佛教中的“结界”一词有多重含义,各派的结界做法亦有差异。唐代以前,东南佛寺的结界记录较少。道宣解释并发展了《四分律》中以秉法为目的的结界规范。北宋南山律师择梧、允堪、元照等在东南寺院多有实践。南宋之后,律宗沉寂,在僧俗认知中寺院结界的含义和做法都发生了变化。一方面结界的做法受到密宗的影响,另一方面“结界元始本欲秉法”的意义被淡化了,士大夫甚至将寺院大界相理解为具有产权分界意义的“界至”。律宗结界在东南地区被传播、实践和变化的历史,既反映了佛教各派间的相互影响,更反映了佛教严明戒律和世俗明确产权这两种不同趋势的相遇和互动。

The word “sīmā-bandha” (结界) in Buddhism has multiple meanings and their rituals present different approaches in various Buddhist sects. Before the Tang Dynasty, there were few records about the practice of sīmā-bandha in Southeast China. Vinaya monk Daoxuan (道宣) explained and developed the norms of sīmā-bandha in the Dharmagupta Vinaya (《四分律) with the aim of upholding the Buddhist dharma. Such monks of the Dharmagupta Vinaya School (南山律宗) as Zewu (择悟), Yunkan (允堪) and Yuanzhao (元照) in the Northern Song Dynasty practiced and promoted the Dharmagupta Vinaya in the Buddhist temples of Southeast China. After the Southern Song Dynasty, the Vinaya School declined while the meaning and practice of the sīmā-bandha of Buddhist temples changed in the knowledge of the Buddhist monks and lay men. On the one hand, the practice of sīmā- bandha was influenced by the Tantric School (密宗), while on the other hand, the original intention that sīmā-bandha was aimed at upholding the Buddhist dharma was weakened. Some official-scholars even understood “sīmā” (大界) as the “boundary of the land of a Buddhist temple ” (界至) concerning the division of land property. The history of the Vinaya School about the spread, practice and change of the sīmā-bandha in Southeast China reflects not only the mutual influence among various Buddhist sects, but also the encounter and interaction of such two different trends as the Buddhist strict commandments and the determination of land property in the secular world.