No. 725-A式义摩那尼戒本序
Preface to Siksamana Nun’s Pratimoksha (No. 725-A)
惟夫世教。禮儀為先。出世洪規。戒律居首。非禮儀無以成賢智。乘戒律所以趣菩提。故大經云。戒是一切道果梯航。亦是一切善果根本若不護持禁戒。云何當見佛性。一切眾生雖有佛性。要因持戒然後乃見。因見佛性。得成無上菩提。是故大小兩乘。同稟尸羅。出家五眾。共遵戒法。第以時當末法。人多喜受撥持。虗霑戒品。反作苦海中敝囊。或以狂慧妄談般若。輕毀毗尼。致使愚蒙隨習。後進無門。寧知如來備盡物機。教闡三乘。戒立五眾。而女性闇鈍。煩惑偏厚。乃制以六法。令其二年預學大尼一切諸戒威儀。戒體漸成。方聽受具。然其所依。必以知律大尼為師。但大尼不得向說五篇七聚之名。惟聽語令不婬不盜等諸戒威儀。嗟夫末代大尼罕遘。知律者全稀。既不蒙於親授。復不許閱篇聚之文。無由得知止持作犯。縱有向上之志。而無措足之方。爰是稽諸律本。編集所應學法。俾有慚有愧。樂學戒者。時而習之。
These worldly teachings place ritual as the foremost priority; in the profound path of renunciation, precepts are the cornerstone. Without ritual and propriety, one cannot become worthy or wise; by following the precepts, one steps toward enlightenment. Thus, the Great Sutra states: "Precepts are the vehicle for reaching the fruit of the path, and the root of all good results. If one does not uphold them, how can one see one's Buddha-nature? All beings possess Buddha-nature, but it is only through upholding the precepts that they can see it. By seeing the Buddha-nature, they attain supreme enlightenment." Therefore, both the Great and the Small Vehicles equally uphold the teachings of moral discipline, and all five groups of monastics follow the precept rules.
However, we live in a degenerate age. Many people casually accept the precepts but then neglect to observe them. This reduces the precepts to nothing more than a worn-out bag in the sea of suffering. Some boast arrogantly about "realizing emptiness" and recklessly dismiss the monastic code, causing the ignorant to follow their example while those of good intention have no clear guidance. Do they not realize that the Tathāgata adapted his teachings to the capacities of all beings, expounding the Three Vehicles and establishing the five groups of precept-holders? Women, being of a duller and more stubborn nature with heavier afflictions, were given a special training rule: for two years they must learn all the precepts and proper conduct of a senior nun, gradually forming the precept-essence, before they are allowed to receive full ordination. This training must be guided by a senior nun who is well-versed in the precepts. However, the senior nun is not permitted to recite the names of the five major and seven minor classes of offenses; she only instructs them in the basic precepts: no sexual misconduct, no stealing, etc., along with the proper deportment.
Alas, in this degenerate age, qualified senior nuns are rarely found, and those who truly know the precepts are even fewer. Since the new nuns are neither taught directly by them nor allowed to read the texts listing the precept categories, they have no way to learn what to observe and what to avoid. Even if they have the sincere aspiration to train, they lack the means to move forward. Therefore, I have compiled the relevant training rules from the original vinaya texts so that those who are conscientious and desire to learn the precepts may study them regularly.
旹順治庚寅孟夏大菩提心沙門弘贊識
In the early summer of the Gengyin year of the Shunzhi reign, the great Bodhi-mind monk Hongzan inscribed this.