釋門歸敬儀 1.76

1.76

序曰：夫為務學之士，無時不行，固得念念策心，新新習起。豈可前念背惡，遂剋苦而靜塵；後念陵善，便縱意而揚怠？所以《論》美四修（謂長時、無間、恭敬、無餘也），《經》歎一慮（謂行、住、食、息，常爾一心也），然後方能正想，革絕凡懷。但為倒想沸騰，難為執捉，教稱野鹿，又等圓珠，不可徵治，無由待對，事須商量分次，以法籌之。是以《論》云：「菩薩晝三夜三，禮念諸佛。」致使宗文之士，崇遵此教，遂分六時，以淨三業。餘時捨縱，且習由來。此則福淺罪深，無由拔本。又理都不然，情亦不可。何以知乎？夫以六時之候，接俗恒儀，類彼八齋，同於五戒。言雖有數，事義無窮。準此以論，故知擇日分時，可以例準。

The preface states: As for the person devoted to learning, there is no time when they do not practice; they must urge their mind thought by thought, newly cultivating from moment to moment. How could it be that in the former thought one turns away from evil, painfully subduing and stilling defilements, while in the later thought one bullies goodness, giving free rein to intention and giving rise to indolence? Therefore, the treatises praise the four cultivations (meaning long-term, uninterrupted, respectful, and without remainder), and the sūtras admire single-minded reflection (meaning constantly having one mind while walking, standing, eating, and resting); only then can one possess correct contemplation and cut off ordinary sentiments. But because inverted thoughts boil and surge, they are difficult to grasp; the teaching calls them wild deer, and compares them to round pearls, impossible to summon and tame, with no way to confront them; one must discuss and distinguish stages, deliberating them with the Dharma. Thus a treatise states: 'Bodhisattvas, three times during the day and three times during the night, pay homage to and are mindful of the Buddhas.' This causes those who honor the texts to venerate this teaching, dividing the day into six periods to purify the three karmas. During the remaining time, they let go and indulge, still following their past habits. This yields shallow blessings and deep guilt, offering no way to pull up the root. Furthermore, it is utterly contrary to principle and intolerable to sentiment. How is this known? The schedule of the six periods receives the constant conventions of the world, akin to the eight precepts, identical to the five precepts. Though the words have numbers, their phenomena and principles are endless. Deliberating on this basis, we know that selecting days and dividing periods can be standardized accordingly.