勅修百丈清規 3.100

3.100

掛真舉哀奠茶湯

hall, and a platform surrounded by a raw silk screen is made into an altar for

ritual offerings.

In the lower rear section of the hall, the shrine surrounded by hemp-

cloth curtains should be set up, in front of which a table equipped with an

incense burner and candle stands is placed. Incense should be kept burning constantly and the candles are kept lit at all times. There should also be flower vases holding artificial paper flowers [representing śāla tree flowers].

Rice gruel and rice are offered every day at breakfast and noon respectively, and mealtimes are accompanied by sutra chanting. Crimson lanterns, cymbals, and funeral flags are prepared, and the practice hall bell is rung to assemble the practitioners for the ritual conduct of “moving the shrine” from the reception hall to the Dharma hall. Once the portable shrine is carried to the Dharma hall and placed in the designated lefthand side of the hall, the rite of closing the door of the shrine should be performed.

9. Placing the Portrait, Uttering the Expression of Grief,

and Serving Tea and Sweet Hot Water

After the funeral shrine has been moved to the Dharma hall and the door closed, the rite of placing the portrait is performed. When this is over, and if there is any written will, the practitioner assistant, the director of the funeral rite, and the primary seat official together present it to the practitioners, saying:

This is the word of the Venerable Master, abbot of the temple, at the

time of his departure, which the primary seat official is ready to pres-

ent to you.

The director of the funeral rite himself gives the will to the primary seat official, who passes it through incense smoke over the burner and in turn hands it to the director of practitioners’ affairs to read. The attendant of the director of the funeral rite is obliged to attach the written will to the rightside curtain that hangs in the central rear section of the hall.

The director of the funeral rite says:

The Venerable Master, abbot of this temple, has returned to the state

of total quiescence. It is appropriate [for us] to utter the expression of

grief together.

After completing the ritual act, he repeats “ai” three times together with the practitioners. The disciples of the deceased abbot, who have lined up under the curtain, weep. When the serving of tea and sweet hot water is completed, they line up in front of the portrait and perform prostrations before

returning to their former places under the curtain. The director of the funeral rite burns incense and performs prostrations toward the portrait. The dual order officials, the retired officials, and the practitioners then burn incense in turn and perform prostrations one after another, while the disciples of the deceased master also perform prostrations at the left side of the portrait. The director of the funeral rite comes to the curtain and consoles the disciples of the deceased, and they express their thanks by performing three prostrations. Next, the director of the funeral rite offers condolences to the dual order officials and the practitioners, saying:

Although unfortunately we have lost our abbot who suddenly passed

away, we earnestly wish that everyone keep up their efforts with dili-

gence.

The primary seat official replies:

We still rely on the late master for our strength.

The dual order officials and the practitioners console the disciples of the deceased master, saying:

Unfortunately the temple has lost the Venerable Master, abbot of the

temple, who has returned to the transcendent. We wish, however, that

you fulfill your task through restraining your grief.

The disciples must guard the shrine during the night.

The director of the funeral rite makes a list and order of assignments for the rite of offerings (format given below) and attaches it to the curtain in the left-hand side of the hall. In general, the funeral addresses are composed by the head secretarial official appointed by the director of the funeral rite. Two or three times each day rites of offering are conducted, and no one should hesitate to participate in them. It is most likely, however, that lay patrons and the representatives of various temples may arrive at various times, and so the order of the proceedings must be expedient. In cases when the deceased abbot’s relations in Dharma lineage or his former students approach the gate, the guest reception official meets them, reports their arrival to the director of the proceedings, and only after funeral garments are delivered to them do they conduct the rite of offering.

Whatever monetary donations are left after purchasing all the offerings must be returned to the temple public fund so as to finance the hosting of all the accompanying members of the various temples’ representatives. The director of the funeral rite, the dual order officials, and the retired officials meet to discuss the matter of the deceased master’s possessions, and except for those that must be handled in accordance with the written will, the monetary value of each remaining item must be estimated according to its qualities of new or old, short or long, and so on. This is intended to avoid disputes at the time of auctioning.

10. Conducting the Supplementary Session,

the Serving of Tea and Sweet Hot Water,

Prayer Chanting, and the Funeral Offering

On the evening before cremation, the director of the proceedings, carrying incense in his sleeve, along with the director of practitioners’ affairs and the disciples of the deceased abbot, visits the guest house to request the person designated as the director of the funeral rite to conduct the supplementary session in honor of the deceased. The high seat in the Dharma hall should be set up beforehand and immediately after the first toll of the evening bell, drumming commences to signal the beginning of the session, calling the practitioners to assemble and the dual order officials to bow before the high seat. (This is identical to the procedure of an ordinary session.) The director of the funeral rite, accompanied by his practitioner assistant, ascends the seat and burns incense. If no practitioner assistant accompanies him, the practitioner assistant of the guardian bodhisattva of the practice hall performs the role of assisting in the rite.

After the session, the director of the funeral rite descends from the high seat and receives thanks from the disciples of the deceased master, who line up before him to perform prostrations.

The primary seat official, leading the practitioners, burns incense in front of the funeral shrine, and, remaining there, conducts the ritual offering