勅修百丈清規 8.57

8.57

The monastic standards were already detailed by Chan Master Dazhi of Baizhang. However, as the times grew distant, later generations followed convenience and gradually fell into routine habits; although there may have been differences among the various quarters, they never violated the major principles. When I lived among the assembly, I often saw fellow companions transcribing the daily pure rules of the monastic groves with mutual omissions and defects. Later, taking advantage of leisure days, I borrowed all the various editions, compared their differences, preserved their commonalities, and synthesized them. Personally transcribing them by hand, they became quite comprehensive, entitled 'General Essentials of the Collated Pure Rules for Monastic Groves' and divided into upper and lower fascicles, so as to facilitate perusal. Our school having pure rules is like the Ruists having the Classic of Rites: rites adapt to what is appropriate and increase or decrease according to the times. This book was composed to follow Dazhi for this reason. These were all investigated and recorded jointly by senior elders of earlier generations; I dare not privately add to or subtract from them based on what I have personally seen and heard, but merely, as stated before, compared their differences, preserved their commonalities, and synthesized them. May readers not find fault with it. Written by the bhikṣu Weimian of Houhu at the Jiwan Pavilion, two days before the start of the summer retreat in the jiaxu year, the tenth year of Xianchun.