釋氏要覽 1.151

1.151

In Sanskrit it is āraṇya or araṇya; in the Tang language, 'without dispute'. / The Dharmaguptaka Vinaya says: 'an empty and quiet place.' / The Sarvāstivāda-śāstra says: 'a calm and quiet place.' / The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: 'a place of seclusion.' / The Mahākāruṇika Sūtra says: 'An āraṇya is so called because it is free from all busy affairs.' / The Twelve Dhūta Sūtra says: 'The Buddha said that the āraṇya is praised together by all Buddhas of the ten directions; immeasurable merits all arise from this.' / Master Zhao says: 'Rancor and competition arise from gatherings of crowds; freedom from dispute emerges from solitary leisure. Therefore the Buddha praised dwelling in an āraṇya.' / The Ratnamegha Sūtra says: 'An āraṇya is solitary and quiet without people, free from annoyance and disturbance; almsfood is easy to obtain, neither too far nor too close; it has many groves, flowers, and fruits, with pure and sweet water, and niche-rooms that are peaceful and secure.' / Regarding the distance of an āraṇya: the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: 'A secluded place is at least two li away; further is even better: one krośa (translated as a drum sound) away from a village.' / The Vinaya says: 'Five hundred bows away from a village.' A bow is a fathom (xun). According to the method of Western India, every four cubits make one bow; a cubit is one foot eight inches long, making seven feet two inches in total. Five hundred bows make one krośa. Accumulating 3,600 feet makes 600 paces, which is two li.