出三藏記集 11.33

11.33

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.)