翻譯名義集 7.51

7.51

[Kaṭhina] The Mingliao lun says: 'For the sake of abbreviation, one simply says jia-ti. This translates as merit, because there is merit in keeping the summer retreat, and five benefits reward this virtue.' The Xiyu ji translates jia-ti as the Pleiades (Kṛttikā), because the Pleiades correspond to this month. The Lüchao cites the Mingliao lun, translating it as firm and solid: it can induce reality and induce abundance, because the robe does not deteriorate. It is also called "difficult to live by," because it is difficult for the poor to sustain their livelihood, yet relinquishing a small amount of wealth for this robe generates merit superior to giving a heap of robes as high as Mount Sumeru. It is also called stable, and also sheltering. Anciently it was translated as "the robe that rewards good and punishes evil," rewarding those of the earlier retreat, while those of the later retreat do not receive it. It is also translated as the merit robe, because when the monastic saṅgha collectively receives this robe, it brings the merits of five benefits. Receiving this robe according to the Vinaya permits: keeping extra cloth, spending the night apart from one's robes, eating elsewhere after an invitation, eating in separate groups, and going to other households before and after meals. The Dharmaguptaka-vinaya says: 'When the retreat has concluded, one should receive the merit robe; those of the earlier retreat receive it on the sixteenth day of the seventh month and relinquish it on the fifteenth day of the twelfth month.' The Dharmaguptaka-vinaya says: 'Whether one obtains new cloth, cloth offered by a donor, or rags from a dust heap (the Dharmaguptaka says rags from a dust heap do not mean robes from a dead person). New material should be cut and purified; if already washed, after washing, it should be stitched and purified, brought on the very day without spending the night, and not obtained through wrong livelihood. Conforming to the Dharma, it should have a border all around, five strips making ten compartments, and be colored as a kāṣāya. When receiving or relinquishing it, one should strike the bell, assemble the saṅgha, and perform the karmavācanā.' This is fully set forth in the "Chapter on Pravāraṇā".'