弘明集 8.57

8.57

釋曰。在家則有二親之愛。出家則有嚴師之重。論其愛也。髮膚為上。稱其嚴也剪落為難。所以就剃除而欽。若辭父母而長往者。蓋欲去此煩惱。即彼無為髮膚之戀。尚或可棄。外物之徒有何可惜哉。不輕髮膚。何以尊道。不辭天屬。何用嚴師。譬如喪服出紹大宗。則降其本生。隆其所後。將使此子執人宗廟之重。割其歸顧之情。還本政自一朞。非恩之薄所後。頓申三年實義之厚。禮記云。出必降者有受我而厚其例矣。經云。諸天奉刀持髮。上天不剃之談。是何言也。子但勇於穿鑿怯於尋旨。相為慨然。

The explanation says: At home, there is love for both parents; leaving home, there is reverence for the strict master. Speaking of affection, hair and skin are foremost; speaking of reverence, cutting them off is the most difficult. The reason one undergoes shaving with reverence and bids farewell to one's parents to depart forever is that one wishes to remove these afflictions and approach that non-action. If love for one's hair and skin can still be discarded, what external things could be worthy of regret? Without disdaining hair and skin, how could one honor the Dao? Without taking leave of natural kin, how could one serve a strict master? For instance, in mourning rites, when an adopted heir leaves to succeed the primary lineage, he lowers the mourning for his biological parents and elevates that for his adoptive lineage. This makes the son uphold the heavy responsibilities of the ancestral temple and sever his feelings of looking back. Returning to his biological parents requires only one year of mourning—this is not because affection is thin; fulfilling three years for the adoptive line is truly because righteousness is profound. The Book of Rites says: 'He who departs must reduce his mourning, because someone else has adopted him'—this illustrates the principle. The sutra says: 'The devas presented the sword and carried the hair up to the heavens.' What nonsense is your talk of 'not shaving'? You are merely eager to make far-fetched interpretations and timid in seeking the true purport; I can only sigh for you.