翻譯名義集 1.265

1.265

[Sthāna / Sthavira] Here translated as "elder" (shangzuo, sthavira). The Mahīśāsaka-vinaya says: "The Buddha said: 'He who has none superior above him is called an elder.'" Daoxuan was imperially appointed as the elder of Ximing Temple, ranked above the abbot and the karmadāna. The Vinayamātṛkā says: "From having no summer retreats up to nine retreats, one is a junior seat; from ten retreats to nineteen retreats, one is a middle seat; from twenty retreats to forty retreats, one is an elder. Above fifty retreats, one is revered by all śramaṇas and called an elderly venerable." The Mahāvibhāṣā-śāstra says: "There are three kinds of elders: first, an elder by birth-years, namely a venerable senior who possesses old precepts, called true birth; second, a worldly elder, namely one who understands the Dharma, is wealthy and noble, possesses great wealth and high position, belongs to a great clan, has great power, and has a large retinue—even if only twenty years of age, all should unite in recommending him as an elder; third, an elder by dharmatā, namely an arhat." The Vinaya says: "King Bimbisāra called the Buddha's disciples 'superior persons' (shangren)." The Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra says: "The Buddha said: 'If a bodhisattva with single-minded devotion practices anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi, and the mind is undistracted, this is called a superior person.'" The Yogācārabhūmi-śāstra says: "One who lacks practices of benefiting oneself and benefiting others is called an inferior person; one who has self-benefit but lacks benefit for others is called a middling person; one who possesses both benefits is called a superior person."