it may be used; if they are not in harmony, one should urge laypeople to repair it. If there is property belonging to a stūpa of the Buddha, even a single coin or more, because the donor gave it with great reverence, devas and humans should produce the thought of the Buddha and the thought of the stūpa regarding this property. Even if it is blown by the wind and rots, one must not exchange it for precious items to make offerings, for no one can set a price on the property of the Tathāgata's stūpa.' Furthermore, the Daśādhyāya-vinaya states: 'The Buddha permitted monastic dwellings and Buddhist shrines to keep servants, elephants, horses, cattle, and sheep, but each belongs to its own sphere and they must not be interchanged.' Furthermore, the Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya states: 'Of property offered to the Buddha, if there are too many flowers, it is permitted to sell them to buy incense and lamps; if there is still an excess, it may be sold and put into inexhaustible wealth.' Furthermore, the Oral Decisions on the Five Hundred Inquiries states: 'If there are too many banners for the Buddha, if one wishes to use them for other Buddha-affairs, it is permitted; if the donor does not allow it, it is not permitted.' Furthermore, the Caturvargika-vinaya states: 'Regarding food offered to the stūpa of the Buddha, the person who maintains the stūpa is permitted to eat it.' Furthermore, the Samantapāsādikā states: 'Regarding food offered before the Buddha, the bhikṣu who serves the Buddha is permitted to eat it; if there is no bhikṣu, a white-robed layman who serves the Buddha is also permitted to eat it.' Furthermore, the Zuifu jueyi jing states: 'When first offering food to the Buddha, the senior, middle, and junior theras must instruct the white-robed laity to offer it to the Buddha and the Saṅgha. When the offering to the Buddha is finished, it is distributed and given to the Saṅgha to eat, which incurs no offense. If it is not done in this way, because they eat the Buddha's property, they will fall into Avīci Hell for a thousand koṭis of years. If the dānapati does not accept the master's instruction, he will also incur this same retribution; if born in the human realm, he will fall into base conditions for nine million years. Why is this? Because no one can set a price on the property of the Buddha.' (Generally, in the case of fasting households and the regular two daily meals in monastic temples, food offered to the Buddha and the noble Saṅgha is not strictly restricted. What enters the Buddha and the Saṅgha does not need to be redeemed; after the remaining food is announced, all may eat it. If the donor explicitly specifies the offered food as strictly for the Buddha and the Saṅgha, not open to the white-robed laity, one must redeem it oneself before taking and eating it.)