四分戒本疏卷第一．第二．第三 2.94

2.94

"If a bhikṣu, when ten days remain before the end of the three summer months, receives an urgent gift robe, the bhikṣu, knowing it is an urgent gift robe, should receive it; having received it, he should keep it up to the robe season; if he keeps it beyond [that season], it is a niḥsargika-prāyaścittika." This complete precept text has five clauses: first, the person committing the offense; second, the time limit for receiving the robe, hence "when [ten] days remain before the end of the three summer months," because unless it is urgent, receiving is not permitted; third, from "the bhikṣus..." onward, permission to receive what is urgent; fourth, from "having received the robe..." onward, permission to keep it during the proper season without offense; fifth, from "if beyond..." onward, determination of [the offense for] keeping it beyond the time limit. In the detailed explanation below, the first clause is self-evident. As for the second, keeping it "when ten days remain before the end of the three summer months": the Vinaya states that after the sixth day of the seventh month and before the fifteenth day is the time limit for receiving the robe. As for the third, "the bhikṣus receive an urgent gift robe, they should receive it": this is the permission to receive what is urgent; therefore the Vinaya states that if one receives it, one gets it, but if one does not receive it, it is lost, hence it is called "urgent." As for robes, there are ten kinds. As for the fourth, "having [received it], he should keep it up to the robe season": this is permission to keep it during the season without offense. Therefore the Vinaya states: as for "the robe season," after the pravāraṇā is finished, if one does not receive the kaṭhina robe, it is one month; if one receives the robe, it is five months. If ten days remain before the pravāraṇā and one obtains an urgent gift robe, having received it, one may keep it up to one month or five months; even if one should receive it on the day before the pravāraṇā, beyond the one month or five months, nine more days are added. As for the fifth, "if he keeps it beyond that time, it is a niḥsargika-prāyaścittika": this determines the prāyaścittika for keeping it beyond the time; therefore the Vinaya states that for an urgent gift robe, whether [received] before the time or kept beyond the time, both incur forfeiture and falling. Below, miscellaneous matters are clarified. Question: For an ordinary extra robe, if ten days pass without declaring it to render permissible, when the break of dawn appears on the eleventh day, one incurs an offense. For this urgent gift robe, if received on the sixteenth day of the seventh month, ten days are without offense, but when dawn breaks on the sixteenth day, one should incur an offense; why then is it said that keeping it for one month or five months is without offense? Answer: For an extra robe that does not clearly connect with the robe season, there is only the prior permission and not the subsequent permission; therefore one immediately incurs an offense. For this urgent gift robe, receiving it during the ten days is its prior permission, and after entering the sixteenth day is the subsequent permission; because they connect, it exceeds this boundary without offense. As for non-offenses, the Vinaya states: not exceeding the time before, and not keeping it beyond the time after; if robes are seized by thieves, lost, burned, or swept away by flood, receiving before the time is not an offense; if one has four such notions as of loss, or there are perils and the roads are impassable, up to the river waters flooding heavily; or if that receiving bhikṣu dies or goes on a journey, due to such difficulties, keeping it beyond the time is entirely without offense.