緇門警訓 3

English (machine translation) 3

Language: English

3.1

Record of the Saṅgha Hall of Yong'an Chan Cloister in Fuzhou

In ancient times, scholars studying the Way deadened their minds and extinguished their ambitions amidst deep mountains and secluded valleys. They hollowed out the earth to make huts, wove grasses to make clothes, scooped from the mountain stream to drink, and boiled goosefoot to eat. Tigers and leopards were their neighbors; apes and monkeys were their companions. Only when unavoidable did their fragrance and fame spread and their literary radiance shine forth; then emaciated companions of like mind, not thinking a thousand li too far, would bundle their provisions and put on straw sandals to come follow and travel with them. When the person of the Way firmly rejected and would not receive them, they would gather firewood for him, pound grain and cook for him, sprinkle and sweep for him, reap and plant for him, and serve and run errands for him—all to offer their toil and bring about single-minded devotion. Months and years accumulated, yet they did not tire or weary themselves, hoping that the master would see them, take pity on them, and bestow upon them the benefit of a single word, thereby crossing beyond the shore of birth and death. How could there have been what is called today the magnificence of halls, pavilions, and palaces; the comfort of bed frames and bedding; the warmth of felt tents; the coolness of bamboo mats; the brightness of windows; the cleanliness of towels and cloths; the abundance of food and drink; and the plentifulness of gold and coins—having whatever is needed and obtaining whatever is sought? Alas! The ancients—I cannot see them! Now, because the Yong'an Chan Cloister has renovated its saṅgha hall, I am able to express my lingering thoughts. In the sixth year of the Yuanyou era, in the eleventh month of winter, I was inspecting the commandery and passed through Linchuan. I heard that the head monk of Yong'an, having grown old and sick, had passed away, and that Liaochang, a disciple of Congyue of Doushuai, had succeeded him. When Chang ascended the seat to preach the Dharma, a son of the Chen family heard it once pass through his ears and gave rise to great joy. He said to Chang: 'Discerning the master's instruction attentively, I have never heard such before. Pure companions will surely gather like clouds, but the saṅgha hall is cramped and humble; how can you host them? I wish to donate one million from my family wealth to rebuild it for the assembly.' The next year the hall was completed; its height, width, and spaciousness were perhaps the foremost in Jiangyou. Chang sent someone to request an essay, saying: 'You, Sir, pressed Chang in the mountains and brought about this [hall]. Fortunately, it has finally been completed.' I had [the messenger] tell Chang to strike the drum to gather the assembly, and in accordance with my intention, address them, saying: 'You bhikṣus! Now that this hall has been completed, sitting, lying down, and walking are entirely at your ease. If you can sleep here with a knife drawn, free from all dreams, then Baizhang is you, and you are Baizhang. If this is not so, torpor and sleep will be a venomous snake lurking in your heart, dark and ignorant, entering the underworld in broad daylight. If you can sit cross-legged in quietude here and deeply enter dhyāna-samādhi, then Subhūti is you, and you are Subhūti. If this is not so, you will be like a monkey in a cage seeing wild pears and chestnuts from the outside, your confused thoughts running wild, seated while turning into a different species. If you can open a scripture horizontally and recite it here, grinding and savoring the holy meaning, entering the sudden by means of the gradual, and entering the complete by means of the sudden, then the Tripiṭaka is you, and you are the Tripiṭaka. If this is not so, you will be like spring birds crying by day and autumn insects chirping by night, impelled by the seasonal air without any meaning whatsoever. If you can examine the sayings of the ancients here, awakening to a thousand upon seeing one, and enter the red dust to turn the great wheel of the Dharma, then all the patriarchs are you, and you are all the patriarchs. If this is not so, you will be like a dog gnawing a dry bone or an owl pecking a rotten rat, flapping your beak and opening your lips, only increasing the fire of hunger. Therefore, if you divide it into foul and pure, arrange it into cause and effect, distinguish it into feelings and thoughts, and respond to it as suffering and pleasure, you will drift and sink until the limit of the future. That being so, for those who made this hall, there is loss and there is benefit; for those who dwell in this hall, there is advantage and there is harm. You bhikṣus ought to know this! If you can sever the topknot of Vairocana, chop off the arm of Avalokiteśvara, gouge out the eyes of Mañjuśrī, break the shins of Samantabhadra, smash the seat of Vimalakīrti, and burn the robe of Kāśyapa—if you receive it like this, even if gold were made into tiles and white silver into walls, you would still be worthy of it, how much more so a single hall! Take warning and exert yourselves! My words are not empty. Liaochang consulted and inquired of Master Yue for more than ten years, fully grasping his ultimate great matter, which is what the ancient worthies called the treasure sword of the Vajra King.' Written by the fireside on a snowy night at the Chiwu Daoist Abbey in Nankang, on the tenth day of the twelfth month of the seventh year of the Yuanyou era, to serve as a record.

3.4

Great Master Chanyue's Mirror for Great Reclusion

3.5

Dwelling in the dust yet leaving the dust, how should one conduct oneself?
Seeing good, strive earnestly; hearing evil, do not draw near.
Even when dwelling in a dark room, act as if facing an eminent guest.
Delight the mind and nourish the nature; encountering danger, preserve poverty.
Seem foolish without being foolish; cultivate benevolence and attain benevolence.
Make yielding and modesty your foundation; take aloof elevation as your neighbor.
Going out seldom is valued; speaking little is most precious.
In study, waste no time; constantly review and learn the new.
In glory and disgrace, act with prudence; do not inquire into right and wrong.
Constantly and strictly rebuke yourself; strictly refrain from blaming others.
Holding the uncut jade, [Bian He] had his feet cut off; reviving the culture, [Confucius] suffered hardship in Chen.
If ancient sages were still treated thus, how can our cohort expect redress?
Resting quietly, heedless of the secular world, abandon yourself to your innate genuineness.
How marvelous, how joyous! Broad and free, delight the spirit.

3.6

General Treatise on the Three Teachings by Right Precinct Monastic Scribe Ning

3.7

A questioner asked: "Why do you compile monastic histories and investigate historical episodes in brief?"
I replied: "I wish to revive the Buddhist way and cause the saddharma to abide long."
The questioner said: "At present, the Son of Heaven honors the Buddhist way, esteems the Daoist portals, and practices the Confucian arts, bringing about great peace, which is already a revival. By what power of a mere bhikṣu could the wheel be turned, that you speak of reviving the Buddhist way?"
I replied: "I only wish to aid in that revival. If the sons of the Śākya clan do not understand the Dharma, do not engage in practice, do not diligently study the subjects, and do not comprehend their original origins, how could they match the emperor's flourishing initiative?"
Someone asked: "What power do you have to cause the saddharma to abide long?"
I replied: "The Buddha said: 'Understanding the Dharma, understanding the mātṛkā, protecting, upholding, and gathering them in can prevent the Dharma from being cut off.'"
He also asked: "The various masters have already written extensively; why wait for your efforts?"
I replied: "The writings of the ancients were deficient when put to practical use. They simply failed to understand that the three teachings circulate, ending and beginning again. When the One Person is above, he is high without peril. Because there is the One Person, he promotes the flourishing of the three teachings; because there are the three teachings, they assist in the governance of the One Person. Furthermore, as for Confucianism: from the Three Kings onward, it was promulgated for practical use and was appropriate. As for Daoism: prior to the Five Thearchs, it silently tallied with non-governance. In the past, Sima [Qian]'s history elevated Daoism above the Nine Streams; Ban [Gu]'s history singled out Confucianism to head the Treatise on Literature. Zichang wished to return to unhewn simplicity and restore purity, esteeming the Way of the Thearchs. Mengjian reflected on making benevolence primary and righteousness ancestral, putting into practice the Way of the Kings. From the Xia, Shang, and Zhou down to the present, how many hundreds of thousands of years have elapsed? If one uses Huang-Lao to govern, it is like taking a slow-acting medicine for an acute illness. From this, benevolence and righteousness grow faint, while ritual and penal law arise. Once people overstep ritual and transgress penal law, the Confucians merely fold their hands. The gate of the Śākya clan is comprehensive in its application: with compassion it transforms cruelty and evil; with sympathetic joy and equanimity it transforms stinginess and greed; with equality it transforms enmity and affection; with forbearance it transforms anger and harm. It understands that when a person dies, the conscious spirit is not annihilated; it understands that reaching a destiny, one receives karmic retributions and is born again. Rewarding them with heavenly realms, punishing them with hells—it is like a mold casting clay, or a die casting metal. A crooked mold or a leaky die, when shaping an object, will certainly produce something ugly; a fine die or an excellent mold, when transmitting a form, will inevitably present it as upright and dignified. These matters are not mere talk; all witness them with their own eyes. For this reason, emperors revere and believe in it, and the multitudes submit their hearts. The wind over the grass bends it all at once. Yet [Buddhism] can also rely on Laozi on the side and make concurrent use of Confucianism. Achieving wisdom still relies on three fools; governing a state must follow the numerous sages. Effecting the world's untiring endeavors, and resuming the day-long diligent labor, when applied to governing things, is like the arm directing the hand, or the hand moving the fingers: capturing or releasing, wherever it goes, how could it not be good? Thus, the three teachings are the possessions of one single family; the Lord of Ten Thousand Chariots is the ruler of that one family. Looking upon one's family, one must not show partiality. If there is partiality, contention arises; if contention arises, the teachings are harmed. Residing within, one naturally becomes unsettled; when one is unsettled, one regrets having harmed one's teachings. If one does not wish to harm the teachings, there is nothing better than being impartial. Once the three teachings are in harmony, the Dharma can abide long. Moreover, consider how the First Emperor of Qin burned [the books] and buried the Confucians alive: this matter originated with Li Si. The Later Wei slaughtered the śramaṇas: the responsibility lay with Kou Qianzhi and Cui Hao. Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou abolished the two teachings of Buddhism and Daoism: he was boasting of his own cleverness, which occurred because the court lacked upright men. Emperor Wuzong of the Tang destroyed monasteries and statues: the Daoist Zhao Guizhen led Liu Xuanjing in joining forces to slander and falsely accuse them, while Li Deyu secretly assisted. How exceedingly swift was the retribution experienced by these four rulers and these ministers! I respectfully exhort our cohort to warn and safeguard one another so as not to incur faults and transgressions. If emperors do not tolerate us, upon what can the Dharma be established? Moreover, the Daoist current preserves its treasures and does not seek to be first under heaven; what harm is there if śramaṇas yield with courtesy to harmonize with them? One should conform to the Buddha's words: 'Revere and trust all.' Have faith in Lord Lao, the former sage; have faith in Confucius, the former teacher. Were it not for these two sages, how could the Śākya teaching be made manifest, marching alongside them to elevate the ruler above Fuxi and the Yellow Emperor? If one opposes these words, it is like unruly scoundrels fighting without cause, implicating their parents, ruining their estates, and suffering punishment. However, harming the great principles of the three teachings is merely a temporary, minor loss. When the sun and moon pass through an eclipse, how does that diminish their brightness? Do you not see: when Qin burned the books of the hundred schools, the sages had already hidden them inside the walls of houses; when it buried them to exterminate them utterly, the Yang, Ma, and two Dai scholars were born one after another. How were there ever no survivors? Emperor Wu of Liang abandoned Daoism, yet it flourished vigorously in the Later Wei. The Tuoba clan slaughtered monks, yet their descendants revitalized them. The Later Zhou destroyed the two teachings, and immediately afterward they were restored. Wuzong crushed the Śākya gate, and before his heel could turn, Xuanzong revived it tenfold. How could a tilted palm block the flow of the Milky Way? A raised fist cannot overcome the ferocity of tigers and rhinos. Furthermore, among monks none was like Dao'an: Dao'an associated with Xi Zuochi, revering Confucianism. Among monks none was like Huiyuan: Huiyuan saw off Lu Xiujing, crossing Tiger Creek, esteeming Daoism. I admire how these two eminent monks liked Confucianism and esteemed Daoism; yet the sons of Śākya may still criticize them. Since I respect others, how could others look down on me? Please trust that the deeds of Dao'an and Huiyuan are worthy of emulation. The Book of Odes says: 'Carving an axe handle, carving an axe handle; the pattern is not far off.' Mencius said: 'The timeliness of heaven is not as good as the advantages of earth; the advantages of earth are not as good as harmony among people.' Is this not what is meant?"

3.8

The Transmission of the Methods of Chan Contemplation

3.9

Chan methods originated in the Qin era. Dharma Master Sengrui prefaced the Chan scriptures produced in Guanzhong, the text of which elucidated the essentials of understanding the mind and penetrating principle. However, it was like just possessing the prescription without yet having compounded the medicine: not having heard of curing illness, it was merely called a medical book. What is more, once the great teaching was disseminated, the various talents divided it into lectures; those who annotated it boasted of its phrasing and meaning, while those who parsed it showed off their divisions. Holding the whisk and shaking the pine branch, they only esteemed adapting to conditions, responding to changes, resolving entanglements, and blunting sharpness. Looking solely at the blades of their intellect and the tips of their rhetoric, they completely forgot its purport and did not seek liberation. Huiyuan of the region south of the Yangzi lamented that the Chan methods were not yet spread, and thereupon sought them out with bitter effort and obtained them. Patriarch Bodhidharma observed the capacities and conditions of this land and addressed the tangled confusion of that period by proclaiming: 'Do not establish words and letters,' to dispel their attachment to texts and their pursuing after them; and 'Directly point to the human mind,' to elucidate sudden awakening to the unproduced. His dynamic was sharp and his principle was complete; therefore, it was inevitable that followers of gradual cultivation would intensely heap slander and reproach upon him. The transmission of Chan methods began with Bodhidharma. Directly succeeding one another, the robe was transmitted for six generations, and branches emerged laterally beyond counting, as explained in the Baolin Record of Caoxi. (Master Daofa's annotated edition excised the characters below 'directly point to the human mind'; we now restore them according to the old edition).

3.10

Record of the Hall for Selecting Buddhas at Baofeng Chan Monastery in Hongzhou

3.11

Composed by Grand Councilor Zhang Shangying

3.12

The Son of Heaven of the Chongning era bestowed upon Mazu's stupa the designation 'Ciying' and the posthumous title 'Zuyin', ordaining one monk annually to maintain the incense and fire. The venerable abbot Fushen built the Celestial Script Pavilion behind the Patriarch's Hall, using the space beneath the pavilion as a hall, and named it 'Selecting Buddhas'. He sent his disciple to request a record from me. I declined three times, but his requests grew even more resolute. I said to him: 'When the ancients spoke of "selecting Buddhas and passing the examination," it was merely a figure of speech. You have named the hall with it, and now I am to record it—is that not improper?' Pitying your diligence, I casually compose this record for you. Now, 'selection' means choosing and picking: there is rejecting and taking, superior and inferior. Applying it to the civil service examinations, it is used for human talents; this was the instrument by which the former kings spurred the world and sharpened the dull, not the means by which Buddhas are selected. Supposing that Buddhas could be selected, would one take the six faculties? Would one take the six sense-objects? Would one take the six consciousnesses? If one takes the three times six, then all ordinary beings can become Buddhas. If one rejects the three times six, who will cultivate and realize the immeasurable Buddhadharma? Does one take the four truths, the six perfections, the seven factors of awakening, the eightfold noble path, the nine meditative absorptions, the ten fearlessnesses, down to the eighteen unshared dharmas and the thirty-seven auxiliaries to awakening? If one takes them, then there is dharma. Does one reject the four truths, the six perfections, down to the thirty-seven auxiliaries to awakening? If one rejects them, then there is no dharma. Taking and rejecting, existing and non-existing—subtly, they are like a thread remaining in the mind; suddenly, they are like dust entering the chest. In the Sūtra Piṭaka, these are called the two obstacles, or the four illnesses, or the provisional teachings, or conceptual proliferation, or the pervasive conceptualization of false views, or the subtle flowing streams. Taking is not Buddha; rejecting is not Buddha; neither rejecting nor taking is also not Buddha. Can a Buddha truly be selected? He said: 'What you discuss, sir, is the School of Characteristics; what our Patriarch discussed is the Chan School. All who join our selection merely empty their minds. When a disciple approaches the hall with an inquiry, the lineage master sits squarely and replies: sometimes showing him the profound essence; sometimes showing him selection and appraisal; sometimes showing him the samādhi of the Dharma-mirror; sometimes showing him the conditions of the eye of the Way; sometimes showing him the upward path; sometimes showing him the final word; sometimes confronting him directly; sometimes with plain simplicity; sometimes raising an eyebrow or blinking an eye; sometimes lifting the whisk or striking the seat; sometimes drawing a circle; sometimes making a single stroke; sometimes clapping hands; sometimes dancing. Whoever tallies with our dynamic knows that his mind is empty. Knowing that his mind is empty, then a Buddha can indeed be selected.' I said: 'The Bhagavat held up a flower and Kāśyapa smiled; the treasury of the true dharma eye was merely like this. Why are the indications of later lineage masters so excessively numerous? I fear that the teaching of the Śākya clan will decline from this.' Shen is a man of Hedong: content with coarse grain and enduring hardship, he long traveled with Zhenjing of Guanxi; solitary, unbending, and preeminent, he will surely be able to broaden his teaching. For the teaching of the Śākya clan is to wither away so as to leave behind the physical form, and to be serene so as to turn thoughts to ash. Its secret practices of precepts and concentration cannot be spied upon by ghosts and spirits; its wondrous applications of compassion are shared and revered by the hidden and the manifest alike. Responding only when pressed, our assembly would lose its companions; speaking only when having no choice, the six assemblies would lose their boundaries. The changes of life and death are what people dread; if I have never had life, how can there be death? What then is there to dread? Realms of benefit and harm are what people choose between; if I have never had benefit, how can there be harm? Why then choose between them? In this way, without emptying the outside, the inside is naturally empty; without emptying the realm, the mind is naturally empty; without emptying phenomena, principle is naturally empty; without emptying characteristics, nature is naturally empty; without emptying emptiness, emptiness is naturally empty. Being empty, it is equal; being equal, it is great; being great, it is complete; being complete, it is wondrous; being wondrous, it is Buddha. Alas! It is with this that I place my hopes in you; do not neglect it!"

3.13

Inscription on Faith in the Mind by the Third Patriarch, Chan Master Jianzhi

3.14

The Supreme Way is not difficult; it only dislikes picking and choosing.
Merely have no hatred or love, and all will be clearly understood.
A hair's breadth of difference, and heaven and earth are set far apart.
If you wish to see it appear before you, entertain neither conformable nor contrary.
The clash of the contrary and the conformable is the disease of the mind.
Not knowing the profound intent, you labor in vain trying to quiet thought.
Complete like great space, lacking nothing, with nothing extra.
Precisely because of grasping and rejecting, therefore it is not as it is.
Do not pursue conditioned existence; do not dwell in the endurance of emptiness.
Rest in single evenness, and [all] vanishes of itself.
Stopping movement to return to stillness, the stillness moves all the more.
Staying only in the two extremes, how can you know the single kind?
If you do not penetrate the single kind, at both ends you will lose efficacy.
Dismissing existence, you sink into existence; pursuing emptiness, you turn your back on emptiness.
Much speech and many thoughts bring less and less accord.
Cutting off speech and cutting off thoughts, there is nowhere you do not penetrate.
Returning to the root you obtain the intent; following the illumination you lose the source.
For a moment turning illumination back surpasses the previous emptiness.
The changes of the previous emptiness all stem from delusive views.
There is no need to seek the true; one must only cease views.
Do not abide in the dual views; take care not to pursue them.
As soon as there is right and wrong, the mind is confusedly lost.
The two exist because of the one; do not cling even to the one.
When the one mind is unarisen, the myriad dharmas are without fault.
Without fault, there are no dharmas; unarisen, there is no mind.
The subject perishes following the object; the object sinks pursuing the subject.
The object is an object because of the subject; the subject is a subject because of the object.
If you wish to know these two parts, fundamentally they are a single emptiness.
The single emptiness is identical to both, equally containing the myriad forms.
Not seeing fine or coarse, how could there be partiality or bias?
The Great Way's essence is broad, neither easy nor difficult.
Small views are filled with doubt; the more hurried they are, the slower they go.
Clinging to it loses measure, and will surely enter crooked paths.
Letting it go naturally, the essence has no going or staying.
Accord with your nature and unite with the Way: roam untrammeled and cut off afflictions.
Bound thoughts go contrary to truth; torpor and sinking are not good.
It is no good to weary the spirit; what use are estrangement and intimacy?
If you wish to grasp the One Vehicle, do not loathe the six dusts.
Not loathing the six dusts is identical to right awakening.
The wise do not act; the foolish bind themselves.
Dharmas have no different dharmas; delusion itself cherishes attachments.
Using the mind to employ the mind—is this not a great error?
Delusion gives rise to quiet and disturbance; awakening has no likes or dislikes.
All two extremes arise strictly from deliberation.
Dreams, phantoms, and empty flowers: why labor to grasp them?
Gain and loss, right and wrong: let them go all at once.
If the eyes do not sleep, all dreams are removed of themselves.
If the mind does not differentiate, the myriad dharmas are of one suchness.
The essence of one suchness is profound: motionless, forget conditions.
Viewing the myriad dharmas equally, one returns to what is natural.
Extinguish the reason for it, and nothing can be compared to it.
Stop movement and there is no movement; move stillness and there is no stillness.
Since both are not established, how could the one exist?
At the ultimate and consummate limit, no rules or standards are preserved.
Accord the mind to equality, and what is done ceases entirely.
Hesitations and doubts are thoroughly cleansed, and right faith is tuned and straight.
Nothing remains, nothing can be remembered.
Emptily bright, illuminating itself, it does not weary mental effort.
It is not a place for thinking; consciousness and feeling cannot fathom it.
In the true-suchness dharmadhātu, there is neither other nor self.
If you urgently wish to accord with it, speak only of non-duality.
In non-duality all is identical; there is nothing it does not contain.
The wise of the ten directions all enter this source.
The source neither shortens nor extends: one thought is ten thousand years.
Neither absent nor present, the ten directions are before one's eyes.
The extremely small is identical to the great, with realms forgotten and cut off.
The extremely great is identical to the small, with neither boundary nor surface seen.
Existence is precisely non-existence; non-existence is precisely existence.
If it is not thus, you surely must not cling to it.
One is precisely all; all is precisely one.
If only you can be like this, what worry is there that you will not accomplish it?
The faithful mind is non-dual; non-duality is the faithful mind.
The path of language is cut off: it is neither past, future, nor present.

3.15

The Three Trainings of Śīla, Samādhi, and Prajñā

3.16

The Zichi says: All Buddhadharma does not go beyond the three trainings. Because sentient beings' confused minds become delusion, and moving thoughts form karma. Due to karma they incur retributions, with saṃsāra without end. If one wishes to escape the suffering fruit, one must eliminate the suffering cause. Therefore, first treat their karma with śīla; next, clarify their delusion with samādhi and prajñā. Because karma is divided into good and bad, the two practices of cessation and action counteract each other. Because delusion is only dullness and distraction, the two dharmas of samādhi and prajñā counter and break it. An illness is cured due to medicine; capacities rely on teaching to practice. After that, karma is exhausted and delusion eliminated; feelings perish and the nature is revealed. Although the gates of the teaching are vast, how could they exceed this?

3.17

Explanation of the Four Reliances of the Dharma (whereby one sees the patriarchs' ultimate intention and final refuge lies solely in the definitive meaning)

3.18

Regarding relying on the Dharma and not relying on the person: A person exists only through emotion, whereas the Dharma is the norm. The correct principle of emptiness of nature (emptiness of nature applies to both the Lesser and Greater [Vehicles]) is in its essence free from error and falsity; one takes this Dharma as the reliance of the saddharma. The ultimate teaching of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra thoroughly clarifies this path (the Nirvāṇa says: Relying on the Dharma means the dharmatā; not relying on the person means the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas). If one can reverse that mundane mind, rely on the standards of the sages, conceal the mind while engaging in affairs, know that the non-[virtuous] is empty in nature, and take hold of this mind as the path: one part of knowing errors clearly accords with the principle of emptiness, and one part of contemplating with revulsion clearly goes against conditioned affairs. Securing the mind in this manner is called partial cultivation and approach toward the true path of dharmatā.

3.19

Regarding relying on the meaning and not relying on the words: Words are verbal expressions, merely the spreading of a fish-trap. The meaning is the way to penetrate principle and transform beings (transformation means change). After realization and understanding, one cuts off thought and puts an end to words. Dharmas should still be abandoned, how much more so non-dharmas? Thus the sūtra has the metaphor of abandoning the raft, and men hold the talk of 'catching sight of it' (Zhuangzi says: 'Upon catching sight of it, the Dao is present'). Is it not that words explain to reveal the intention, and having grasped the intention, one ceases words? The metaphor of the finger pointing at the moon should certainly be understood by all (the above clarifies that meaning uses words to be revealed, and seeing the meaning, one discards the words). Now I say: grasping the meaning, the meaning is itself words. A true practitioner of the path constantly contemplates and constantly deconstructs; constantly contemplating relies on words, and constantly deconstructing follows meaning. If one says that words follow meaning, that is still reciting words (the above means that grasping the meaning and forgetting the words, one still must dismiss meaning as non-existent). Regarding relying on wisdom and not relying on consciousness: Consciousness means active operation that distinguishes views according to sensory objects. The eyes [are intoxicated by] forms and the ears [by] sounds, indulging in delusion without awakening, equal in measure to cattle and sheep, and walking together with the heretical and ordinary (the above clarifies that the deluded thoughts of the six consciousnesses are relied upon by humans and animals alike, hence they sink into degradation; below it enjoins relying on Buddha-wisdom, which is the consciousness-only contemplation, gradually dispelling faults and brightening). The Great Sage taught that objects are one's own mind. The utterly foolish freeze their clinging, taking the dusts as external to consciousness. Thus the teachings have no means of abandoning them. One should know that stagnating and returning to ordinary consciousness inverts and casts away the sage's mind; foolishly wandering in delusion, one constantly sinks into the three inversions. Those who strive valiantly and penetrate exceptionally know as soon as a thought stirs. Knowing that inversions are hard to clear is called relying on consciousness. Knowing that the flow must be reversed is called wisdom according with one's capacity. Exerting effort in this way, one gradually increases in brightness and greatness. Later, when seeing dust-objects, one knows they do not come from outside. Objects are not outside the mind; they are the marks of one's own mind. How could the foolish give rise to hatred and love? Investigating and selecting unceasingly, their understanding differs from cattle and sheep.

3.20

Regarding relying on sūtras of definitive meaning and not relying on sūtras of non-definitive meaning: These two kinds of sūtras are both the valid testimony of the Sage's words. All who enter the Way should first understand them; then nothing will be obstructed and not penetrate, and all doubts will be resolved. It is only because the dispositions and consciousnesses of living beings are deep or shallow, sharp or dull, differing from one another, that the Great Sage was led to preach differently according to their sentiments. Yet, based on the Supreme Way, it is simply one's own mind. Therefore, a sūtra says: 'Regarding the upper and lower dharmas of the three realms, I preach that they are solely the mind.' This clarifies the mind with respect to the circumstantial reward of the world. It also says: 'Suchness, the true limit, nirvāṇa, the dharmadhātu, and the various mind-made bodies—the Buddha preaches that they are solely the measure of the mind.' This clarifies the mind based on the essence of supramundane dharmas. Ultimately reaching the utmost reality, one fully arrives at this source. Following the flow to respond to capacities, one returns to the definitive meaning as the source.

3.21

Precepts Are Enacted Solely by the Buddha and Not Permitted to Others

3.22

The Xingzong says: Within the chiliocosm, the Buddha is the Dharmarāja. The Vinaya is the Buddha's edict, instituted solely by the Sage. Those in the subordinate ranks below can only rely on and follow it. This is truly because the Tathāgata's practice and fruition are supremely complete, fully fathoming the light and heavy karmic natures of sentient beings. Those at equal awakening and below are still not capable of it; how could other lesser sages dare to presume to deliberate on it? It is like a state's rewards, punishments, orders, and decrees, which must issue from the king. If ministers usurp them, the common people lose trust, and ruin and defeat are imminent. The Buddhadharma is also like this: if others were permitted to speak, living beings would not follow it, and the Dharma would not abide long.

3.23

Briefly Gathering Various Texts to Praise the Dharma of Precepts

3.24

The Zichi cites the Biaozong, saying: They are your Great Master because they can regulate beings. Or it is said: they are human feet, able to reach somewhere. Or it is said: they are the great earth, giving birth to and upholding things. They are the pillars of the path factors, that on which the noble path relies. They are the walls of dhyāna-concentration, that on which concentration and wisdom depend. Up to: like a pond, like a mirror, like a necklace of jewels, like a head, like a vessel. Also, in the Dazhidulun, they are like precious jewels, like life, like a boat, like the wings of a bird, and so forth, which can be known by investigating them. Moreover, in the Pianju, it first clarifies the protection of precepts, fully listing eight metaphors: like the young son of a king, like the light of the moon, like a wish-fulfilling jewel, like the only son of a king, like a person's single eye, like provisions for the poor, like a king's fine country, like good medicine for the sick. Furthermore, the Great Preface to the Precepts says: like the ocean without shore, like jewels of which one never tires. The Mahāsāṃghika prātimokṣa says: like chains for a monkey, like a bridle and bit for a horse. These are extensively found in the sūtras and vinayas and need not be cited again in full. Truly, because the virtue of the precepts is lofty and vast, it cannot be illustrated by a single object. Citing various images individually, each captures one aspect, but cannot fully resemble it.

3.25

When the Buddha Was in the World, He Specially Propagated the Precept Dharma

3.26

It also says: Although he spoke the various scriptures, he paid the greatest attention to the vinaya. Therefore the Pianju says: 'The Bhagavat, dwelling in the world, deeply penetrated the capacities of beings; whatever he did, he always took deportment as primary'—this is it. Furthermore, sūtras may be spoken by other persons, but the vinaya is personally proclaimed only from the golden mouth. Great beings of provisional manifestation who act in response merely know to receive it with reverence; how could other lesser sages dare to put forth words? Furthermore, the various sūtras were spoken with temporal limitations, whereas the vinaya extends throughout the beginning and end. The Yichao says: 'Beginning at the Deer Park and ending at the Crane Grove, enacting precepts according to capacities, there are myriad differences,' and so forth. Possessing these three meanings, it differs forever from other sūtras. The statement that he 'specially propagated' it is surely not without substance.

3.27

Showing the Extensive and Abbreviated Aspects of the Precepts for Monks and Nuns

3.28

The Chao says: Question: In the vinaya, two hundred and fifty precepts are listed for monks, and the prātimokṣa contains them in full; for nuns, there are five hundred. Is this statement real or provisional? (The statement of five hundred comes from the Dazhidulun and differs from the vinaya, so it is asked to resolve it.) Answer: Both listings are fixed numbers, spoken as approximate designations (approximate means abbreviated). Therefore all the schools generally say that one need not adhere strictly to the numbers. In terms of their precept-essence, it is solely the single non-manifesting [essence]. Clarifying the aspects with respect to the objects, they are measured like dusts and sands. It merely points to two hundred and fifty as the pathway for holding and breaking. In the vinaya, nuns have three hundred and forty-eight precepts; these can be designated as what is prevented. Now, based on the Dazhidulun, it says: The precept rules received by nuns are five hundred in the brief, and eighty thousand in the extensive. For monks, there are briefly two hundred and fifty, and in the extensive, it is also identical to the moral conduct of the nuns.

3.29

The Meaning of the Teaching on Ordaining Nuns

3.30

The Yeshu says: When the capacity of women was aroused (in the vinaya, the Buddha's maternal aunt, the bhikṣuṇī Mahāprajāpatī, together with five hundred women, resolved to leave home under the Buddha), they deeply loathed saṃsāra and sought to leave home under the Buddha. Because there was no benefit of broadly propagating the Way and converting beings afar, he restrained and did not permit them. Later they returned to Śrāvastī, shaved their own hair, donned robes, and stood leaning against the monastery, praying to be permitted to receive the precepts. At that time, three requests were made, and he bestowed the rules of respect to be followed and practiced completely, whereupon they received the full precepts. The Ji says: Female nature is base and weak, and people have little respect and faith in them; thus there is no benefit of broadly converting beings. On the contrary, it would further demean the saddharma, diminishing it by half. Because the Buddha did not permit it, they returned to the city, changed their appearance on their own, and came again to the Jetavana, standing leaning against the gate. Ānanda pleaded on their behalf. The Buddha instructed the teaching to be transmitted: if she can practice the Eight Rules of Respect, she is permitted to leave home. Mahāprajāpatī and the others heard this and immediately generated the full precepts. The Jieshu also says: Receiving them before twenty saṅgha members is to clarify that the female retributive body has deep delusion, shallow wisdom, and easily gives rise to arrogance and negligence. If they must receive the full precepts, there must be ten monks and ten nuns before they can generate the superior mind. It also says: If relying on the Divine Province (China), from the Song dynasty and earlier, an investigation of monastic histories reveals that nuns received from a single saṅgha (meaning they received from the single saṅgha of great monks). As in the various vinayas, receiving through the Eight Rules of Respect applied solely to Mahāprajāpatī; the remaining five hundred nuns received from the saṅgha of eleven. Therefore the holy one Guṇavarman (translated as 'Armor of Merit') said: If there are not two saṅghas, receiving from only one saṅgha, like the conditions of Mahāprajāpatī, is permissible. How is this known to be so? In discussing the original dharma, it was only a preliminary expedient, not yet completed; it required the karmavācanā in the saṅgha of monks to obtain [ordination]. Later, when Tessarā and eleven other nuns from Siṃhala learned the Song language and became proficient, they then received from the two saṅghas.

3.31

The Eight Rules of Respect for Nuns

3.32

The chapter on the bhikṣuṇī saṅgha in the Xingshi chao says: "The Sudarśana[-vibhāṣā] states that the Buddha initially did not permit women to go forth in order [not] to destroy the True Dharma. Five hundred years later, he taught the Eight Conditions of Respect and permitted them to go forth. Because they practiced according to the teachings, it was restored to one thousand years. Nowadays, this is not practiced, and so wherever one goes the Dharma is destroyed." The Huizheng ji states: "Fourteen years after the Buddha attained the Way, his maternal aunt sought to go forth. The Buddha did not allow her ordination. Ānanda presented three requests on her behalf. The Buddha instructed Qingxi (Ānanda) to convey the Eight Conditions of Respect and tell her, 'If you can practice these, you are permitted to go forth.' She said, 'I shall uphold them with the crown of my head.' As for the Eight Conditions of Respect: first, a bhikṣuṇī of one hundred years [of seniority], seeing a newly ordained bhikṣu, must rise, receive and see him off, pay homage, inquire after his health, and invite him to take a seat; second, a bhikṣuṇī must not revile or slander a bhikṣu; third, she must not cite a bhikṣu's infractions or speak of his faults, whereas a bhikṣu may speak of a bhikṣuṇī's faults; fourth, a śikṣamāṇā who has trained in the precepts must seek full ordination from the community of monks; fifth, a bhikṣuṇī who commits a saṅghāvaśeṣa must undergo mānatva for half a month in both orders; sixth, twice a month a bhikṣuṇī must seek an instructor from among the monks; seventh, she must not observe the summer retreat in a place where there are no bhikṣus; eighth, when the summer retreat ends, she must approach the community of monks to request an invitator for the pravāraṇā. These eight dharmas must be honored, respected, and praised; to the end of one's life they must not be violated."

3.33

Going Forth Transcends the World

3.34

The Commentary on the Vinaya Deeds states: "Looking broadly across the realms of existence, because there is no thought of departing from defilement, the joy of going forth to dwell in quiet seclusion is established. If there is craving and attachment, it will ultimately become a golden chain. For leading people out through skillful means, there is only this single path. As the Puṣpahasta-sūtra states: 'There are four dharmas through which one transforms one's body, whereupon one is born by transformation on a lotus as an ehibhikṣu, with life span presently increased: first, personally rejoicing in going forth and also encouraging others so that they delight in going forth; second, seeking the Dharma untiringly and also encouraging others; third, personally practicing harmony and forbearance and also encouraging others to practice them; fourth, practicing skillful means and profoundly generating great vows.' Furthermore, the Chujia gongde jing states: 'If one can allow someone to go forth and receive the precepts, the merit is boundless. For instance, if one were to make offerings for a hundred years to arhats filling the four continents, it would not equal someone going forth and receiving the precepts for a single day and night for the sake of nirvāṇa.' This is because previous generosity, though great, has an end and is bound to the desire realm; whereas going forth for the sake of the Dharma is not an action bound to the three realms. Therefore it is said to surpass the former. It also states: 'Even if one erected a jeweled stūpa reaching to the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, it would still fall short of the merit of going forth.' One's momentary delight in going forth may not seem much to reckon, yet this accumulation of subtle deeds is the foundation of supreme excellence."

3.35

The Five Virtues of a Śrāmaṇera

3.36

The Commentary cites the Futian jing: "First, generating the mind to go forth in order to embrace the Way; second, abandoning one's fine appearance in order to accord with the Dharma robes; third, relinquishing bodily life in order to honor and revere the Way; fourth, forever severing ties with family and loved ones, having neither partiality nor indifference; fifth, aspiring to seek the Mahāyāna in order to liberate others." The Subcommentary states: "These five virtues are the great essentials of going forth. The fivefold assembly equally observes them; it is not only for the junior assembly. One practices them throughout life; it is not only upon first receiving [the precepts]." The Commentary on the Vinaya Deeds also states: "These virtues apply from beginning to end to all five assemblies. All are fit to receive material support and serve as models for humans and devas. Therefore, let them be recited and upheld; do not look lightly upon the received substance or upon the form and clothing."

3.37

The Purpose Behind Establishing the Three Robes

3.38

The Commentary cites the Sarvāstivāda: "It was to manifest an unprecedented dharma; none of the ninety-six kinds of heterodox paths have these three names, so it was to distinguish them from the heterodox paths." The Fenbie gongde lun states: "For the three seasons, the three robes were instituted: in winter one wears heavy [robes], in summer one wears light [robes], and in spring one wears medium [robes]; it was also for the sake of various insects." The Da zhidu lun states: "The Buddha's noble disciples abide in the Middle Way, and so they wear the three robes. Heterodox ascetics go naked without shame, while white-robed laypeople have much craving and wear heavy layers." The Daśabhāṇavāra states: "To distinguish them from the heterodox paths, they cut [the cloth] with knives, making it known as the clothing of those who possess shame." The Samyuktāgama states: "Those who cultivate the four immeasurables shave their hair and beard, don the three Dharma robes, and go forth." According to this designation, they are the garments of the compassionate. The Avataṃsaka states: "Those who wear the kāṣāya abandon the three poisons, and so forth." The Dharmaguptaka states: "One who harbors defilements should not wear the kāṣāya." The Sarvāstivāda gives five reasons for instituting the three robes: "First, one robe cannot keep out the cold, but three robes can; second, [with only one] one cannot maintain modesty and shame; third, it is unsuitable for entering villages; fourth, even walking along the road one will not generate goodness; fifth, the deportment will not be pure. Therefore, they are instituted so that one keeps three, thereby fulfilling the above purposes." The Mahāsāṃghika states: "The three robes are the insignia of worthy and noble śramaṇas; the bowl is the vessel of one who has gone forth, not something used by worldly folk, and it should be held and kept. The three robes and earthenware bowl are signs of few desires and few affairs, and the like." In our school and outside divisions, they are mostly instituted as three for the sake of the cold. The Dharmaguptaka also states: "The Tathāgatas of the three periods of time all wear such robes." The Commentary on the Vinaya Deeds states: "As taught in the vinaya: Because the bhikṣus stored surplus cloth and did not moderate themselves, the Tathāgata wore one robe in the first watch of the night, and so on until wearing the third in the last watch of the night; on the following morning, he accordingly instituted the initial rules for robes."

3.39

Citing and Demonstrating the Efficacy of the Kāṣāya

3.40

It also cites the Mahākaruṇā-sūtra: "If one has the nature of a śramaṇa though defiling the conduct of a śramaṇa, yet has the physical form of a śramaṇa and wears the kāṣāya, from the time of Maitreya down to the Buddha Ruci, they shall all attain nirvāṇa without remainder." The Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka-sūtra states that the Tathāgata made a vow before the Buddha Ratnagarbha: "When I become a buddha, may my kāṣāya possess five virtues: first, if members of the fourfold assembly who enter my Dharma commit grave offences, hold wrong views, and the like, yet in a single thought venerate and honor it, they will certainly receive a prophecy in the three vehicles; second, if devas, nāgas, humans, or ghosts can show reverence to even a small portion of such a person's kāṣāya, they will attain non-retrogression in the three vehicles; third, if any ghosts, spirits, or humans obtain a piece of the kāṣāya as small as four inches, they will have an abundance of food and drink; fourth, if sentient beings come into conflict with one another and remember the power of the kāṣāya, they will immediately generate a mind of compassion; fifth, if one is in a military battle and holds a small piece of it, venerating and honoring it, one will always be victorious over others. If my kāṣāya does not possess these five powers, then I would be deceiving the buddhas of the ten directions." The Jiyuan cites the Xianyu jing: "The Buddha told Ānanda: In the ancient past, countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas ago, in a mountain forest in this Jambudvīpa, there was a lion named Kalabi (translated into Qin as 'Firm Vow'), whose body was golden and whose luminous marks were brilliant. At that time, a hunter shaved his head, put on a kāṣāya, concealed a bow and arrows on his person, and shot it with a poisoned arrow. Startled, the lion was about to charge and kill him, but seeing him wearing the kāṣāya, it thought: 'This person will certainly attain liberation before long. Why? This dyed robe is the insignia of the noble ones of the three periods of time. If I harm him, it would be directing an evil mind toward the noble ones of the three periods of time.'"

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緇門警訓 — Classical Chinese