法苑珠林 36.125

36.125

The commentary states: In the land of Han, it is commonly preferred to abridge and condense; thus, when chanting pāṭha among the assembly, it is mostly done with half-verses. Therefore, the Vinayamātṛkā states that one must not perform half a pāṭha, [or] one commits a duṣkṛta offense. However, the text and lyrics of this Sanskrit pāṭha are unclear as to which classical texts they derive from in the Western regions. The answer is: the sages merely initiated the practice of chanting pāṭha based on the praise verses of the sūtras, and there is no harm in adopting them. However, the pāṭha lyrics in Guanzhong, outside the passes, Wu, and Shu each follow what is favored, resulting in many varieties of pāṭha praise. Yet, since Chinese and Sanskrit are different, their phonetic sounds and rhymes cannot be used interchangeably. Coming to the Song dynasty, there was the Dharma Master Kang Senghui, originally a native of the kingdom of Kangju, who possessed broad learning and eloquence, translated classical scriptures, and was also skilled in Sanskrit tones. He transmitted the Niyuan pāṭha, whose tonal structure was plaintive and elegant, widely renowned in the world, and all students of vocal music took it as a model. Furthermore, in the past during the Jin dynasty, there was the Dharma Master Dao'an, who compiled and instituted the three categories: presenting the scriptures, lecturing, and the poṣadha, etc. The rules established by the former worthy have not fallen to the ground, but are a model for all under heaven, practiced and followed by everyone. Then coming to the Wei dynasty,