Four Part Vinaya (四分律)

Preface to the Four-Part Vinaya

The establishment of precepts serves to prevent wrongdoing and correct misconduct, to restrain the four kinds of demons, and to surpass the worldly path. Without precepts, this path cannot be realized; they are the essential gateway to the three vehicles and the dwelling place of all virtues. However, ordinary beings, ignorant and deluded, slumber in the dark, tossed about by the four currents, willingly enduring the eight kinds of suffering. They open the door to evil destinies and block the path to returning to truth, wandering through the long night without awakening themselves.

At times, there are those who renounce the world, aspiring to subtle and profound truths. But though they harbor lofty intentions, they are lost when taking the first step. Therefore, the Tathagata, moved with compassion for the blind who lack vision, and sorrowful at the eight difficulties, opened the wonderful gate of precept virtue, revealing the correct path to Nirvana. Beginning at Vaishali, he first laid down these precepts, totaling two hundred and fifty-eight articles. These are divided into seven categories of offenses, arranged according to their gravity, establishing clear distinctions between light and heavy. All are decreed by the sacred mouth and are the fixed standards for blessings and calamities.

Yet the treasury of monastic rules is vast and profound, expanding and contracting without fixed form: in brief it is threefold, in breadth it is limitless. This collection of two hundred and fifty precepts was composed in response to the needs of the time. Sufficient to open the minds of the ignorant, sufficient to serve as a stepping-stone to the path, the flourishing of the Three Jewels owes its greatness to this. The way of the ancient sages is indeed perfected here!

Since the Great Dharma spread eastward, nearly five hundred years have passed. Although its remaining radiance has reached us, the Buddha's precepts and scriptures have not yet been fully established. The wise and enlightened ones of earlier times all focused their minds on the study of precepts. However, due to differences in regions and language barriers, the meaning of the texts remained unintegrated. They tried to trace the footsteps of the Sage, but found it difficult to reach completion. Thus, they spent their lives feeling discontent, looking westward and sighing.

Then, in the year Renchen, there was a monk from the Jin kingdom named Faling. He felt troubled that the border regions were cut off from the Sage and lamented that the true Dharma had not yet spread. Risking his life to traverse dangerous terrain, hoping to propagate the Dharma in places where it had never been heard, he journeyed westward across the shifting sands, aiming for the distant land of India. On his way, he passed through Khotan, where he met the Dharmaguptaka monk Buddhayaśas—a treasure of the Great Vehicle, well-versed in the Tripitaka and learned in both scriptures and precepts. This master had thoroughly memorized and could fluently recite the Tripitaka and the teachings of the Mahayana. Faling then gathered numerous scriptures in that country. After returning to the monastery, he finally arrived in the Qin kingdom in the year Wushen. The ruler of Qin, Yao, was overjoyed, seeing this as a profound and mysterious treasure of auspiciousness. He declared that the vast and profound Dharma must be transmitted through precepts, and that the traditions passed down by the spiritual assembly must not be incomplete. That very year, he honored the request to have the Vinaya Pitaka translated.

At that time, over three hundred monks specialized in the Vinaya were gathered at the Zhongsi Monastery in Chang'an to produce the translation. Faling’s disciple Huibian served as the translator and editor, repeatedly refining the work, striving to preserve its authenticity without being rough or careless. The result was thorough and precise, as if one were seeing the original teachings themselves. Previously, precepts that had been transmitted in this land differed and conflicted with each other, often causing confusion. Now, by examining this Vinaya Pitaka, we can understand the reasons for these discrepancies. It happened because, after the Great Sage passed into Nirvana, the five schools split apart. Each school held onto what its own teachers had heard at that time, leading to variations in what was allowed and what was prohibited. Through generations of master-disciple transmission, these differences gradually emerged. Yet, when we trace them back, although there are minor divergences, they ultimately stem from a single source. How can we prove this? Take, for example, the *Sarvāstivāda Vinaya*; it discusses the undergarment and the three robes under many different names. Other schools are similar. But this Vinaya Pitaka gives them a single general name, simply for the sake of uniformity. Differences in high and low are merely explanations of what uniformity means. From this we can infer that the differences among the five schools are coarse and rough, but we can still grasp their meaning. Those who seek should not be confused by this. Now, this Vinaya Pitaka is clear and distinct. The true teaching is plain and bright. It can nourish the spirit and dispel confusion.

But the scholars of today often devote themselves to ornate literary decoration, not taking the study of precepts as their priority. This is why the Buddha’s treasury has been compared to birds and rats, and why the assembly has been likened to monkeys. These sharp criticisms have gone as far as they can go! All of us followers should each strive to be diligent, clearly mindful, and steadfast in our practice, so that the Great Dharma may long endure!

Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, Volume 1 (Fascicle 1, Part 1)