勅修百丈清規 3.110

3.110

conducts the rite of touching flame to the pyre. The director of practitioners’ affairs of the temple calls for prayer:

On this day, the Venerable Master, abbot of this temple, terminating

all conditions for conversion, swiftly returned to true eternity. [The

casket of the Buddha went through the town of Kuśinagara, and] it is

said that fire flamed up spontaneously to cremate his body. I request

the practitioners to intone prayer for the sake of assisting the path of

enlightenment. Homage to the Pure Land of the Western World,

Amitābha Buddha of great compassion and commiseration, and so on

up to the ten names of prayer.

When all participants have chanted the prayer in unison, the director of practitioners’ affairs continues:

We have respectfully intoned the sacred names to help the rite of con-

version.

The essential nature (of the deceased) is equal to that of his pred-

ecessors; his excellent capacity does not falter even before the Buddhas

and patriarchs; he helped the junior practitioners, and his compassion-

ate mind permeates the world of humans and heavenly beings. With his

body comprising hundreds of illusory and phenomenal elements, he is

now entering the state of fiery concentration (tejodhātu samādhi). Hav-

ing offered three servings of tea and having burned incense over a sin-

gle burner, we shall receive this deed and carry out the task earnestly.

Salutation to the holy community of disciples (sangha).

Next, the director of practitioners’ affairs calls for the chanting of the Mahākāruṇikacitta-dhāraṇīs, and states the following invocation of merit transference:

The merit accrued from intoning prayer and chanting is intended to

promote the status of honor and reverence for the sake of the late Ven-

erable Master, abbot of this temple, on the occasion of cremation. Ven-

eration to the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three times, and

so on.

The guest reception official then calls for the chanting of the Śūraṃgamadhāraṇīs, and concludes with the same invocation of merit transference as before. Next, the practitioners from the same native province [as the deceased abbot] chant sutras in unison with all the practitioners. When this is over, the primary seat official leads the practitioners back to the temple and the noon meal is served. In the meantime, the deceased master’s disciples, practitioners from the same native province, and relations in the Dharma lineage remain behind to wait for the fire to be extinguished and to collect the remains.

When the noon meal is over, the practice hall bell is rung to assemble the practitioners. They proceed to receive the remains, with a few workmen carrying the funeral banners at the front of the procession, and return to the reception hall to conduct the rite of enshrining the remains and placing the portrait. Sutras should be chanted and funeral offerings presented before the portrait. Twice a day, morning and noon, rice gruel and rice, respectively, should be served, and three times a day tea and sweet hot water should be served. This may be continued for ten days or half a month, with the practitioners in attendance chanting sutras. These practices cease once the remains are deposited in the tower.

14. Interment of the Body in the Tower

When the funeral shrine reaches the tower, the head administrative official offers incense and flowers, and then the director of practitioners’ affairs specially appointed for the funeral rite steps forward to burn incense and, leading the disciples of the deceased master, conducts the rite of burial of the body. When this is over, the director of practitioners’ affairs calls for prayer, saying:

I urgently remind you of the occasion [when Śākyamuni Buddha mirac-

ulously revealed to Mahākāśyapa (second in the Dharma succession)

the sacred mark of the Dharma wheel on the soles of both his feet,]

and also of the Zen tradition of the single sandal left behind by the

First Patriarch [in China] (Bodhidharma), which revealed the essence

of Zen. Whether it is hidden or manifest, the intuitive faculty in its

entirety supports the beginning and the ending of each dharma. I request

the practitioners to intone the ten sacred names of prayer for the sake

of assisting the path of enlightenment. Veneration to the Pure Land of

the Western World, Amitābha Buddha of great compassion and com-

miseration, and so on.

(After this is completed, he continues.)

By intoning the ten sacred names, we have intended to assist [the

deceased] in entering the Pure Land of Amitābha Buddha. We wish

that the limitless insight and compassion of the wide-spreading cloud

reveal the truth that in the world of the four modes of birth, there is

neither birth nor death (i.e., from the transcendental point of view),

and also preach the doctrine that within the six migratory passages of

rebirth there is no recipient such as “self” nor is there any agent such

as “person” who undergoes rebirth. Having made three servings of tea

and burned incense over a single burner, we shall receive this deed and

carry out the task earnestly. Salutation to the holy community of dis-

ciples.

The procedures of calling for sutra chanting and recitation of the sacred names are identical with that of the rite of cremation, but in the invocation of merit transference, the phrase “at the occasion of cremation” must be

changed to “at the occasion of interment.” When the grave is covered, and all are waiting for everything to be readied, the rite of “casting earth” should be performed.

After placing the portrait in the reception hall and making offerings before it, the director of the funeral rite burns incense and performs prostrations before the portrait. Next, the representatives of the neighboring temples, the dual order officials, the practitioners, and the disciples of the deceased master all perform prostrations before the portrait. Thereupon, the disciples burn incense and express their thanks to the director of the funeral rite by performing three prostrations with fully opened sitting cloth. Next, the dual order officials and the practitioners also thank the director of the funeral rite, saying:

The temple has had an unfortunate loss with the abbot’s passing away.

We are indebted to you for overseeing the funeral rite.

The director of the funeral rite replies:

Thanks to your cooperation, I was able to avoid negligence and fail-

ure [in my duties].

Along with the director of funeral proceedings and others, the director of practitioners’ affairs specially appointed for the funeral rite makes rounds of the various quarters to express his thanks. Next, the disciples of the deceased master also make rounds through the quarters to express their gratitude, while the director of practitioners’ affairs escorts the practitioner assistants of the late master and of the practice hall shrine back to the practitioners’ quarters. Tea and sweet hot water should be served three times a day, accompanied by sutra chanting by the practitioners on each occasion. This is continued until the portrait and the name tablet are enshrined in the patriarchal shrine hall. Enshrining the deceased master in that hall may be accomplished when the new abbot is inaugurated, with due ritual conduct, of course.

15. Auctioning the Possessions of the Deceased

On an appointed day, a long table equipped with brushes, inkslabs, and a bell should be set up either in the outer practice hall or in the upper and lower front sections of the Dharma hall. The practice hall bell is tolled to assemble the practitioners. The primary seat official and the director of the funeral

rite take their seats symmetrically to the rear left and right sides, while the