No. 719-A重治毗尼事義集要敘
No. 719-A: Essential Compilation on the Vinaya
如來法震東區。始終須賴律檢。慈誥頒施有情。亘今備盛。木叉興替須人。頹極時至。傷茲遍土傳戒。多未依制依法。慨今海內授受。鮮非誤己誤人。皆由師乖率訓。不攻制典。而我千壽震公和尚。精習三宗。備諳幽微。攜鍚北遊於晉邦。緣聚請居於千壽。嗟斯律法無傳。誓欲挽回蔽患。十有餘載。律學為先。座下存心數人。咸欲事斯學處。唯晉遼比丘無瑕者。天資特異。偏尚律宗。廣閱毗柰耶教。窮究五篇綱旨。惜其律註無多。全藏浩繁。縱有學者。不便攻操。唯重治毗尼一書。深堪喚醍時弊。足以述盡指歸。於是誓欲刊板存世。唯希泛應羣機。意積時懷。未甞遂心。時值谷邑朝陽傳戒。嗣律比丘數人。共議末運。若重治毗尼。登梓流行。庶茲律學。後昆有冀。當時九聖。慧石。佛璧。千壽。[台/十]及餘持律上座數人。推舉募資興工。遂以浩然厥志。勞苦不憚。䟦涉未辭。剞劂二歲。斯工告成。願諸見者聞者。喜躍受持。懸戒日於中天。竪正法於末季。庶不負為法之婆心。俾報佛恩如海一滴耳。
The Dharma of the Tathāgata shines across the Eastern lands. From the very beginning, it has relied on the Vinaya for its continuation. The compassionate teachings have been bestowed upon all sentient beings, and to this day, they remain abundant. Yet the transmission of the precepts depends on worthy individuals, and when the Dharma reaches its twilight, the time of decline arrives. It is sorrowful that across the land, the conferral of precepts is often not carried out according to the established codes and proper methods. It is lamentable that within our seas, the giving and receiving of precepts frequently leads to errors that mislead both oneself and others. All of this stems from teachers who fail to uphold the proper standards and do not study the texts of the precepts.
Our Elder Master Qianshou Zhen Gong, a monk of great virtue, has thoroughly cultivated the three schools and possesses a deep and subtle understanding of their profound teachings. Carrying his staff, he journeyed north to Jin, and through karmic conditions, he was invited to reside at Qianshou Monastery. Mourning the lack of transmission of the Vinaya teachings, he vowed to restore and remedy this decline. For over a decade, he prioritized the study of the precepts. Among his disciples, several were determined to pursue this path of study. Among them was the monk Wuxia of Jinliao, whose natural talents were extraordinary. He was especially devoted to the Vinaya school, widely reading the texts of the disciplinary codes and thoroughly investigating the essential principles of the five categories of offenses. Yet he regretted that there were few commentaries on the Vinaya and that the entire canon was vast and overwhelming. Even for those who wished to study, it was not convenient to delve into such extensive works. Only the work *Chongzhi Vinaya* (The Recompiled Vinaya) is deeply capable of awakening people from the maladies of the time, and it is sufficient to fully express the essential teachings.
Thus, he vowed to carve this text onto woodblocks so that it might be preserved for the world, hoping only to broadly respond to the diverse capacities of sentient beings. This intention had long been held in his heart, yet he had not yet fulfilled it. At that time, during the transmission of precepts at Chaoyang in Guyi, several monks who had received the precepts gathered to discuss the declining age of the Dharma. They agreed that if the *Chongzhi Vinaya* were to be carved and published, it would spread far and wide, giving hope to future generations in the study of the precepts. At that time, monks such as Jiusheng, Huishi, Fobi, Qianshou, and several other elders who upheld the precepts all joined together. They recommended that funds be raised to begin this work. Thus, their resolve was firmly established. They did not fear hardship or toil, nor did they shrink from the difficulties of travel and journeying. After two years of carving, this great work was finally completed.
It is my hope that all who see it and hear of it will receive it with joyful reverence and uphold it in their hearts. May the sun of the precepts hang high in the sky, and may the true Dharma stand firm in this final age. In this way, we may not be found lacking in our compassionate intentions for the sake of the Dharma, and we may repay the Buddha’s kindness, though it be but a drop in the vast ocean.
律學比丘智[台/十]撰
Written by the Vinaya Master Zhi.