律相感通傳 1.102

1.102

I replied, saying: "When I read the Dà zhìdù lùn, I saw that the Buddha wore a saṃghāṭī of coarse cloth. Bearing this in mind, how could I go against it? Furthermore, after hearing the Vinaya, I then saw that even if silken robes and bedding were already made, they were all to be cut up, ruined, and used for plastering walls. Because of this, my admiration increased all the more. In ancient times, during the Zhou dynasty, elder monks all wore robes of coarse cloth, wearing one throughout their lives; their patches were all of cloth, even weighing two or three catties. Moreover, I saw that the Indian monks who came from the west all wore cotton cloth. When I asked them fully, they replied, saying: 'In the five regions of India, none wear silken garments.' Therefore, this thought arose in me, and I wrote this Ritual Manual on Monastic Robes to observe comprehensively the established teachings of past and present and harmonize bedding and the three robes. Furthermore, ordinary sentiments are petty and attachment is especially heavy; among what touches the body and its clothing, none does not harm life—how would they be willing to renounce it and wear these Dharma robes? Moreover, what the Dharma robes represent fundamentally manifests a mind of loving-kindness and benevolence. Without benevolence, there is no way to rescue and deliver; deliverance must depend on loving-kindness to protect. Therefore, the mind of the Buddha is great loving-kindness. To practice loving-kindness while killing living beings—I have never seen that this is acceptable. Thus Lord Shen of Yin wrote in his treatise: '"In a homestead of five mu, plant it with mulberry trees, and those who are sixty years old"—their complexion has already declined, so inside they rely on fine silk and floss, while outside they maintain coarse cloth.' Therefore, garments of coarse cloth were common to both the noble and base, the rich and poor; even now they are still commonly worn by kings and ministers. The ancient rules were not changed, yet there was a distinction between old and young; thus there were variations of reduction. But on the Path, there is no principle of doing harm: elder and younger all wear the same single Dharma robe. The Dharma is a transformation of loving-kindness; how could it admit harm?" (And so forth.)