勅修百丈清規 4.39

4.39

The ancient rules called this the storehouse prefect (kutou); today various monasteries call it the counter prefect (guitou), and in the north it is called treasury officer (caibo). In reality, these are all this single office. He serves as an assistant to the chief prior to share the burden of labor. He manages the receipts and disbursements of the permanent assets' gold, grain, money, silks, rice, and wheat, recording them in the register according to the season, keeping custody, and disbursing them. He has the storehouse clerk compile daily receipts and disbursements, endorse the slips, and submit them to the abbot's quarters; this is called the daily slip. Or they balance accounts once every ten days, which is called the ten-day slip. Balancing once a month and compiling an overarching account of all current holdings once a year is called the yellow master ledger. In addition, there are separate ledgers for rice, flour, and the five condiments, all of which must be audited and calculated. As for the property of the permanent assets, even a speck of wood belongs equally to the monks of the ten directions. Unless it is for the monastery's external protectors, officials, benefactors, or guests—welcoming and sending off, congratulating and condoling, and appropriate social duties—one may never make false claims to disburse or embezzle it. As for the upper and lower storehouse clerks, one must select those of mental resolve who are able in writing and accounting, self-restrained, honest, and prudent. Things required for the supply of sick monks must be provided immediately. If granaries leak, sparrows and rodents infest and consume the rice and wheat, moisture damps any supplies, or storage and safeguarding are not in accordance with the rules, all must be tended to and handled in a timely manner.