禪林寶訓 1.62

1.62

黃龍曰。夫長老之職乃道德之器。先聖建叢林陳紀綱。立名位選擇有道德衲子。命之曰長老者。將行其道德。非苟竊是名也。慈明先師嘗曰。與其守道老死丘壑。不若行道領眾於叢林。豈非善守長老之職者。則佛祖之道德存歟（與翠岩真書）。

Huanglong said: "The office of an elder is an implement of the Way and virtue. The former sages established the monastic groves, set out the disciplinary structures, instituted names and positions, and selected monks who possess the Way and virtue, calling them 'elders' so that they would carry out their Way and virtue, not that they might casually usurp this title. My late master Ciming once said: 'Rather than guarding the Way and dying of old age in the hills and ravines, it is better to practice the Way and lead the assembly in a monastic grove.' Is it not so that for one who properly preserves the office of elder, the Way and virtue of the buddhas and patriarchs are preserved?" (Letter to [Cuiyan] Zhen)