北山錄 6.2.1

6.2.1

A few disciples were waiting in attendance (disciples). The guests having retired, they approached respectfully with elbows gathered (drawing in their elbows as they stepped forward) and said, "We have been fortunate enough to hear about the practices of the Three Vehicles, but we have not yet studied the rites of the Three Dynasties (the Xia, Yin, and Zhou differed in cultural refinement and simplicity). Yet of the guidelines for the hundred conducts, none is greater than filial piety, and in filial piety none is greater than sending off the dead. When one dies, there is the summoning back of the soul (after sending off to burial, they return to set up the spirit table and mat; they summon back the soul and spirit, fulfilling their love; there is a heart of prayer and sacrifice in it), and for the living there are regulated measures. For when one examines the end, from the end its beginning may be known (the *Book of Rites* states: when death first occurs, the chief mourner wails and the brothers weep; at the minor encoffinment they take their positions by the ancestral shrine; they take off their hair ornaments and bind their hair with hemp; for a serviceman's mourning, on the second day they encoffin; all fast for three days; as for eating gruel, one *yi* of rice in the morning and one *yi* of rice in the evening, an *yi* being one twenty-fourth of a pint; after burial, the chief mourner eats vegetables and drinks water, eating neither wild greens nor fruits). May we venture to ask where a śramaṇa's mourning falls within the five grades of mourning attire (the five mourning attires are *zhan cui*, *qi cui*, *da gong*, *xiao gong*, and *si ma*)?" I let go of the armrest for a long time, and sorrowfully informed them, saying: "The rites of the former kings were what the gentlemen of Lu understood; regarding Confucius, he was capable in many arts; I have not yet plumbed them exhaustively. Now, India is not identical with local customs here (the sons of Śākya, taking the teachings of India as their foundation, differ from the local customs of the Central Domain). Its simplicity is extreme, yet subtle (the customs of the Western regions are simple, unadorned, and brief; the *Record of the Inner Law Sent Home from the South Seas* says: in cleverness and quick-witted sharpness the Divine Land does not equal India; in ritual decorum and rules India does not equal the Divine Land). In antiquity, the unadorned simplicity of Fuxi and Shennong changed in the Central Domain. For when simplicity reaches its extreme it becomes refined, and when refinement reaches its extreme it returns to simplicity. Across the four seas it is not so (the Xia and Yin modeled themselves on Earth, hence were simple; the Zhou modeled itself on Heaven, hence was refined; the four seas do not change). Now the black robes dwell in China. China possesses ritual decorum; how could they be identical to foreign lands (the former kings regulated the music of the four barbarian tribes, but did not regulate their rites; now that the sons of Śākya dwell in China, they cannot be identical with foreign lands)? Therefore, examining the numbers of the five mourning attires, reflecting the degrees of elevation and descent, and deliberating upon their teachings, we establish them as a textual model. As for discussing their institutions, reducing or adding to them to accord with the hearts of all under heaven, that awaits the gentleman (now following the five mourning attires and emulating them: *zhan cui* for three years, *qi cui* for one full year, *da gong* for nine months, *xiao gong* for five months, and *si ma* for three months; raising or lowering them to practice them. If one wishes to accord with the propriety of the world and attain the mean, that awaits the determination of future gentlemen). Therefore, mourning for one's parents should be like the mourning of a serviceman (*shi*), which perhaps strikes the mean and accords with ritual (among the five types of filial piety, relying on the mourning rites of a serviceman hits the mean). The mourning of a serviceman involves leaning on a cane, wearing rush sandals (the *Book of Rites* states: for a serviceman's mourning, on the second day they encoffin and, leaning on a cane, wail; when encoffined, they lean on a cane and wail; by the casket, they hold the cane together), eating gruel (not eating for three days, then eating gruel and drinking water), dwelling in a lean-to shed, sleeping on straw mats, and pillowed on a clod of earth (the *Book of Rites* states: in mourning for parents, one dwells in an unplastered lean-to shed, sleeps on straw mats, and rests on a clod of earth; unless it is a matter of sorrow, one does not speak). Although the austere asceticism of a śramaṇa lowers one's dwelling and reduces one's clothing and food, sometimes exceeding the mourning rites, dwelling in mourning in accord with the conduct of a serviceman does no harm to the sage's teaching (the practice of a śramaṇa is originally one of austere asceticism; if one further, on account of mourning, doubly reduces clothing and food, this accords with the conduct of a serviceman and does not violate the rules of ritual; hence it is said: in mourning, rather than meticulous order, it is better to have sorrow). If one disdains this, thinking that inner constraint by mundane ritual is a failure of expansive virtue, why not tailor it so that the form does not incorporate the cane, thus raising both ultimate and conventional together, brief yet sorrowful (if one does not wish to be bound by mundane ritual taboos for fear of damaging the ultimate path, wearing mourning hemp without carrying a cane allows both ultimate and conventional to be unhindered; though the ceremony is brief, sorrow and ritual are not absent)? Setting out the *fu* and *gui* vessels and arranging the spirit table and mat is not necessarily seeking one's parents as ghosts, but rather expressing one's grief and reverence, revering them as if they were still present (the *fu* and *gui* are sacrificial vessels; the table and mat are the spirit seat; placing them is not necessarily seeking parents as ghosts, but rather carrying forward the focus of the mind, having a destination toward which to express grief and reverence). Mourning sacks and hemp headbands replace embroidered court robes and caps (mourning sacks and hemp headbands are mourning garments; embroidered court robes and caps are official garments). Since a śramaṇa does not wear the mourning sack, why should he wear the hemp headband (since the body does not wear mourning sackcloth, the head should not wear a hemp headband)? Hempen hemp-sack cloth and fine hemp skirts debase the mourning ritual; even Ruists do not do so, much less lofty followers of Śākya (the *Book of Rites* states: one wearing hemp does not wear a sash; one holding jade does not wear hemp; hemp is not added over colors, because auspicious and inauspicious occasions differ; since the monk has left the secular world, his garments are not of the same cut). If there are cases where one does not avoid this, it adds to the suspicion of seductive adornment (seductive adornment means an improper appearance; if one does not avoid worldly criticism, one incurs an improper appearance of wanton elegance, which is suspected of being improper). Except for the untrimmed mourning sackcloth (*zhan cui*), one should not cover the head with hemp or kudzu (for the mourning of parents and close preceptors and masters, one may cover the head); for nuns, however, it may still be permissible. Yet ritual cannot compete at the gate of the prince's court: the prince's court does not receive it as a guest; even for the untrimmed mourning sackcloth, hemp and kudzu have no use on the head there (the *Summary of the Rules of Propriety* states: wearing straw sandals, crooked shoes, or mourning caps, one does not enter the prince's gate; all of these are inauspicious garments, hence even in mourning for parents or teachers, none are used). Before venerable ones, it is like the gate of the prince (neither does one cover the head with hemp). One should maintain purification and abstain from wailing and beating the breast, avoiding public disapproval (one should only burn incense, cultivate merit, and assist them; beating the breast is striking the chest). One should not rely on mourning to decline collective good deeds; rather, rely on collective good deeds to reduce private mourning, provided there is righteousness in it (if there are good deeds such as *poṣadha*, lectures, repentance, and fasts, one does not omit them midway because of mourning affairs; using collective good deeds to reduce mourning rituals causes no harm). At times, there are those who sprinkle the ground and spread mats before they leap and wail, losing their downcast grief (in mourning of the untrimmed mourning sackcloth, heaven and earth crumble; grief cuts through one's inner feelings; how could one wait to spread mats and sprinkle the ground before beating the breast and leaping)? Although within the five mourning attires the ranks of superior and inferior are the same, reducing mourning for an inferior on account of age and virtue cannot be called ignorance of ritual (although the rites of the five mourning attires established by the former kings are uniform, if the deceased is an inferior within the count of the five attires, reducing it on account of age and virtue is also permissible). The ultimate path accords with ultimate grief; not weeping and not leaping is not an opinion from within the phenomenal world (the regulations of weeping and leaping originally accommodate mundane feelings; beyond the phenomenal realm, the mind is forgotten, and lingering attachments do not exist; Zhuangzi says: man's life is the gathering of *qi*; when it gathers, it is life; when it disperses, it is death; if life and death are companions, what do I have to worry about? Therefore, all things are one).