勅修百丈清規 4.120

4.120

The waters that return to the Void, the trees of the Deng Forest—they are vast because they gather together. Now, in great monasteries, assemblies dwell by the hundreds and thousands; they empty granaries to cook and strip mountains bare for fuel, yet they also gather together. And those coming from the four quarters return as if coming home, as though it were already inherently theirs. Truly, why is this? For the Buddha considered how people drift through the three realms, appearing and disappearing in birth and death; only by clarifying the Way and awakening to the nature do they transcend to wondrous enlightenment. Then the myriad living beings of different kinds all rely on his goodness, and he instructs his disciples so that they emulate him. Therefore, every person treats his disciples as they would their own master; though they arrive shoulder to shoulder and heel to heel, they fear only that their support will not suffice, never slackening in the least because of their numbers. Were it not so, there would be many who litigate over a foot of land or a peck of grain. How could they alone be foolish, gladly abandoning their wealth to expand our dwellings, and skimping on their own meals to feed our disciples? For what purpose, truly, do our disciples eat here and dwell here? For what purpose, truly?