鐔津文集 2.20

2.20

教必尊僧何謂也。僧也者以佛為姓。以如來為家。以法為身。以慧為命。以禪悅為食。故不恃俗氏。不營世家。不修形骸。不貪生不懼死。不溽乎五味。其防身有戒。攝心有定。辨明有慧。語其戒也。潔清三惑而畢身不污。語其定也。恬思慮正神明而終日不亂。語其慧也。崇德辨惑而必然。以此修之之謂因。以此成之之謂果。其於物也。有慈有悲有大誓有大惠。慈也者常欲安萬物。悲也者常欲拯眾苦。誓也者誓與天下見真諦。惠也者惠群生以正法。神而通之。天地不能揜。密而行之。鬼神不能測。其演法也。辯說不滯。其護法也。奮不顧身。能忍人之不可忍。能行人之不能行。其正命也。丐食而食而不為恥。其寡欲也。糞衣綴鉢而不為貧。其無爭也。可辱而不可輕。其無怨也。可同而不可損。以實相待物。以至慈修已。故其於天下也。能必和能普敬。其語無妄。故其為信也至。其法無我。故其為讓也誠。有威可敬（敬或作警）有儀可則。天人望而儼然。能福於世能導於俗。其忘形也。委禽獸而不悋。其讀誦也。冐寒暑而不廢。以法而出也。遊人間遍聚落。視名若谷響。視利若游塵。視物色若陽艶。煦嫗貧病瓦合輿㒗而不為卑。以道而處也。雖深山窮谷。草其衣木其食。晏然自得。不可以利誘。不可以勢屈。謝天子諸侯而不為高。其獨立也。以道自勝。雖形影相吊而不為孤。其群居也。以法為屬會四海之人而不為混其可學也。雖三藏十二部百家異道之書。無不知也。他方殊俗之言。無不通也。祖述其法則有文有章也。行其中道則不空不有也。其絕學也。離念清淨純真一如。不復有所分別也。僧乎其為人至。其為心溥。其為德備。其為道大。其為賢非世之所謂賢也。其為聖非世之所謂聖也。出世殊勝之賢聖也。僧也如此可不尊乎。

What is meant by the teaching requiring reverence for monks? The monk takes the Buddha as his surname, the Tathāgata as his household, the Dharma as his body, wisdom as his life, and the joy of meditation as his food. Therefore he does not rely on worldly clans, does not manage secular estates, does not cultivate the physical frame, does not covet life or fear death, and is not mired in the five flavors. To guard his person he has morality (śīla); to collect his mind he has concentration (samādhi); to discern clearly he has wisdom (prajñā). Speaking of his morality: it purifies the three delusions and remains unstained to the end of his life. Speaking of his concentration: it calms thoughts, rectifies the spiritual faculties, and remains undistracted through the entire day. Speaking of his wisdom: it exalts virtue, discerns delusion, and hits the mark with certainty. Cultivating through these is called the cause; accomplishing through these is called the fruit. Toward living creatures, he has loving-kindness, compassion, great vows, and great beneficence. Loving-kindness is constantly wishing to bring peace to all things; compassion is constantly wishing to rescue all from suffering; the vow is vowing that the whole world may see the ultimate truth; beneficence is bestowing the true Dharma upon all living beings. When he exercises spiritual penetrations, Heaven and Earth cannot conceal him; when he acts esoterically, ghosts and spirits cannot fathom him. When expounding the Dharma, his eloquence is unhindered; when protecting the Dharma, he acts vigorously without regard for his own life. He can endure what other people cannot endure; he can practice what other people cannot practice. In his right livelihood, he begs for food and eats without considering it a disgrace; in his few desires, he wears rag robes and pieces together his bowl without considering it poverty. In his absence of dispute, he may be insulted but cannot be belittled; in his absence of resentment, he may be assimilated but cannot be diminished. He treats creatures with the true reality and cultivates himself with utmost loving-kindness; therefore toward the world, he is always harmonious and universally reverent. His speech is free of falsehood; thus his trustworthiness is ultimate. His Dharma is without self; thus his deferential yielding is sincere. He possesses a majesty worthy of reverence and a deportment worthy of emulation; gods and humans look up to him with solemnity. He can bring good fortune to the world and guide worldly society. In forgetting his physical form, he yields it to beasts and birds without hesitation; in his chanting and recitation, he braves the cold and heat without cessation. Going forth for the sake of the Dharma, he roams among humans, traversing hamlets and villages, viewing fame like an echo in a valley, profit like floating dust, and material forms like a mirage; warming the poor and sick, mingling with commoners and servants without deeming it lowly. Dwelling for the sake of the Way, even in deep mountains and desolate ravines, wearing clothes of grass and eating of trees, he is at ease and content with himself; he cannot be enticed by profit, nor bent by force; declining emperors and princes without deeming himself aloof. Standing alone, he triumphs through the Way; though his body and shadow console one another, he does not deem himself solitary. Living in a community, he takes the Dharma as his kin, gathering people from the four seas without becoming disordered. In what he can study, whether it be the three baskets (Tripiṭaka), the twelve divisions of scripture, or the books of the hundred schools and heterodox paths, there is nothing he does not know; the languages of other lands and distinct customs, there is nothing he does not comprehend. In carrying forth his Dharma, he has elegance and pattern; in practicing its Middle Way, he is neither empty nor existent. In his mastery beyond learning, he is detached from thought, pure, genuine, and of one suchness, no longer making any discriminations. The monk—his humanity is ultimate, his mind is universal, his virtue is complete, and his Way is great. His worthiness is not what the world calls worthy; his holiness is not what the world calls holy. He is an extraordinary worthy and sage of the world-transcending realm. Since a monk is like this, can he not be revered?