勅修百丈清規 4

The Baizhang Zen Monastic Regulations 4

Language: English

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and position are of primary importance, one should not act casually in appoint-

ing a person to [this post], should one?

It is said in the Collection of Records of the Patriarchal Courtyard (Zutingshiyuan):

The shouzuo is the “foremost elder” in the ancient tradition. It is

“sthavira” in Sanskrit, meaning exactly “the foremost seat holder”

here. 1) He must be advanced in ordination age, 2) he must be of noble

nature in all conduct of his life, and 3) he must be one who has been

fully compliant with the rules and precepts he initially received and

has realized the saintly state of transcendence (arhatship) resulting

from the practice of the path.

In the Zen tradition today, the person elected as the primary seat official should necessarily be one who has already achieved the Buddhist insight regarding the nature of self, and is able to command his fellow practitioners’ respect and obedience in terms of his excellence in both moral virtue and religious training.

2. The Primary Seat Official of the

Rear Part of the Practice Hall

Holding a seat on the rear raised platform, the primary seat official of the back part of the hall assists the primary seat official of the front part of the hall in upholding community morale for the pursuit of the goal. His manner of conduct ornaments the rules and regulations as the model for the practitioners. Perhaps this division of the front and rear officials of the practice hall may have resulted from the increase in the number of monastic residents. Twice a day, at the time of the morning rice gruel and the rice meal at noon, and also at the time of zazen practice, he must enter and depart from the hall through the rear exit. If the position of the primary seat official [of the front part of the hall] is vacated, the abbot must inform the practitioners of this. Ascending the rostrum seat in the Dharma hall on a special day, he invites the official of the rear part of the hall to move to the front part of the hall. The primary seat official should use this proceeding to settle in the designated space at the front part of the hall, and intone a verse of invocation at every meal to symbolize the merit of almsgiving. For zazen practice and for the period of zazen preceding the evening session, he must enter the hall at the time of the third strike of the wooden sounding block located at the

practitioners’ quarters. It is not necessary to strike the wooden sounding block located at his quarters on each occasion. The rest is identical with the duties of the front hall primary seat official.

3. The Head Secretarial Official

In the Ancient Regulations this office was called “shuzhuang,” and its function was to be in charge of all literary composition, including nearly all the signboard announcements to be posted at the temple gate, letters of correspondence, and verses of prayers and invocations. In olden days, many renowned practitioners were invited to the imperial court for an audience. Whoever became the abbot of a renowned large temple would have likely been so appointed under the edict of the imperial court, and he had to carry with him a written form of thanks [in response to such an appointment]. Before the time of death, the written form of a will must be prepared. Upon receipt of imperial gifts or enquiries, doctrinal or otherwise, a written form of reply must be composed to express the temple’s gratitude or to answer the questions. Yet the abbot must be fully in charge of the great Dharma and cannot divert his attention to literary composition. Originally this particular position was adopted from military headquarters, where generals had a secretarial office in charge of recording the names of soldiers, their duties, and so on. In Zen temples, the secretarial office was especially institutionalized to deal with similar tasks. Besides this secretarial office, there is a position called “shuzuang” in each temple, to which a practitioner is appointed as one of the abbot’s assistants in handling more private letters of his correspondence. This is called the private secretarial function (neiji) of the abbot’s office.

A renowned case of secretarial office activity was exemplified by Huinan (1002–1069) of Mount Huanglong. Again, another known example was Qingyuan (i.e., Zen Master Foyan [1067–1120]), who was appointed to this position under Zen Master Fayan of Mount Dongshan (i.e., Mount Wuzishan). The latter wished to glorify the title of the secretarial position by having Qingyuan, who was well versed in non-Buddhist literature, assist him in disseminating Zen in the religious world. Moreover, Dahui Zonggao (1089- –1163) also previously held a similar position. In general, it is satisfactory if the holder of this position tries to follow these three major figures as models of conduct.

4. The Tripiṭaka Hall Official

This official should handle the library of sacred scriptures (i.e., the Tripiṭaka sutra building) and must also be an expert in the scholarship of scriptural interpretation. According to the Ancient Regulations, when someone wishes to read a scripture and enters the library hall, he first notifies the hall master, [who is in charge of recording] his intent, and goes with him to the Tripiṭaka office. The Tripiṭaka hall official then escorts him to a desk and seat and greets him with an informal prostration with unopened sitting cloth. Today, however, practitioners read scriptures at the practitioners’ quarters, hence no table or chair is set up in the scriptural hall. Nevertheless, when an official is appointed to this office he is obliged to do his best in checking the cases that hold the texts and their catalogues, supplying whatever texts are lost or missing, drying and wiping any item that is moist and wet, and patching and rebinding any item that has a torn and broken binding. If practitioners come to read the scriptures, the Tripiṭaka hall master sets out the catalogue book, looks

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for the scripture cases corresponding to those titles assigned by the practice hall office, and hands them to the practitioners. When the texts are returned, they must be referred to the record book again to be replaced in the proper stack in order to prevent texts from being misplaced or lost.

Reflecting upon the origins of our Zen tradition, its essence was long since declared as having been transmitted outside verbal or written teachings. So why are some practitioners assigned to be in charge of the scriptural library? The answer is that whatever the Buddha said to his disciples and whatever he prescribed for their conduct became the teachings (sāśana; jiao) and regulations (vinaya; lü). Is any reason whatsoever for us, the members of the Zen community, not to follow his teaching and regulations? Especially because our tradition claims that the ultimate experience, the supreme insight, cannot be trapped by the constraints of language but transcends forms of speech and action. Since such is the mystery of ultimate self-nature handed down [from the Buddha himself], isn’t it quite proper for us to comply with the insight he verbally taught and the conduct he prescribed? Again, this has been the patriarchal intention, wishing for us to seek the ultimate insight (theoretical and ethical) in all Buddhist text collections as well as in all non-Buddhist literature and expecting us to be able to face heretic insults and respond to them with greater expediency. This is called the “principle of neither adherence

nor rejection” (buji buli). In later periods, as the number of practitioners greatly increased, two Tripiṭaka buildings were required to be built [to serve] as the eastern and western libraries.

5. The Guest Reception Official

This official deals with the reception of high-ranking guests. In general, he initially meets with government officials, patron donors, established senior practitioners, and renowned virtuous personalities who happen to visit the temple, receiving them with the propriety of incense and a serving of tea. He then sends his novice attendant to inform the abbot about such visitors. He escorts each visitor to see the abbot, and when the meeting is over he determines the subsequent schedule for the visitor and escorts him to wherever he is to stay. If a visitor is of lower-ranking status than his own, he meets the visitor at his office, and if the latter wishes to see the abbot or the administrative head as well as various other quarters, he sends an attendant to accompany him to the respective destination.

The transient guest quarters (danguoliao), which come under [the jurisdiction of] this office, must be kept neat as to the bed curtains, furnishings, lamp oil, and charcoal for burning. New arrivals (xindao) must be treated well so that their stay is comfortable. If the director of practitioners’ affairs is temporarily absent, the guest reception official executes some of his duties, checking to see if the morning rice gruel and the noon rice meal are properly set for them in the outer practice hall and ensuring that they are served [without fail]. If he encounters the situation of a death among the guest practitioners, he must take charge of the funeral account with the help of his practitioner assistant. If one of the new arrivals dies, he assumes the role of the director of the funeral rite for the deceased. When Shüehbao stayed at Mount Dayang and when Chanyue stayed at Mount Shishuang, they held this position. It is therefore not to be slighted.

6. The Bath Hall Official

In general, on the day designated for bathing, a signboard should be posted before the noon meal to inform the practitioners. In winter months, bathing should be scheduled once every five days, while during the hot season it

should be scheduled every day to wash away sweat. The official of this office oversees the tasks of preparing the bathing room, hanging towels on the racks, setting out trays for washing the face, providing wooden shoes to wear inside the tub and cloths to spread on the wooden floor. He assigns the novice attendant of the ceremonial leader (cantouhangzhe) to be in charge of the day. After the noon meal, the bath hall master (yutou) notifies the director of practitioners’ affairs, the primary seat official, and the abbot of the bathing room’s readiness and after striking the drum three times, he bathes the image of the guardian bodhisattva in the practice hall. He should be mindful of inviting the guardian bodhisattva to take a bath while preparing the special wooden bucket for bathing the image of the guardian bodhisattva, pouring a small quantity of bath water, and offering incense and prostrations.

After the wooden sounding blocks are struck three times in succession in various parts of the corridors throughout the temple, a series of drumrolls follows, indicating that the time for the practitioners to bathe has arrived. Next, a second series of drumrolls signals the time for the training faculty officials to bathe. The third series of drumrolls signals the time for the novice attendants to bathe. The abbot may take his bath at this time and, if he so wishes, a screen should be set up in the bathing room to separate the sections. The fourth series of drumrolls signals the time for the lay workers to bathe, and the very last members to bathe are the attendants who supervise the workers ( jianzuohangzhe) and the administrative officials. As to the boiler, after the bathing has been completed the fire must be suppressed by sprinkling water carefully over the flames and coals, and the hearth cleaned and dried. Leftover embers should be stored at a safe distance.

The order of bathing must be specified on the signboard outside the bathroom.

(Nowadays, it is believed that the abbot is supposed to bathe after the members of the training faculty have all finished, and that the administrative officials are supposed to bathe after the novice attendants have all finished. This is wrong. If the abbot wishes for some reason to take his bath at the same time as the training faculty members, no separating screen is required between them. He does not go into a private room but disrobes at the front section of the dressing room.)

A small wooden sounding board should be hung inside the room, with

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instructions written on a tablet posted next to it, reading: “One strike: add

hot water; two strikes: add cold water; three strikes: stop. This is the stan-

dard signal.”

When a donor donates the cost of bathing for the practitioners, a serv-

ice of sutra chanting should be performed, followed by an invocation of merit

transference. If one realizes why the mysterious touch of water is as clear

and transparent as it really is, and experiences this fact as having already

been abiding in Buddha-nature, then it is not an insignificant donation to

bear the cost of the practitioners’ bathing, is it?

7. The Shrine Hall Official

The practitioner at this office is in charge of handling the incense burners

and candle stands in the various shrine halls, and keeps everything neat and

tidy by wiping dust from these items and the desks. When it becomes windy,

he must extinguish the incense burners and candles, and tie up the bottom

of the banners to prevent them from blowing near the flames of lamps and

lights. Diverting money offered by donors for incense for other purposes of

the temple is forbidden. On the commemorative day of the Buddha’s birth-

day, he is obliged to prepare the sweet water to be used by the practitioners

to bathe the statue of the infant Buddha, and on the four monthly days of

religious observance (siqiri) he must also open the doors of the shrine halls

so that general visitors may pay their respects.

8. The Abbot’s Assistant Officials:

The Incense Offering Assistant,

the Secretarial Record Assistant,

and the Guest Reception Assistant

The functions of these practitioner assistants are the closest and most inti-

mate with the daily life of the abbot. Observing [numerous notable examples

of] their master’s practice of the path and virtue, listening to his teaching and

instruction in the morning and evening, and thereby closely guarded from

undesirable influence while encouraged by desirable influence, they may

aspire to reach the great goal of the Dharma and path [as exemplified by the

abbot]. Thus, they should become well disposed to maintain the decorum of

respect and reverence [toward the master] at all times. The way Ānanda attended Gautama Buddha or Xianglin attended Yunmen is a matter of great importance for the path of the Buddhas and patriarchs. How can this be slighted?

In general, it is the duty of the assistant official in charge of incense offering to record the words of the abbot whenever he speaks on the occasions of his [official functions], such as the ascent to the rostrum seat at the Dharma hall, the supplementary session, general exhortation (pushuo), instruction by individual visitation (kaishi), prayer invocation (niansong), canceling the evening session (fangcan), special serving rites on the four annual festivity days (juelatewei), interviewing a guest upon request (tongfuxiangli), establishment of residency (guada), the rite of offering incense (shaoxiangxingli), the word of insight (fayu), and so on.

Next, it is the duty of the assistant official in charge of the secretarial record to compose the abbot’s correspondence. He must first write a draft for the master’s inspection and approval. If the secretarial record official is absent from the temple, this assistant official is in charge of composing the official letters of the temple.

Next, it is the duty of the guest reception assistant to prepare the abbot’s invitations and carry out the rite of a special serving [of tea or sweet hot water], whenever the latter receives special guests or renowned senior practitioners, or at the four annual celebration days, such as the first day of the summer retreat, and so on.

When neither the director of practitioners’ affairs nor the guest reception official is available [to address] the needs of the practitioners, or if [these officials] are temporarily absent from the temple, the abbot’s three assistant officials are obliged to act as their proxies according to the foregoing prescribed conduct.

(Some say that the assistant in charge of the secretarial record and composition has nothing to do with any other areas of work. This [assertion] is wrong, without any basis whatsoever.)

When the abbot is away from the temple for some length of time, these assistant officials return to the general quarters of the resident practitioners and engage themselves in daily practice along with them. If [the abbot’s] absence is brief [in duration, however], they do not leave their official positions.

9. The Personal Managerial Assistant

(This position is not part of the official order.)

Many of our predecessors appointed to this position a well-trained per-

son experienced in monastic life. He must be able to command loyalty from

others, rescue others from their mistakes, mobilize the capable and talented,

and know how things are going within and without. Being expedient and all-

embracing, he should be able to harmonize the higher and lower ranks into

a good, working unity. There is an episode about Mian, who appointed Qing-

ruo as his personal managing assistant and acquired Songyuan as his Dharma

heir through this assistant. After Dongsou appointed the primary seat offi-

cial Sheng as his managing assistant, his monastic discipline became ever

more rigorous in practice. Nowadays, many abbots frequently appoint an

inexperienced junior practitioner to this position, and such appointments

often result in damaging the virtuous name of an abbot and in serious mis-

management. One must be cautious about this.

10. The Medicinal Care Assistant

(This position is in the official order.)

This practitioner assistant attends the abbot with the duty of prescribing

medicine at all times. He assists him also in dealing with things around him

and helps the managerial assistant. He should be compassionate in oversee-

ing the novice attendants and workmen in daily matters. If a guest happens

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to visit in the absence of the other assistant, he is obliged to assume his role

in notifying the abbot about the visitor and assisting him with the incense

offering. Or if no one is available, he is obliged to refer matters in question

to the proper officials, and in this way he should act on behalf of those who

are not available, according to the given situation. A mature person, hum-

ble and courteous in nature, should be appointed to this position.

11. The Assistant in Charge of the

Image of the Guardian Bodhisattva

(This official is not part of the official order, stays behind the practitioners

in the practice of the path, and takes meals in the outer hall.)

It is desirable to appoint a person devoted to the path of practice [to this post]. He is obliged to prepare and offer meals twice a day, offering the sublime image morning rice gruel and rice at noon; to strike the octagonal wooden post with the mallet located at the back of the practice hall; to check the seats of the practitioners prior to zazen practice; and to reduce the lighting during the night. In addition, along with the director of practitioners’ affairs, he handles the monetary transactions during the auction of items left by the deceased. When the abbot passes away, he keeps the account book of the funeral rite. When the primary seat official preaches as the abbot’s proxy, he assists him with the incense offering. Or [on behalf of other officials], he may strike the octagonal wooden post with the mallet and intone the names of the Buddhas. Even after his term is complete he may retain the title of “assistant official” as long as he stays at the temple where he was originally appointed. When the two elder practitioners Tuigeng and Duanqiao were practitioners, they were once appointed to this position. They were able to cultivate good associations with their fellow practitioners and thereby encouraged them to progress in the practice of the path.

III. The Administrative Officials

of the East Order

1. The Head Administrative Official

In the Ancient Regulations, only the office of administrative head (jianyuan) was instituted. Later on, however, due to the fact that the temples, in general, became larger and the number of resident practitioners increased, the present office of head administrative official (dujiansi) was added to oversee all aspects of the administration. [He is] in charge of replenishing the incense and lighting materials to be used in the morning and evening, receiving government officials and patron donors, keeping the record of accounts dealing with revenue and expenditure in cash or in kind (i.e., grain crops), and always working to maintain the annual fiscal balance. He respects the master, loves his fellow resident practitioners, and upon meeting with other officials serves for whatever business might be at hand and reports the results

to the abbot for approval. He reprimands and instructs the novice attendants and workmen, rather than unreasonably punishing them by whip. Even when they deserve disciplinary action and punishment, he should instead consult with others about the matter, applying due consideration and mercy, and give warnings. Anyone in this position should avoid abusing his power, restrain acts of violence, and prevent the matter from receiving a criminal indictment from the government. He must be impartial when assigning people to the various positions of estate operation and storage, and also must refrain from organizing a group for his personal interest, which would cause vexation or spite among his superiors or subordinates.

In the past, when the monastic institution was at the height of its vitality, there were many instances in which a west hall official, a primary seat official, or a secretarial official was invited to take this position, and in turn, the administrative head was invited to take the primary seat office or the secretarial office. Otherwise, an appointee for this position must be qualified by having a high ordination age, must be well experienced in life and tradition, be clean and capable, public-minded and courteous, not to mention having the practitioners’ respect and obedience. Even when someone is no longer required to continue in a public position, if that person’s spiritual endowment is rich and distinguished, if he is harmonious with his superiors and subordinates, and even if it is his second consecutive term, he may not be removed from the position. Such a person may even be invited repeatedly to stay on, precisely because no one would feel harmed by his remaining in the position.

Accordingly, in earlier days there were no more than five or six retired officials in each temple who stayed in the private quarters or in the retirees’ hall. The treasury official or any other official of the lower ranks did not withdraw to the retirees’ hall until after his third term. Nor did the associate administrative official or the head administrative official withdraw to the retirees’ hall or to the private quarters, respectively, until their third term was over.

In case of reappointing someone who has retired, it is better to avoid any kind of suspicion by placing him first in the public domain, namely, the practice hall, as a regular practitioner, unbound to any official position. Then one may reappoint him to his former office. If he does not fail to participate in the morning rice gruel and the noon meal in the practice hall, the morale of

the novice attendants and lay workers, while serving food to him, will improve by itself or will become firm, just as Yangji assisted Ciming and Shichuang assisted Hongzhi. These examples should be the paradigm of the position in question.

It is said in the Outline of the History of Zen Practitioners (Sengshilüe, by Zanning of the Song dynasty):

The three qualifications of administrative officials are comparable to

the huge ropes that are linked to fishing nets. By controlling these

ropes, one can control all the nets so [that they can be] spread well. In

Sanskrit it is called vihāra-svāmin (momodi), which means the direc-

tor of a monastic residence, namely, the head administrative official

in our case.

Again it is said in the Great Collection of Sutras of the Mahāsaṃghika School (Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra; Dajijing):

It is difficult to administer the things that belong to the sangha. I (the

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Buddha himself) should allow only two kinds of people to be in charge

of the things that belong to the Three Treasures: 1) arhat (alohan;

saint) [one who has realized the final state of transcendence], 2) srota-

āpanna (xutuoxuan; stream-enterer), one who has reached the initial

state of transcendence, and this is further twofold: a) one who holds

fast the moral and religious rules and disciplines (vinaya and śīla) and

knows karmic retribution; and b) one who adheres to repentance [of

all his actions], fearing that he might be still subjected to some offense

after this life.

2. The Director of Practitioners’ Affairs

As the director of a monastic community, this official accommodates himself to all circumstances in order to maintain the harmony of the sangha. He must determine whether or not the ordination certificate that each practitioner presents when applying for residency is authentic. When discord occurs among the practitioners, or when items have been lost, he is obliged to resolve the cause of such problems and restore the harmonious flow of community life. There is hardly anything he does not deal with as far as practitioners’

affairs are concerned, within and without the practice hall; namely, their ordination age, seniority order, monastic career, and the chart of assigned spaces of their residency in the hall. Through his vocal performance he calls the names of the sacred scriptures for chanting, leads the rite of prayer, and concludes it with the invocation of merit transference. He must direct his mind with utmost care toward the sick and the deceased.

The ceremonial conduct of the director of practitioners’ affairs (weina) at mealtimes is as follows: Twice each day he goes to the practice hall for meals. Upon hearing the sound of the bell located in front of the practice hall, he leaves his seat in the outer hall, enters the inner hall, offers incense before the altar of the guardian bodhisattva using his left hand, and stepping back two and a half steps, bows toward the altar. He then stands with palms joined to the side of the [octagonal] wooden post equipped with its mallet. First, he looks at the prayer invocation of the day and the names and the localities of the deities to whom it is addressed. When the sound of the bell and drum end, he makes the first strike on the octagonal post with the mallet, whereupon the practitioners open their almsbowls. When the practitioners have completed opening their almsbowls, he makes the second strike, then with palms joined prays toward the deities of the day in silence. Stabilizing the octagonal wooden post with his left hand, he then intones the names of the Buddhas:

May all the members of the hall intone the ten sacred names in unison:

the Luminous Pure Dharma Body Vairocana Buddha, the Buddha with

the Perfect Reward Body, and so on.

As each name is intoned, he strikes the post with the mallet with his right hand, which should not be raised more than five inches from the post. Each strike should be made as soon as the sound of the name intoned has totally died out, with an adequate time interval, neither too quickly nor too slowly.

At the moment when the primary seat official finishes reciting the third verse of the “almsgiving prayer” (shishi), he turns and goes to stand by the head position of the raised platform at the back of the rear hall. When the first serving is completed throughout the hall, he steps forward and strikes the wooden post with the mallet once again, goes with palms joined before

the altar of the guardian bodhisattva, and bows. He then goes out and takes his seat in the outer hall. If the meal has been donated by a patron through a monetary gift, after striking the post with the mallet at the completion of the first serving he turns left, goes around behind the altar, bows before the primary seat official, and once again strikes the post with the mallet, then leaves the hall. This gesture conveys that the sangha has received the alms gift from the donor.

If the director has unavoidable business elsewhere or has to take a temporary leave of absence, he must himself transfer the record book of ordination ages, the record of temporary leaves, and the detailed record of the practice hall to the guest reception office and request them to take charge of these record books.

According to A Record of the Inner Law Sent Home from the South Seas (Nanhaijiguichuan, by Yijing [635–713]), the term weina is explained as a compound of Chinese and Sanskrit terms; wei means gangwei in Chinese, and na in Sanskrit. Both together render the word jiemotuona (Sanskrit: karmadāna). The abbreviation weina is a compound meaning “pleasing the practitioners” (yuezhong).

Also, in the Vinaya in Ten Chapters (Sarvāstivāda-vinaya; Shisonglü), it is said that because no one in the monks’ hall knew the time, the practice of indicating the time by striking the wooden sounding board was instituted. And it is further said that the Buddha established the position of weina as the director of the monastic residence, since no one prepared or cleaned the lecture and dining halls, nor did anyone cover the floor with cloth, nor did anyone try to subdue discord created by undisciplined monks, and so forth. Also, in the Treatise on Vocal Sound (Shenglun), [the name of this office] is interpreted as “the order” or “proceedings,” namely, one who knows the proceedings of the monastic events.

3. The Treasury Official

In the Ancient Regulations, this position was called kutou, “kitchen storage master.” Today, in many temples it is still called “cupboard master” (guitou), while in the northern region it is called “wealth holder” (caibo). In actuality, these are all the same position. This position was probably created initially in order to reduce the burden of the administrative head’s duties by

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dividing the areas of administration into two. The treasury official handles

the revenue and expenditure of the temple’s public money, commodities,

properties, stores of rice and wheat, and sometimes compiles the almanac.

He oversees the novice attendants in their daily calculation of the accounts

concerning revenues and expenditures, and has one of them present the day’s

accounts (feidan) to the abbot. This is called the “daily accounts” (ridan).

There are other accounts, such as an account closed every tenth day (xun-

dan), an account closed monthly (yuedan), and the annual account, inclu-

sive of all others, that concerns the yearly revenues and expenditures. This

last one is called zhihuangzongbu. There are other record books concerning

rice, flour, and various flavoring materials (wuwei). These must be included

in the abovementioned account books.

In general, the temple’s properties and commodities, no matter how small,

have to be shared by all the practitioners in the ten directions (i.e., all regions,

everywhere). Therefore, unless an expenditure is required for the reception

and send-off of special guests of honor, such as government officials and patron

donors, or for those occasions of celebration in which all practitioners partic-

ipate, one must refrain from expediting the public account or taking advan-

tage of it. The treasury official is obliged to select subordinates, whether sen-

ior or junior, who are alert and energetic in mind, skilled in calligraphy and

accounting, and who are honest in nature and have integrity. Any items required

for the sick must be provided at once. If the stores are damaged by sparrows

and mice due to carelessness, or if rice and wheat grain become wet because

of negligence, and if there are those who do not comply with the standard serv-

ice for prompt supply of each of these items as well as for their careful preser-

vation, the abbot is obliged to bring any such unfit personnel under his con-

trol and thereby deal with them over the course of time.

4. The Kitchen Official

The duty of this official is to prepare and serve the rice gruel in the morn-

ing and the rice at the noon meal every day for the practitioners. In prepa-

ration and serving, he must always maintain sanitary standards with utmost

care. He must be resourceful in using available quantities of supplies and

attentive to his workplace. He must also be thrifty about supplies belonging

to the public (i.e., the monastic community) and never waste them through

extravagance. Instructing the novice attendants to keep the rules, he must not allow them to become idle and negligent in matters of public action (i.e., serving food to the practitioners [hangyi]), or participating in physical labor (puqing). The kitchen official must treat farmworkers kindly, and at planting time, [which requires heavy labor], should give them some reward and equal benefit among themselves. At the morning and noon meals, he eats the same food in the kitchen hall as what is served to the practitioners in the practice hall. When the pails of gruel or rice are ready for transport, he must first burn incense and perform prostrations toward the practice hall before they are delivered.

5. The Maintenance and Construction Official

The duty of this official is to handle all kinds of labor [required for maintenance of the temple buildings]. In general, he is obliged to carry out [all necessary] repairs and restoration from yearly damage and deterioration, such as roof leakage, that occur to the temple buildings and various resident quarters. Movable items, whether belonging to the household or otherwise, must always be checked against the inventory. Clerical and construction manpower must be calculated in regard to the degree of progress, so as to prevent idle workers, nonproductive food expenditure, robbing of the public fund, and damage to the temple institution. He must oversee security measures for the estate farms and cottages; the mills for grinding and hulling grain; the cattle, boats, and carts for transportation; and policing against fire, theft, and robbery. By sending messengers, reward and punishment must be properly accorded for the kinds of work done. Honest service and hard work must be especially rewarded. If there is a large-scale construction project, this official must appoint assisting members to help handle the matter.

IV. Miscellaneous Duties

1. The Head Official of the

Practitioners’ Quarters

The duty of this head official is to manage the scriptures and household items for the practitioners’ quarters: to replenish tea, sweet hot water, fuel

for their use, and also to oversee the cleaning of the quarters and the wash-

ing of the towels for head-shaving. Every day after the morning rice gruel,

a novice attendant of the tea master in charge of the tea serving (zhatou)

strikes the wooden sounding block three times to signal the return of the

practitioners to the practice hall. The associate head official of the quarters

(liaochang) takes his seat symmetrically a little away from the head offi-

cial in the same line, while the master of the first quarters (liaozhu) and the

master of the second quarters (fuliao) take their seats to the right and left

of the room, facing each other. The master of the second quarters steps for-

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ward to burn incense and returns to his seat. Thereupon, the tea master in

charge of serving announces: “How are you, sir?” The practitioners per-

form a gesture of greeting in unison. If it is the first day of the month or the

mid-month day, the tea master should strike the wooden sounding block to

assemble the practitioners for the serving of sweet hot water as prescribed

on these days. The manner of burning incense and serving the sweet hot

water is the same as for a regular occasion.

2. The Master of the Quarters and

Associate Master of the Quarters

In order to make the daily life of the practitioners comfortable, the head

official of the practitioners’ quarters should assign their respective seating

spaces in accordance with ordination seniority, inviting each member from

lower to higher. The names are copied and posted on the tablet for each space.

Assigned on a rotation shift every ten days, the master of the quarters assists

the head official of the quarters in carrying out these tasks. When the prac-

titioners return to the practice hall in the morning and evening, he is in charge

of inspecting the desks for scripture reading, and, if practitioners have left

things behind, he collects and examines the items with witnesses present and

returns them to the owners. He is obliged to keep the stores of household

items in order and to prepare incense, candles, tea, and sweet hot water for

the practitioners’ use. He must not allow any nonresidents from outside to

stay in the quarters overnight or to bring things there for sale. Moreover, a

third candidate practitioner should be nominated beforehand as assistant

master of the quarters (wangliao), and this person will be appointed the next

associate master of the quarters. When the master of the quarters has fulfilled

his term, he requests to be relieved from duty through the recognition of the director of practitioners’ affairs, whereas when the associate master of the quarters has completed his term, he requests to be relieved from duty through the recognition of the head official of the quarters.

3. The Infirmary Official

This official is in charge of nursing the sick. He provides them with hot water, medicine, oil lamps for lighting, charcoal and fire, rice gruel and rice as well as all flavoring items (salt, etc.), making these items available for their use at all times. If the temple’s budget does not provide sufficient funds [for these items], and if the infirmary official can afford it, he may purchase whatever is needed from his own funds, or he may invite patron donors to provide it to the office when needed. Even when filth is scattered over the floor, seats, clothing, and bedclothes, he should clean them by washing, rinsing, and so forth, never indulging a sense of disgust. Among the eight kinds of fields of merit (puṇyakṣetra; futian), attending to the sick is the foremost.

4. Head of Cleaning

The tasks of sweeping the grounds, cleansing the air with incense, replacing used bamboo scrapers [for the toilet] with new ones, cleaning the lavatories, and boiling and adding water must all be carried out whenever required. Even when things become somewhat messy, the task [of the head of cleaning] is to immediately restore the original cleanliness. He is obliged to inspect washcloths and pails and change them if necessary. This task is invariably beneficial to whoever serves in this position, because it strengthens the mind toward the practice of the path. If the head of cleaning wishes to retire from the post, the practice hall official is obliged to post a note on the bulletin board beforehand, reading:

The post of head of cleaning has been vacated. To volunteer for this,

please put up your name.

Someone wishing to volunteer [for the post] takes the board to the director of practitioners’ affairs to express his intent. Thereupon, the official reports it to the abbot for approval and then appoints him to the post.

5. The Fundraising Official

In general, monastic temples where practitioners live always have the problem of being short of funds. Therefore, in order to support the practitioners sufficiently, it is always necessary to rely upon the assistance of patron donors by inviting their donations through the fundraising preacher. His activity of soliciting funds is necessary in order to balance a constant annual deficit. However, too-frequent fundraising activity must be avoided, as it might become oppressive to patron donors.

6. The Head of the Farmyard

Unhesitatingly [the holder of this post] takes the lead in heavy physical labor. He cultivates the soil, sows seeds for vegetable crops, irrigates the fields when necessary, and thereby provides a steady supply of fresh vegetables and so on to the kitchen hall throughout the year.

7. The Head of Mill Operations

[The holder of this post] is in charge of hulling and grinding grain. His function is indispensably related to the supply of rice and noodles for the practitioners. It is the norm to appoint to this post someone whose mind is established on the path of practice and who is well-acquainted with the mechanics and processes of grinding and hulling grain.

8. The Head of the Water Supply

[The holder of this post] is obliged to prepare hot water by 3:00 A.M. to supply the practitioners for face washing and brushing their teeth. He also supplies hand cloths, water trays, lamps, and dental powder so that there is no shortage. In the winter months, it is necessary to dry the washed hand towels. He must get up early in order to prepare these items for the practitioners, taking care not to create any inconvenience to them.

9. The Head of the Charcoal Supply

[The holder of this post] is in charge of securing kindling and charcoal before the [winter] season in order to protect practitioners from severe cold weather.

He is obliged to invite patron donors or to request temple funds in order to

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procure the adequate quantity needed for each winter season.

10. The Head of Estate Management

[The holder of this post] is obliged to inspect the demarcation of the temple’s rice fields, repair the estate cottages, supervise farming, and settle disputes with the farmers. He may handle small or trifling incidents but if the situation is of some magnitude and negatively affects the monastic institution, it must be reported to the temple and the matter taken up with due procedure. In recent times, innumerable evils have been observed to happen in the affairs of many temples, and the most extreme cases have involved estate management. The following three points briefly explain the extent of the problem.

The common characteristic of this evil, first and foremost, in all temples, is the fact that the post of estate management is the object of fierce competition. But how could such a post be open and attainable to anyone and everyone who wants it? Accordingly, some hold grudges against the abbot for not appointing them to the post, and they create discord between superiors and subordinates. Once appointed to this position, however, the appointee often stays on, rarely leaving the temple even for short periods of time, and thereby becomes undeterred in doing practically anything, including creating discord, bringing lawsuits, using up temple funds originally donated for the practitioners, or even creating debts for the temple, thereby resulting in years of ongoing problems. [In such a situation,] it is natural that the temple community’s morale and discipline would decline, while the farmers may become contemptuous, slighting their duty of paying dues to the temple. This is the second evil.

Even if a mature and capable person is appointed [to this post], he is obliged to deal with the prefectural and district governments, and will likely have to deal with the clerks of local governments, in the city or village, or neighboring wealthy landowners. If he is unable to meet the customary standard in establishing relationships with these agents, there necessarily develops a detrimental gap. Even when there has been no clear expenditure, by cunning contrivance a deficit may result, and there is no benefit whatsoever in this case to the temple or to the person in regard to his own religious goals. Thus, the expense for running the estate often takes half of the temple’s entire budget. This is the third evil.

There is a difference between the way a temple operates such estates and the way a secular private owner operates his holdings. It is never the case that temples assign members widely in various parts of the estate operation in the way a wealthy family uses its clan members extensively. A temple estate may have a group of farmers at the time of sowing, a group of supervisors (jiagan) for farming, and at harvest time the temple sends a practitioner in charge of revenue and his attendants for the task. Although there are other nominal posts, such as transportation (shuna), dike repair (xiuyu), and grain distribution (biaoliang), these tasks are entrusted, only when necessary, to a group of retired officials to do the job as quickly as possible, and who return to the temple as soon as the task is completed. This way not only saves the cost of manpower but also sometimes prevents possible disasters by reducing the expenditure required. Thus, it serves both communal and individual goals simultaneously. Today, many temples have abandoned their estate operations, leaving their facilities like abandoned houses. If the abbot and the retired officials truly wish to restore their temple institution, to save costs, reform evils, and eliminate unnecessary expenses they should start with abolishing the temple estate as the first step. If, however, there is someone who, even facing grave difficulties, is capable of managing such an estate, his appointment may be separately discussed along with the idea of an honorarium.

11. The Head of Collection of

Various Estate Revenues

In the Ancient Regulations, in the very beginning there was no post such as estate revenue officer under the head of estate management. Only in recent times was this office created. Since this post was established there have occurred innumerable evils. There are cases where, upon becoming abbot, a person secretly appoints someone who has been convicted of a crime, or out of personal interest, he falls into favoritism in appointing someone to such a post. There are also cases when officials and managing practitioners who have just retired [upon the appointment of a new abbot] overreach the latter’s authority in appointing someone; or there are some who demand their own appointment due to their power base in the temple community; or those

who organize a group in order to obtain the post on the basis of its majority. There are even some who take the post by physical force. There is no end of such examples, which in all cases are harmful both to the temple community and individuals. Even though everyone might wish to rectify this state of affairs and restore the proper form of the temple institution, there is no way to realize this goal. Only if there are retired officials who are honest and assist the abbot may it become possible to select an appropriate person in terms of public election and appoint him over some limited area of responsibility. Or it may also be possible to appoint a person by lottery from among the practitioners.

Anyone who holds this post must be rigorous in his standard of personal conduct and motivated to serve the community of practitioners. One must

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not impose heavy demands on the farming families. If [the holder of this post] is able not to cause any loss to the temple’s economy, it would be equally beneficial to others as to himself.

V. The Primary Seat Official

Elected as Dharma Teacher

1. Electing the Primary Seat Official

as Occasional Teacher

Since this is a serious and grave matter, one should not lightly choose the appointee. If the person now serving the temple community as its primary seat official, who, on account of his virtue, once stayed at a renowned temple elsewhere as its west hall guest, and if this person commands the practitioners’ respect and obedience, he may be recommended to the abbot to be elected as the occasional teacher. If the abbot agrees, he conducts a special ascent to the Dharma hall to address the practitioners, stating:

Due to the recent increase in the number of temple members, we must

invite a proper person and reach agreement on the doctrinal banners

so as to establish a grand occasion of exhortation. Fortunately we have

currently such a person residing in this temple, whose insight is high

and clear and whose high ordination seniority has endowed him with

supreme wisdom. I shall shortly descend this chair and, along with the

dual order officials and the practitioners, implore him to consent to

opening his room of instruction and give his special exhortation.

The abbot then descends. The attendant of the abbot’s office carries two signboards, reading respectively “Individual Instruction” and “General Exhortation” on a crepe-wrapped board, and below the high seat, along with the practitioners, implores the primary seat official, saying:

All resident practitioners have wished for some time to receive an

exhortation from your reverence. We earnestly wish that in your com-

passion you will grant your consent.

The person thus invited goes to the abbot’s office. After offering incense and performing a prostration with unopened sitting cloth, he thanks him, saying:

So-and-so has fortunately found a waystation here. Though I am afraid

that my performance may have been poor, as I have been invited under

your cognizance I do not dare refuse it.

The abbot replies:

The Buddhist teaching is very important for all of us. I request respect-

fully that you grant us your consent.

After this formality, the novice attendant of the practice hall office rings the practice hall bell, while the practitioners escort the primary seat official as elected teacher to his quarters. The abbot thanks him for his consent with a prostration with unopened sitting cloth and sees him off, and also then bows toward the practitioners who are escorting him.

The director of practitioners’ affairs goes to the primary seat official’s quarters and requests his assistant to post the signboard indicating “General Exhortation.” He sets up a Zen chair, a Zen dusting brush (fuzu), a staff, an incense burner, and candle stands in the skylit room (zhaotang) adjacent to the back of the practice hall. A series of drumrolls calls the practitioners to

assemble in lines in the practice hall, and the elected teacher takes his position. The director of practitioners’ affairs, leaving his east order position, burns incense, and through performing protrations in unison with the practitioners, once again requests him to give an exhortation. Thereupon, the elected primary seat official sits cross-legged, while the dual order officials bow toward him and the abbot does likewise. When he completes his exhortation, the director of practitioners’ affairs once again performs prostrations in unison with the practitioners to express thanks. Immediately following, the elected teacher, carrying incense in his sleeve, pays a visit to the abbot’s office to express his thanks. Performing the formality of two prostrations with opened sitting cloth and three prostrations with unopened sitting cloth, he states:

I have completed the task with which I was entrusted, with my poor

but best effort. May you in your compassion overlook my lack of

sophistication.

He then makes rounds at the quarters of the administrative office and the other quarters, bowing to express thanks. The abbot’s office is obliged first to prepare a meal of rice mixed with sprouts for the elected teacher and then a serving of sweet hot water and the evening meal. That evening, the abbot’s office also schedules a serving of sweet hot water and cake for him, inviting the dual order officials as participants, and including the elected teacher’s assistant. Next day, the abbot conducts a special serving of tea at the practice hall for the primary seat official who is now the elected teacher. The abbot’s guest reception assistant posts the signboard indicating the serving of tea. (Format given below.) He visits the quarters of the primary seat official as elected teacher and, after burning incense, invites him to the serving of tea. The manner and proceedings are the same as those for serving tea for the newly appointed primary seat official. The primary seat official too is obliged to conduct a special serving of tea for the practitioners. The proceeding is identical with that of a special serving of tea sponsored by the front and rear hall primary seat officials for the practitioners. On the following day, the abbot invites the elected teacher, the primary seat official, to a special dinner reception and the dual order officials are invited to participate.

2. Electing Various Renowned

Virtuous Primary Seat Officials

as Occasional Lecturer

The abbot is obliged to talk to the prospective primary seat official beforehand

[about his possible election as an occasional teacher]. If the latter welcomes the

idea, the abbot invites him for tea, with the dual order officials participating.

At the signal of drumrolls, the abbot ascends the rostrum seat in the Dharma

hall. Without immediately announcing his invitation, he introduces the idea in

a polite and earnest manner. Descending the high seat, he then implores the pri-

mary seat official in unison with the practitioners to open his room for exhor-

tation. The practice hall bell is rung, and the practitioners escort him to his quar-

First 9 of 18 passages. Read on

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勅修百丈清規 — Classical Chinese