緇門警訓 8

English (machine translation) 8

Language: English

8.1

Chan Master Cishou's Admonitions for Postulants

8.2

Worldly conventions are tangled without end; / Entering the gate of emptiness is a true blessing. / You must constantly be diligent day and night, / Do not let time pass in vain through busy toil.

Burning incense and bowing, do not be in a hurried rush; / Look with your eyes and keep your mind present before the holy countenance. / Repent of the defilements and sinful karma of many lifetimes, / Vowing to keep the Dharma water to wash your heart and breast.

8.4

The mind-monkey is easily let loose; how can you let it run free? / The intention-horse is hard to tame, yet it must be tamed. / If down to old age the emotional dust is not swept away, / The four requisites of pravrajyā will be hard to consume.

8.5

You must also study writing and recite the scriptures; / For pravrajyā, the mind-ground must be distinct and clear. / In future years, on the day of the rounded crown and square robe, / In every matter, when the time comes, all will be fully ready.

8.6

Equally taking pravrajyā to become disciples, / Serve your teacher as you would your parents in the hall. / In adding incense and changing water, you must be diligent and careful; / Naturally the dragons and devas will witness and shine upon you.

8.7

Your robes, shirts, shoes, and socks must be neat and tidy; / Your travel pack and cloth wrapper must not be lacking. / Keep the four deportments of the body always complete; / Do not follow the foolish crowd and learn to be coarse and sloppy.

8.8

Encountering a monk under the corridor, you must greet him with folded hands; / Meeting a guest before the gate, you should call out a welcome. / The demeanor of one who has taken pravrajyā should be humble and yielding; / Do not imitate foolish people who have no etiquette.

8.9

If after taking pravrajyā you do not cut off meat and wine, / In vain do you walk upon the saṅghārāma's ground. / If down to old age your mind-field is not yet pure, / The seed of bodhi will also be difficult to sprout.

8.10

Do not speak of others' shortcomings and strengths; / Talking back and forth only invites calamity upon yourself. / If you can shut your mouth and deeply hide your tongue, / That is the foremost prescription for peaceful living.

8.11

Do not imitate foolish people who tell lies and tall tales; / What end is there to the telling of lies? / Do not say that no one sees you in the dark; / I fear only that it will be difficult to deceive Lord Ma.

8.12

While your physical body is healthy, do not crave sleep; / In labor and tasks, you should step to the fore. / Do you not see Practitioner Lu in the pestle mill? / The ancestral master's robe and bowl were transmitted to him!

8.13

For communal work at the two times, you should arrive first; / When many hands are capable, affairs do not go awry. / Chanting a scroll of the Tathāgata's sutras / Is better than idle chatter with babbling lips.

8.14

In the Xiangji kitchen, apply your mind well; / The dragons and elephants of the five lakes are in the monasteries. / Though looking up at the stars and gazing at the moon is laborious, / You must believe that deep causes bring deep fruits.

8.15

Of the monastic property, not a fraction of a hair may be stolen; / accruing ten thousand-fold daily, it will be hard indeed to repay. / Pig heads and donkey feet will manifest clearly; / swept in this life, the Buddha's ground is never finished.

8.16

Whether monastic utensils be fine or crude, they should be cherished; / when using them, you must look with your own eyes. / Do not recklessly cast them aside at will; / the user must know that making them was difficult.

8.17

Service in the various quarters requires diligent exertion; / sweeping the floors and boiling tea, never weary of their frequency. / If you can always be cautious and earnest in serving the assembly, / only then are your body and mind truly those of a renunciant.

8.18

When occasion calls for running errands in the streets, / look after Guishan's water buffalo. / Where grass grows thick outside the gate, always keep it in check; / if carelessly lost, it may be hard to retrieve.

8.19

Trading blows with fists must never be done; / crude aggression is not for a son of the renunciant order. / When spat upon in the face, you must wipe it away; / in the end, forbearing others is not foolishness.

8.20

When the bath drum sounds three rolls and you enter the bathhouse, / you must distinguish upper and lower garments, touch and purity. / Loud talking and laughing are not permissible at all; / do not let coarse behavior break your deportment.

8.21

A renunciant's words and deeds must correspond; / be fearful and apprehensive, always as if treading on thin ice. / Though you have not yet shaved beard and hair, / let your conduct and manner be just like a monk.

8.22

Exhorting Monks to Care for the Sick (Stone inscription from Lingyan)

8.23

A sick bhikṣu without a home across the four seas; / a solitary lamp shines alone upon his broken bed. / His desolate mind abides amid groans; / for gruel and medicine, he relies on his fellows in the Way.

8.24

The sick easily give rise to afflictions; / the healthy should constantly cherish a compassionate heart. / How can either of our dream-like bodies be guaranteed? / The old monk writes this gāthā to instruct the monastery.

8.25

Moisture, wind, and fatigue may still be treated, / but who knows how to cure the sickness of Chan? / If a patched-robe monk intends further to discuss prescriptions and drugs, / just strike him across the mouth with a fist.

8.26

Chan Master Dahui's Liturgy for Reverencing Avalokiteśvara

8.27

With purified three karmas, single-mindedly throwing the five limbs to the ground, I take refuge: Namo to the compassionate father of the ten directions, the vastly efficacious Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva. I have heard that the Bodhisattva entered samādhi through hearing, contemplation, and cultivation, attained two kinds of conformity, four inconceivables, fourteen fearlessnesses, nineteen preachings of the Dharma, [deliverance from] seven difficulties and [granting of] two quests, thirty-two response-bodies, and immeasurable merits, raising great majestic power and making great vows. Flowing together through the nine realms, the six destinies, and the four forms of birth within the paths of saṃsāra, you raise up skillful means of wholesome deeds for hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of kalpas as countless as the sands of the Ganges, rescuing and delivering all sentient beings without rest. I now beseech you piteously to surely grant your empowerment. I humbly reflect that I, [name], have been fortunate from past lives to meet the Buddha's Dharma in this birth. Although my body has left home, my mind is not dyed with the Way; foolish, holding wrong views, my sense faculties are clouded and obstructed. Although I have studied internal and external scriptures, I have no understanding of their passages or subtle principles. Furthermore, I fear that my power of merit is shallow, my lifespan not long, and that I have entered the empty gate in vain, living futilely and dying pointlessly. I now cleanse my mind, weep tears of blood, bow my head, and present my sincerity. Day and night without end, I visualize the holy countenance, uphold the holy name, and bow to the holy image. I pray only that the Bodhisattva, hearing the sounds with the divine ear, with a compassionate mind to rescue from suffering, piteously grants empowerment: emit great divine light to illuminate my body and mind, pour great nectar to wash over my crown, purge the enmities and offenses of accumulated lifetimes, and cleanse the sinful karma of a thousand births. May body and mind be pure, and demonic hindrances eliminated. Day and night, sitting and lying down, may I see the Bodhisattva emitting great divine light, opening my wisdom-nature so that my supernatural powers instantly shine forth brilliantly, my wisdom be sharp and bright, all scriptures naturally remembered, and all meanings and principles naturally understood; may I attain great eloquence, great wisdom, long life, and great peace and joy; practicing Chan and studying the Way without any demonic hindrances, realizing the patience of the non-arising of phenomena; lifetime after lifetime, generation after generation, practicing the Bodhisattva path; fully repaying the four kindnesses, universally aiding the three realms of existence, and, together with the sentient beings of the dharmadhātu, completely fulfilling the knowledge of all modes.

8.28

Great Master Tiantai Zhiyi's Method of Contemplating the Mind while Reciting Scriptures

8.29

Now, if one wishes to recite scriptures to eliminate sins: First, one must wash, rinse, and adjust deportment, sitting cross-legged on a separate seat. Second, one enters contemplation: the seat upon which one sits is lofty, vast, and adorned. Next, contemplate beneath the seat that the eight classes of devas and dragons and the four assemblies are all gathered around to listen to the Dharma. Next, one must apply the mind to form a contemplation, contemplating that I am able to serve as a Dharma master transmitting the Buddha's true teaching, preaching to the four assemblies, visualizing the sound produced: not only this single assembly of listeners, but even the ten directions can hear and receive it; this is called the contemplation of the conventional. Next, contemplate the person who can preach and the scripture that is recited: What is the scripture? Is it the scripture scroll? Is it the paper and ink? Is it the roller and spindle? Is it the reciter? Does it recite from the mind or from the mouth? Does it emerge from the conjunction of gums and palate? Is there my body, or is there no body of mine? Who is the reciter? Contemplate these four assemblies: Are they real, or are they born from subsequent thoughts? The four assemblies do not exist; inquiring thoroughly, ultimately there is no self. That which can recite is called the contemplation of emptiness. Although there is no scripture that is recited, there are the scripture scrolls, paper, ink, and characters. Although there is no person who can recite, there is my body proclaiming and reciting for the four assemblies. Although it is neither internal nor external, it is not apart from internal and external. Although it is not the scripture scroll, it is not apart from the scripture scroll. Although it is not mind and mouth, it does not depart from mind and mouth. From beginning to end, there is surely no error; this is called the inconceivable. Being able to form this understanding and this contemplation is called the three contemplations. Attained in a single thought-moment, neither before nor after, the three contemplations are vividly manifest: although there is no giver, there is the gift of Dharma; although there are no recipients, the four assemblies are vividly manifest; although there is no Dharma seat, one ascends the seat and proclaims; not one, two, or three, yet one, two, and three; this is called the dāna-pāramitā of Dharma-giving. Single-mindedly maintaining it without impediments is called holding the precepts. Enduring bad perceptions so that fame, gain, and wealth cannot afflict one is called patience. Single-minded and unceasing from beginning to end without shame or regret is called vigor. Exclusively mindful of this scripture without relish or attachment is called meditation. Discriminating without error, completely understanding the preface, main body, and dissemination, with distinct characters and phrases, is called prajñā. This is called the fulfillment of the six pāramitās. Practicing this method oneself is called the real; transmitting it to others is called the expedient. If one completes it through one lifetime from birth to old age, using this to achieve merit, in the beginningless mind it is called the seed of the direct cause. If there is mental contemplation, it is called the revealing cause. The causal conditions of the high seat and the four assemblies preaching and transmitting are called the conditioning causes. The three causes are complete. If contemplation is not yet clear, it is merely the inherent virtue of nature; investigating it unceasingly until the contemplative mind corresponds, this is called abiding in the holy womb; through the fulfillment of the womb's karma, it is called cultivated virtue. The forty-two stages in between are also called nature and cultivation. Arriving at the ultimate fruition is called the knowledge of all modes. The three dots of the letter 'i', neither vertical nor horizontal, are called the great nirvāṇa, called reaching the other shore, called the great equal wisdom of ultimate emptiness. This is called the correct contemplation of reciting scriptures. All Buddhas of the three times are born from this. It may be bestowed on believers; do not speak it to those who do not ask. Third, dissemination: If one tames and liberates only oneself, it is not called loving-kindness; if one sees suffering and does not rescue, it is not called compassion. Since the correct contemplation has been cultivated in the present, one should further adorn the dharmadhātu. After completing the recited scripture and emerging from contemplation, using this merit of the contemplation of the Way, one vows that those who have already attained true enlightenment may liberate sentient beings, those who have entered stages may all ascend to higher grounds, and for those who have not entered stages, one arouses the two dharmas of loving-kindness and compassion, vowing that in future ages they will attain equal and true enlightenment.

8.30

Method of Contemplating the Mind during Meals

8.31

Having spread the seat and sat down, listen to the karmadāna's cues and the striking of the chime. Afterward, fold the hands and make offerings to the unified triratna, making Buddha-work throughout the ten directions. Next, take out the portion of food, dedicating it to the six destinies, which signifies the six pāramitās. Thereafter, receive this food. Now, food is the external life of sentient beings; if one does not enter contemplation, it nourishes saṃsāra. If one can know to enter contemplation, discerning whether saṃsāra has bounds or no bounds, regardless of whether it is alms-food or the pure food of the assembly, one must always make contemplation. The contemplator fears that the old food within this body is all ignorance and afflictions nourishing saṃsāra. The food eaten now is all prajñā. Visualize the old food emerging in sequence from the pores; once the food has emerged, the path of the mind opens. Eating this new food illuminates and extinguishes all darkness, culminating in prajñā. Therefore the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa says: 'One who is equal in food is also equal in dharmas'; this is clear evidence. Because of this food, it becomes the food of prajñā and can nourish the dharmakāya; once the dharmakāya is established, liberation is attained; these are the three virtues. Illuminating this food: it is neither new nor old, yet there is the age of the old food and the novelty of the new food; this is called the conventional. Seeking the old cannot be found; seeking the new cannot be found; being ultimately empty and tranquil is called emptiness. How can the contemplator of food eat? Because the new [food] has no new food, how can there be an eater? Yet not apart from old food nourishing the body, new food adds further benefit; the conjunction of causes and conditions cannot be distinguished as before and after; this is called the middle. The middle is just the conventional and the empty; the empty is just the middle and the conventional; the conventional is just the empty and the middle. Being inconceivable is called the middle way. Furthermore, the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa says: 'Neither having afflictions nor separated from afflictions; neither entering the concentrated mind nor arising from the concentrated mind.' This is the method of meals.

8.32

Rhapsody on the Three Robes, by Vinaya Master Dazhi

8.33

I have three robes, the true standard of ancient sages. Coarse hemp and ramie form their substance; animal fur and silkworm mouths harm life and injure compassion. Blue-black and magnolia-bark ruin their color; the five primary and five secondary colors border on the worldly and invite ridicule. In upholding them, it is like a bird's two wings; in revering and protecting them, it is like the thin skin of one's body. Truly, they are the emblems of Buddhas as numerous as Ganges sands, the models of worthy and holy śramaṇas. They are the foremost in inspiring faith among the ninety-six paths, and the foundation for planting blessings throughout the twenty-five realms of existence. Therefore, the Beast King of firm vows endured death and praised them repeatedly; the nun Utpalavarṇā played a part and severed desire and ignorance completely. Their vast vows are exceedingly weighty, their supreme virtue difficult to fathom: dragons wearing them escape the disaster of the garuḍa; humans obtaining them halt the peril of war and enemies. Later lineages have become superficial and frivolous, and the true teaching has declined and lagged: they vie to buy clothes of mixed vermilion, constantly suffering the ridicule of pretense. They wax mighty in arrogance and haughtiness, oppressing eminent virtues with frosted brows. Habit has become custom; the foolish do not know their error. You should respectfully comply with the constant norms, looking up to carry the kind grace. Constantly rejoice in yourself, not parting from them step by step. When the spirit is hidden in the Land of Bliss, robes of fine gauze are naturally worn; when forms descend to the Saha world, the clothing of retribution always accompanies. Though the kalpa-stone may wear away, let the thought of these words not perish; though great empty space may have an end, believe that this aspiration is hard to alter.

8.34

Rhapsody on the Iron Pātra

8.35

I have an iron pātra, crafted according to proper standard, measuring a peck and a half: neither too large nor too small, cured with bamboo smoke, solely lustrous and pure. It resembles a bright pearl of two parts, like the luminous moon about to wax round. Entering the settlement at dawn, the minds of the multitude are aroused; yellow millet poured out is like golden sand, polished white rice piled high is just like accumulated snow. In no way different from the manifestations of the Kitchen of Fragrance, how does it differ from spontaneous heavenly offerings? Ah, you who share this boat, you should correct and regulate yourselves! You neither plow nor weed, neither hoe nor reap: by what does this living life survive? Moreover, the mouth and belly know no satiety; the source of greed is hard to exhaust. If right mindfulness strays slightly, rākṣasas have already seized it; relishing the sweetness of a moment causes hunger and thirst for ten thousand kalpas. That ten thousand gold coins may be received does not guarantee you are thoroughly clear; that a cup of water is hard to bear is clearly spoken in the holy teaching. Therefore, one should not violate the five contemplations, and keep moderation in the three spoonfuls. Be careful not to wrongly take those faithful alms to nourish a foul body; you must certainly rely on these sustaining conditions early on to seek self-deliverance.

8.36

Rhapsody on the Niṣīdana

8.37

I have a niṣīdana, its dimensions made according to measure: its color and appearance belong to the category of kāṣāya, its material substance is two layers of coarse cloth. Four [spans] in length, three in width, cutting the new to patch the old. For those of large stature, dispensations allow an increase; for my small body, I follow the original regulation. Loving the large and disliking the small, merely blaming others' errors, turning regulations into dispensations—how do they know they deceive themselves? I have heard that a bhikṣu's body is a stūpa of the five parts [of the dharmakāya], and the niṣīdana is its four-cornered foundation. Thus it is that which aids a person of the Way; how could it be merely for protecting the body? In seated meditation or preaching the Dharma, spread it without losing deportment; when entering settlements or wandering afar, carry it without parting by half a step. Otherwise, violating the various Vinayas will incur penalties, and for a whole lifetime there will be no place to sit in accordance with the Dharma.

8.38

Rhapsody on the Water Strainer

8.39

I have a water strainer, made according to the correct method: fine bleached silk forms its bottom, and forged iron serves as its frame. When using it to filter, one must inspect it most thoroughly; when releasing [the creatures] back, one must be strictly careful not to harm them. One should know that our Buddha's benevolence and compassion did not abandon even the tiniest creatures; this enables our assembly, in what we drink and use, to be fortunate enough to avoid lingering calamities. Within the boundaries of a single monastery's diocese, superiors and inferiors are all regulated by it; whenever traveling within half a yojana, back and forth, one must carry it along. In the world, many treat it with slight and neglect—who investigates whether it is right or wrong? Some hear of it but do not make one, sneering at it as a minor path; some make it but do not use it, merely hanging it in their thatched huts. This stems from having no compassion within, while outwardly indulging in carelessness and wildness, blocking the ford and path for beginners, and harming the discipline and order of our teaching. You should preserve sincerity, maintain and guard it, and exert all strength to expand and spread it. How could it merely be that the four forms of birth rely on it? It also makes the triratna shine all the more brightly.

8.40

Rhapsody on the Pewter Staff

8.41

I have a pewter staff, fashioned according to standard form. Upper, middle, and lower sections in threefold division, its towering shaft is six feet tall. Its twelve rings are round and without flaw, showing how dependent origination leads to death and to birth. Its two prongs part and yet join together again, revealing that emptiness and existence are neither separate nor identical. It is not used to support the frail; it is carried solely to beg for food. Held in hand, it is serenely silent; shaken, its ringing is distinct and clear. It aims directly to cause the gates of the realms of existence to open, and the sufferings of the three evil destinies to cease. Wherever one stays, it is hung upon the room's wall; dust and grime easily gather, so it must ever be wiped clean. Hurling it beyond the clouds is not considered difficult; parting fighting tigers requires no strenuous effort. How fortunate are ordinary fools to tread in the footsteps of the sages! Yet with rough coarseness shown on the outside, and thistles and brambles harbored within, whether employing it or laying it aside, can one fail to be watchful day and night?

8.42

Chan Master Ze's Admonition Against Washing Flour

8.43

Consider carefully: does flour appear naturally? Does wheat spring forth from the earth? It is entirely the sweat and blood of sentient beings, the fat and grease of the dānapatis. Originally meant to sustain the withered body so as to accomplish the karmic task of the Way, even its ordinary consumption is feared to be hard to digest. How much more so when washing away its essence, leaving only the gluten dregs! Completely relying on the five flavors, borrowing artificial colors and fragrances, skillfully crafting a thousand forms to imitate fish and meat! This causes what was like goose feathers and white snow to drift away with the water; of the daily meal rations for the permanent hall, two parts out of three are discarded. Such wasteful extravagance is truly shameless. It is to be blind to the hardships of sowing and reaping, and to diminish the protection of the nāgas and spirits. Even if one possessed the merit of a cakravartin, it would still dissolve like tiles crumbling and ice melting. Although it does not directly take life or injure living beings, how could it not bring about cause and entail effect? The Greatly Awakened Bhagavat ate a single hemp seed and a single grain of wheat; eminent masters of old satisfied their hunger with wild fruits and vegetables. If extravagance in food and drink is not removed, where can the time of liberation be? One should only wish to attain the marrow in Chan inquiry; why must one wash flour to seek gluten? Even if one could digest ten thousand ounces of yellow gold, coarse broth and bland rice are just right. If one is spared seeking much and thereby hindering the Way, one's orientation will naturally become pure and lofty. Though it is called a plain and austere family style, it is uniquely peaceful and joyful. Painfully reflecting on the kind instructions of Yuantong, they are truly fit to change one's bones and wash one's bowels. (Chan Master Yuantong of Fayun constantly admonished students never to wash flour.) Deeply pondering the rules and regulations of Elder Shun, one must be resolute as cutting nails and shearing iron. (Upādhyāya Shun of Yunju established the rule that neither the permanent residence nor any of its estates were permitted to wash flour.) May the great assembly together promote the aspiration for the Way and not despise sparse and meager offerings. Even if this mountain monk's head were chopped off, I will resolutely never wash the flour of the permanent residence. Announced by the Abbot Zongze on the first day of the eleventh month in the third year of the Yuanfu era [1100 CE].

8.44

Washing the mind still halts midway;
How could washing flour ever revive the ancient style?
Today the monastic community longs for Elder Shun;
We recall Yuantong, the lineage master of former times.

8.45

Planting wheat is toil, and grinding wheat is hard;
Do not take washed flour to make a feast.
Out of pity for this wasteful squandering, what does it feel like?
It is just like slicing the flesh of this mountain monk.

8.46

Even in bumper years, it still diminishes one's merit;
Even more in lean years, it damages resources.
Earnestly I announce to all you practitioners of Chan:
Tightly hold the ends of the cord and never loosen them.

8.47

Even if there is a surplus, one must cherish it;
One should not go to excess and be utterly shameless.
Old Man Yama is truly difficult to appease;
The nāga spirits who oversee crops are not well-pleased.

8.48

Do not say this expense is not worth disputing;
Ten thousand troubles all arise from washing flour.
When Emperor Shun in ancient times made lacquered vessels,
The hundred officials still remonstrated that it should not be done.

8.49

In flour there is gluten, just as there must be feet;
If suddenly the gluten is removed, the feet can hardly walk.
When eating it oneself, the mind already feels weary;
Passing it on to others, one's conscience finds no peace.

8.50

Seasoned with fragrant flavors to resemble real meat,
Arranged in tempting displays of freshness to mimic fish.
If painting a Buddha could already accomplish the fruit of the Way,
How could such counterfeit likenesses ever realize [nirvāṇa] without remainder?

8.51

In the depths of winter, where it is washed, the cold bites to the bone;
In the height of summer, when it is steamed, sweat covers the body.
It wastes water, wastes oil, and wastes firewood as well;
It toils people, toils beasts, and toils the spirit too.

8.52

The practitioner of the Way eats sparsely and has joy to spare;
The monastery helpers also spend no wasted effort.
Apart from serving at the daily communal labor,
They have ample time for Chan inquiry and reciting Buddhist scriptures.

8.53

I do not study the 'five-flavor Chan' of other regions;
The news within this is even more natural.
King Tang opened his hunting nets, letting things follow their will;
Lü Wang dropped his hook, trusting to my karmic conditions.

8.54

At the three periods of communal labor, we return to the Chan hall;
With a single thought of no-mind, we cross Tiger Creek.
In the bowls, the meals served are coarse millet;
In the buckets, the broth is pale yellow pickled greens.

8.55

High officials enjoying jade-like delicacies, do not be stirred;
The vegetarian meals taken with the assembly are exceedingly coarse.
The empty gate is equal, without high or low;
The thousand sages have always walked this single road.

8.56

Faithful dānapatis prepare the vegetarian feast;
Do not let your enthusiasm wane because it is sparse and plain.
Generally, fine or coarse brings the very same fullness;
Examining merits and faults in detail, they differ in manifold ways.

8.57

Emulating the practice of the ancients brings profound benefit;
Silla does not contradict the monastic community.
Although it is cold, plain, and devoid of rich flavors,
It briefly expresses the single heart of the Chan house.

8.58

The weighty duties to ruler and parents were once lightly cast aside;
Delicacies of land and sea were also left far behind.
Today, if this craving has still not ceased,
Bow your head and recall once more the time you left home.

8.59

Rubbing platters and wiping tables to curry favor by force,
One should feel ashamed before the genuine monks of the Chan grove.
The mind directed toward the otherworldly Way decreases by the day;
Human affairs that cater to worldly feelings increase year by year.

8.60

The withered, austere monastic community turns into a firewood forest;
Daily life in sparse simplicity holds deep ancient meaning.
Do not wash the flour belonging to the permanent residence of the ten directions;
Only inquire into the mind of the six generations of patriarchs.

8.61

Do not take people of today to be like people of old;
When weighed and compared, there is ultimately distance and intimacy.
In those days, working the mill distinguished the skin from the marrow;
Later generations of descendants merely wash flour for gluten.

8.62

Sparse meals are easy to prepare and bring lasting peace and joy;
Fine food is hard to digest and harms conditions for the Way.
We often see those guests by the waters and beneath the trees
Spend their whole lives free of affairs and live to a ripe old age.

8.63

Having already learned to wear patched robes as a mendicant,
How can one bear to boast of exquisite fare rivaling princes and dukes?
If there are those who laugh, let them laugh as they please;
I willingly hoist the flag of surrender and stand downwind.

8.64

This is not out of worry over poverty, nor is it stinginess;
To cease complications and nourish the Way should rightfully be like this.
Eminent persons of penetrating mind should comprehend this together;
Talkative Chan monks, do not spread it recklessly.

8.65

Milk and shallots, rank and pungent, ruin the fragrance of precepts;
Wheat gluten, luxurious and extravagant, wastes the resources of the permanent hall.
Now with a single stroke of the brush I cancel them all;
I feel all the more that the flavor of the empty gate is enduring.

8.66

Washed flour in the end is hard to digest;
Negligence brings many illnesses, obstructing light ease.
How much merit can an ordinary person possess?
Even the vast ocean could run completely dry.

8.67

The original face is exceedingly clear and distinct;
Pursuing the waves and following the billows, it looks so withered and thin!
It will surely be laughed at by the lofty masters of the monastery:
Losing all innate genuineness just to gain floating fame.

8.68

Eminent monks like dragons and elephants have aspirations beyond the flock;
Their sky-poking nostrils exhale a spirit that touches the clouds.
They even disdained the subtle taste of the joy of Chan;
How would they ever greedily gobble and covet wheat gluten?

8.69

This mountain monk at first had not experienced hardship;
Taking up the collar and grasping the net seemed quite ordinary.
One hundred and fifty thousand catties of permanent flour
Have already flowed away with the running water into the human world.

8.70

Though pointing to a horse makes things hard to distinguish,
Sharing the fault and sharing the merit cannot yet be relied upon.
Cherishing blessings at this time is thanks to the great assembly;
The one who was shameless in those days was this mountain monk.

8.71

Squandering the property of the monastery brings immeasurable disaster;
I have heard that the years and months in Niraya hell are long.
Fearing that at that time it will hinder the work of the Way,
It is far better today to keep things plain and ordinary.

8.72

Duty officers in the monastic community, do not be foolish and naive;
How can the bitter fruit repaying causes be easily borne?
If you further intend to go around asking Old Man Wang,
I wonder for whose sake this bitterness is turned to sweetness?

8.73

A single meal of the monastic order merely sustains the body;
Cherishing blessings has always meant abstaining from wheat gluten.
Feasting greedily before the butcher's gate is truly shameful;
And who was that person buying wine for ten thousand coins?

8.74

Heaven produced the Three Wus to bring disaster upon our lineage;
Sons of Śākya returned to secular life, and pagodas and temples stood empty.
It must have been that in those former days when they were revered and upheld,
They failed to remain pure and frugal to guard the true style.

8.75

This mountain monk has specially altered our everyday routine,
Hoping that our gate may endure even longer.
If at this time we simplify our provisions and sustenance,
We will prevent misleading the sovereign on a future day.

8.76

As the Tang dynasty neared its end, troubles were tangled like hemp;
War and fires slaughtered and burned tens of millions of homes.
If in those days of great peace they had reflected on frugality,
How could the rebel Chao have thrown China into turmoil?

8.77

Feasting in ease and comfort, the general fashion grew prouder and more extravagant by the day;
One must take advantage of peace and prosperity to snip the sprouts of disaster.
Therefore, our gate increases simplicity and plainness,
Just hoping that the world will bring an end to luxurious vanity.

8.78

Subduing dragons and gods and moving ghosts and spirits
Is solely because lofty conduct surpasses ordinary mortals.
Let it be that ancient simplicity is loved by no one;
This pure practice alone is the gate of transformation.

8.79

Following each household's wealth or frugality, circumstances are hard to make alike;
The joy of Chan is especially suited to plain simplicity.
When lowering the mouth, if one knows the flavor of flavorlessness,
Only when raising the head will one see the non-empty emptiness.

8.80

Those who receive blessings are many, but those who cherish blessings are rare;
To gain an advantage is precisely where one incurs a loss.
Yunmen's sesame cake and Jinniu's rice—
With one full stomach, the mind forgets a hundred hungers.

8.81

A hundred-patch kāṣāya and a five-stitched bowl:
At the two meals, how could one again calculate fine or coarse?
A śramaṇa after all is suited to pure hardship;
In soft and warm practice, the karmic task of the Way grows slack.

8.82

In times of peace, people's minds open to extravagance;
Lavish consumption nurtures the womb of disaster.
Before shame is born, foolish blessings are exhausted,
And calamities of flood and drought strike straight at one's head.

8.83

During great peace, the population gradually multiplies;
Fine food, fresh clothes, and utensils are all magnificent.
The land has its limits, and wealth is finite;
At such a time, one should be frugal and not extravagant.

8.84

Inscription on Taking the Mind as Teacher by Dharma Master Bancai Jing

8.85

Alas, this body!
For what were you born?
Sustained with food,
Covered with clothing,
Housed in a chamber,
Given medicine when sick—
Nurtured in a hundred ways, not lacking for a moment.
Yet it knows nothing of gratitude, turning instead to resentment and defiance:
The four elements torment each other, and the five viscera deceive one another.
This body is impermanent: with a single breath comes departure.
This body is impure: the nine apertures ever discharge.
A hundred thousand ulcers and boils, covered by a single sheet of thin skin!
This body is detestable; do not greedily cherish it.
You should cause this body to cultivate according to the Dharma:
The three kinds of pure contemplation, the sixteen contemplations.
Through the one practice without regression, return west to Peace and Sustenance.
Achieving unsurpassed wisdom: this is taking the mind as teacher.

8.86

Motto Beside the Seat by Great Master Chanyue of the Tang, with [Preface]

8.87

The preface states: I have often read the Sequel to Cui Ziyu's Motto Beside the Seat composed by Grand Protection Bai [Juyi]. Its wording and intent are canonical and refined, doubly earnest and doubly urgent; it can truly serve as an admonition to the unawakened and bequeath guidance to the future. Next, I also saw that Yao Chong, Bian Lan, Zhang Yue, and Li Yong all had writings of this kind, which were exceptionally profound and wonderful. In their restrained admonitions and gentle restraint, they are rich mirrors and warnings for a thousand ages. I secretly cherished their writings, only regretting that people of the world cannot practice them, grasping scarcely one or two parts in ten. One day, taking brush in hand from my sleeve, I accordingly composed a continuation to Master Bai's sequel, entitling it 'A Continuation of Duke Liang Yao's Motto Beside the Seat in One Poem.' Although its literary weaving and philosophical texture do not equal those of all those gentlemen, it may nevertheless be written upon the wall of a room.

8.88

Let goodness guide your whole person; let proper conduct be your very life. / Fortune and misfortune can certainly be altered; do not rigidly say they are predetermined. / Regard another's gain as your own gain, and there will be no excellence you cannot achieve. / Regard another's loss as your own loss; this brings prosperity, correctness, and good fortune. / As for those who run contrary to this, Heaven and spirits will surely execute them. / Good fortune comes first, but misfortune begins [there]; a fondness for killing shortens one's lifespan— / this you must not fail to halt. / Maintain modesty and lessen desires; love the good and hate the bad— / this you must not fail to do. / Do not, upon seeing the noble and powerful, flatteringly run and stumble about. / Do not disparage the lowly and humble; superior and inferior rely upon one another. / The ancient sages composed writings, toiling diligently and tirelessly. / Loyalty, filial piety, trustworthiness, and integrity are far superior to food and surpass clothing. / Living between heaven and earth, can anything fail to be provisional? / The body is precarious as a rainbow; time is swift as a galloping horse. / Why not strengthen yourself and ascend to the Jade Hall? / Why cast yourself down through deceitful words and counterfeit actions? / Seductive beauty harms your longevity—it must be guarded against. / Wine rots your intestines—it must be feared. / When encouraging your aspiration, you must be resolute; an earthenware savings jar is bound to be broken. / No wrongdoing is worse than concealing wrongdoing; no fault is greater than glossing over a fault. / Bestow hidden virtue upon living beings, and your descendants are sure to be enfeoffed. / Do not rely upon literary skill; that governs superficiality and frivolousness. / Calamity follows from intolerance; harm pursues the insatiable. / Balancing this and that, harmonize with the palace tone and accord with the zhi tone. / Draw close to the benevolent and inquire of inferiors; establish your moral integrity and make demands of yourself. / The shade of an evil tree is no shade; the water of the Steal Spring is no water. / Worldly trust is fleeting—how long can one live? / You must simply be like ice and like jade; plant peaches and plant plums. / Detest the evil in others, repay kindness and requite righteousness. / Disregard your own pride, and bring to completion what is good in others. / Do not shoulder hollow fame; do not turn your back on the ultimate principle. / Be serene, harmonious, compliant, and unhindered, blend thoroughly from beginning to end. / The noble conduct of devas and humans consists entirely in this. / Admonitions upon admonitions for those who wear hair and bear teeth. (From the Collected Works of Chanyue)

8.89

Discourse on Snakes and Excrement, by Upādhyāya Youyun Mou of Mount Nengji in Jizhou

8.90

Among all things in the world, nothing is more venomous than poisonous snakes, and nothing is more foul than excrement and urine. This is because the venom of snakes can harm a person's life, and the filth of excrement and urine can soil a person's body and clothing. Therefore, those who wish to preserve their lives must keep far away from venomous harm, and those who wish to keep their bodies and clothing clean must eliminate foul filth. Yet worldly people, when dreaming of snakes, rejoice that they will obtain wealth; and when dreaming of excrement and urine, are delighted that they will gain profit. Why are their likes and dislikes so different between waking and dreaming? If they knew what to avoid while clear-minded and what to fear while awake, why would they inevitably be joyful upon seeing wealth and delighted upon seeing profit? Moreover, the venom of wealth is far worse than that of snakes, and the filth of profit exceeds even that of excrement and urine. Furthermore, among the ancients, those who harmed their lives on account of wealth were more than one; those who defiled their bodies and clothing on account of profit were likewise numerous. Yet those who are unawakened love them ceaselessly and covet them without end; this is truly lamentable. Moreover, poverty and wealth are determined by a person's allotted share. If one can rest content with one's share, though poor, one will still be joyful; if one cannot rest content with one's share, even if rich, one will constantly worry. If one can understand that one's share can bring contentment and that poverty can bring joy, then one's life can be preserved and maintained, and one's body and clothing can be kept clean and preserved. Thus one knows that those who covet wealth are rearing venomous snakes, and those who are fond of profit will certainly defile their bodies and clothing. It is not that I am fond of poverty; it is that I keep far away from venomous harm. It is not that I hate wealth; it is that I eliminate foul filth. If there are those who keep far away from wealth as they would from venomous snakes, and cast away profit as they would excrement and urine, I guarantee that such persons may gradually become realized people. Otherwise, if one overly indulges the richness of life and has no end to craving and covetousness, one will certainly find one's life harmed and one's body and clothing defiled. May worldly people take instruction from this!

8.91

Chan Master Dahui's Letter in Reply to Magistrate Sun

8.92

I am honoured that you have shown me your revised edition of the Vajracchedikā-sūtra, and I was fortunate enough to rejoice in reading through it once. In recent times, it is truly rare for a scholar-official to be willing, like yourself, to pay close attention to the inner scriptures. Without grasping their essential purport, one could not attain such faith; without possessing the eye for reading scriptures, one could not fathom their profound and subtle meaning. You are truly a lotus amidst fire! Yet after savoring it in detail for a long time, I cannot be without doubts. You condemn the various holy masters for deviating from the true original in their translations and thereby confusing the authentic truth, and for adding to and subtracting from the words and phrases contrary to the Buddha's intent. You also say that from the very beginning of your chanting it you realized its errors, and wishing to find a definitive text to correct the discrepancies, yet finding that corrupt habits had long been followed uniformly by everyone, it was only when you obtained the canon edition from the capital that you had a basis upon which to rely; you further examined and traced the verses of the commentaries by Vasubandhu and Asaṅga, and their meanings coincided, so that your doubts were entirely dissolved. You also consider both Masters Changshui and Gushan to have followed the sentences while contradicting the meaning. I do not know how you dare make such criticisms. You must surely have seen the Sanskrit manuscripts translated during the Six Dynasties and thoroughly grasped the translation errors of the various masters, before your doubts could begin to be dissolved. Since you have no Sanskrit manuscripts and merely cut and edit the holy intent according to your own subjective opinions, leaving aside for the moment that you will invite causes and incur fruits—slandering the holy teachings and falling into the Avīci hell—I fear that discerning persons who see this will, just as you have done, scrutinize the faults of the masters and lay them right back upon yourself! An ancient said: 'To speak deeply where acquaintance is shallow is the way to invite blame.' I have never met you in my life. You have sought confirmation from me for this sūtra, wishing to circulate it for myriad generations to plant the seeds of buddhahood within the realm of sentient beings—a matter of the highest goodness. Moreover, you consider me someone inside this matter, expecting from me something beyond physical forms and vessels; therefore, I dare not fail to report this to you. Long ago, when National Preceptor Qingliang composed his commentary on the Avataṃsaka-sūtra, he wished to correct the errors of the translators, but since he could not obtain the Sanskrit manuscript, he merely recorded them at the end of the sūtra. For instance, in the chapter on the 'Inconceivable Qualities of the Buddha', where it says, 'All buddhas have boundless bodies, their forms and appearances are pure, universally entering all destinies without contamination,' Qingliang merely noted: 'In the chapter on the Inconceivable Qualities of the Buddha, fascicle one, leaf three, line ten, the word “all” before “buddhas” was omitted in the old text.' In all cases where characters were omitted from the text of the sūtra, he noted them at the end of the sūtra. Qingliang was also a holy master; it was not that he was incapable of adding to or pruning it, but the reason he only dared to write it at the end of the sūtra was that those who understand the Dharma are filled with awe! Furthermore, where the sūtra has 'great lapis lazuli jewel', Qingliang said: 'I fear it should be vaiḍūrya. The old text copied it erroneously, yet I dare not alter it.' It was just like this: he merely noted it at the end of the sūtra. The masters who translated during the Six Dynasties were not all men of shallow understanding. In the translation halls there were those who translated the words, those who translated the meaning, those who polished the prose, those who certified the Sanskrit, those who rectified the meaning, and those who collated the Chinese and the Sanskrit; yet you still consider them to have mistranslated the holy intent. Since you have not obtained the Sanskrit manuscript, you have presumptuously added and cut away, yet you expect later generations to believe it with certainty—is this not difficult? As for your arguing that Changshui followed the sentences while contradicting the meaning, without the proof of a Sanskrit manuscript, how can you definitively determine him to be wrong? Although this gentleman was an expositor, he was different from other expositors. He once called upon Master Langye Guangzhao Xiang. Asking Langye for guidance on the meaning in the Śūraṅgama-sūtra where Pūrṇa asks the Buddha: 'Being fundamentally pure and natural, how did mountains, rivers, and the great earth suddenly arise?', Langye then raised his voice and said: 'Being fundamentally pure and natural, how did mountains, rivers, and the great earth suddenly arise?' Changshui attained great awakening at these words, and only after that did he open his lapels and call himself a lecture master. For lecture masters mostly track lines and count ink-marks, which is what you call 'following the sentences rather than the meaning.' Changshui was not without insight, nor was he one who tracked lines and counted ink-marks. 'Not on account of fully endowed marks does one attain anuttara-bodhi'—the text of the sūtra is broadly clear. This passage is extremely shallow and proximate. It is simply that you seek novelty to excess and wish to establish a divergent interpretation, seeking to make others follow you. You quote Asaṅga's commentary: 'One should see the Tathāgata through the dharmakāya, not on account of the endowment with marks. If so, although the Tathāgata should not be seen through the endowment with marks, the endowment with marks should serve as the cause for attaining anuttara-bodhi. In order to abandon this attachment, the sūtra says: “Subhūti, what do you think? Can the Tathāgata attain anuttara-bodhi through the perfection of marks? Subhūti, do not form such a thought,” and so forth.' This meaning clarifies that the substance of the endowment with marks is not bodhi, nor does it serve as the cause through the endowment with marks, because marks are the intrinsic nature of form. This commentary is broadly clear; it is simply your own mistaken view and mistaken interpretation. Form is the dependent origination of marks; marks are the dependent origination of the dharmadhātu. Crown Prince Zhaoming of the Liang said: 'Do not form such a thought that the Tathāgata, not on account of the fully endowed marks, attains anuttara-bodhi.' Among the thirty-two sections, he made this the section on 'Non-Interruption and Non-Annihilation', fearing that if Subhūti held that it was not on account of fully endowed marks, then dependent origination would be annihilated. For when Subhūti was originally in his mother's womb, he already knew emptiness and stillness, and mostly did not abide in the marks of dependent origination. Later, you quote the commentary by Bodhisattva Guṇaprabha: 'Finally, if the perfection of marks were truly existent, when these marks perish it would be called annihilation. Why? Because being born, there is annihilation.' And again fearing that people would not understand, it says: 'Why? All phenomena have the nature of non-arising, and therefore they are far removed from the two extremes of annihilation and permanence. Being far removed from the two extremes is the mark of the dharmadhātu.' It does not speak of 'nature' but speaks of 'mark', meaning that the dharmadhātu is the dependent origination of the nature. Because marks are the dependent origination of the dharmadhātu, it does not speak of nature but speaks of mark. This is what Crown Prince Zhaoming of the Liang meant by 'non-interruption and non-annihilation'. This passage is even clearer; again it is simply that you seek novelty to excess, forcibly fabricating knots and joints! If the Vajracchedikā-sūtra could be cut and edited, then throughout the entire great canon of teachings, anyone who reads it could cut and edit it according to their own subjective interpretations! For example, Han Tuizhi pointed to the character hua ('to draw') in the Analects as being zhou ('daytime'), stating that the old text was mistaken. With Tuizhi's insight, he could easily have changed it, yet why did he merely discuss it like this in his writings? It is also because those who understand the law are filled with awe! When Chan Master Guifeng Zongmi composed his commentary and subcommentary on the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment, he only dared to set pen to paper because he had attained realization regarding the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment. Because the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment states that 'all sentient beings have already realized perfect enlightenment', Guifeng altered 'realized' to 'possessed', calling it an error of the translator, yet not having seen the Sanskrit manuscript, he merely discussed it like this in his commentary and dared not directly alter the scripture itself. Later, Upādhyāya Letan Zhenjing composed the Treatise on All Realizing, in which he bitterly rebuked Guifeng, calling him a 'stinking fellow who destroys ordinary people': 'If all sentient beings merely possess perfect enlightenment without realizing it, animals would forever remain animals and hungry ghosts would forever remain hungry ghosts; the entire worlds of the ten directions would completely be an iron hammer without a hole, with not a single person ever manifesting the true and returning to the source! Nor would ordinary people need to seek liberation. Why? Because all sentient beings already possess perfect enlightenment and would have no need to seek its realization.' You consider the canonical edition from the capital to be correct and have accordingly relied on the capital edition. If the capital edition was submitted from external commanderies and prefectures—just as the two canons of Mount Jingshan were bestowed during the height of the imperial court's prosperity, which were also copied by scripture scribes in external prefectures and commanderies—if by any chance there were errors, how would you correct them? If you are free from self and other, you will surely take Miaoxi's words as utter sincerity; there is no need to remain stuck in this one great mistake of past and present. If you hold fast to your own view as correct, determined to alter and prune it, and wish to be spat upon and cursed by everyone, you are entirely free to carve the printing blocks and circulate it—Miaoxi can only rejoice and praise you from afar. Since you have taken the trouble to send someone with the sūtra to seek my confirmation, although we are not acquainted, because we are close through the Dharma, I have unwittingly been verbose and offensive. Seeing your utter sincerity, I have therefore withheld nothing. If you are determined to fathom the scriptural vehicles and reach their profound meaning, you should seek out a lecturer of distinguished conduct and single-mindedly examine the teachings with him, thoroughly from head to tail; this is one way of paying attention to the net of teachings. If, on account of impermanence being swift, birth and death being great, and your own matter being unresolved, you should single-mindedly seek an authentic adept who can smash the lairs and traps of birth and death for people, and struggle through deadly efforts alongside him; when you suddenly smash the lacquer bucket, that is precisely the place of thoroughness! If you merely wish to furnish materials for conversation, saying, 'I have read extensively across all books and understand everything; I understand Chan and I understand the teachings; and I can scrutinize where former translation masters and lecturers could not reach,' flaunting your ability and your understanding, then even the sages of the three teachings could be scrutinized by you! Nor would you need to seek confirmation from others before putting it into circulation! How about it? How about it?

First 92 of 98 passages. Read on

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緇門警訓 — Classical Chinese