四分戒本疏卷第一．第二．第三 3.82

3.82

"If a bhikṣu obtains fine, delicious food—ghee, curd, fish, meat—and if the bhikṣu knows it is such delicious food and, being without illness, asks for it for himself, it is a prāyaścittika." This complete precept text has four clauses: first, the offender; second, the nature of the food; third, lack of reason; fourth, asking for oneself, fixing the offense. In analyzing the characteristics, it is obvious. The Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya states: One must not beg from a butcher's house or a dairy house, for fear of inviting censure. Begging for silk floss from a sericulturist's house is also of this type. Question: Why did the Vinaya fix a duṣkṛta for a bhikṣuṇī? Answer: A nun is a weak woman; asking for fine food is something tabooed for women and done rarely, therefore it is a duṣkṛta. A great monk has the physical retributive strength of a man, and begging for delicious food to nourish his body occurs frequently, hence it is a prāyaścittika. The Vinaya states: Regarding non-offenses: a sick person asking for himself; asking for a sick person; or mutually begging for each other; or obtaining it without asking—none of these are offenses.