北山錄 8.4.6

8.4.6

夫如是蓋將廢寺舍於府縣也。 何只笑於二武焉（府縣侵耗不讓二武也）故臨民者。 在知人在安人。 宜察其言行。 於其善者施折腰沒階之禮。 且以力援。 否者當降之。 使君子小人不同日。 誠則祇林欝欝布金之望如可待也。 由是寺廟之興。 興有道者也。 故入其境自大國至子男。 幢廟修整。 僧徒肅穆。 則亦是以見俗政之清淨矣。 西域常住給僧衣食。 以田園所產。 由乎施者。 豈施只論於衣食哉。 夫僧饌以時擊鍾乃食。 餕則歸僧勿己有也（餕餘也。 殘宿食者犯戒）異界不以法不通也。 三聖之財出納有司匪則有悋（三寶之財典座掌之。 無有祕之悋也）王臣力勢肆求所備。 固無得而辭也。 劫賊凶人校力不制。 末違其欲也。 僧有病而無藥。 隨有而給之。 其貧無衣。 即隨貨而益之。 死者之衣從之。 既葬復于僧也（若有三寶常住財物貯之以備王賊。 貧病之僧。 若貧無衣。 則以衣備之。 死葬之後。 却取納僧常住也）其經務有勞者。 以衣食倍之（若今主事者別與施利也）故律謂之福饒類也。 而任務者。 每事匪專。 舉必詢眾。 詢眾不恒。 宜立知法。 故律謂之處分人也（若今寺院主首）若以物非我有。 縱心糜散。 事自我逸。 廢業墮功。 鳩役計食。 量衡無節（鳩聚也。 量□衡秤也。 尺寸無法也）致使傷蠧眾財。 此職司復于罪也。 昔僧伽□舍見海上寺僧。 以膿血為食。 以器相擊。 蓋迦葉佛世同一淨宇有客僧至忿怒藏食故也。 宋法豐死為不食之鬼。 巡寺作餓駝聲。 以專寺任刻薄故也。 臨邛僧孫氏見身如廁。 持鉢食穢以儉歲割杓減粥故也。 智瓌死作眾奴。 以寺布借人故也（如聖壽寺僧清訓念蓮經。 每在送終處。 於行食者求酒肉及色之以歸。 一日驟無聲。 經年不通食漸不通水。 自云。 生入餓鬼也）鏡茲冥運。 孰莫是徵。 高僧傳十科（一譯經。 二義解。 三習禪。 四明律。 五護法。 六感通。 七遺身。 八讀誦。 九興福。 十雜科）以住持為興福。 余每考行其事實則有福興焉。 昔吾聞諸梵僧問吾師曰。 頹墉釁（許近反）礎必焚炙奧渫（音洩）者居焉。 華軒綺疏必懷氷澡雪者居焉（疏窓也）惜哉今驗若不虛矣。 又曰。 佛圖澄建八百九十餘所寺。 洎天台三十有五。 吾今不能興弘一二。 蓋非夫也（非丈夫也）爰在爾徒。 因涕下承睫。 在予狂惑。 不克荷負（尚書云。 其父析薪。 其子不克荷負）俾式光遺寄積行于艱難。 為法衡倚。 愧瞻雲日。 愴然永慕耳。

If it is like this, the prefectures and counties will soon destroy the temples; how could it merely be something to make the two Martial Emperors laugh? (The encroachments and wastes by prefectures and counties are no less than those of the two Martial Emperors.) Therefore, those who govern the people must understand people and bring peace to people; they should examine their words and deeds, and toward the good, offer the courtesy of bowing low and stepping off the dais, supporting them with all their might; while those who are not good should be demoted, so that gentlemen and petty men are not treated the same. If this is truly done, the hope for Jetavana to flourish with gold spread out can be awaited. Hence, the flourishing of temples is the flourishing of those who possess the Way. Therefore, when entering a realm, from a great state to a petty viscount or baron, if the banners and shrines are well-tended and the assembly of monks is solemn, this too is how one sees that the secular governance is pure. In the Western Regions, the permanent assets provide monks with food and clothing from the yield of fields and gardens, originating from donors; how could donations merely be discussed in terms of food and clothing? Monks dine at the designated time only after the bell is struck; leftovers must return to the Saṅgha and not be kept for oneself (leftovers mean remnants; eating leftover food from the previous night violates the precepts); even across different boundaries, things are shared according to the Dharma. The wealth of the Three Jewels is managed by appointed officers without stinginess (the wealth of the Three Jewels is managed by the cook/steward; there is no stingy hiding of it). When kings and ministers use force to demand supplies, one certainly cannot refuse them; when bandits and fierce men threaten with force beyond control, one cannot go against their demands. If a monk is sick and lacks medicine, give it according to what is available; if he is poor and lacks robes, provide for him according to available goods; the robes of the deceased are kept, and after the burial, returned to the Saṅgha (if there are permanent assets of the Three Jewels stored to guard against kings and thieves, and for poor or sick monks; if a poor monk lacks robes, supply them with robes; after death and burial, return them to the permanent assets of the Saṅgha). Those who labor diligently in managing monastic affairs are given double portions of clothing and food (like giving extra offerings and profits to monastery directors today); therefore, the vinaya refers to this as the category of multiplying merit. Yet those who undertake responsibilities must not decide every matter alone; in every undertaking, they must consult the assembly; if consulting the assembly is not always feasible, they should appoint someone who knows the Dharma; hence, the vinaya calls them 'authorized administrators' (like the monastery priors and directors of today). If they consider things as not belonging to themselves and indulge their minds in reckless dissipation, seeking their own ease, abandoning their duties and letting merit fall away, gathering laborers, calculating food rations, and using measuring cups and scales without rule (jiu means gathering; liang and heng mean dry measures and scales; having no rules for measurement), thereby damaging and wasting the wealth of the assembly, these duty-holders will return to sin! Long ago, Saṅgha[…]śā saw monks in a monastery on the ocean eating pus and blood and striking each other with vessels; this was because in the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, dwelling in the same pure monastery, a guest monk arrived and out of anger they hid the food. In the Song dynasty, Fafeng died and became a hungry ghost that could not eat, circling the monastery making the sounds of a starving camel; this was because he monopolized monastery duties and acted with harsh stinginess. In Linqiong, the monk Sun saw his own body as a latrine, holding a bowl to eat filth; this was because during a famine year, he cut down the ladle and reduced the gruel. Zhiqui died and became a slave to the assembly; this was because he lent monastery cloth to others (for instance, the monk Qingxun of Shengshou Temple recited the Lotus Sūtra; whenever he was at funerals, he demanded wine and meat from the food servers and took them home; one day he suddenly lost his voice, for years could not take food, and gradually could not swallow water; he said of himself that he had entered the realm of hungry ghosts while still alive). Reflecting upon these unseen workings of karma, who would not take them as proof? The Biographies of Eminent Monks lists ten categories (first, translating scriptures; second, doctrinal explanation; third, practicing dhyāna; fourth, clarifying vinaya; fifth, protecting the Dharma; sixth, resonant responses; seventh, abandoning the body; eighth, recitation; ninth, promoting merit; tenth, miscellaneous); it takes maintaining the Dharma as promoting merit. Whenever I examine and carry out these practical deeds, there is indeed the generation of merit! Long ago, I heard from an Indian monk who asked my master: 'Crumbling walls and blood-stained foundation stones (pronounced xujin)—only those who burn with foul desires dwell there; while magnificent verandas and ornate windows (shu means window)—only those with minds pure as ice and snow dwell there.' Alas, when verified today, it is not false! He also said: 'Fotudeng established more than eight hundred and ninety temples, and Mount Tiantai has thirty-five; if I cannot now promote and expand one or two, then I am not a true man! (A true man means an eminent man.)' Speaking to you, his disciples, tears flowed down to his eyelashes. In my own folly and confusion, I am incapable of shouldering the burden (the Book of Documents says: 'If the father chops firewood, but the son cannot shoulder the load'); yet may this illuminate the legacy entrusted to us, accumulating good deeds amidst hardship, acting as a balance and support for the Dharma. Ashamed to look up at the clouds and the sun, I look back with sorrow and everlasting yearning.