出三藏記集 11.33

11.33

右四寺佛圖舌彌所統。寺僧皆三月一易屋床座或易藍者。未滿五臘。一宿不得無依止王新僧伽藍（九十僧有年少沙門字鳩摩羅才大高明大乘學與舌彌是師徒而舌彌阿含學者也）阿麗藍（百八十比丘尼）輸若干藍（五十比丘尼）阿麗跋藍（三十尼道）右三寺比丘尼統依舌彌受法戒比丘尼外國法不得獨立也。此三寺尼。多是葱嶺以東王侯婦女。為道遠集。斯寺。用法自整。大有檢制。亦三月一易房或易寺出行。非大尼三人不行。多持五百戒。亦無師一宿者輒彈之。今所出比丘尼大戒本。此寺常所用者也。舌彌乃不肯令此戒來東。僧純等求之至勤。每嗟此後出法整唯之斯戒末乃得之。其解色以息婬不在止冶容也。不欲以止竊不在謹封藏也。解色則無情於外形。何計飾容與不飾乎。不欲則無心於珠玉。何須慢藏與緘縢乎。所謂無關而不可開。無約而不可解也。內揵既爾。外又毀容麁服。進退中規。非法不視。非時不飡。形如朽柱。心若漯灰。斯戒之謂也。豈非聖人善救人故無棄人也哉。然女人之心弱而多放。佛達其微防之宜密。是故立戒每倍於男也。大法流此五百餘年。比丘尼大戒了於其文。以此推之外國道士亦難斯人也。法汰頃年鄙當世為人師。處一大域而坐視令無一部僧法推求出之。竟不能具。吾昔得大露精比丘尼戒。而錯得其藥方一柙。持之自隨二十餘年。無人傳譯。近欲參出殊非尼戒方知不相開通至於此也。賴僧純於拘夷國來得此戒本。令佛念曇摩持慧常傳。始得具斯一部法矣。然弘之由人。不知斯人等能尊行之不耳（此戒文與今戒往往不同尼眾學猶作尸叉吉利）。

The four monasteries above were governed by Fotushemi. The monks of the monasteries all changed their rooms and bed-seats every three months, or changed monasteries; those who had not completed five summer retreats were not permitted to spend a single night without reliance. The King's New Saṃghārāma (90 monks; there was a young śramaṇa named Kumāra, of great talent and lofty brilliance, studying Mahāyāna, who was master and disciple with Shemi, whereas Shemi was a student of the Āgamas); the Ali Monastery (180 bhikṣuṇīs); the Shu Ruogan Monastery (50 bhikṣuṇīs); the Aliba Monastery (30 bhikṣuṇī ascetics)—the bhikṣuṇīs of the three monasteries above all relied on Shemi to receive the Dharma and precepts; under foreign law, bhikṣuṇīs are not permitted to be independent. The nuns of these three monasteries were mostly wives and daughters of kings and nobles east of the Congling (Pamir) Mountains, gathering from afar for the sake of the Way. These monasteries ordered themselves by their own regulations, having strict restraints; they also changed rooms every three months, or changed monasteries. When going out, they never walked without three senior nuns. Most upheld the five hundred precepts; if anyone spent a night without a teacher, they were immediately reprimanded. The Great Bhikṣuṇī Prātimokṣa now produced is that which was regularly used in these monasteries. Shemi was initially unwilling to let this prātimokṣa come east; Sengchun and others sought it with utmost diligence, constantly lamenting this. Later, Fazheng arrived; it was solely through him that this prātimokṣa was finally obtained. Understanding form so as to extinguish lust does not lie in stopping alluring adornment; lacking desire so as to stop theft does not lie in carefully locking things away. If one understands form, there is no passion for external appearance; what need is there to calculate whether the appearance is adorned or not? If one lacks desire, there is no attachment to pearls and jade; why bother about loose storage or tight binding? This is what is meant by: 'Without bolts, yet it cannot be opened; without bindings, yet it cannot be untied.' Such being the inner restraint, externally they also disfigure their looks and wear coarse robes, their deportment conforming to the rules, not looking at what is not Dharma, not eating at improper times, their bodies like rotten pillars and their minds like damp ashes—this is what these precepts mean. Is it not because the Sage is good at saving people that no person is abandoned? However, women's minds are weak and often unrestrained; the Buddha discerned their subtleties, so the prevention ought to be strict. For this reason, the established precepts are always double those for men. The Great Dharma has flowed here for over five hundred years, yet the Great Bhikṣuṇī Prātimokṣa had no clear text. Inferring from this, foreign religious masters also found such people difficult [to regulate]. In recent years, Fatai despised those who were teachers of men in his time, residing in a great domain yet passively watching without having a single complete vinaya for the saṃgha sought out and produced; in the end it could not be made complete. In the past, I obtained the Daluqing Bhikṣuṇī Precepts, but by mistake received a box of its medical recipes; I kept it with me for over twenty years, with no one to translate it. Recently, wishing to compare and produce it, I found it was completely not the nuns' precepts; only then did I realize that communication was obstructed to such a degree. Fortunately, Sengchun came from Kucha and obtained this prātimokṣa text, causing Zhu Fonian, Dharmadharma, and Huichang to transmit it, so that this single vinaya corpus could finally be completed. Yet propagation depends on the person; I do not know whether such people can revere and practice it. (The text of these precepts often differs from the present precepts; female learners are still called śikṣamāṇās.)