緇門警訓 2.16

2.16

The mundane world is not solid; a floating life does not last long. My time has already declined, and your teeth and years are gradually advancing. Do not demean your body for worldly gain; do not seek advantage through empty fame. Do not make light of benevolence or despise righteousness; do not envy the good or be jealous of talent. Do not suppress the innocent; do not bury the virtuous. Do not be negligent in interpersonal affairs; do not be lazy in your burning of incense and cultivation. Do not indulge in sleep; do not pry into others' affairs. Do not have an empty belly and a lofty mind; do not plot for personal gain to benefit yourself. Do not rely on strength to bully the weak; do not benefit yourself to harm others. Do not despise the young because of your seniority; do not slight the elderly because of your youth. Do not look down on people because of your wealth and splendor; do not bow high to people out of pride. Do not intimately associate with what is unwholesome; do not reject and despise what is wholesome. Do not claim yourself to be right because of a trifling skill; do not speak of others' faults because of a slight understanding. Do not slight the host when you are a guest; do not treat traveling guests lightly when you are a host. Do not lose order when handling affairs; do not defy the assembly and breach regulations. Do not slander and blame others; do not fabricate and seek out others' shortcomings. Rather, turn your mind toward the Buddha-Dharma, and extinguish sentiment regarding mundane objects. To lose a human body beneath the kāṣāya is truly painful! To undergo various unnatural retributions in Naraka may indeed be called injustice. Moreover, you sit folded-handed in non-action, at ease without toil, walking slowly upon the golden ground and sitting aloft in splendid halls, your feet not treading in mud and your hands not flicking water. With the clothes upon your body and the food in your mouth, can they be easily digested? Shaving your crown and donning a squared robe—for what purpose is this? If your firmness and gentleness are well-measured, and your advancement and retreat are accommodating, then act when it is fitting to act, and cease when it is fitting to cease. Do not covet the immediate present; examine yourself frequently throughout the day. If a single point accords [with the Way], ten thousand pieces of gold can be digested. With thousands of exhortations and earnest words, bitter yet kind, I say: those who follow my words will meet again in future lives; if you do not follow my words, where do you intend to lift your head? Take care, take care!