禪林寶訓 2.63

2.63

Gao'an said, 'In great transformation through teaching, nothing takes precedence over the Way and virtue, ritual and righteousness. If the abbot honors the Way and virtue, students will esteem respectfulness; if he practices ritual and righteousness, students will be ashamed of greed and contention. If an abbot displays insolence that loses composure, students will have the fault of bullying and violence; if an abbot displays anger in his face during disputes, students will suffer the calamity of fighting and conflict. The ancient sages knew this before it occurred, and thus selected bright and discerning persons to preside over the monastic groves, so that people looked up to them and were transformed without need of explanation. Therefore, when the teaching of the Way by Shitou and Mazu was in full flourish, heroic and outstanding figures emerged; with gentle and fine deportment, harmonious and dignified, they issued words and gave orders; the blinking of an eye and raising of an eyebrow could all serve as models for later generations—and rightly so' (from *A Letter to Sixin*).