勅修百丈清規 5.60

5.60

The Zenghui Ji says: 'Though the utensil is small, its merit is immense; it is for the sake of protecting living beings. Monks in China rarely maintain it; one should establish it according to the vinaya.' The Mūlasarvāstivāda-ekaśata-karman says: 'There are five kinds of water filters: first, the square filter (using three chi or two chi of thin silk, sized according to need; making the silk requires it to be fine and dense so insects cannot pass through; if using coarse silk, sheer gauze, or hemp cloth, there is no intention of protecting life); second, the dharma bottle (the yin-yang bottle); third, the kuṇḍī (tying silk over the mouth, suspended and submerged into the water with a cord, pulled out once full); fourth, the water-scooping filter; fifth, the robe-corner filter (saying robe-corner does not mean the corner of a kāṣāya; one merely takes a square hand-span of dense silk, either tying it over the bottle mouth or placing it inside a bowl, used for filtering water).' Great Master Cijue, the venerable Shou, compiled thirty-one verses from sūtras and vinayas; the text is too long to record here. At the end it says: 'People in the world say that filter bags are difficult to set up for a large assembly. In the first year of the Chongning era, at Hongji Cloister, Zongze placed a large water trough beside the well in front of the kitchen. Above, close to the rim of the trough, he separately placed a small trough penetrating through the corner to emerge at the side, underneath which he installed a filter bag. When pouring water, there was no splashing or overflowing at all, and it was also sufficient for five assemblies of people. The rear rack of the bathhouse followed this model. Monks and postulants also all filtered the water for the eastern privies; this is the fundamental path of leaving the household. Later, when residing at Changlu, water was filtered at more than twenty wells. If the permanent property does not filter water, the transgression falls upon the persons in charge. It is universally hoped that all will strive to practice this.'