勅修百丈清規 2.4

2.4

性者。人之大本也。振天地而莫知其始。窮萬世而莫知其終。佛與眾生均有是性。悟之而登妙覺。迷之而流浪生死。從劫至劫六道異趣。業報展轉無有窮已。所賴聖訓洋洋堪作依怙。吾徒忝形服預法系。遵其行之為律。宣其言之為教。傳其心之為禪。而循吾所謂大本者。以同夫佛之全體妙用。始可稱佛子而續慧命也。其於諱日追悼。豈世禮哉。

Nature is the great origin of human beings. Stirring heaven and earth, none know its beginning; exhausting myriad generations, none know its end. Both the Buddha and sentient beings equally possess this nature. Awakened to it, one ascends to wondrous enlightenment; deluded about it, one wanders in birth and death. From kalpa to kalpa in the different destinies of the six paths, karmic retribution turns and revolves without end. What we rely upon is the vastness of the sacred teachings, which can serve as a refuge. We disciples humbly take up the form and robes and join the Dharma lineage: following its practices is the vinaya, proclaiming its words is the teachings, and transmitting its mind is Chan. By following what we call the great origin, to harmonize with the Buddha's total substance and wondrous functioning, only then can we be called children of the Buddha and continue the wisdom life. How could memorializing on the anniversary of his demise be mere worldly etiquette?