勅修百丈清規 2.82

2.82

the serving practitioners all conduct their rites, while the abbot stands to the

left of the table on which the memorial tablet is set.

(When the abbots of other temples or the ranking west hall official or

his Dharma relations of equal rank conduct the rite, the abbot is obliged,

along with the official delegate, to perform a prostration in return. In other

situations, he is not obliged to do so.)

After all the rites are completed, the director of practitioners’ affairs

calls for the chanting of the Mahākāruṇikacitta-dhāraṇīs and concludes with

the following invocation of merit transference:

We dedicate the merit accrued by this chanting to Great Master So-and-

so, abbot of Such-and-such Temple, in order to enhance the enshrine-

ment of his dignity and reverence. Veneration to the Buddhas of the ten

directions, and so on.

The primary seat official, representing all the practitioners, consoles the

abbot, saying:

It is unfortunate for the tradition that the master of your Dharma trans-

mission has passed away. We junior practitioners feel extreme sadness

because we have lost a support. Nevertheless, may you endure it for

our sake and endeavor ever more assiduously on the path.

End of Fascicle Two

Fascicle Three

Chapter V (continued)

III. Inviting a New Abbot

for Appointment

1. Sending a Special Official Delegate

In general, when the position of abbot is vacated it is necessary to notify the district government official. Upon receiving official permission, the head administrative official, the dual order officials, and the retired officials meet at tea to decide the matter of sending a delegate [to invite the new abbot]. For this purpose, they draw up the official letters representing: the officials of the training faculty, the administrative officials, the retired officials and retired subfunctionaries, the retired administrative subfunctionaries, and the practitioners. They compose drafts of the letters addressed to the temple community itself, as well as to nearby monastic temples and the entire Zen world throughout the land.

They request the head secretarial official to prepare the signboard announcing the serving of tea and sweet hot water, with the signature of the special delegate. If the head secretarial official is absent or is not available, these tasks may be accomplished by assigning a skilled calligrapher to prepare the two signboards. For this purpose, silk cloth is to be used.

As for the official delegate referred to before, either the head administrative official, one of the retired officials, the primary seat official of the west hall, or a training official of lesser rank may be appointed. Unless a head administrative official is appointed, someone of lower administrative rank must accompany the delegate in order to handle financial matters and act as a consultant. A record book should be prepared in which pertinent facts about the temple are concisely presented, such as the quantity of rice fields and their productivity, other assets and their operations, and the conditions of the new

abbot’s appointment and the travel arrangements to the temple of his appoint-

ment. The party that is to accompany the official delegate representing the

temple should be seen to, and on the day of departure the party as a whole

visits the various quarters of the temple to bid farewell before departure.

The practice hall bell is rung to assemble the practitioners at the gate to

see off the official delegate and his party. A curtain should be hung below the

temple gate and seats prepared behind it for the serving of tea and sweet hot

water. The dual order officials and the retired officials are invited to partici-

pate in the occasion. If the head administrative official is serving as the tem-

ple delegate, the administrative member next in rank should conduct the cer-

emonial serving; if the primary seat official or a retired official is chosen as

the delegate, the head administrative official is obliged to conduct it. The cer-

emonial host respectfully requests the official delegate to take his seat, and

burns incense to invite him to drink tea. [The ceremonial official] then returns

to his seat, and, along with the official delegate, drinks tea. Once again, the

host rises from his seat, burns incense, and returns to his seat to drink sweet

hot water together with the delegate. When the tea bowl is retrieved, the offi-

cial delegate rises, thanks the host, and climbs into the sedan chair.

2. Acceptance of the New Appointment

by an Incumbent Abbot