勅修百丈清規 4.29

4.29

聖僧侍者（不立班在眾後行道堂外粥飯）

to visit in the absence of the other assistant, he is obliged to assume his role

in notifying the abbot about the visitor and assisting him with the incense

offering. Or if no one is available, he is obliged to refer matters in question

to the proper officials, and in this way he should act on behalf of those who

are not available, according to the given situation. A mature person, hum-

ble and courteous in nature, should be appointed to this position.

11. The Assistant in Charge of the

Image of the Guardian Bodhisattva

(This official is not part of the official order, stays behind the practitioners

in the practice of the path, and takes meals in the outer hall.)

It is desirable to appoint a person devoted to the path of practice [to this post]. He is obliged to prepare and offer meals twice a day, offering the sublime image morning rice gruel and rice at noon; to strike the octagonal wooden post with the mallet located at the back of the practice hall; to check the seats of the practitioners prior to zazen practice; and to reduce the lighting during the night. In addition, along with the director of practitioners’ affairs, he handles the monetary transactions during the auction of items left by the deceased. When the abbot passes away, he keeps the account book of the funeral rite. When the primary seat official preaches as the abbot’s proxy, he assists him with the incense offering. Or [on behalf of other officials], he may strike the octagonal wooden post with the mallet and intone the names of the Buddhas. Even after his term is complete he may retain the title of “assistant official” as long as he stays at the temple where he was originally appointed. When the two elder practitioners Tuigeng and Duanqiao were practitioners, they were once appointed to this position. They were able to cultivate good associations with their fellow practitioners and thereby encouraged them to progress in the practice of the path.

III. The Administrative Officials

of the East Order

1. The Head Administrative Official

In the Ancient Regulations, only the office of administrative head (jianyuan) was instituted. Later on, however, due to the fact that the temples, in general, became larger and the number of resident practitioners increased, the present office of head administrative official (dujiansi) was added to oversee all aspects of the administration. [He is] in charge of replenishing the incense and lighting materials to be used in the morning and evening, receiving government officials and patron donors, keeping the record of accounts dealing with revenue and expenditure in cash or in kind (i.e., grain crops), and always working to maintain the annual fiscal balance. He respects the master, loves his fellow resident practitioners, and upon meeting with other officials serves for whatever business might be at hand and reports the results

to the abbot for approval. He reprimands and instructs the novice attendants and workmen, rather than unreasonably punishing them by whip. Even when they deserve disciplinary action and punishment, he should instead consult with others about the matter, applying due consideration and mercy, and give warnings. Anyone in this position should avoid abusing his power, restrain acts of violence, and prevent the matter from receiving a criminal indictment from the government. He must be impartial when assigning people to the various positions of estate operation and storage, and also must refrain from organizing a group for his personal interest, which would cause vexation or spite among his superiors or subordinates.

In the past, when the monastic institution was at the height of its vitality, there were many instances in which a west hall official, a primary seat official, or a secretarial official was invited to take this position, and in turn, the administrative head was invited to take the primary seat office or the secretarial office. Otherwise, an appointee for this position must be qualified by having a high ordination age, must be well experienced in life and tradition, be clean and capable, public-minded and courteous, not to mention having the practitioners’ respect and obedience. Even when someone is no longer required to continue in a public position, if that person’s spiritual endowment is rich and distinguished, if he is harmonious with his superiors and subordinates, and even if it is his second consecutive term, he may not be removed from the position. Such a person may even be invited repeatedly to stay on, precisely because no one would feel harmed by his remaining in the position.

Accordingly, in earlier days there were no more than five or six retired officials in each temple who stayed in the private quarters or in the retirees’ hall. The treasury official or any other official of the lower ranks did not withdraw to the retirees’ hall until after his third term. Nor did the associate administrative official or the head administrative official withdraw to the retirees’ hall or to the private quarters, respectively, until their third term was over.

In case of reappointing someone who has retired, it is better to avoid any kind of suspicion by placing him first in the public domain, namely, the practice hall, as a regular practitioner, unbound to any official position. Then one may reappoint him to his former office. If he does not fail to participate in the morning rice gruel and the noon meal in the practice hall, the morale of

the novice attendants and lay workers, while serving food to him, will improve by itself or will become firm, just as Yangji assisted Ciming and Shichuang assisted Hongzhi. These examples should be the paradigm of the position in question.

It is said in the Outline of the History of Zen Practitioners (Sengshilüe, by Zanning of the Song dynasty):

The three qualifications of administrative officials are comparable to

the huge ropes that are linked to fishing nets. By controlling these

ropes, one can control all the nets so [that they can be] spread well. In

Sanskrit it is called vihāra-svāmin (momodi), which means the direc-

tor of a monastic residence, namely, the head administrative official

in our case.

Again it is said in the Great Collection of Sutras of the Mahāsaṃghika School (Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra; Dajijing):

It is difficult to administer the things that belong to the sangha. I (the