釋氏要覽 1.309

1.309

('Baring' means baring the flesh.) The Śāriputraparipṛcchā-sūtra states: '[Śāriputra asked:] At what times should one cover or bare [the shoulders]?' (Covering means covering both shoulders; baring means uncovering the right arm.) 'The Buddha said: "When receiving offerings of food, one should bare [the right shoulder] so as to facilitate work. When acting as a field of merit, one should cover both shoulders to display the form of a field of merit."' (A commentary notes: 'Receiving offerings refers to seeing the Buddha, paying homage to the Buddha, requesting permission from the three preceptors, entering the assembly, and the like. Acting as a field of merit refers to sitting properly in meditation, reciting sūtras, entering villages, and sitting under trees, so that people see the dignified appearance of the field pattern. If one covers both shoulders before the Buddha, one will fall into the Iron Armor Hell for five hundred lifetimes.')