釋氏要覽 1.317

1.317

梵云尼師壇。此云隨坐衣○根本毘奈耶云。尼師但那。唐言坐具。淨法師註云。文言坐具。此乃敷具。坐臥皆得。佛制者。本為儭替臥具。恐有所損。不擬餘用也○五分律云。為護身護衣護僧床褥故。著生具○僧祇云。若在道行。得長疊中疊安衣囊中。至本處當敷而坐。律應量作。長佛二𭢳手。廣一𭢳手半（佛一𭢳手長二尺四寸。此合長四尺八寸。廣三尺六寸）○律云更增者。即向四邊各益。如今坐具。四緣有貼。即象也。不許單作。若新物作。當用故物貼中蓋壞其好也。若自無故物。又無求處。不貼無過。記云。佛先許安左肩上鎮衣。因有外道。問一比丘曰。汝肩上片布。何名何用。比丘答云。名尼師壇。是坐具。又問汝所披衣。何名。有何功德。答。忍辱衣。三寶之相。上制夭魔。下降外道。又問。此衣既有是功德可貴豈得以所坐之布居其上。若汝自為。師何不教。若師教者。此法不足可尊。比丘白佛。佛因制移安左臂衣下（衣即三衣也。以此證是。觸不得淨用）。戒壇圖經云。尼師壇。如塔之有基。汝今受戒。即身是五分法身之塔。良由五分法身因戒生故。

In Sanskrit, niṣīdana; here translated as 'garment for sitting on'. ○ The Mūlasarvāstivāda-vinaya states: 'Niṣīdana; in the language of the Tang, zuoju (sitting mat).' Dharma Master Yijing commented: 'The text says "sitting mat", but this is a spreading cloth; it may be used for both sitting and sleeping. What the Buddha instituted was originally to line and protect bedding, fearing it might be damaged, not intended for other uses.' ○ The Mahīśāsaka-vinaya states: 'To protect the body, protect the robes, and protect the saṃgha's bed and bedding, one wears the sitting mat.' ○ The Mahāsāṃghika[-vinaya] states: 'When walking on the road, it may be folded lengthwise or in half and placed in the robe bag; upon arriving at one's place, it should be spread out to sit on. The vinaya requires it to be made to measure: two Buddha sugata-spans long, and one and a half spans wide.' (One Buddha sugata-span is two chi four cun long; this comes to four chi eight cun long, and three chi six cun wide.) ○ The vinaya says 'add further to it', meaning adding to each of the four sides, just like the patches on the four borders of present-day sitting mats; this is the pattern. It is not permitted to make it single-layered; if made of new cloth, old cloth must be patched into the center, so as to spoil its fine appearance. If one does not have old cloth and has nowhere to seek it, not patching it is without fault. A commentary notes: 'The Buddha previously permitted placing it on the left shoulder to weigh down the robe. Because a non-Buddhist asked a monk, "What is that piece of cloth on your shoulder called, and what is its use?" the monk answered, "It is called a niṣīdana; it is a sitting mat." He asked again, "What is the robe you wear called, and what merit does it have?" The monk replied, "The robe of forbearance; an emblem of the Three Jewels. Above, it subdues Mara; below, it overcomes non-Buddhists." The questioner asked again, "Since this robe possesses such noble merit, how can the cloth you sit upon be placed on top of it? If this is your own doing, why did your teacher not instruct you? If your teacher instructed it, this Dharma is not worthy of honor." The monk reported this to the Buddha, and the Buddha then instituted moving it beneath the robe on the left arm.' (Robe means the three robes; this proves it is contaminated and cannot be used cleanly.) The Jietan tuxing says: 'The niṣīdana is like the foundation of a stūpa. Now that you receive the precepts, your very body is the stūpa of the five-part Dharma body, precisely because the five-part Dharma body is born from the precepts.'