勅修百丈清規 7.53

7.53

夏前出草單

outside it. In China, winter begins at the beginning of the year and is regarded

as being the start of the four seasons. Everything, whether material or tempo-

ral, is regarded as being new and is celebrated by all in their hearts. It is impor-

tant to coordinate the seasonal proprieties [of monastic life] with those of sec-

ular society. Since it is the best method of conversion to follow such expediency,

the beginning and end of the summer retreat, the winter solstice, and the new

year have been institutionalized as the four major festival days [in Zen monas-

tic communities]. The manner of the practitioners in their circling and turning

movement is so regulated that the entire session appears to be a grand gather-

ing of supernatural beings, and the vocal exchange of question and answer

between host and guest is comparable to that of a lion’s roar. Their ceremonial proprieties are well ordered; how glorious it is to regard them!

II. The Inauguration of the

Annual Summer Retreat

1. The Presentation of the Residency Chart

Draft Prior to the Summer Retreat

On the first day of the third month, it is customary for a Zen monastic temple to issue a residency chart draft (format given below), after which the abbot no longer accepts new residents. The practice hall office copies the number [and names] of practitioners from the residents’ “Ordination Record Book” ( jielapai) and instructs an attendant to present this to the primary seat official, then to the abbot and the dual order officials [for inspection]. [He then] posts it in front of the practice hall and sets up a table below it, equipped with an inkslab and brushes. For approximately three days, after the noon meal practitioners are advised to check the residency chart draft and correct any mistakes or wrong information about themselves. The reason that the chart draft is not immediately finalized as to the record of the units of floor space (chuangli) is simply because it is feared that temporary confusion may result from such mistakes, and also because when there are a great number of residents omissions may occasionally occur. Therefore, in order to prepare the residency chart (tuzhang), a draft is first made, and each member must examine whether his name and rank appear in it in the proper order of seniority. In recent years, those who like to dispute and create disturbances, based on their strength and motivated by private interests, compete for superiority with others [in regard to their respective Dharma lineages], thereby placing blame on each other and engaging in quarrels, with the result of greater disturbance among the resident practitioners. Such transgressors must be censured and expelled altogether. If, in effect, some do derogate others’ names and transgress the norms of the precepts, it is obvious that the director of practitioners’ affairs must deal with them by informing the primary seat official about the matter in detail and also by reporting it to the abbot.

Format of the Residency Chart Draft

(The ordination rank is to be written in red ink, while the name is to be written in black ink.)

The Ordination Ages of Practitioners

Name and Title

Ordination Year of Regnal Era

The Original Ordination [authorized by the Tathāgata Bhīṣmagarjita-

ghoṣasvararāja (Buddha Weiyinwang)]

The Immemorial Past [referred to in the Lotus Sutra]

The Venerable Eldest Senior Practitioner Ājñātakauṇḍinya

Ordination [authorized by Śākyamuni Buddha]

The Venerable Master Abbot

So-and-so Senior Practitioner

Ordination, Such-and-such Year of the Zhiyuan Era

So-and-so Senior Practitioner

Ordination, Such-and-such Year of the Yuanzhen Era

So-and-so Senior Practitioner

Ordination, Such-and-such Year of the Dade Era

So-and-so Senior Practitioner

Ordination, Such-and-such Year of the Zhida Era

[and so on]

The foregoing chart is prepared as presented to [the practitioners]. It

is feared that there might be some errors; should there be any, each of

the venerable practitioners is advised to correct them. May all the ven-

erable practitioners examine, without fail, their respective records given

on this chart.

Date and Year

Prepared by So-and-so Official

The Practice Hall Office

2. The Serving of Tea by the New Residents

on Joining the Practitioners’ Quarters

After establishing membership in the practitioners’ quarters, based on the preceding examples, the new residents donate funds to the quarters for the cost of a tea reception. They ask the head official of the quarters which day they should be in charge of the tea serving according to the rotation assignment system, and post a signboard for the tea serving to inform the practitioners. The signboard reads as follows:

Today, immediately after the noon meal, So-and-so senior practitioner

and others (three, six, or nine, listed by name) will be in charge [of the

tea serving].

Each member must carry a small incense case and be properly attired. They line up beforehand to the right of the quarters’ entrance and wait for the practitioners to leave the practice hall. The tea master of the quarters strikes the wooden sounding block in front of the quarters, and when the practitioners have all arrived, he receives them with a gesture of greeting, then returns to his position and stands there.

Those who are serving tea stand in line and, after giving greetings, request the practitioners to take their seats. When everyone is seated, they proceed in two or three groups to the mid-hall incense burner, located between the higher- and lower-ranking sections of the hall. No more than nine practitioners should offer incense. Three practitioners [at a time] step forward [to offer incense, and then] step back and turn around, mutually coordinating their movements [with the other practitioners] in a precise and smooth manner.