勅修百丈清規 6.17

6.17

The method for dwelling in the assembly: when sleeping, do not precede others; when rising, do not fall behind others. Before the bell of the fifth watch strikes, gently raise your body and get up first. Place your pillow at your feet; do not yet shake it out, lest you startle the adjacent sleeping platform. Rouse your energy and sit up straight in your body. You must not fan a breeze to stir up others' thoughts. If you feel sluggishness coming on, push the quilt behind your feet, take your towel, turn around, and step down to the floor. Hang the towel over your left hand and recite the verse: / 'From dawn at the yin hour until dusk, / All sentient beings naturally preserve one another. / If under my feet any should lose body or form, / May you instantly be born in the Pure Land.' / Gently lift the curtain and go out to the rear platform. Do not drag your shoes, cough, or make noise. The ancients said: 'Lifting the curtain, you must drop your trailing hand; stepping out of the hall, strictly avoid dragging your shoes.' Gently take a basin to wash your face; the hot water should not be too much. Dip tooth powder with your right hand and wipe the left side; dip with your left hand and wipe the right side. You must not dip a second time, lest bad gums and breath be passed on to others. When rinsing the mouth, you must lower your head; spitting water, guide it downward with your hand, or spit water while keeping your waist straight, lest it splash into the neighboring bucket. You must not wash your hair; there are four disadvantages to oneself and others: first, it soils the bucket; second, it makes the towel greasy; third, it withers the hair; fourth, it harms the eyes. Do not make noise in your nose; do not spray water splashing on your face; do not vomit or retch loudly; do not soil the washbasin with saliva or snot. The ancients said: 'Washing the face at the fifth watch was originally for cultivation; vomiting and dragging shoes disrupt the hall and clamor the assembly.' When wiping the face, do not struggle over and yank the towel; do not wipe your head with the towel. When finished, hang it spread out, or dry it over a fire. Entering the upper hall, step with your left foot first; entering the lower hall, step with your right foot first. Go up to the bed space; fold the sleeping quilt in half and sit stably. If changing into a robe (zhiduo), you must cover yourself with the new one and pull away the old robe; do not expose your undergarments, and do not fan a breeze. If you wish to burn incense and bow, you should do so when the bell sounds: conceal the kāṣāya inside your sleeve, go out outside the rear door, and put it on. In ordinary circumstances, you also leave the bed space to put on the kāṣāya, join the palms, raise it to your head, and mindfully recite the verse: / 'O wonderful robe of liberation, / Formless garment of the field of merit! / I now receive it reverently upon my head; / Lifetime after lifetime, may I always wear it. / Oṃ siddhaye svāhā.' / In folding the kāṣāya, first fold where the hands rest, then unfasten the ring. Do not hold the kāṣāya in your mouth; do not catch the kāṣāya with your chin. When folded, you must also greet with folded hands before departing. When bowing in the halls, do not occupy the center so as to obstruct the arrival of the abbot. Do not chant the Buddha's name aloud; do not walk past the heads of those who are prostrating; you must walk behind them in the empty space. When the fifth watch bell strikes, mindfully recite the verse: / 'May this sound of the bell transcend the Dharma realm; / May all in the darkness of the Iron Encircling Mountains hear it. / May the three destinies be freed from suffering and the wheel of swords cease; / May all sentient beings attain right awakening.' / When the abbot and head seat are sitting in the hall, do not enter or exit through the front door. Only after the minor meditation period opens may you fold the quilt and turn over the pillow. The method of folding the quilt: first find the two corners, smooth them out forward with your hands, fold half first, and then fold the half in front of your body. Do not horizontally occupy the adjacent platform, nor shake it making noise, nor fan a breeze with the quilt. Either return to the communal dormitory to drink decoctions and medicinal tea, or walk mindfully in the tea hall, and then successively return to your bowl place, turning clockwise in accord with the upper shoulder (that is, the left shoulder). If entering through the front door, enter from the southern jamb; do not walk through the northern jamb or the center, as this honors the abbot. When the wooden fish sounds, you must not enter the hall; either have a postulant bring your bowl and sit outside the hall, or return to the communal dormitory to receive food. Entering the hall and returning to your bowl place, you must bow your head and greet the upper, middle, and lower seats with folded hands; if you are already seated and the upper, middle, or lower seats arrive, you must join your palms. The ancients said: 'Not respecting the upper, middle, and lower seats is no different from a gathering of brahmans.' Hearing the sounding of the long board after the wooden fish, bring down the bowl, raise your body, stand up straight, and only then turn your body; you must also follow the upper shoulder and join your palms before taking the bowl. Unfasten the hook with one hand and lift the bowl with the left hand; turn your body upright, squat down, and set the bowl down, avoiding bumping others with your waist or back. When the bell before the hall strikes, descend from the platform to welcome the abbot entering the hall; the whole assembly greets together with folded hands. Do not swing your hands left and right. When descending from the platform, you must step forward close and greet; do not let the kāṣāya drape over the edge of the platform; you must remain gentle and refined. When getting onto the platform, do not jerk your body; take your bowl and place it before your seat. Hearing the mallet strike, mindfully recite the verse: / 'The Buddha was born in Kapila, / Attained the Way in Magadha, / Preached the Dharma in Vārāṇasī, / And entered extinction in Kuśinagara.' / The method of unfolding the bowls: first join the palms and mindfully recite the verse: / 'The Tathāgata’s vessel corresponding to capacity, / I am now able to lay out and open. / I vow that together with all beings, / We may equally realize the emptiness and stillness of the three wheels.' / Then untie the wrapping cloth, spread the clean cloth to cover your knees, and fold the wrapping cloth into three corners, not letting it extend outside the platform. First spread the bowl mat; turn your left palm upward, take the bowl, and place it on the mat. Using the thumbs of both hands, push and take out the nested bowls, spreading them out successively from small to large; do not knock or clatter them together to make noise. Furthermore, protect the fourth and fifth fingers, which are unclean fingers, and do not use them. Fold the bowl-wiping cloth small, and place it horizontally close to your body alongside the pouch for spoons and chopsticks; when putting them in, the spoon goes first, and when taking them out, the chopsticks go first. The handle end is the pure end, oriented toward the upper shoulder. Place the bowl brush in the gap of the second nested bowl, protruding about half an inch. Offer the raw-grain portion; you must not use the spoon or chopsticks to offer the raw grain. It should not exceed seven grains; too few constitutes stinginess with food. Whenever receiving food, make the offering of raw grain; if not receiving food, you may not scoop rice from the bucket or ladle to make the offering. When the karmadāna chants the Buddha's name, join your palms; your fingers must not be uneven, and they must be positioned at an appropriate height before the chest. Do not prop your mouth with your hands. The ancients said: 'Uneven joined palms not kept before the chest, crossing both hands and thrusting them into the nose, dragging slippers and lifting curtains without heed or refinement, vomiting loudly and releasing breath to display heroism.' Holding the bowl with both hands to receive food, mindfully recite the verse: / 'When receiving food, / I vow that all sentient beings / Shall take dhyāna joy as food, / Filled with the joy of the Dharma.' / Whether receiving more or less, signal to stop with your right hand. Hearing the mallet signaling that food has been served everywhere, look toward the upper and lower shoulders, face each other, and make a bow over the food; do not face straight while waving your hands to both sides. Having bowed, engage in the five contemplations, mindfully saying: / 'First, measure the amount of labor and weigh where it came from. / Second, evaluate whether one's own virtuous conduct is complete or deficient to receive this offering. / Third, guard the mind against faults, taking greed and the like as the root. / Fourth, take it properly as good medicine to heal the withered body. / Fifth, to accomplish the karma of the Way, one should receive this food.' / Next, offering the raw grain, mindfully recite the verse: / 'O multitude of ghosts and spirits, / I now bestow this offering upon you; / May this food pervade the ten directions, / An offering to all ghosts and spirits.' / The method of eating: do not bring your mouth to the food, nor bring the food [flying] to your mouth. Picking up and putting down the bowl, spoon, and chopsticks must not make noise; do not cough; do not twitch your nose and sneeze. If you sneeze of yourself, you must cover your nose with your sleeve. Do not scratch your head, lest dandruff fall into the bowl of the adjacent platform; do not pick your teeth with your hand; do not chew rice or sip soup loudly; do not pick rice from the center of the bowl; do not take large mouthfuls of food; do not open your mouth waiting for food; do not drop food; do not hold and scatter food with your hands. If there are vegetable scraps, place them behind the bowl in a hidden spot. Do not fan a breeze at neighboring seats; if you yourself are afraid of draft, report to the karmadāna to sit outside the hall. Do not rest your hand upon your knee. Receive food according to your capacity; do not ask for it to be reduced [after taking it]. Do not put wet food into the main head bowl; do not pour soup broth into the head bowl to mix and eat rice; do not pick greens into the head bowl to mix with rice and eat. When eating, observe the upper and lower shoulders; do not be too slow. Before being offered seconds, do not brush your bowl; do not suck on the bowl brush to make noise. If food has not yet arrived, do not sit in vexation. The ancients said: 'Stupidly glancing all around, giving rise to sorrow and anger; craving food and swallowing saliva, coughing repeatedly; scooping gruel and slurping soup, stuffing the mouth full; opening the platform and spreading the bowls, making noise to all the neighbors.' Washing the bowl, fill the head bowl with water and wash the nested bowls in succession; do not wash the spoon, chopsticks, and nested bowls inside the head bowl. Still bend your fourth and fifth fingers; do not make noise rinsing your mouth; do not spit water into the bowl; do not first wash the bowl with hot water before emptying the bowl water; do not first take back the knee-covering cloth; do not wipe sweat with the knee cloth; do not drip leftover water on the floor. Emptying the water, mindfully recite the verse: / 'This bowl-washing water of mine / Is like the taste of heavenly amṛta; / I bestow it upon the ghosts and spirits, / May all obtain full satisfaction. / Oṃ mahurāsye svāhā.' / In packing the bowls, use the thumbs of both hands to press and hold them steadily, nesting them in succession; when finished nesting, join the palms and, having finished eating, mindfully recite the verse: / 'Having finished eating the meal, physical strength is abundant; / Awe shakes the ten directions, a hero of the three periods of time. / Turning causes and shifting effects without lingering thought, / May all sentient beings attain supernatural powers.' / When the board before the dormitory sounds, return to the dormitory; if you bow without returning to your place, it is considered disrespecting the assembly. Entering the door and returning to your place is like the rule of the Sangha hall: stand firmly and await the dormitory host to finish burning incense, then bow to the upper and lower [ranks]. If tea is served, take your seat and do not let your robes hang down; do not gather heads and laugh or talk; do not bow to people with a single hand; do not hide away tea powder. The ancients said: 'Ascending the platform to sit at ease, do not let your robes hang down; bowing to someone with a single hand, what sense does that make? Privately hoarding tea powder draws laughter from bystanders; constantly avoid putting heads together and whispering in the ears of the practitioner at the neighboring desk.' When tea is over, you may read scriptures; do not spread the scripture out long (meaning three folds); do not walk in the dormitory holding scriptures in your hand; do not let the scripture ribbons dangle; do not make noise; do not read scriptures leaning your back against the headboard. The ancients said: 'Reciting aloud disturbs the crowd; leaning your back against the headboard disdains the great assembly.' You must leave the dormitory in advance; do not wait until the meditation board is struck. When undressing, by ancient precedent wear the five-strip robe (that is, the guasuo); hang a clean towel over the left hand; untie the sash and tie it to the drying pole. Take off the five-strip robe and zhiduo neatly, tying them secure with a towel to serve as a marker. Do not laugh or talk; do not urge others from outside. Carry water in the right hand into the latrine; when changing shoes, do not place them unevenly. Set the clean bucket in front; snap your fingers three times to warn the excrement-eating spirits. Squat down straight; do not strain and make noise; do not spit or blow your nose; do not converse with anyone across the wall. The ancients said: 'When the door is latched, one should only gently snap fingers; when people are crowded, how can one make noise recklessly? Entering the latrine, use wiping chips to distinguish the unclean from the clean; when exiting, taking off slippers, strictly avoid placing them haphazardly.' Do not splash water on both sides; use the left hand to cleanse, protecting the thumb, second, and third fingers; do not use too many wiping chips. The ancients said: 'Use little bath water, and do not casually pick up wiping chips.' If there are reusable ones, wash them with water after use and place them in the empty space beside the latrine. If there are many people, it obstructs the assembly; it is not suitable to take long. Place the clean bucket in its original place; with dry hands, tuck in your inner garments and put on your trousers; with dry hands, open the door; carry the bucket out with your left hand. Do not grasp the door panel or jamb with wet hands. Use your right hand to scoop ashes, then scoop earth; do not grasp ashes and earth with wet hands; do not spit saliva to make mud. Wash hands, and then use soap beans; wash up to before the elbows, and recite the dhāraṇī for each step. According to the Garland Sūtra in the Great Canon: 'If one who uses the privy does not recite these dhāraṇīs, even if washed with ten Gaṅgā rivers of water down to the Vajra limit, one cannot become clean; entering halls to gaze upon and worship [the Buddha] will be entirely without benefit.' It is earnestly advised to uphold them, reciting each seven times, and thus spirits and deities will constantly fold their hands and protect you. Entering the latrine: 'Oṃ kurudhāya svāhā.' Cleansing: 'Oṃ hāna-mṛtye svāhā.' Cleansing hands: 'Oṃ cugāraya svāhā.' Cleansing the body: 'Oṃ śrīye sahye svāhā.' Removing filth: 'Oṃ vajra-nakha-caṭa svāhā.' Finally, rinse the mouth with water; according to the vinaya, one must also wash clean after urinating, and chew a willow branch before returning to the hall to sit in meditation. Before the fire board strikes, do not return to the dormitory early. Do not wash clothes before the noon meal; before gruel, before the noon meal, and after the release of consultation, do not open chests or cabinets. If there is an urgent matter, inform the administrator; in the dormitory, inform the dormitory host; in the Sangha hall, inform the attendant to the Sacred Monk. After the meal, do not gather heads and chat in the Sangha hall; do not read scriptures or booklets in the Sangha hall; do not cross straight through the hall walking between the upper and lower sections; do not string coins upon the mat; do not sit on the platform with legs dangling down. The one foot in front of the bed serves as the three pure heads: first, for unfolding the bowl; second, for placing the kāṣāya; third, the direction toward which the head faces. Do not walk on the bed; do not kneel to open chests or cabinets; do not step on the bed rail to step down to the floor. Wearing straw sandals and the five-strip robe when roaming the mountains, do not walk through the Buddha hall or Dharma hall. The ancients said: 'Wearing open robes when entering the privy, or straw sandals when roaming the mountains, do not tread into the Dharma hall, and yield to elders.' Do not wear monastic shoes with bare feet; do not walk hand-in-hand discussing worldly right and wrong. The ancients said: 'Bidding farewell to both parents and leaving one's original master, what was the intention in seeking out spiritual friends? If one never speaks of the matter of the ancestral school, who is to blame when white-headed and accomplishing nothing?' Do not lean against the railings in the halls; do not dash and run frantically. The ancients said: 'Walking, one must step slowly, modeling oneself on the deportment of Aśvajit; speaking, one must lower one's voice, learning the standards of Upāli.' Do not wander idly in the Buddha hall. The ancients said: 'Without business, one must not ascend the Buddha hall; casually, do not walk into the stūpa; unless sweeping the ground or adding incense and water, even if one possessed blessings as numerous as the sands of the river, they would be spilled.' Washing clothes after the noon meal, do not expose yourself; do not pour a pitcher of hot water to soak clothes; having used bamboo poles and irons, return them to their original places. When the foot-washing board strikes, do not scramble for the foot bucket; those with sores or scabies should wash afterward, or wash in a secluded spot, each exercising accommodation to avoid stirring up thoughts in the assembly. Do not wait for the board to strike: return in succession to the hall, and after sitting in consultation, each monk steps halfway off the platform onto the floor to deliver the great release from consultation. When the board before the head seat's dormitory sounds, immediately turn outward; you must promptly proceed to the hall; after the board sounds, you may not enter the hall, nor stand outside the hall. When the abbot and head seat leave the hall, step off the platform, greet with folded hands, and return to the dormitory. For the evening medicine-stone meal, each goes to their designated desk place; do not rise first to take food; do not shout loudly demanding gruel, rice, salt, vinegar, or the like. After eating, leave the dormitory; do not go out through the triple gate; do not enter minor dormitories; do not return to the Sangha hall or walk in the corridors with clothes disheveled; do not wait for the striking of the board before leaving the dormitory. When the dusk bell sounds, immediately join palms and silently recite the verse: / 'Hearing the sound of the bell, afflictions become light; / Wisdom grows, and bodhi is born; / Leaving hell, departing the pit of fire; / Vowing to become a Buddha and deliver sentient beings.' / You must first return to your unit space to sit in meditation; do not scratch your head upon the platform; do not fiddle with rosary beads making noise on the platform; do not converse with the adjacent platform. If the adjacent platform is a stranger, guide them with kind words; do not harbor aversion in your heart. After the stillness-fixing bell is struck, do not enter or exit through the front door. Wait until the head seat unfolds the pillow, and only then may those who are drowsy and weary go to sleep. Sleeping must be on the right side; do not lie on your back. Lying on the back is corpse-sleeping; lying face down is prone sleeping, which brings many bad dreams. Wrap your kāṣāya in the quilt cover and place it in front of the pillow; modern people often place it behind their feet, which is inappropriate in principle. When the bath opens, carry the bath utensils in your right hand; enter through the lower door, bow, go to an empty space, and bow to the persons on your left and right. First, hang the five-strip robe and towel on the drying pole; spread the bath cloth, take out the bath utensils, place them to one side, and unfasten your upper clothes. Before removing the zhiduo, first take off the lower skirt and trousers; wrap the body with the foot cloth, and only then tie the bath apron; roll up and fold the trousers, placing them inside the cloth. Next, remove the zhiduo and put it together with the five-strip robe, tying them with a towel. The ancients said: 'When the three rolls of the drum sound and one enters the hall, the unclean and clean must be distinguished between upper and lower garments.' Wrapping the removed clothes into a bundle and turning it over, only then change into slippers; do not enter the bath barefoot. You must wait your turn to bathe in the empty area in the lower section; do not occupy the seats of the prefects and senior elders (meaning the upper section). Do not splash hot water onto other people's bodies; do not soak your feet in the bucket; do not urinate in the room; do not rest your feet on the bucket; do not laugh and talk; do not scrub your feet over the tub; do not bail water; do not stand up to pour the bucket over your body. If there are people in front or behind, you must cover yourself; the foot cloth must not leave your body. Those whose feet do not go into the bucket must not use too much hot water. If someone has sores, or is washing moxibustion sores, or using scabies ointment, they should enter the bath later and not push ahead. Do not use the communal towels on both sides to wipe your head or face; the communal towels are for wiping hands clean after putting on clothing, in order to wear the five-strip robe. Coming out of the bath, bow to those on your left and right; ascend the platform, face the wall, and sit for a moment. First put on the upper garment and zhiduo; having covered everything, step down to the floor, and then put on your lower skirt. Untie the bath apron, folding it inside the foot cloth, lest it wet the bath bundle. Carrying the towel in your left hand, bow to left and right, and exit. Look at the names of the donors providing the bath, and casually recite scriptures and dhāraṇīs to dedicate the merit. During the cold months, when warming by the fire, first sit upon the hearth ring, and then turn your body to sit upright; bow to the upper and lower shoulders. Do not fiddle with the incense spoon or fire tongs; do not poke the fire to scatter ashes; do not put heads together to speak; do not roast snacks or other items; do not toast shoes, dry sandals, or bake clothes; do not hike up the zhiduo to expose the trouser openings; do not spit saliva or flick grime and dirt into the fire. The deportments among the assembly for daily affairs collected above are by no means dared to be proclaimed to the seasoned and mature, but are merely to instruct beginners. Ascending the hall, entering the abbot's room, minor consultations, chanting scriptures, recitations, inspecting the dormitories, opening and closing retreats, personal etiquette, packing bundles, donning bamboo hats, conducting funerals, and auctioning robes—all such subtle and detailed regulations are already fully contained in the pure rules, and the venerable elders each have their explicit writings; repeating them in detail would merely be superfluous words.