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If > A school in China used to have three summer-retreats in one year. For the date of the two retreats, see Mahdvagga III, 2, 2. See my note at the end. * Kaéhina-Astéra, see Mahdvagga VII, 1,3, note (pp. 148-150), and Childers, s.v. ® Seven days seem to be the maximum allowance, except on urgent necessity, sce Mahavagga III, 5, 5, &c. 86 A RECORD OF BUDDHIST PRACTICES. XV. there be a sick person! or a difficult affair to be attended to, one should go off; in such a case one will not break the summer-retreat though leave of absence is not taken. The five Parishads? of the homeless members have to enter upon the retreat; among these a member of the lower class is permitted to be absent in case of necessity, by asking another to apply for permission on his behalf. Before the Varsha (Rainy-season) rooms are assigned to each member; to the elders (i.e. Sthavira) better rooms are given, and thus gradually to the lowest. In the monastery of Nalanda such rules are practised at present; the great assembly of priests assigns rooms every year. This is what the World-honoured taught us himself, and it is very beneficial, Firstly, it removes one’s selfish intention; secondly, the rooms for priests are properly protected. It is most reasonable that the homeless priests should act in this way. Thus the monasteries in the south of the Kiang sometimes assign rooms to priests; this has been handed down by the ancient worthies and is still in practice. Is it seemly that one should occupy a temple and regard it as one’s own possession, and pass one’s life without knowing whether such a practice as this is permissible or not? During former generations this was not carried out. In the whole of China men of later generations have lost sight of the Law. If the assignment of rooms be practised according to the teaching, it would, indeed, prove to be greatly beneficial (to the Sangha). CHAPTER XV. CONCERNING THE PRAVARANA-DAY. Tune day on which the summer-retreat ends and the season (lit. the year) closes should be the Sui-i (lit. ‘according to one’s wish’ or ‘indulgence ;’ Prav4rawa), i.e. pointing out the faults of others, as one likes, according to the three points (i.e. what, one has seen, what one has heard, and what one has suspected). Then follows confession and 1 Cf. Mahavagga III, 6, 1, &c. 2 Bhikshus, Bhikshuzts, Sikshama4s, Sramaveras, and Sramaneris are called the five Parishads ; to these sometimes Upasakas and Upasikds are added as seven Parishads in all. See Mahdvagga III, 5, 4, and Childers, s.v. Parisa (f.). CONCERNING THE PRAVARANA-DAY, 87 atoning for faults’. A former translation of Pravarana was Sse-sse, i.e. ‘self-indulgence’ according to its sense. On the night of the fourteenth day (the fifteenth day is the last day of the retreat), the assembly should invite a precentor to mount a high seat and recite a Buddhist Siitra, when lay devotees as well as priests throng together like clouds or mist. They light lamps continually, and offer incense and flowers. The following morning they all go out round villages or towns and worship all the A’aityas with sincere mind. They bring storied carriages, images in sedan-chairs, drums, and other music resounding in the sky, banners and canopies hoisted high in regular order (lit. entwined and arranged), flattering and covering the sun; this is called Sa-ma-kin-li (Sdmagri)’, which is translated as ‘concord’ or ‘thronging together.’ All great Upavasatha-days are like this day. This is what we call in China ‘Ceremony of going around a city.’ At the beginning of the forenoon (9 to 11 a.m.) they come back to the monastery, at noon they keep the great Upavasatha-ceremony, and in the afternoon all gather together, each taking in his hand a tuft of fresh rushes. Handling it with their hands or treading on it with their feet they do what they like, first Bhikshus, next Bhikshusis ; then the three lower classes of the members. If it be feared that the time should be too long owing to the largeness of the number, the Sangha should order several members to go together and receive the Pravarana- ceremony. When any offence has been pointed out by another, one should confess and atone for it according to the Law. 7 At this time, either the laymen present gifts, or the Satgha itself distributes them, and all sorts of gifts are brought out before the assembly, The five venerable persons (one each from the five Parishads (?)) should then ask the heads of the assembly (i. e. Sthaviras) : ‘Can these things be given to the members of the Safgha and made _ 7 Cf. Mahavagga IV, 1, 14,‘ Let the senior Bhikshus say: “I invite the Sangha to charge me with any offence of which they think me guilty, which they have seen, or heard of, or which they suspect ; may you speak to me, sirs, out of pity towards me; if I see (an offence), I will atone for it.”’ I-tsing seems to be almost translating these words literally. * Childers, s.v. Sdmaggi and Uposatho, where he calls it ‘reconciliation uposatha.’ , > 88 A RECORD OF BUDDHIST PRACTICES. " xv. their own possession, or not?’ The heads of the assembly reply : ‘ Yes, they can.’ Then all garments, knives, needles, awls, &c., are received and equally distributed. Such is the teaching (of the Buddha). The reason why they present knives and awls on this day is, that they wish the recipients to obtain (sharp) intelligence and keen wisdom. When thus the Pravaraza ends, all go their ways (lit. to east or west). If they have fully kept their residence in the summer there is no need of passing a night there; this is fully explained elsewhere, and I shall not state it here in detail. The idea of the ‘confession of sins’ is that, declaring one’s own offence and speaking of one’s past faults, one would desire to alter (i.e. atone for) the past conduct and repair the future, and to carefully condemn oneself with perfect sincerity. Every half month one should make a Poshadha’, and every morning and evening one should reflect on one’s own offences, (Note by I-tsing): Poshadha *; posha means ‘ nourishing,’ dha means ‘purifying, and thus Poshadha means nourishing (or cherishing) good quality, and purifying the guilt of breaking precepts. It was formerly transliterated by Pu-sa, which is too short and wrong. An offence of the first group (i.e. the Paragika offences or sins involving expulsion from the Brotherhood, see Childers, s. v.) cannot be atoned for. As to an offence of the second group (i.e. Sanghadisesha? * Poshadha here is understood to mean confession, though I-tsing’s etymo- logy is very curious. This word can only be traced back to the Pali Uposatho, ‘fasting,’ and ‘fast-day.” Childers observes that the Northern Buddhists, misled by the change of ava to 0, and ignorant of the word Upavasatha, which does not belong to classical Sanskrit, have rendered Uposatha by Uposhadha, which is, of course, a mere mechanical adaptation, and has no etymology (Burnouf, Lotus, 450; Introduction, 227), and that in Burnouf’s Lotus, 636, we have Uposatha, which is merely an adoption of the Pali word. When the original Upavasatha has been forgotten while using Uposhadha, the ‘u’ of Uposhadha might easily be dropped and a false etymology be applied to it. "In the Lalita-vistara we have already Poshadha (p. 46), Poshadeya (p. 15), and Poshadhaparigrzhita (adj. ‘in which they hold Poshadha’). In the BrAhmanic Sanskrit we have Upavasatha {fasting) in the Satapatha Brahmaza I, 1, 1,73 IIL, 9, 2, 7; Il, 3, 4, 1. This last gives the idea of staying at one’s house. * Chavannes has Sahghdvasesha, see Memoirs, p. 167. CONCERNING THE PRAVARANA-DAY. 89 offences or sins requiring suspension and Penance but not expulsion, see Childers, 8.v.), the offender should, after a Penance, be reinstated in a community of the Bhikshus forming a body of twenty}, but if the offence be a slight one, it should be confessed and atoned before those who are not one’s equals. In Sanskrit, we say ‘ Apattipratidesana, Apatti meaning sin or offence, Ppratidesana, confessing before others. While thus confessing one’s own faults and desiring to be purified, one hopes the sins are expiated being confessed one by one. To confess sins all at once is not permitted in the Vinaya. Formerly we used the word San-kuei, but this does not refer to ‘confession. For kshama (the Chinese ‘San’ in ‘San-kuei’ stands for kshamé) is the Western word (i.e. Indian) and means‘ forbearance,’ while kuei (of San-kuei’) is a Chinese word meaning ‘repentance.’ Repentance has no connexion whatever with forbearance. If we strictly follow the Indian text we should say, when we are atoning for an offence : *I confess my offence with a sincere mind®’ From this, it is People of the West, when they have made a mistake or unintention- - ally touched another's body, say kshamé,’ sometimes stroking the body of the one whom they have offended, or sometimes touching his shoulder ‘ they do this without regard to their position ; if both parties be elders (ie. Sthaviras), they look at each other with their hands hanging down, or if one party be inferior, the inferior one joins the hands and pays due respect to the other. The idea of kshaméa 2 is ‘beg your pardon,’ ‘ please do not be angry.’ In the Vinaya, the word kshamé is used when we apologise to others, but Desana ( Pratidesana) is used when we confess our sins ourselves, Fearing lest we should mislead men of later ages, I have thus spoken about the errors introduced in the former time. Although we are accustomed to the present practices, yet we must strive to follow the original rules. Sanskrit, pravarana, is translated by ‘(Doing) as one wishes 3’ it also * Cf. Patidesaniya Dhammé4, Patimokkha, p. 56,8. B.E,, vol. xiii, * Patimokkha, P. 56, ‘I have fallen into a blameworthy offence ..