緇門警訓 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

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Preface to the Recarved Edition of Admonitions and Instructions for the Black-Robed Order

The single nature is perfectly luminous, complete in every person. Yet with a sudden delusion, one instantly enters saṃsāra. With great compassion and vast rescue, [the enlightened ones] pull up those stranded and drowning in the drifting flow; through many expedient means, they enable them to cultivate and restore their nature. However, will must be supreme, and energy secondary. Those who cannot guide energy with will often sink into errors and fail to return. For this reason, there are those endowed with great capacity who, riding the wheel of their original vows, wipe out the treasury of the true dharma eye, stepping forth to apply harsh pincers and hammers, furious fists, and scorching shouts—like swift thunder and sudden lightning that leave no time to cover one's ears—in order to smelt and forge them, to mold and fashion them, to overturn and completely penetrate them. They further compose dharma words, informal instructions, instructions to the assembly, admonitions, injunctions, and mottos to stimulate and urge them, to drive and spur them, to praise and elevate them, and to transform and guide them. Ah! The vow to propagate the Dharma is weighty, and their pity for sentient beings is profound. How could the compilation of this book, Admonitions and Instructions for the Black-Robed Order, be in vain? Yet, just as the great sun hangs brilliantly in the sky and all equally receive its illumination, when a cataract clouds the eye, doubts arise in vain; hence, there are interwoven...

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...the fair judgments of golden-wheel monarchs and the gāthās and praises of ancient sages and Confucian masters among them. Some might think that pointing directly and transmitting solely sweeps away written words, and that setting down words contradicts the fundamental principle. One must tell them: divine workings are alive and free, like sparks from flint or flashes of lightning; killing and reviving, releasing and capturing do not involve deliberate effort. This is intended only for directly receiving those of supreme capacity; those of medium and lower faculties cannot bear to look upon it. Regard the four dharmadhātus within that Avataṃsaka, culminating in the unobstructed interpenetration of phenomenon and phenomenon, clarifying that not a single dharma is abandoned, and that nothing is inappropriate. How could this not be the standard that reveals provisional expedients and responses according to capacity, in accordance with the saying, 'When principle is awakened to, it is one; yet cultivation of phenomena is boundless'? Chan practitioner Jin of Jiahe has published this book, intending that everyone, through words, may see phenomena; through phenomena, may see principle; through principle, may see the mind; and through the mind, may see the nature, thereby returning to their inherently natural reality. This shares the same source though differing in name with seeing the moon by means of the finger, forgetting the finger by means of the moon, forgetting the moon by means of forgetting, and forgetting the very forgetting that was forgotten. These are further superfluous words of those for whom phenomena and principle interpenetrate, emptiness and existence transcend duality, and mind, Buddha, and sentient beings—these three—are without distinction. Still, what admonitions and instructions could there be? Still, what admonitions and instructions could there be?

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Chenghua, sixth year, year gengyin, spring, third month, first day; preface by Śramaṇa Jinglong of Konggu on Mount Qingping in Wulin.

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Table of Contents of Admonitions and Instructions for the Black-Robed Order

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Fascicle One

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Admonitions by Chan Master Guishan Dayuan; On Honoring the Saṅgha by Chan Master Mingjiao Song; Instruction to Students by Dharma Master Gushan Yuan; Encouragement to Study, Part One (with Preface); Encouragement to Study, Part Two; Ten Gates for Devotion to Study by Dharma Master Yun of Jingde Monastery in Gusu (with Preface); The Demeanor of Seated Meditation by Chan Master Shangfeng Foxin Cai; The Demeanor of Seated Meditation by Chan Master Changlu Cijue Ze; Exhortation to Chan Inquiry; Self-Admonition

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Fascicle Two

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Motto on Seated Meditation by Chan Master Longmen Foyan Yuan; Three Self-Examinations; Motto on Seated Meditation by Chan Master Ehu Dayi; Instruction to the Assembly by Chan Master Donglin Hunrong of Mount Lu; Preface to the Record of the Self-Mirror by Dharma Master Langu Xin; Resolving Difficulties; Bequeathed Injunction to Junior Disciples by Dharma Master Cheng, Eminent Monk of the Liang; Encouragement to Master Secular Learning by Monastic Scribe Ning of the Right Street; Seat-Side Motto by Chan Master Zhi Dun of the Jin; Nine Chapters of Bequeathed Injunctions by Dharma Master Dao'an of the Great Zhongxing Monastery in the Capital of the Zhou; Admonition on Pravrajyā by Dharma Master Cien of the Great Tang; Record of the Hall for Reflecting on Conduct at Falun Monastery on Mount Nanyue; Motto on Quieting the Mind by Dharma Master Wangming, Śramaṇa of Weibin in the Zhou; Rules and Injunctions by Upādhyāya Dongshan; Words Written on the Sash by Repentance Master Ciyun Shi; Vow; Seat-Side Motto by Chan Master Guifeng Mi; Instruction to the Assembly by Chan Master Baiyang Shun; Bequeathed Injunction by Chan Master Yongming Zhijue Shou; Eight Overflowing Gates of Noble Liberation; Rectification of Names for Bhikṣus by Vinaya Master Dazhi Zhao; Motto on Renouncing Entanglements; Seat-Side Motto; Afterword to the Guidelines

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Fascicle Three

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Record of the Saṅgha Hall at Yong'an Chan Monastery in Fuzhou; The Great Hidden Turtle Mirror by Great Master Chanyue; General Treatise on the Three Teachings by Monastic Scribe Ning of the Right Street; Transmitting the Methods of Chan Contemplation; Record of the Hall for Selecting Buddhas at Baofeng Chan Monastery in Hongzhou, Composed by Prime Minister Zhang Shangying; Inscription on Faith in Mind by Chan Master Jianzhi, the Third Patriarch; The Three Trainings of Śīla, Samādhi, and Prajñā; Explanation of the Four Reliances of the Dharma; The Precepts Are Instituted Exclusively by the Buddha and Do Not Extend to Others; Summary of Various Texts in Praise of the Precept Dharma; The Precept Dharma Was Predominantly Propagated When the Buddha Was in the World; Extensive and Abbreviated Explanations of the Precept Aspects for Monks and Nuns; The Intention of the Teaching on Ordaining Nuns; The Eight Gurudharmas for Nuns; Transcending the World Through Pravrajyā; The Five Virtues of a Śrāmaṇera; The Significance of Instituting the Tricīvara; Citing and Showing the Efficacy of the Kāṣāya; The Great Teaching Forever Forbids Silk, Cotton, and Leather Items; Citing Present Matters to Reprove Erroneous Conduct; Explaining the Propriety of Materials and Substance for Robes; Explaining the Method of Reverently Protecting the Three Robes and the Bowl; Explaining the Original Conditions for Permitting and Prohibiting; The Intention of Instituting the Bowl; The Intention of the Teaching on the Niṣīdana

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Fascicle Four

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The Intention of the Teaching on the Water Strainer; Citing the Great Teaching on Purity to Reprove Presumption and Abuse; The Eight Forms of Impure Wealth Increase Greed and Ruin the Path; Exhortation to Broadly Open the Heart so that Benefits Accompany the Protection of the Path; Discerning the Mutual Contradiction Between Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna Regarding Burning the Body and Fingers; The Vinaya Restricts Miscellaneous Studies to Prevent Hindering the True Task; Lacking Reality in Understanding and Practice Leads to Looking Down on the Vinaya; The Abiding of the Triratna Entirely Depends on the Precept Dharma; Clarifying that the Merit of the Triratna in Principle Is Lofty and Refuge in It Yields Vast Benefit; The Abiding Triratna; The Manifestational Triratna; In Praise of the Triratna by Emperor Renzong; Dedication Text for Sutra Recitation by Chan Master Dahui; Words of Upādhyāya Lan'an Shu (Six Items); Four-Line Gāthā; Instruction to Bhikṣus on Contemplating One's Own Virtue and Conduct Before Receiving Food; Instruction to Bhikṣus to Be Careful Never to Be Heedless; The Three Matters Where Bodhisattvas Never Tire; Śīla, Samādhi, and Prajñā; Injunction to Contemplate that the Dānapatis' Four Requisites Arise from Suffering; Injunction to Contemplate the Method of Examining the Movements of Mind in the Latter-Day Dharma; Injunction to Contemplate How Precept-Breaking Monks and Nuns Fail to Cultivate Transmundane Dharmas; Injunction to Contemplate the Six Difficulties and Rejoice in Cultivating the Path; Prayer to Avalokiteśvara by Master Śīlabhadra; Vow by Chan Master Yongjia Zhenjue; Text for Veneration of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra by Chan Master Sui of Mount Dahong in Suizhou; Motto on Contemplating the Mind by Dharma Master Ying of Tongjiang

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Fascicle Five

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Preface on Host and Guest by Vinaya Master Xuan of Mount Zhongnan; Chan Master Dongshan Yan Sending Off Disciples for Itinerant Pilgrimage; The Inner Tradition of the True Origin of the Dharma Transmitted by the Buddha in the Han Dynasty under Emperor Xianzong; Bequeathed Injunction to Disciples by Upādhyāya Zhongfeng; Admonition Against Idleness; Instruction to the Assembly by Chan Master Qianyan Chang; Chan Master Tianyi Huai Questioning Students in His Chamber on the Pure Land; Vinaya Master Dazhi Admonishing Those Who Willingly Resign Themselves to Degeneracy; Chan Master Yongming Shou Admonishing Those Without Realization Not to Look Down on the Pure Land; Dispelling Confusions Regarding the Tricīvara by Repentance Master Ciyun Shi

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Fascicle Six

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The Turtle Mirror Text by Chan Master Changlu Cijue Ze; Admonitions and Guidelines Instructing the Assembly by Chan Master Cishou; Family Instructions by Upādhyāya Xiaoweng; Informal Instruction by Chan Master Huanglong Sixin Xin; Record of the Revolving Canon by Chan Master Huikong of Mount Baochan; Record of the Saṅgha Hall Composed by Senior-in-Waiting Zha for Chan Master Cizhao Cong Residing at Shimen; Letter by Chan Master Ying'an Hua Answering Senior Quan on Dharma Succession; Vow by Chan Master Yishan Ran; Letter by Chan Master Kaishan Mi'an Qian Answering Assistant Zha Chen; Gāthā on Understanding Chan by Duke Sima Wen; The Meal of Mount Yang; Six Gāthās of Praise (with Preface) by Attendant Bai; Self-Admonition by Dharma Master Tiantai Yuan

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Fascicle Seven

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Informal Instruction by Chan Master Furong Kai; Instruction to the Assembly by Chan Master Huangbo; Exhortation to Postulants to Diligently Study by Elder Xu; Injunction to Postulants by Chan Master Yueku Qing; Vow by Grand Historian Huang, Layman Shangu; Informal Instruction Words by Upādhyāya Yunfeng Yue; Motto on Embodying the Path by Upādhyāya Yuelin Guan; Informal Instruction by Chan Master Cishou Shen; Ascending the Hall by National Preceptor Dada Wuye of Fenzhou; Informal Instruction by Chan Master Fachang Yu; Upādhyāya Gujing Replying to the Prefect of Fenyang; Bequeathed Writing on the Wall by Chan Master Xuedou Mingjue; Duke Fan of Shu Sending Off Chan Master Yuanwu for Itinerant Pilgrimage; Chan Master Baoning Yong's Instruction on Sutra Reading; Letter by Vinaya Master Dazhi Zhao Sending Robe and Bowl to Chan Master Yuanzhao Ben; Preface to the Record of Monastic Examination Graduates; Letter by Attendant Yan Replying to Practitioner Yun; Letter by Judicial Commissioner Chen Guiqian Replying to Attendant Zhen Dexiu

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Fascicle Eight

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Chan Master Cishou's Injunctions to Postulants; Encouragement to Monks to Attend the Sick; Text of Veneration to Avalokiteśvara by Chan Master Dahui; Method of Reciting Sutras by Contemplating the Mind by Great Master Tiantai Zhiyi; Method of Eating by Contemplating the Mind; Rhapsody on the Tricīvara by Vinaya Master Dazhi; Rhapsody on the Iron Bowl; Rhapsody on the Niṣīdana; Rhapsody on the Water Strainer; Rhapsody on the Staff of the Teaching; Text Admonishing Against Washing the Face by Chan Master Ze; Motto on Being a Teacher to the Mind by Dharma Master Biancai Jing; Seat-Side Motto by Great Master Chanyue of the Tang; Discourse on the Impurity of Snakes by Upādhyāya Youyun Mou of Mount Longji in Jizhou; Letter by Chan Master Dahui Answering Magistrate Sun; Letter from Upādhyāya Fojian Qin to Upādhyāya Foguo Qin; Letter Replying to Upādhyāya Touzi Tong

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Fascicle Nine

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Imperial Edict of Emperor Wen, High Ancestor of the Sui; Memorial on Receiving the Bodhisattva Precepts by the Prince of Jin (Emperor Yang of the Sui); Letter by Chan Master Lang of Mount Zuoxi in Wuzhou Inviting Great Master Yongjia to Reside in the Mountains; Yongjia's Reply Letter; Repentance Text by Dharma Master Tiantai Yuan; Vow; Text of Universal Dedication for Sutra Recitation by Great Master Jingxi; Instruction to the Assembly by Chan Master Bajiao Quan; Ten Feasible Practices and Ten Odes (with Preface) by Chan Master Longmen Foyan; Instruction on the Mind Essentials for Chan Practitioners; Admonition Against Interrogating; Ascending the Hall by Chan Master Dashui Shenzhao Zhen (Two Items); Upādhyāya Yunfeng Yue Citing the Ancients in His Room; Instruction to the Assembly by Chan Master Baoning Yong of Jinling; The Ancients' Conduct in Thirst and Heat; Preface to Sending Monks on Alms-begging by Chan Master Juefan Hong; A Monk Who Does Not Participate in the Ten Categories Serves the Buddha in Vain for a Hundred Years; Ascending the Hall by Chan Master Hu'an Ti; Instruction to the Assembly; Informal Instruction; Concluding the Session; Ode by Chan Master Zhenjing Wen; Ode by Vinaya Master Lingzhi Zhao; Bequeathed Admonitions of the Ancient Virtuous; Encouragement to Read Sutras; Encouragement to Respond to Conditions; Encouragement on Abbotship; Upādhyāya Dongshan's Self-Admonition; Chan Master Xuefeng Cun Entering Min; Instruction to the Assembly by Chan Master Hongzhi; Visiting Sick Monks; Chan Master Dahui's Instruction to Disciples; Odes by Layman Pang; Motto on Self-Preservation; Instruction to Junior Disciples by Dharma Master Foguang Zhao of Upper Tianzhu; Detailed Instruction to Students by Chan Master Guifeng; Regulations for Entering the Latrine; Injunction on Entering the Latrine by Vinaya Master Dazhi

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Fascicle Ten

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Gāthā in Praise of the Buddha and the Transmission of the Dharma; Former Preface to the Wonderful Record of the Chan Forest; Chan Master Shiwu Qi Sending Off Attendant Qing Returning Home to Visit His Master; Informal Instruction at the Opening of the Retreat; Ascending the Hall; The Grand Steward of Song Inquiring of Confucius About the Sage; Chan Master Tieniu Yin of Mount Zhong Instructing Postulant Fahui; Record of the Newly Built Dharma Hall at Yong'an Chan Monastery in Fuzhou, Composed by Layman Wujin; Emperor Wen of the Song Gathering Court Ministers to Discuss Buddhism; Treatise on Suburban Sacrifices in the Book of the Later Han; Sweeping the Ground Dedication Text by Chan Master Shouyi Fazhen of Jingci Monastery in Hangzhou; Record of the Ten-Direction Chan Monastery at Lingfeng Temple on Mount Dahong in Suizhou; Song on Hearing the Lotus Sutra Recited by Dharma Master Xiuya of the Tang; Imperial Edict of Emperor Wu of the Liang on Renouncing Daoism to Serve the Buddha

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Table of Contents of Admonitions and Instructions for the Black-Robed Order (End)

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Admonitions by Chan Master Guishan Dayuan

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Now, receiving a body bound by karma, one cannot avoid the burdens of physical form. Inheriting the physical remains of one's parents, it is jointly formed through relying on multiple conditions. Although supported by the four great elements, they are constantly in conflict with one another. Impermanence, old age, and sickness keep no appointment with people; alive in the morning, dead in the evening, in a single kṣaṇa one is in a different world. It is like spring frost or morning dew, vanishing in an instant; how could a tree on an eroding cliff or a vine over a well endure for long? Thought after thought passes swiftly; in a single kṣaṇa, a breath shifts and one is in the next life. Why then pass the time idly in vain? You do not provide delicious foods to your parents, and you have firmly abandoned and parted from your six relations. You cannot bring peace to the realm or govern the state, and your family estate is abruptly given up without continuing the lineage. Distantly leaving your native place and shaving your hair, you received transmission from a teacher, internally striving with the exertion of restraining wandering thoughts, and externally promoting the virtue of non-contention, escaping far beyond the dust of the world in hopes of achieving liberation. Why is it that, having barely mounted the rank of the precepts, you immediately declare, "I am a bhikṣu"? You consume what is provided by dānapatis, yet you never reflect on what belongs to the permanent saṅgha and whence it came, claiming, "It is naturally so that offerings should be made to me." Having eaten, you gather heads together in noisy clamour, talking of nothing but miscellaneous worldly affairs. Yet, pursuing pleasure for a season, you do not know that pleasure is the cause of suffering. Following after the dust of the senses for past kalpas, you have never turned inward to reflect. The daylight is swallowed up, months and years pass in vain, the requisites you receive and enjoy are opulent and manifold, and the gains offered are abundant and lavish. Moving through months and years, you never suspect to renounce and depart from them; what you amass grows ever greater, merely preserving this illusory body. The Guide has commanded, admonishing and exhorting the bhikṣus: in advancing on the Path and adorning the body, let the "three constants" always be insufficient. People mostly indulge in their pleasures without ceasing; days go by, months arrive, and swiftly their hair turns white. Later learners who have not yet heard the essential principles ought to inquire extensively of those of prior wisdom; thinking that leaving household life values seeking clothing and food, they overlook that the Buddha first laid down the vinaya, initiating and awakening the ignorant with rules and dignified deportment, pure as ice and snow. Restraint and observance, prohibited and transgressed—these hold and constrain the beginner's mind, its minute and subtle clauses reforming all coarse depravities. If you have never participated in the assembly of the vinaya, how could you distinguish the definitive Mahāyāna? What a pity to pass a whole life in vain, when later regrets will be hard to redeem! You have never kept the teachings and principles in mind, and you have no cause to accord with and awaken to the profound Path. When your years are advanced and your monastic seniority grows, your belly is empty and your mind haughty, refusing to draw near to good companions, knowing only arrogance and unfamiliar with the rules and laws, utterly devoid of restraint. Or else, speaking loudly in a booming voice, you utter words without measure, showing no respect to the senior, middle, or junior seats, no different from a gathering of brāhmaṇas. Your bowls and platters clatter with noise, and having eaten, you are the first to rise; your conduct is discordant, utterly devoid of the monastic deportment. Rising and sitting in a restless stir, you agitate the minds of others; you do not maintain the slightest rule or petty deportment—how will you constrain those who come after? New learners will have no pattern to imitate. No sooner are you called to awareness than you declare, "I am a mountain monk, I have not heard the Buddhist teachings"; your practice is entirely coarse and crude. Such views are simply because the beginner's mind was indolent and gluttonous, procrastinating and letting time slip by. Thus in the human world you become uncouth and wild, unwittingly stumbling into decrepit old age, facing a wall in every affair. When later learners consult you, you have no words to guide them; even if you speak, it does not touch upon the classical canons. If lightly spoken of by others, you immediately reproach the juniors as impolite; wrathful thoughts arise in fury, speaking ill of people. One day, lying sick upon your bed, entangled and pressed by many sufferings, thinking day and night, your mind is terrified and panicked; the road ahead is vast and hazy, and you know not where you are going. Only then do you begin to know to regret your faults; but what is the use of digging a well when parched with thirst? You regret having not cultivated beforehand, so that in your late years you have many faults and blunders. Facing departure, you tremble in panic and terror; the granary is breached and the sparrow flies away. The mind of consciousness follows karma; like a person in debt, the strongest pull comes first. The mind's threads are manifold, and one falls towards where the weight is heaviest. The murderous demon of impermanence does not halt for a single thought-moment; life cannot be prolonged, time cannot be awaited. Human and heavenly beings in the traidhātuka shall not escape it. Thus receiving bodies, it is beyond calculation of kalpas. Grieved, sighed, and astonished, it pierces the heart with sorrow! How could we remain silent and not admonish one another? What is regrettable is being born together in the semblance-Dharma age, distant from the era of the Sage. The Buddhadharma has grown unfamiliar, and people are mostly negligent. I briefly present my humble views to instruct those who come after; if we do not purge our pride, it will truly be hard to escape the cycle of existence.

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Now, one who has left household life sets forth to transcend worldly bounds, distinct from the vulgar in both mind and appearance. He carries forward the lineage of the Sages, strikes terror into the armies of Māra, and acts to repay the four debts of gratitude and rescue the traidhātuka. If one is not like this, one falsely mingles in the saṅgha's ranks, negligent in words and deeds, vainly accepting the offerings of the faithful. Making not an inch of progress on the path of past years, wandering through a lifetime, on what will one rely? Moreover, one has a magnificent monastic appearance with an impressive demeanor, which is entirely the result of roots of goodness planted in past lives bringing forth this extraordinary retribution. Yet if you intend merely to sit upright with folded hands, not valuing an inch of time and not diligent in your vocation, the fruit of attainment will have no cause to be achieved. How can a lifetime be passed in vain, so that it also brings no benefit to future karma? Bidding farewell to parents, with determined resolve you put on the black robes; what was it you intended to transcend? Reflecting day and night, how can you let the time slip by? Your mind aims to be a pillar of the Buddhadharma and serve as a mirror for future generations. If you are constantly like this, you will still fail to correspond even slightly with the Path. When you speak, it must concern the scriptures; your conversations must rely on antiquity. Your appearance and deportment should be upright and distinguished, your mood detached and leisurely. Travelling far requires good companions to frequently purify your ears and eyes; dwelling in a place requires choosing associates to constantly hear what has not yet been heard. Therefore it is said: "Those who gave birth to me are my parents; those who brought me to completion are my friends." Drawing near to the good is like walking amidst fog and dew: though your clothes are not soaked, they are constantly moistened. Associating with the evil increases evil views; doing evil morning and evening, the retribution appears before one's eyes, and after death one sinks into lower realms. Once the human body is lost, it will not be regained for myriad kalpas. Sincere advice is bitter to the ear; how could one not engrave it upon the heart? One must cleanse the mind, nurture virtue, conceal one's traces, hide one's name, maintain plainness, nourish one's spirit, and put an end to noise and clamour. If you wish to practice Chan inquiry and learn the Path, swiftly transcending the gate of expedient means, your mind must tally with the profound ford and examine the subtle springs of action, choosing the deep and hidden, and awakening to the true source. Inquire extensively of those of prior wisdom and draw near to good friends. The subtlety of this school is difficult to attain; you must apply your mind with great care. If you can suddenly awaken to the correct cause, that is the gradual stage for transcending worldly dust. This shatters the traidhātuka and the twenty-five realms of existence; inner and outer dharmas are all known to be unreal, transformed and arisen from the mind, all being mere provisional names. There is no need to make the mind seek to conform; as long as the passions do not attach to things, how can things obstruct a person? Let the nature of dharmas flow everywhere, neither severed nor continuous. Hearing sounds and seeing forms are entirely ordinary; whether on this side or that side, responses are never lacking. In such conduct and deportment, one truly does not wear the dharma robes in vain, and one also repays the four debts of gratitude and rescues the traidhātuka. If life after life one does not retrogress, the stage of Buddhahood can certainly be expected. As a guest passing through the traidhātuka, coming and going to act as a model for others, this single practice is the most wondrous and the most profound. Only cultivate a resolved mind, and it will surely not deceive you. If there are persons of middling capacity who cannot suddenly transcend, let them keep their minds on the teachings, reviewing the palm-leaf scriptures, closely searching into the principles and meanings, chanting, expounding, and proclaiming them to guide those who come after, repaying the kindness of the Buddha; thus time will also not be discarded in vain. One must rely on this for support; dwelling in dignified deportment, one is then a vessel of the Dharma within the saṅgha. Have you not seen that the vine clinging to the pine towers up a thousand fathoms? Only by relying on superior conditions can one provide widespread benefit. Earnestly cultivate the fasting precepts; do not carelessly violate them. In life after life, wondrous causes and fruits will unfold. You must not pass the days casually, spending your time in a daze. Regretting the passage of time without seeking advancement, you vainly consume the offerings of the faithful from the ten directions, and you also fail the four debts of gratitude. As accumulations grow ever deeper, the dust of the mind easily clogs, encountering obstacles at every turn, despised and mocked by others. An ancient said: "Since he is a great man, I am also one; one should not belittle oneself and shrink back." If it is not so, you remain vainly within the black-robed order, passing an entire life with absolutely no benefit. I humbly hope you will arouse a resolute and fierce will, open a mind of extraordinary realization, model your conduct after those of the higher stream, and do not arbitrarily follow the vulgar and base. In this life you must make a decisive resolution; reflection does not depend on others. Put an end to thoughts and forget conditions, not confronting the objects of the senses. The mind is empty and the sphere of objects is tranquil; it is only because you have long been stagnant that you do not penetrate it. Peruse this text thoroughly and admonish yourself at all times; act firmly as your own master, and do not follow human sentiment. Bound by the fruits of karma, it is truly difficult to escape. When the sound is harmonious, the echo conforms; when the form is upright, the shadow is straight. Cause and effect are distinct and clear—how could there be no fear? Therefore a sūtra states: "Even after hundreds of thousands of kalpas, karma that is done does not perish; when causes and conditions meet, one receives the retribution oneself." Therefore know that the punishments of the traidhātuka bind and kill people. Strive diligently to cultivate, and do not pass your days in vain. It is only because I deeply know the faults and perils that I encourage you to uphold and practice. May we be Dharma companions together everywhere for hundreds of kalpas and thousands of lives! Thus I have composed this inscription:

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Illusory body, dream house, forms within emptiness:
Infinite was the past limit; how can the future limit be attained?
Arising here and sinking there, ascending and plunging in utter exhaustion;
Unable to escape the three wheels, when will there be rest?
Craving and clinging to the worldly, aggregates and conditions form physical substance;
From birth to old age, not a single thing is gained.
Fundamental ignorance deludes because of this;
Time is to be cherished, for a kṣaṇa cannot be fathomed.
Passing this life in vain, the next life will be blocked;
Going from delusion to delusion is entirely due to the six thieves.
Circling through the six destinies, crawling within the traidhātuka,
Seek early an enlightened master, and draw near to those of lofty virtue.
Discriminate body and mind, clearing away their thorns;
The world is naturally hollow and empty; how could manifold conditions coerce you?
Investigate the principles of Dharma to the utmost, taking awakening as your standard;
Discard both mind and objects, neither recording nor recollecting.
The six faculties serene, in walking and staying abide in stillness;
Not a single thought arising, the ten thousand dharmas are entirely stilled.

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Chan Master Mingjiao Song's "Treatise on Venerating the Saṅgha"

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Why is it said that the teaching must honour the saṅgha? The saṅgha takes the Buddha as its nature, the Tathāgata as its home, the Dharma as its body, wisdom as its life, and the joy of dhyāna as its nourishment. Therefore they do not rely on common folk, do not establish worldly households, do not pamper the physical frame, do not cling to life, do not fear death, and do not crave the five flavours. To guard their bodies they have śīla; to gather their minds they have samādhi; to discern clearly they have prajñā. Speaking of their śīla: it purifies the three delusions, remaining untainted to the end of life. Speaking of their samādhi: their thoughts are tranquil and aligned, their spirit luminous and undistracted all day long. Speaking of their prajñā: it exalts virtue and resolves confusion with unerring certainty. Practicing with these is called the cause; consummating with these is called the fruit. Toward all beings they have loving-kindness and compassion; they have great vows and great beneficence. Loving-kindness: ever wishing to bring peace to all beings. Compassion: ever wishing to rescue from all sufferings. Vows: vowing that all under heaven shall behold the ultimate truth. Beneficence: bestowing the saddharma upon living beings. Working through spiritual penetration, heaven and earth cannot conceal them; acting in secret, ghosts and spirits cannot fathom them. When expounding the Dharma, their eloquent speech flows without hindrance; when protecting the Dharma, they press forward heedless of their own bodies. They can endure what others cannot endure; they can practice what others cannot practice. In their right livelihood, they beg for food to eat without shame; in having few desires, they wear rag-robes and patch their pātras without feeling poor. In their lack of contention, they may be insulted but cannot be held in contempt; in their lack of resentment, they may be joined with others but cannot be degraded. They treat all things with the true mark [of reality]; they cultivate themselves with supreme compassion. Therefore, toward all under heaven, they can unfailingly harmonize and universally respect. Their speech is free from falsehood, so their trustworthiness is consummate; their Dharma is devoid of self, so their deference is sincere. They have dignity that can awe and deportment that can serve as a model; devas and humans gaze upon them with solemn reverence. They can bring blessings to the world and guide the common folk. In forgetting their physical form, they entrust themselves among birds and beasts without thinking it strange; in their chanting and recitation, they brave cold and heat without ceasing. When they go forth in accordance with the Dharma, they wander among people and traverse settlements, viewing fame like an echo in a valley, viewing gain like drifting dust, viewing material appearances like a mirage, comforting the poor and sick and mingling with menial laborers without feeling debased. When they abide in accordance with the Dao, even in deep mountains and secluded valleys, they clothe themselves in grasses and feed on wild plants, serene and self-possessed; they cannot be seduced by profit, nor bent by force. Declining emperors and feudal lords, they do not consider themselves superior. In their independence, they conquer through the Dao; even when only body and shadow console each other, they do not feel solitary. In their communal living, they are kin through the Dharma; gathering people from the four seas, they do not fall into confusion. As for what they can study: even the three baskets and twelve divisions of scripture, as well as the texts of the hundred schools and heterodox paths—there is nothing they do not know. The languages of other lands and different customs—there is nothing they do not understand. When transmitting their ancestral Dharma, they possess literary refinement and structure; when practicing its Middle Way, they adhere neither to emptiness nor to existence. In their transcending of learning, they are free of thought, pure, genuine, and of one suchness, having no further discrimination. Ah, the saṅgha! As human beings they are consummate; their mind is vast; their virtue is complete; their Dao is great. Their worthiness is not what the world calls worthiness; their sagehood is not what the world calls sagehood. They are the transcendent, extraordinary worthies and sages. Being such as this, can the saṅgha not be honoured?

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Dharma Master Yuan of Gushan's Admonition to Students

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Alas! The Great Dharma has declined, and we are ever farther from the sages. Although many put on the black robes, those who seek the Dao are exceedingly rare. They compete for fame and gain as their personal achievement, and regard the propagation [of the teaching] as child's play. This has caused the Dharma-gates to be seldom opened, and the net of the teaching to border on collapse. Truly we rely upon posterity to be able to shoulder this Dao. You must seek the Dharma with an open mind, and purify yourselves to rely upon your masters. In the near term, strive to establish yourselves and make your name renowned; in the long run, hope to transform from ordinary beings into sages. To illuminate the semblance Dharma, who is there but you? Therefore, you must cultivate the person, act on your words, and be as cautious at the end as at the beginning. Be diligent in your studies; be prudent in your conduct and retirement. Avoid evil companions as you would tigers and wolves; serve good friends as you would your parents. Serve your master with complete propriety; sacrifice your body for the sake of the Dharma. If you possess goodness, do not be proud; when faults arise, be sure to reform them swiftly. Guard benevolence and righteousness and be steadfast and immovable; when dwelling in poverty and low station, find joy so as to forget sorrow. Naturally you will turn away from misfortune and meet with good fortune. Why rely on physiognomy or fate-telling to flatteringly seek the date of prosperity, or pick auspicious days and select times merely to escape seasons of adversity and obstruction? How could this be the far-reaching discernment of a śramaṇa? It is truly nothing but the deluded sentiment of worldly men. It is proper to see worthies and think of equaling them; in the face of benevolence, yield not [even] to your master. Yearn for the pursuit of the Dharma on the Snow Mountains; emulate Sudhana's search for teachers. Fame and gain should not be enough to stir your minds; life and death should not be enough to trouble your thoughts. If your work succeeds and your affairs are accomplished, you will inevitably proceed from the near to the far. Without courting fame, your fame will naturally spread; without summoning the multitude, the multitude will naturally arrive. Wisdom will suffice to illuminate confusion; compassion will suffice to gather people. In obscurity, cultivate your own virtue; when successful, bring good to the whole world. Cause the true wind, having ceased, to blow anew; cause the torch of wisdom, having been extinguished, to blaze again. [Such a one] may be called a true great man! [Such a one] may be called an envoy of the Tathāgata! How can you allow yourselves to lodge in lecture halls, blending your traces with ordinary followers, having no qualms about what is vile and foul, and seeing nothing to revere in practice and understanding, until accumulated habit becomes second nature, destroying yourselves? Beginning by teaching admiration for the superior worthies, in the end one is seen sinking into the lowest evils. People like this are truly pitiable! The Book of Odes says: 'None lacks a beginning, but few can bring it to completion.' This is what it means! Can those of middling capacity and above not take warning? Moreover, the schools of vinaya and prajñā divide, and the Greater and Lesser [Vehicles] differ in their studies; yet all branch out from the Buddha's mind, and all intend the dharmadhātu as their common destination. But failing to comprehend the great way, each seizes upon what he clings to. Those who study the sūtras and treatises regard the study of vinaya as worthless; those who take the vinaya division as their lineage regard the sūtras and treatises as resting on nothing. Those who practice the Great Dharma extinguish the Hīnayāna; those who listen to the Hīnayāna despise the Great Dharma. Merely observing the biased praises of human teachers, they grasp onto them and engage in mutual disputes over right and wrong. How could they know that the Buddha's intention is ever harmoniously fused? If only one penetrates it, there is no seeing of 'this' and 'that'. One ought mutually to support and assist, jointly ripening the conditions of potential [beings]. It is like the myriad streams paying court [to the sovereign]; all without exception reach the sea. The hundred officials attending to their duties are all said to serve the king diligently. We have never seen someone preserve one stream while intending to block the myriad currents, or guard one office while wishing to abolish all other achievements. In origin, when the Dharmarāja bestowed his transformation, he took charge of the myriad sorts [of beings], and each had its proper office. The Lesser Vinaya is like the authority of rites and punishments; the Mahāyāna resembles the responsibility of weighing and balancing the balance. Managing merits is like administering water transport; composing and compiling is like handling the royal decrees. Just as in a state the hundred officials all perform their duties, so it is comparable to the myriad lineages of our teaching competing to expound. If one truly understands this purport, how could one cling to divergent extremes? You must measure your own abilities and spread [the teaching] according to your strength. If your nature is sharp, studying concurrently is best; if your understanding is shallow, specializing in a single gate is appropriate. If it is so, then although each spreads their own manner and way, together they achieve compassionate rescue; together they return to the ocean of concord, and together they sit on the couch of liberation. Being like this, one is truly a compass on a confused path, a wooden bell for the gate of teaching! Occupying the seat of a master, one will truly have no shameful defects; heading toward the fruit of Buddhahood, one will be determined without doubt. Do not boast of petty knowledge and opinions, erecting immense conceited pride, showing contempt for those who awakened first, and bewildering later students. Although it is said that listening and investigating cannot make up for faults and errors, my words may perhaps hit the mark. Give this your contemplation!

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Exhortation to Learning, Part One (with Preface)

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The nature of middling people is to know that they should apply themselves to learning, yet they sometimes become remiss in learning. Hence I have composed the Exhortation to Learning.

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Alas! Learning must not be neglected for an instant; the Dao must not be departed from for an instant. The Dao is illuminated through learning; can learning be neglected? The realm of sages and worthies is reached through the Dao; can the Dao be departed from? Now, if common folk learn without neglect, they can reach [the stage of] worthies; if worthies learn without neglect, they can reach [the stage of] sages. Ran Qiu's learning could have reached that of Yan Yuan, but that he did not attain full maturity was simply because he was negligent in his heart. Hence it is said: 'It is not that I do not take pleasure in your Dao, but that my strength is insufficient.' The Master said: 'Those whose strength is insufficient collapse halfway; now you are drawing a line.' Yan Yuan's learning could have reached that of the Master, and that he was not equal to the sage teacher was only because he died young. If he had not died, how do we know he would not have been like Zhongni? Because he did not neglect his learning! Hence it is said: 'There was Yan Hui who loved learning; unfortunately his life was cut short and he died. Now there is no one.' Someone asked: 'Does a sage learn?' I said: 'What words are these! What words are these! Even common folk and worthies know to learn; could a sage be negligent in learning? Heaven is firm, yet it is able to learn softness from earth, and so does not offend the four seasons. Earth is soft, yet it is able to learn firmness from heaven, and so can produce metals and stones. When yang brings forth life, it also learns severe destruction from yin, and so the supple weeds die. When yin destroys severely, it also learns bringing forth life from yang, and so the water chestnuts and wheat sprout. Heaven, earth, yang, and yin learn from one another without neglect, and this is how they bring the myriad things to completion. If heaven did not learn softness, it would have no way to cover; if earth did not learn firmness, it would have no way to support; if yang did not learn yin, it would have no way to open; if yin did not learn yang, it would have no way to close. A sage has nothing else: he models himself on heaven, earth, yin, and yang, and acts. If these four learn without neglect, how could a sage be negligent?' The questioner stepped back from his mat and said: 'In my solitary ignorance, I am fortunate that you have enlightened my blindness. I would like to hear about the learning of a sage.' Master Zhongyong said: 'Resume your seat and I will tell you. Does not the Book of History say: "Only through mindfulness can the madman become a sage; only through lack of mindfulness can the sage become a madman"? Therefore, even in haste and distress, a sage never fails to be mindful of the correct Dao and learn it. The Master was a great sage, towering above the crowd and outstanding among his fellows; since living people came into existence, there has never been one like the Master. Entering the Grand Temple, he asked about everything—which was learning from the temple keepers. "Walking with three people, I select what is good and follow it"—which was learning from his fellow travelers. Going to Zhou, he asked Laozi about rites—which was learning from the archivist of the pillar. Could it be that Zhongni's sagacity was inferior to the temple keepers, the travelers, or the archivist of the pillar? It was simply that the sage feared that without being mindful of the correct Dao and learning it, he would end up like a madman! Hence he said: "There are sure to be those with loyalty and trustworthiness like Qiu, but none who love learning like Qiu." Someone said: "A sage knows things from birth; why must he learn?" I said: "Knowing and yet learning is the sage; learning and then knowing is the ordinary man. Whether sage or ordinary man, none can attain it without learning." Confucius said: "A gentleman cannot but learn." Zilu said: "On the southern mountain there is bamboo; without being bent, it is naturally straight. If cut and used, it can pierce rhinoceros hide. Going by this, what need is there for learning?" Confucius said: "Notched, feathered, tipped with a arrowhead, and honed on a whetstone—will it not penetrate all the deeper?" Zilu bowed twice and said: "I respectfully accept your instruction." Ah! Is not the sage's learning just like notching, feathering, arrowhead-tipping, and whetstone-honing to make it penetrate deeply? Could one who knows from birth sit motionless without learning?'

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Exhortation to Learning, Part Two

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Sages and worthies invariably dedicate themselves to study; below the level of sages and worthies, how could anyone become a complete person without study? Study is just like food, drink, and clothing. Among people there are sages, worthies, and the common masses. Although these three differ, when hungry they seek food, when thirsty they seek drink, and when cold they seek clothing—in this there is no difference. How could study be any different? Only beasts, earth, and wood have no need to study. Alas! The foolish man craves food and drink without tiring, and rushes after wealth and profit without rest; yet when he turns to study, some study in the morning and slacken by evening, or study in spring and slacken by winter! If one were simply like those craving food and drink or rushing after wealth and profit, never knowing weariness, why worry about not becoming broadly learned, or not becoming a gentleman? Someone said: 'There are the utterly foolish in the world, who cannot tell beans from wheat, and know nothing of the changes of cold and heat. Can they be made to study? Can they be taught?' I say: utter foolishness arises from lack of teaching and lack of study. If a teacher instructs tirelessly and their mind does not slacken, can the realm of the sage not be mounted and scaled? Why worry about not telling beans from wheat? Furthermore, the foolish know to drink when thirsty, to eat when hungry, and to wear clothes when cold. Since they know these three things, they are distinct from plants and trees; why could they not study, why could they not be taught? Even the most foolish among humans, can he not memorize one phrase a day? Accumulating days into a month, he memorizes thirty phrases; accumulating months into a year, he memorizes three hundred and sixty phrases. If he accumulates this over several years without slackening, will he not approach broad learning? Moreover, if one takes one small good deed each day, learns it, and puts it into practice: accumulating days into a month, one possesses thirty good deeds; accumulating months into a year, one possesses three hundred and sixty good deeds. If he accumulates this over several years without slackening, will he not approach becoming a gentleman? Remaining foolish and remaining a petty person without change is merely due to not studying. Master Zhongyong sighed deeply and said: 'I have often seen people ashamed that their intellect does not measure up and their talent is not sharp, and so break off their studies; but I have never seen anyone ashamed that their food and drink is not as plentiful as others' and so break off eating and drinking. If one breaks off eating and drinking, it ends one's life—why must one feel ashamed that it is not plentiful? If one breaks off learning and inquiry, one is the same as beasts, earth, and wood—why must one feel ashamed that one's talent and intellect are not equal to others'? If being ashamed that one's talent and intellect are inferior causes one not to study, then being ashamed that one's food and drink are inferior to others' should likewise cause one to abandon food and drink. Viewed from this, is that not a great mistake? I too am utterly foolish. Whenever I assess my talent and intellect, they fall far short of others. Because I know that eating and drinking cannot be broken off, I do not dare to slacken in study. I have reached the age of forty-four. Though ill and distressed, my hands have never put down the scrolls; this is simply out of fear of becoming the same as earth, wood, and beasts. It is not that I dare seek to reach the realm of the sage, nor that I seek fame and prominence. Even when strolling in the courtyard or wandering leisurely across the fields to take temporary rest, observing with my eyes and reflecting with my mind, I have never dared abandon study. Thus, climbing a mountain, I reflect upon learning from its height; approaching water, I reflect upon learning from its clarity; sitting on a stone, I reflect upon learning from its firmness; looking at a pine, I reflect upon learning from its steadfastness; facing the moon, I reflect upon learning from its brightness. The ten thousand conditions arrayed in abundance each have their strong point; I am able to take them all as teachers and learn from them. The ten thousand conditions are wordless and yet can still be learned from; as for people who can speak, even with ten thousand evils they must have one good. Taking that one good as teacher to learn from it—who could say otherwise?' Master Zhongyong said: 'In the world there are things which one seeks and may not obtain; and there are things which one seeks and is certain to obtain. That which one seeks and may not obtain is profit; that which one seeks and is certain to obtain is the Way. The petty person with regard to profit, though he seek ten thousand times and ten thousand times fail to obtain it, yet seeks it with ever greater courage. The gentleman with regard to the Way seeks it and is certain to obtain it; yet gazing at the road he harbors dread, privately reflecting that his strength is insufficient—this is precisely the fault of the petty person seeking profit. Confucius said: "Is benevolence far away? If I desire benevolence, benevolence arrives." This means that seeking it, one is certain to obtain it.'

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緇門警訓 — Classical Chinese