勅修百丈清規 3.104

3.104

祭次

of tea and sweet hot water. When this is over, the director of practitioners’ affairs of the temple calls for prayer chanting, stating as follows:

I address the practitioners. The Venerable Master, abbot of this temple,

has entered nirvana. This day has already passed by, and so has our

lifespan been diminished, just as a fish living in a shrinking pond. What

kind of happiness is there in this state of affairs? All of us must exert

ourselves as if to extinguish a fire burning on our heads. May you be

reminded of the truth of impermanence and refrain from falling into

unrestrainedness. By assembling the practitioners, we have solemnly

paid our respects to the shrine at the side of its curtain and are about

to intone the names of the Tathāgatas endowed with myriad virtues for

the sake of the deceased master to promote his rank of honor and rev-

erence. Now I respectfully call the practitioners to intone the ten sacred

names of the Buddhas. Veneration to the Luminous Pure Dharma Body

Vairocana Buddha, and so on.

Next, the director of practitioners’ affairs calls for chanting the Mahākāruṇikacitta-dhāraṇīs, and gives the invocation of merit transference:

The merit accrued by this chanting is intended solely for the sake of the

late Venerable Master, abbot of this temple, who has just passed away.

We earnestly wish that due to his retention of the power of vow, he will

manifest an apearance as rare as the uḍumbara flower once again, guide

the wheel [of the ship] of compassion to sail through the waves of life

and death, and help the strayed multitudes reach the far shore of enlight-

enment. I once again request the practitioners to offer prayer. Venera-

tion to the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three times, and so on.

When this is over, the guest reception official of the temple calls for the chanting of the Śūraṃgama-dhāraṇīs, and concludes with the following invocation of merit transference:

The merit hereby accrued is intended on this evening before the day

of cremation to promote the status of honor and reverence for the sake

of the Venerable Master, abbot of this temple, who has just passed

away. Veneration to the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three

times, and so on.

Thereupon, offerings are made one after another, in due order. At the end the Mahākāruṇikacitta-dhāraṇīs are chanted and the rite concludes with the same invocation of merit transference as before.

Attendants and workers pay respects to the shrine, and when the chanting is over, the attendant of the director of the proceedings announces:

The primary seat official invites the practitioners to a serving of sweet

hot water and fruit at their designated seats.

Thereupon, the practitioners leave the Dharma hall, while the disciples of the deceased master as well as the attendants and workers of the abbot’s office are obliged to attend the spirit of the deceased [abbot] through the night.

11. Order of the Funeral Rites of Offerings

[1] Administrative officials.

[2] Training faculty officials.

[3] Director of the funeral rite (zhusang, literally, “chief mourner”).

[4] West hall official.

[5] Retired officials.

[6] Retired subfunctionary officials.

[7] Representatives of various Zen temples.

[8] Retired administrative subfunctionaries.

[9] Renowned senior practitioners.

[10] Head of practitioners’ quarters.

[11] Secretarial functionaries.

[12] Former practitioner assistants of the deceased master.

[13] Practitioners from the same native province.

[14] Practitioners related in the Dharma lineage.

[15] Practitioners in charge of various hermitages and towers.

[16] Disciples of the deceased master.

[17] Grand-disciples.

[18] Attendants of the abbot’s office.

[19] Attendants of the six major offices.

[20] Head of the attendants’ hall.

[21] Workers of the abbot’s office.

[22] Bearers of the master’s sedan chair.

[23] Foremen of the workers.

[24] Foremen of the estate workers.

[25] Workers in charge of lights and fire.

[26] Building maintenance workers.

[27] Construction workers, [carpenters, and so on.]

12. Funeral Procession for the Cremation and

Placing the Portrait at the Temple Gate

Serving Tea and Sweet Hot Water The head administrative official and the director of the funeral rite together manage the performance of funeral rites, and see to the preparation of a portable portrait pavilion decorated with flowers, funeral flags and banners, musical instruments, umbrellas, chairs to be set before the shrine, sweet hot water, incense burners, crimson lanterns, bamboo spatulas, canes, Zen dusting brushes, incense cases, robes and garments, and so on. The disciples of the deceased master follow behind the shrine to escort the procession, which is announced by tolling the large bell and all other instrumental sounds. The prayer for lifting the shrine is:

The golden casket of the Buddha rose by itself and went through the

town of Kuśinagara. While flags and banners waved in the sky, it pro-

ceeded to the glorious rite of cremation. I request the practitioners to

intone the [ten sacred] names of the Buddhas so as to clarify the distance

to be climbed and to assist in the path of enlightenment. Veneration to

the Luminous Pure Dharma Body Vairocana Buddha, and so on.

(In case the body is to be interred in the tower instead of being cremated, the statement must be changed from “proceeded to the glorious rite of cremation” to “proceeded to the glorious rite of interment.”)

The special director of the funeral rite in charge of practitioners’ affairs, who undertakes the proceeding, steps forward to burn incense, and, escorting the disciples of the deceased master, conducts the rite of lifting the funeral shrine.

When the shrine reaches the temple gate, the rite of placing the portrait in a portable pavilion and serving tea and sweet hot water should be conducted. Both require the chanting of sutras. The dual order officials and the practitioners line up at the gate to await the shrine. The director of practitioners’ affairs of the temple stands under the gate, facing toward the temple

buildings with palms together, and intones the sacred verses devoted to Amitābha Buddha or the four sacred names of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas; the practitioners also intone them in unison.

The director of the funeral rite, leading the practitioners in two columns, proceeds on foot, scattering pieces of artificial paper flowers (called “snowwillow leaves”) to the right and left along the way. No one is allowed to touch another’s shoulders or exchange words; all should feel a sense of sadness. The head administrative official and the director of practitioners’ affairs specially appointed for the funeral proceeding walk at the end of the line, and the guest reception official and the assistant of the guardian bodhisattva pass out monetary gifts along the way.

13. Cremation

When the procession reaches the cremation pyre, the director of practitioners’ affairs specially appointed for the funeral rite waits for the moment when the head administrative official finishes offering incense and tea, then steps forward to burn incense and, leading the disciples of the deceased master,