四分戒本疏卷第一．第二．第三 3.10

3.10

"If a bhikṣu lodges in the same room with a woman, it is a prāyaścittika." This complete Prātimokṣa text contains four phrases: first, the person who commits the offense; second, the woman; third, lodging in the same room; fourth, declaring the offense. The first phrase is obvious. Regarding the second phrase, "with a woman": the Vinaya states, "A human woman who has conscious awareness and whose life faculty is not severed." Regarding the third phrase, "lodging in a room": there are four kinds of rooms: 1. It is obstructed on all four sides and covered above. That is, being together within one hall; if there is a partition within it, according to the treatises, it is not considered [the same room]. 2. The front is open without a wall; that is, beneath the eaves of a long row of rooms where both ends are obstructed. 3. Though covered, it is not completely covered; that is, in the same courtyard sharing a single gate, it is entirely covered above but open in the center. 4. Though completely covered, there are openings; that is, the entire covering and obstruction has a small opening for light. Regarding "lodging": in these four kinds of rooms, the precept against a bhikṣu lodging together with a woman applies whether the woman arrives later, or the bhikṣu arrives later, or the two arrive together. If one lies down and turns from side to side, with each and every turn one commits an offense. Regarding the fourth phrase, "prāyaścittika": this is the phrase designating the offense. Within this there are two [aspects]: if one lodges in the same room with a woman, with each turn from side to side one commits a prāyaścittika. If one lodges together with a female animal, a human paṇḍaka, or a person with both sexual organs, it is a duṣkṛta. If the bhikṣu lies down all day and the woman stands, it is a duṣkṛta; if the woman sits, one commits a falling offense (prāyaścittika) for [being in] a secluded place. According to both treatises, the Sarvāstivāda-vinaya-vibhāṣā and the Samantapāsādikā, if they gather altogether in a hall within the same enclosure, even if they enter and exit, they commit offenses. In the Sarvāstivāda Vinaya, if one sits throughout the night in the room, one does not commit an offense; this must be in a place with many people together where there is light and one does not sleep. The Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya says that if there is one room with separate doors and a partition, there is no offense. If during a great assembly one preaches the Dharma through the night, and in the open air there is wind, rain, cold, or snow, and one wishes to enter inside a room, one should sit upright. If one is old or sick and unable to sit, one should set up a partition; one must not use coarse material; it must be as high as the shoulders and armpits, and go down to the ground so that not even a kitten can pass through. If there is no partition, and the woman is trustworthy, one should tell the woman: "You sleep first; I will sit." When the bhikṣu wishes to sleep, he tells her to get up: "I wish to sleep; you must not sleep. If you sleep, you will have no meritorious practice." The Sarvāstivāda-vinaya-vibhāṣā says that lodging with ten women brings ten falling offenses; with each and every turn, one incurs ten falling offenses each time. In a layperson's house, if one's room is adjacent to a woman's and the door is not closed, it is a duṣkṛta. Among the non-offenses, the Vinaya states: if one previously did not know there was a woman lodging inside the room; if it does not constitute the characteristics of a room; if one is sitting, walking, or sick; if one is thrown in by superior force; if one is bound by someone; or if for the sake of life, the brahma-practice, and so on—in all such cases there is no offense.