緇門警訓 2.14

2.14

The Head Monk Xiyan, whose courtesy name was Shengtu, was of a resolute and upright nature. Versed in both internal and external learning, he maintained himself with integrity and moral character. Having concluded his itinerant travels, he retired to his old cottage; his steps never entered mundane affairs, and he often sat in peaceful meditation behind closed doors. Unless one's conduct was noble and pure, he would not associate with them. Prominent gentlemen and nobles repeatedly invited him to various monasteries, but he resolutely declined to respond. At that time, there was a postulant named Can who had already wished to become a monk and attended at his side. Yan recognized that he was not the vessel [for it], and composed an 'Essay Resolving Difficulties' to reject him, saying: 'None knows a son like his father, and none knows a father like his son. A person like my Can is already not a vessel for monastic life. For pravrajyā to become a monk—is that a trifling matter? It is not to seek ease and comfort; it is not to seek warmth and satiety; it is not to seek name and gain upon a snail's horn. It is for birth and death; it is for sentient beings; it is to sever defilements, transcend the ocean of the traidhātuka, and continue the wisdom-life of the Buddhas! We are far removed from the holy times, and the Buddha-Dharma is in great decay—how dare you act so rashly? The Ratnarāśi-sūtra says: "If a bhikṣu does not cultivate the Dharma of a bhikṣu, throughout the great trichiliocosm there is no place [worthy of] his spit." The Tonghui lu says: "If one becomes a monk and does not participate in the affairs of the ten categories [of illustrious monks], will the Buddha's followers not find it difficult to have striven in vain for a hundred years?" Viewed from this perspective, I have improperly mingled in the ranks of the Saṅgha, bringing reproach upon the Buddha; how much more so if you were to do it! Furthermore, in undergoing pravrajyā to become a monk, if one does not know the three vehicles and twelve divisions of the teachings, nor the Way of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius; if one is blind to cause and effect and does not comprehend one's own nature; if one does not know the hardships of sowing and reaping, nor reflects on the difficulty of consuming the offerings of faith, but merely drinks alcohol and eats meat, breaks the fasting rules and violates the precepts, acts as an itinerant or sedentary merchant, commits theft, debauchery, and gambling, and covets monastery quarters and coming and going in carriages, merely pampering one's own self—how lamentable! Having a body of six feet yet being devoid of wisdom, the Buddha calls him a foolish monk. Having a three-inch tongue yet being unable to preach the Dharma, the Buddha calls him a mute-sheep monk. Resembling a monk yet not a monk, resembling a layperson yet not a layperson, the Buddha calls him a bird-rat monk, or also a shaven-headed householder. Thus the Śūraṅgama states: "Why do thieves don my robes, trafficking in the Tathāgata and creating various karmas?" They are not vessels to ferry the world across, but merely seeds of the hells. Even if Maitreya descends to be born and they can poke their heads out, their bodies will have already been plunged into the agonies of the hundred tortures of the Iron Enclosure, not for a single morning or evening. As for those who do it nowadays, counted by the hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands, they merely have the appearance and vestments! Frankly speaking, what is within them? They are what is called "having the feathers of a hawk yet uttering the cry of a phoenix." Rough stones are not jade; luxuriant mugwort and wormwood are not the patience-grass of the Snowy Mountains. When the state ordained monks, it was originally to pray for blessings; nowadays, on the contrary, it levies poll taxes on them to show the people that monks are no different, causing our order to be held in the utmost contempt. Just consider Master Lian of Yuwang, Song of Yong'an, Jing of Longjing, and Zhao of Lingzhi in past days: they were a patch of fur under a fox's armpit, while the rest are skins of a thousand sheep—how are they worth mentioning? Alas! The defilement of the ocean of the Buddha has never been worse than today! This may be spoken to the wise, but is difficult to discuss with worldlings.' (Shigu says: 'The fur under a fox's armpit is light, soft, and hard to obtain. Wanjun writes it as 掖.')