釋門自鏡錄 2.90

2.90

敬謝諸弟子等。夫出家為道至重至難。不可自輕。不可自易。所謂重者荷道佩德縈仁負義。奉持淨戒死而後已。所謂難者絕世離俗。永割親愛。迴情易性。不同於眾。行人所不能行。割人所不能割。忍苦受辱捐棄軀命。謂之難者。名曰道人。道人者導人也。行必可履。言必可法。被服出家動為法則。不貪不諍不讒不匿。學問高遠志在玄默。是為名稱。參位三尊。出賢入聖滌除精魂。故得君王不望其報。父母不望其力。普天之人。莫不歸攝。捐妻減養。供奉衣食。屈身俯仰不辭勞恨者。以其志行清潔通於神明。惔怕虛白可奇可貴。自頃荒流道法遂替。新學之人未體法則。棄正著邪忘其真實。以小黠為智。以小恭為足。飽食終日。無所用心。退自推觀良亦可悲。計今出家。或有年歲。經業未通。文字不決。徒喪一世無所成名。如此之事不可深思。無常之限非旦。即夕三塗苦痛。無強無弱。師徒義深。故以申示。有情之流。可為永誡。

'I respectfully address all my disciples: Now, renouncing household life to practice the Way is weightiest and most difficult. One must not treat it lightly; one must not take it casually. What is meant by "weighty" is bearing the Way, wearing virtue, embracing benevolence, and shouldering righteousness, maintaining the pure precepts until death and beyond. What is meant by "difficult" is severing ties with worldly society, perpetually parting from loved ones, transforming feelings and altering one's nature, being unlike ordinary people, practicing what others cannot practice, relinquishing what others cannot relinquish, enduring suffering, receiving humiliation, and abandoning one's physical body and life. What is called "difficult" characterizes a person of the Way. A person of the Way is one who guides others: their conduct must serve as a model to tread, and their words must serve as a standard to follow. Donning the monastic robe and renouncing the world, every movement must serve as a rule. Do not covet, do not dispute, do not slander, do not conceal. Pursue lofty learning and set the will upon profound stillness. This constitutes true reputation: standing alongside the Three Honored Ones, emerging from among the worthy to enter sainthood, and purifying the spiritual consciousness. Thus rulers do not expect repayment from them, parents do not expect labor from them, and all people under Heaven take refuge in them and submit to them, curtailing their wives' and families' provisions to make offerings of food and clothing, bowing their bodies in reverence without begrudging toil or bitterness. This is because their aspiration and conduct are immaculate and commune with the divine; their tranquil, luminous emptiness is admirable and precious. Recently, due to unrest, the Dharma has declined. Beginners do not understand the rules: abandoning the correct and clinging to the perverse, they forget the true reality. They regard petty cleverness as wisdom and petty deference as sufficiency. Having sated themselves with food all day, they put their minds to nothing. Reflecting on this inwardly is truly lamentable. Considering those who have renounced the world today, some have spent years at it, yet they do not comprehend the scriptures and cannot decipher the writing, wasting an entire life without achieving anything. Such matters cannot bear deep reflection! The limit of impermanence strikes in the morning or at dusk; the agony of the three evil destinies spares neither strong nor weak. Because the bond between master and disciple runs deep, I have expounded this instruction; let it serve as a lasting admonition to all who possess feeling.'