大衣
Great robe
(梵語僧伽黎。此云雜碎衣。有上中下九品衣。下下品九條。下中品十一條。下上品十三條。皆二長一短。中下品十五條。中中品十七條。中上品十九條。皆三長一短。上下品二十一條。上中品二十三條。上上品二十五條。皆四長一短。長多短少。表聖增凡減故。凡入王宮。陞座說法。入里乞食。降伏外道。當著此衣。誦此偈呪。表斷癡。淨意業也)。
(The Sanskrit term Sanghati. In Chinese, this is called the "patchwork robe." It comes in nine grades, from lower to upper. The lowest of the low grade has nine strips; the middle of the low grade, eleven strips; the highest of the low grade, thirteen strips—all with two long strips and one short. The lowest of the middle grade has fifteen strips; the middle of the middle grade, seventeen; the highest of the middle grade, nineteen—all with three long strips and one short. The lowest of the high grade has twenty-one strips; the middle of the high grade, twenty-three; the highest of the high grade, twenty-five—all with four long strips and one short. The long strips outnumber the short ones, symbolizing the increase of the sacred and the decrease of the worldly. Whenever entering a royal palace, ascending the teaching seat to preach the Dharma, entering a village to beg for food, or subduing non-Buddhist teachers, one should wear this robe and recite this verse and mantra. This symbolizes cutting off delusion and purifying the karma of the mind.)
善哉解脫服 無上福田衣 奉持如來命
廣度諸眾生
Wonderful is the robe of liberation, the supreme field of merit. I uphold the Buddha's teaching and guide countless beings across to the other shore.
唵。摩訶婆波。吒悉帝莎訶(三徧)
Om. Maha bhaba. Tsa sidi soha. (Recite three times.)
(葢此三衣而稱福田者。增輝記云。田畦貯水。生長嘉苗。以養形命。法衣之田。潤以四利之水。增其三善之苗。以養法身慧命。藏義經云。袈裟有十種利益。一者菩提上首。二者眾處人天。三者父母反拜。四者師子捨身。五者龍披免難。六者國王敬信。七者眾生禮拜。八者羅剎恭敬。九者天龍護祐。十者得成佛道。又悲華經云。佛於寶藏佛前發願。願我成佛時。袈裟有五功德。一。入我法中。犯重邪見等。於其念中。敬心尊重。必得三乘授記。二。天龍鬼等。能敬此袈裟少分。即得三乘不退。三。若有鬼神諸人。得袈裟乃至四寸。飲食充足。四。眾生共相違背。念袈裟尋生慈心。五。若持此少分。恭敬尊重。常得勝他。大論云。釋子受持禁戒是其性。剃髮染衣是其相。四分律中。佛告諸比丘。隨所住處。常與三衣俱。譬如鳥之兩翼。恒與身俱。汝等捨本族姓。以信出家。應當如是。所到之處。法衣隨身。不應離宿。僧祇律中。佛言。比丘三衣一鉢。須常隨身。違者出界結罪。當敬三衣如塔想。十誦律中。佛言。護三衣如自皮。護鉢如眼目。所行之處。與衣鉢俱。無所顧戀。猶如飛鳥。若不持三衣。入聚落俗人處。犯罪。五分律。三衣謹護。如身薄皮。常須隨身如鳥之羽。飛走相隨。大乘梵網菩薩戒中。佛言。若佛子。常應二時頭陀。冬夏坐禪。結夏安居。常用楊枝。澡豆。三衣。瓶。鉢。坐具。錫杖。香爐。漉水囊。手巾。刀子。火燧。鑷子。繩牀。經。律。佛像。菩薩形像。而菩薩行頭陀時。及遊方時。行來百里千里。此十八種物。常隨其身。違者結罪。蓋三衣一鉢。乃佛佛親持。祖祖授受。七眾同遵。兩乘共制。若云出家佛弟子。衣鉢可離。東西兩土。軌則不同者。請閱三藏。何經何律何論許開。當知佛言可信。凡語無憑。有智慧者。勿染邪風。須堅信力爾)。
(Now, why are these three robes called a "field of merit"? The Zeng Hui Ji says: A field holds water and grows fine sprouts to nourish the body and sustain life. The field of the Dharma robe is moistened by the water of the four benefits, nourishes the three good sprouts, and sustains the Dharma-body and the life of wisdom. The Sutra of the Treasury of Mysteries says: The kashaya robe has ten benefits. First, it is foremost on the path to Enlightenment. Second, one is honored among humans and gods. Third, one's parents bow in return. Fourth, the lion gives up its body. Fifth, dragons who wear it escape calamity. Sixth, kings respect and have faith. Seventh, beings bow in reverence. Eighth, demons show respect. Ninth, gods and dragons protect. Tenth, one attains the path to Buddhahood. Also, the Sutra of the Compassionate Flower says: Before the Buddha Jewel Treasury, the Buddha made a vow: When I attain Buddhahood, may the kashaya robe have five meritorious virtues. First, those within my Dharma who have committed grave offenses or hold wrong views—if in their thoughts they respect it with sincere reverence, they will surely receive a prediction of the Three Vehicles. Second, gods, dragons, ghosts, and others who can revere even a small part of this kashaya will not fall back from the Three Vehicles. Third, if ghosts, spirits, or people obtain even four inches of the kashaya, their food and drink will be sufficient. Fourth, when beings are in conflict with one another, if they think of the kashaya, loving-kindness immediately arises in them. Fifth, if one holds even a small part of it with reverence and respect, one will always overcome others. The Great Treatise says: For the Shakya clan's disciples, observing the precepts is their nature; shaving the head and dyeing the robes is their appearance. In the Four-Part Vinaya, the Buddha told the monks: Wherever you dwell, always keep the three robes with you, like a bird's two wings that are always with its body. You have abandoned your original clan and family and gone forth in faith; you should be like this. Wherever you go, the Dharma robe should accompany your body, and you should not spend the night apart from it. In the Sanghika Vinaya, the Buddha said: A monk's three robes and one bowl must always be kept with him; one who violates this, even leaving the boundary, incurs an offense. One should revere the three robes as one would a stupa. In the Ten Recitation Vinaya, the Buddha said: Protect the three robes as you would your own skin; protect the bowl as your own eyes. Wherever you go, keep the robes and bowl with you, without attachment, like a flying bird. If one does not carry the three robes and enters a village or the places of laypeople, one commits an offense. The Five-Part Vinaya says: Guard the three robes carefully as the thin skin of your body. Always keep them with you like a bird's feathers—whether flying or walking, they follow. In the Brahma Net Bodhisattva Precepts of the Great Vehicle, the Buddha said: If a Buddha's disciple always practices the two-period ascetic practice, sits in meditation in winter and summer, observes the summer retreat, and regularly uses the willow twig, bath beans, three robes, bottle, bowl, sitting cloth, staff, incense burner, water filter, hand towel, knife, fire striker, tweezers, rope bed, sutras, vinaya texts, Buddha images, and Bodhisattva images—when this Bodhisattva practices asceticism and travels, whether going a hundred or a thousand miles, these eighteen items should always follow his body. Violators incur an offense. Now, the three robes and one bowl were personally carried by every Buddha and transmitted from patriarch to patriarch, followed by all seven assemblies and jointly established by both vehicles. If one says that for a home-leaving disciple of the Buddha the robe and bowl may be separated from him, or that the rules differ between the Eastern and Western lands, then please consult the three baskets: in which sutra, which vinaya, or which treatise is such an allowance permitted? Know that the Buddha's words are trustworthy, while ordinary words have no basis. Those with wisdom should not be tainted by wrong practices, but must firmly uphold the power of faith.)