[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [勅修百丈清規](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025) › 7.117 # 勅修百丈清規 7.117 勅修百丈清規 7.117 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [7.117](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025.7.117) 方丈四節特為首座大眾茶 > then steps toward the abbot and bows; next, he bows to the head administrative official and continues to bow to each member of the order. Next, he goes to stand before his own order and bows to each member. Immediately after this, he lifts both hands above his head before the practitioners, bows in unison with them, ascends the rostrum seat, and sits cross-legged. > > The assistant of the appointed preacher, along with the abbot’s assistant, comes to the foot of the high seat and bows \[to the preacher\]; the officials of both orders and the west hall official one after another bow \[toward the appointed preacher\]. Finally, the abbot bows \[toward him\], at which moment the preacher rises and, standing by the seat, says: > > May the practitioner assistant request the abbot to sit cross-legged. > > The appointed preacher’s assistant proceeds to the abbot and bows to him, immediately turns around to ascend the rostrum seat, burns incense, lifts the Zen dusting brush to hand to the lecturer \[along with the sitting cloth\] and bows, then stands at his place at the \[appointed preacher’s\] side with hands clasped over his chest. The preacher gives his instructive words and completes his talk with a dialogue exchange. He presents the essentials of his Zen understanding and a \[short\] word of thanks to the abbot, the dual order officials, the retired officials, and the practitioners of all quarters. \[Finally,\] raising a particular Zen problem (i.e., kōan), which the abbot had presented at his supple- > > mentary session the previous night, the preacher gives his own commenatry on it or expresses its hidden meaning in a poetic verse. He then descends the high seat, goes before the abbot to bow, and returns to his \[usual\] place. The next appointed preacher follows the same proceedings and propriety. > > When all of the appointed discourses have been completed, the guest reception master of the abbot’s office announces an invitation to the preachers to a serving of sweet hot water and fruit, just as after a supplementary session. The appointed preachers, carrying incense cases in their sleeves, visit the abbot’s office together to give thanks for the opportunity, and receive the serving of sweet hot water. The next day, the abbot invites them for tea. If the head administrative official prepares the noon meal and simultaneously invites \[the appointed preachers\] for tea and a snack in mid-afternoon, the abbot is obliged to ascend the Dharma seat some other day to express his thanks and invite them to a special serving. An alternative is that the west hall official is invited to preach on the second evening. During the supplementary session the abbot may request him to preach with due praise for his capacity. The west hall official raises his own doctrinal issue, presents a Zen problem, gives commentary, or explains its hidden meaning in a poetic verse, so as to arouse the practitioners’ interest in the path. In recent days, the propriety of giving thanks has become so conventional and overburdened with too many niceties that it is rather detestable to hear, and invites ridicule from knowledgeable practitioners. Generally, the appointed preaching is meant to be a gift of the Dharma. If one is obliged to speak on matters of time and propriety, it should be enough just to mention names as a whole or to give brief accounts. > > 6. The Abbot’s Special Serving of Tea > > for the Primary Seat Official and the Practitioners > > on the Four Annual Celebration Days > > On the appointed day, after breakfast, the guest reception assistant copies the invitation for tea reception (format given below), and visits the primary seat official’s quarters, accompanied by his attendant carrying a crepe-wrapped board equipped with an incense burner and candle stand. After burning incense and performing a prostration with unopened sitting cloth, he says: > > After the noon meal today, the abbot has scheduled us to conduct a > > special tea reception at the practice hall, especially for the sake of the > > primary seat official and the practitioners. He earnestly requests the > > venerable’s presence at this occasion. > > He presents the notice of invitation to the official and posts it in the higher-ranking section of the outer hall, while his attendant extends the invitation to all other training officials and the other quarters, and requests the head administrative official as the main participant. The tablet indicating “tea serving” is posted \[in the practice hall\]. > > At the signal of the kitchen hall metal gong, the guest reception assistant enters the practice hall, burns incense before the altar of the guardian bodhisattva, and performs three prostrations with fully opened sitting cloth. He makes a round through the hall, stops at mid-hall to bow, and leaves the hall. This is called “the invitation for tea by making a round through the practice hall” (xuntangqingcha). The seating position tablets must be arranged in the outer hall. > > The primary seat official is seated opposite the abbot \[across the hall\], while the head administrative official is seated symmetrically to the right of the abbot, at a distance of an arm’s length. The seat of the director of practitioners’ affairs is next in the line, while the lower administrative officials are seated symmetrically to the right of the main guest of honor, separated by a distance of an arm’s length. At the signal of drumming, the practitioners assemble and the incense offering assistant conducts the propriety. (The propriety is identical with that of the special serving of sweet hot water by the administrative office.) > > The primary seat official approaches the abbot and expresses his thanks for tea through the formality of two prostrations with opened sitting cloth and three prostrations with unopened sitting cloth. At the first opening of the sitting cloth, he says: > > I am most grateful for the honor of such a special reception of tea con- > > ducted at this hall on my behalf. > > At the second opening, he says: > > On this day and at this moment, I respectfully wish that the venerable > — Shohei Ichimura 2006, The Baizhang Zen Monastic Regulations - [Previous: 7.116](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025.7.116) - [Next: 7.118](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025.7.118) - [Up: 7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025.7) ## Translations (2) - [The Baizhang Zen Monastic Regulations](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025~en-bdk.7.117) — Shohei Ichimura 2006, English - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025~en-mt.7.117) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025.7.117](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025.7.117) · Pramāṇa