上座

Sthavira; or Mahāsthavira. Old man, or elder; head monk, president, or abbot; the first Buddhist fathers; a title of Mahākāśyapa; also of monks of twenty to forty-nine years standing, as [lang id =1028]中座 are from ten to nineteen and [lang id =1028]下座 under ten. The [lang id =1028]釋氏要覽 divides presiding elders into four classes, those presiding over monasteries, over assemblies of monks, over sects, and laymen presiding over feasts to monks.

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僧寺的職位名， 位在住持之下， 除了住持以外， 更無人高出其上， 故名為上座。