勅修百丈清規 8.55

8.55

夫禪門事例雖無兩樣毘尼。衲子家風別是一般規範。若也途中受用。自然格外清高。如其觸向面牆。實謂減人瞻敬。是以僉謀開士。遍摭諸方。凡有補於見聞。悉備陳於綱目。噫少林消息已是剜肉成瘡。百丈規繩可謂新修特地。而況叢林蔓衍轉見不堪。加之法令滋彰事更多矣。然而莊嚴保社建立法幢。佛事門中闕一不可。亦猶菩薩三聚聲聞七篇。豈立法之貴繁。蓋隨機而設教。初機後學冀善參詳。上德高流幸垂證據。崇寧二年八月十五日。真定府十方洪濟禪院住持傳法慈覺大師宗賾序。

Although the precedents of the Chan gate have no two kinds of vinaya, the family tradition of patch-robed monks is a distinct standard. If one realizes its practical use while on the path, it is naturally lofty beyond the ordinary rules; if one faces a wall in whatever one encounters, it truly reduces people's admiration and respect. For this reason, consulting with bodhisattvas and gathering widely from all quarters, whatever was helpful to what is seen and heard has been fully set forth in the general framework. Alas, the news from Shaolin was already like gouging flesh to make a wound; the regulations of Baizhang may be called creating a special new endeavor. How much more so as monastic groves have proliferated, becoming increasingly intolerable, and with laws and decrees multiplying, affairs have become even more numerous! Nevertheless, to adorn the community and establish the banner of the Dharma, not a single one can be lacking among the gates of Buddha-affairs. It is just like the three cumulative precepts of the bodhisattva and the seven categories of offenses of the śrāvaka: how could establishing rules esteem complexity? It is simply setting forth teachings in accordance with capacity. It is hoped that beginners and later students will examine them well, and that those of superior virtue and high standing will deign to provide verification. Preface by Zongze, Abbot of the Shifang Hongji Chan Monastery in Zhending Prefecture, Transmission-of-the-Dharma Great Master Cijue, on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the second year of Chongning.