[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [勅修百丈清規](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025) › [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025~en-mt) › 6.19 # 勅修百丈清規 6.19 English (machine translation) 6.19 - **Language:** English ### [6.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025~en-mt.6.19) Composed by Master Cijue, the venerable Ze. Now, two cassia trees cast their shade, and a single flower displayed its auspiciousness. From then on, the establishment of monastic groves was essentially and fundamentally for the assembly of monks. Therefore: to instruct the assembly of monks, there is the elder; to serve as an exemplar for the assembly of monks, there is the head seat; to bear responsibility for the assembly of monks, there is the prior; to harmonize the assembly of monks, there is the karmadāna; to make offerings of food to the assembly of monks, there is the chief cook; to manage labor for the assembly of monks, there is the director of affairs; to handle revenues and expenditures for the assembly of monks, there is the storehouse head; to manage correspondence for the assembly of monks, there is the secretary; to guard the sacred teachings for the assembly of monks, there is the keeper of the canon; to welcome and attend to donors for the assembly of monks, there is the guest master; to convey invitations for the assembly of monks, there is the attendant; to guard the robes and bowls for the assembly of monks, there is the dormitory host; to serve decoctions and medicines for the assembly of monks, there is the infirmary head; to wash and launder for the assembly of monks, there are the bath master and water master; to ward off cold for the assembly of monks, there are the charcoal head and stove head; to solicit alms for the assembly of monks, there are the city district fundraisers; to perform heavy manual labor for the assembly of monks, there are the garden head, mill head, and manor prefects; to sweep and clean for the assembly of monks, there is the latrine head; to serve and attend upon the assembly of monks, there are the pure men. Therefore, the conditions for practicing the Way are provided in full from the ten directions; the requisites for supporting the body are completely ready in a hundred varieties. Having no worries about worldly affairs, they devote their minds solely to the Way. Among worldly nobility and transcendent leisure, the assembly of monks is foremost in pure non-action. Reflecting upon the strength of so many people, how could one not recognize kindness and repay kindness? Attending morning consultations and evening instructions without squandering an inch of time: this is how one repays the elder. Senior and junior being in proper order, and deportment being composed and dignified: this is how one repays the head seat. Externally complying with the monastic regulations and internally adhering to the monastic code: this is how one repays the prior. Dwelling together in the six harmonies, blending like milk and water: this is how one repays the karmadāna. Receiving this meal in order to accomplish the practice of the Way: this is how one repays the chief cook. Staying quietly in the monks' quarters and cherishing the common utensils: this is how one repays the director of affairs. Not violating a single hair of the permanent property: this is how one repays the storehouse head. Not taking up the brush with one's hands, as if saving one's head from burning: this is how one repays the secretary. With bright windows and clean desks, illuminating one's mind with the ancient teachings: this is how one repays the keeper of the canon. Concealing one's light and hiding one's traces, without engaging in worldly socializing: this is how one repays the guest master. Having a fixed place of residence and always being the first to arrive when summoned: this is how one repays the attendant. With a single water jar and a single bowl, residing among the assembly as steadfast as a mountain: this is how one repays the dormitory host. Calming one's mind during the pains of sickness and taking gruel and medicine as appropriate: this is how one repays the infirmary head. Being gentle, unhurried, and quiet, without losing sight of the karmic causes of water: this is how one repays the bath master and water master. Holding one's tongue with hands folded, withdrawing oneself and deferring to others: this is how one repays the charcoal head and stove head. Considering one's own virtuous conduct, whether complete or deficient, to receive offerings: this is how one repays the city district fundraisers. Calculating the amount of labor and measuring where it comes from: this is how one repays the garden head, mill head, and manor prefects. Dipping water and wielding tally chips with shame and remorse: this is how one repays the latrine head. Being lenient and easy to follow, simple and easy to serve: this is how one repays the pure men. Thus, within a monastic grove, the practice of the Way is ever renewed; individuals of superior capacity accomplish liberation within a single lifetime; those of middling ability nurture the holy embryo; and as for those who have not yet awakened to the source of the mind, their time is also not wasted in vain. They are the true Sangha jewel and fields of merit for the world; in the short term, they serve as bridges in this degenerate age, and ultimately they attain the supreme fruit of the two adornments. If the monastic grove is uncultivated and the wheel of Dharma does not turn, that is not how an elder serves the assembly. If the three karmas are not harmonized and the four postures are not solemn, that is not how a head seat leads the assembly. If the capacity to accommodate the assembly is not broad and the mind of loving the assembly is not generous, that is not how a prior protects the assembly. If practitioners find no peace and those who disrupt the community are not expelled, that is not how a karmadāna brings joy to the assembly. If the six flavors are not refined and the three virtues are not provided, that is not how a chief cook serves the assembly. If dormitories and cottages are not repaired and utensils are not provided, that is not how a director of affairs settles the assembly. If one hoards the permanent property and cheats or deprives the assembly of monks, that is not how a storehouse head supplies the assembly. If writings and letters are unskilful and texts are sloppy, that is not how a secretary embellishes the assembly. If desks are disordered and noisy disturbances do not cease, that is not how a keeper of the canon serves the assembly. If one despises the poor and loves the rich, valuing the laity and disdaining the monks, that is not how a guest master assists the assembly. If etiquette is disrespectful and proper order between seniors and juniors is lost, that is not how an attendant summons the assembly. If packing and cleaning are not diligent and guarding is not careful, that is not how a dormitory host houses the assembly. If one is unskilled in serving and disturbs sick persons, that is not how an infirmary head cares for the assembly. If hot water is insufficient and cold and warmth are not regulated properly, that is not how a bath master and water master wash the assembly. If preparations are not made in advance, causing distress to everyone's minds, that is not how a stove head and charcoal head warm the assembly. If one is unfair in handling wealth and does not exert oneself fully, that is not how city district fundraisers make offerings to the assembly. If land yields unused resources and men do not work to full capacity, that is not how a garden head, mill head, and manor prefects labor on behalf of the assembly. If one is lazy in cleaning up so that conditions are incomplete, that is not how a latrine head serves the assembly. If prohibitions cannot restrain them and orders are not carried out, that is not how pure men obey the assembly. If the assembly of monks disdains the master, shows disrespect to the Dharma, and acts willfully according to personal inclinations, that is not how they repay the elder. If their sitting and lying are irregular and their deportment is perverse, that is not how they repay the head seat. If their minds disdain the king's law and disregard the monastic grove, that is not how they repay the prior. If superiors and inferiors are discordant and disputations are persistent, that is not how they repay the karmadāna. If they are greedy for fine food and revile coarse meals, that is not how they repay the chief cook. If they enjoy their living accommodations without thought for those who come after, that is not how they repay the director of affairs. If they are greedy for gain and offerings without sparing thought for the permanent property, that is not how they repay the storehouse head. If they occupy themselves with brush and inkstone and indulge in literary writing, that is not how they repay the secretary. If they treat the golden scriptures with disrespect and casually search through non-Buddhist books, that is not how they repay the keeper of the canon. If they flatter laypeople and consort with the nobility, that is not how they repay the guest master. If they forget summonses and invitations and keep the monastic assembly waiting long, that is not how they repay the attendant. If they judge others by themselves, hiding things sloppily and thereby encouraging theft, that is not how they repay the dormitory host. If they have much anger and little joy, failing to comply with the circumstances of illness, that is not how they repay the infirmary head. If buckets and ladles make loud noises and water is used without restraint, that is not how they repay the bath master and water master. If they seek only warmth for their own bodies to the detriment of the assembly, that is not how they repay the stove head and charcoal head. If they do not think of cultivating practice and complacently receive offerings, that is not how they repay the city district fundraisers. If they eat their fill all day long without applying their minds to anything, that is not how they repay the garden head, mill head, and manor prefects. If they spit on the walls and litter the latrines, that is not how they repay the latrine head. If they only care about outward prestige and have never offered good instruction, that is not how they repay the pure men. Now, a whirlwind turning a thousand times still leaves places untouched; one need only discard shortcomings and follow merits to jointly accomplish the work of leaving home. We hope that within the lion's den, all will become lions; beneath the sandalwood grove, it will be purely sandalwood; causing this assembly at Vulture Peak to be seen once again in the five hundred years that follow. Thus, the flourishing or decline of the Dharma-gate depends on the assembly of monks. Monks are the field of merit and should be revered and honoured. When monks are honored, the Dharma is honored; when monks are disdained, the Dharma is disdained. When internal protection is strict, external protection will surely be careful. Even if the host of porridge and rice temporarily exercises governance, and the officers of the monastic grove occasionally hold power, they should always treat their fellow robes with respect and must not arrogantly aggrandize themselves. If one is arrogant and haughty, taking private vengeance through public power—all conditioned things are impermanent; how could one preserve this forever? When one day one returns to the ranks of the assembly, with what face will they meet one another? Cause and effect do not err, and it will be difficult to escape. Monks are sons of the Buddha, and their worthiness to receive offerings is no different \[from his\]; both heaven and the human realm revere them. The two daily meals of porridge and rice ought by rights to be refined and abundant; the requisites of the four provisions must not be allowed to run short. The World-Honoured One's legacy of two thousand years shelters his sons and grandsons; a single fraction of the merit from the curl of white hair between his brows can never be exhausted in use. Simply know to serve the assembly; do not worry about poverty. Monks are neither ordinary nor holy, but congregate from the ten directions. Since it is called an open monastic residence, all have a share in it; how could one give rise to false distinctions and lightly show aversion to visiting monks? In the passing-the-night dormitory, they may stay provisionally for three days, received and served with utmost propriety. Before the Sangha hall, when they temporarily seek food, make offerings with an equal mind. If lay guests are still looked after, how could a monk's home bear not to welcome \[fellow monks\]? If one has no limiting mind, one will naturally possess boundless blessings. The gate of monks being harmonious, superiors and inferiors of one mind, having mutual shortcomings and strengths, they should cover for one another. Do not let family ugliness be heard outside. Although it may cause no real harm to matters, it ultimately diminishes people's reverence. For example, the worms inside a lion's body eat the meat of the lion's body; it is not something that heavenly demons and non-Buddhists can destroy. If you wish that the style of the Way not decline, - [Previous: 6.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025~en-mt.6.18) - [Next: 6.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025~en-mt.6.20) - [Up: 6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025~en-mt.6) ## Linked texts (1) - [勅修百丈清規](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025.6.19) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025~en-mt.6.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2025~en-mt.6.19) · Pramāṇa