釋氏要覽 3.176

3.176

即釋氏法歲也。凡序長幻。必問。夏臘多者為長。故云天竺以臈人為驗焉。經音䟽增輝記皆云。臘接也（蔡邕獨斷云。臈者。歲之終也。晉博士張亮議云。臈接也新故交接俗謂臈之明日為初歲也。今釋氏。自四月十六日）。前安居入制。至七月十五日。為受臘之日。若俗歲除日也。至十六日。是五分法身生養之日。名新歲也自夏九旬。統名法歲矣。

This is the Dharma-age among the Śākyas. Whenever ordering seniority and juniority, one must inquire [about this]; whoever has more summer retreats is the elder. Therefore it is said that in Tianzhu, monastic seniority is taken as proof. Both the Jingyin shu and the Zenghuiji say: 'La (retreat seniority) means to join' (Cai Yong's Duduan states: 'The la is the end of the year.' The Jin Erudite Zhang Liang's deliberation states: 'La means to join; the old and the new join together. The common folk call the day following the la the beginning of the year. Now, for the Śākyas, from the sixteenth day of the fourth month'), when the earlier summer retreat commences under the monastic regulation, until the fifteenth day of the seventh month, that is the day of receiving seniority, like the secular New Year's Eve. When reaching the sixteenth day, it is the day when the fivefold Dharma-body is nourished and born; it is named the New Year. From the ninety days of the summer, all are collectively called Dharma-years.