釋氏要覽 1.34

1.34

梵語也。是西天草名。具五德。故將喻出家人。古師云。苾芻所以不譯者。蓋含五義故。一者體性柔軟。喻出家人能折伏身語麄獷故。二引蔓旁布。喻出家人傳法度人連延不絕故。三馨香遠聞。喻出家人戒德芬馥為眾所聞四能療疼痛。喻出家人能斷煩惱毒害故。五不背日光。喻出家人常向佛日故○根本律百一羯磨本云。有苾芻年八十歲滿六十夏。若於別解脫經。未曾讀誦。不了其義。此名老小苾芻（別解脫經。即戒本也。此㪯隅爾）。

This is a Sanskrit word. It is the name of a grass in India that possesses five virtues, and is therefore used as a metaphor for one who has left the household life. Ancient masters said: The reason *bixu* is not translated is that it contains five meanings: First, its substance is soft and pliable, which is a metaphor for the renunciant's ability to subdue coarseness of body and speech. Second, its creeping vines spread out laterally, which is a metaphor for the renunciant's transmission of the Dharma to deliver people in an unbroken lineage. Third, its fragrance carries far, which is a metaphor for the virtue of the renunciant's precepts being fragrant and heard by the multitude. Fourth, it can heal pain, which is a metaphor for the renunciant's ability to sever the poison of afflictions. Fifth, it does not turn its back on the sunlight, which is a metaphor for the renunciant always facing the sun of the Buddha. The *Mūlasarvāstivāda-vinaya-ekottarakarma* says: "If there is a bhikṣu eighty years of age who has completed sixty rains retreats, yet has never recited the *Prātimokṣa Sūtra* and does not understand its meaning, this is called an 'old-child bhikṣu' (the *Prātimokṣa Sūtra* is the precept text; this is cited just as one example)."