釋氏要覽 3.176

3.176

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.