勅修百丈清規 3.114

3.114

dual order officials and the practitioners sit according to the form for regular occasions. The director of practitioners’ affairs specially appointed for the funeral rite, the guest reception official, and the assistant in charge of the altar of the guardian bodhisattva sit directly opposite the director of the funeral rite. The director of practitioners’ affairs [of the temple] calls for prayer, saying:

Leaving the robe behind to express one’s faith in Dharma transmission

is the normative rule of every patriarch. Breaking human greed through

the insight of the Dharma is the traditional practice handed down by our

predecessors. Placing human possessions into auction now is intended

to express the truth of impermanence. I request the practitioners to intone

the [ten sacred] names of the Tathāgatas. Veneration to the Luminous

Pure Dharma Body Vairocana Buddha, and so on.

After [the assembly] has intoned the names of the Buddhas, [the director of practitioners’ affairs] opens the package containing the deceased master’s possessions and sets them out according to the order of numbering on the table to conduct the rite of presenting items for auction. After all items are displayed, he rings the bell once and states:

The method of auction is based on the existing practice, and everyone

is required to examine the qualities of each item for himself as to

whether it is new or old, short or long, so that he should not regret

when no contesting voice comes forth. Respectfully stated.

If there are many possessions to be handled, all items except those designated in the written will are auctioned in the order of their display by the director of practitioners’ affairs. The director of funeral proceedings and his helpers who manage the rite of auction must carry out their task impartially. The director of practitioners’ affairs calls out the price of an item and rings the bell, while the attendants look around to confirm the name of the person who has responded to the call. The guest reception official copies the name on the bulletin board and the assistant in charge of the guardian bodhisattva prepares a card with that person’s name on it. After the auction is completed, the number of items and amounts of money recorded on paper must be

accounted for jointly and recorded on the bulletin board by the director of the funeral rite. Mixing up the papers that record prices and arbitrarily reducing the set price of each item is not allowed. It is the responsibility of the director of the funeral rite to supervise the entire process and maintain the principle [of impartiality] underlying the rite.

Nowadays, however, the lottery is the method used in most cases, as it can greatly reduce the possibility of dispute. This method consists of using small pieces of paper on which one thousand characters are inscribed serially, representing a serial order of numbers. Each numbered paper is copied in triplicate or has three divisions marked by an official stamp. According to the number of practitioners who may possibly participate in the event, the director of the proceedings and his assistant jointly seal these lottery tickets in an envelope. At the appointed time, the dircector of the funeral rite delivers the envelope to the dual order officials to check the seal, and then it is opened by the primary seat official. The guest reception official distributes the tickets, each consisting of one-third portion, to the participating practitioners. The attendant of the practice hall official follows after the practitioner assistant, carrying a tray. The practitioner assistant cuts the remaining tickets into halves and places one half on the tray. The tray is placed next to the primary seat official along with another tray filled with water.

The director of practitioners’ affairs presents an item and reads out its price. At that moment the primary seat official asks a young novice to pick up one half-piece of a lottery ticket from the tray and give it to him. The latter opens it, examines the number, and passes it to the attendant of the practice hall to announce. The practitioners now open their half-pieces for identification. The person who holds the matching number responds at once. If he does not want the item, he should not respond, and if there is no response after three calls, the primary seat official places that particular ticket into the tray of water. Next, the young novice is asked to pick another half-ticket from the tray, and the number of the item is called in the same manner. If someone responds, the attendant of the practice hall collects the corresponding ticket from that person. The primary seat official examines the two pieces to confirm that they match, then reports this to the director of practitioners’ affairs and gives him the two half-tickets. Thereupon, the director of practioners’ affairs declares that the item in question will go to the practitioner who held the matching

ticket. The bell is rung once, and the guest reception official records the name of the person and the item on the bulletin board. The practitioner assistant then issues a card to the alms-serving master who delivers it to the practitioner.

As soon as their sale has been determined, items such as robes and so forth should be put back into the basket one by one, until the last item has been auctioned. Thereupon the director of practitioners’ affairs rings the bell once and recites the following invocation of merit transference:

The foregoing activity of auction and prayer is intended to promote

the rank of honor and reverence for the late Venerable Master, abbot

of the temple, who passed away. Veneration to the Buddhas of the ten

directions and the three periods, and so on.

When the practitioners leave the hall, those who have acquired an item in the auction turn in the card they have received, pay the amount of money specified on the bulletin board, and receive the item. If any items are not picked up after three days, they are again put on auction with adjusted prices. The accounts of all transactions must be recorded in a document. The ancient method of auction is also detailed in [Chapter VII,] “The Practitioners of the Zen Community,” [part X, section 7].

Format of the Account Book

Since the abbot passed away, his possessions were respectfully put up

for auction, and they have yielded the amount of money recorded below.

The balance of revenue and expenditure is given at the end.