法苑珠林 19.5

19.5

Now, to discuss the Jewel of the Saṃgha: it means guarding the truth through prohibitive precepts and transcending the mundane in deportment; aspiring to what lies beyond this realm and establishing the Dharma by abandoning the secular world. Official honors cannot sway their intent; relatives cannot burden their thoughts. They propagate the Way to repay the four obligations, and nurture virtue to benefit the beings of the three realms of existence. Transcending humans and devas, weightier than gold and jade—they are called the Saṃgha. From this we know that the benefits of the Jewel of the Saṃgha cannot be fully recorded. Hence the sūtra states: "Whether they uphold the precepts or violate the precepts, whether they are elders or youths, one must deeply venerate them and must not slight or demean them. If one violates this principle, one will incur severe offenses." If one were to wait for a Taigong before appointing a chief minister, there would be no Taigong in a thousand years; if one insisted on having a Kumārajīva for a master's instruction, there would be no Kumārajīva in ten thousand generations. How could one, seeing a single monk commit an error, implicate the lineage of the Buddha above; or seeing a single person fall short in the precepts, slight the supreme Dharma? One may only dismiss a person on account of the Way, because that person fails to propagate the Way; one cannot dismiss the Way on account of the person, because the Way is the teacher of humanity. Therefore, Śākyamuni and the other Buddhas are the true Jewel of the Buddha. The principles, practices, teachings, and fruits spoken by the golden mouth are the true Jewel of the Dharma. The śramaṇas who attain the fruit are the true Jewel of the Saṃgha. They cause ten thousand entanglements to melt like ice with a single glance and a single prostration, and a thousand calamities to disperse like mist with a single praise and a single recitation. Considering our own meager merit, we have not met with the upright teaching, yet relying upon the traces left behind, we fortunately partake of the remaining shade. Gold, sandalwood, bronze, silk, lacquer, ramie, and mineral pigments fashioned into images of the holy countenance are termed the Jewel of the Buddha. Dark words written on paper, silk, bamboo, and fabric are termed the Jewel of the Dharma. Shaving the hair, dyeing the robes, and holding the alms bowl are termed the Jewel of the Saṃgha. Although the forms of these three are provisional, they serve to represent the true manifestations. Venterating them brings an everlasting end to the long stream [of saṃsāra]; scorning them perpetually incurs bitter retributions. Just as [an image of] wood was not one's birth mother, yet prostrating to it won fame resounding for a thousand ages; an ordinary person is not a holy monk, yet venerating them sheds light surpassing ten thousand generations. From this we know that once this ethos has been set in motion, near and far comply with it together. Imperceptibly aiding sentient beings, its divine efficacy cannot be measured. Should there be any slight, the offense incurred is all the greater. Since renunciation has been granted, it is logically appropriate to cast off secular ways. Consider, for instance, the uninstructed court of the Song dynasty, which initially trusted heterodox delusions, alarming the sentiments of the populace and astonishing clergy and laity alike; later, realizing that disaster was looming, they renewed their respect and veneration. The house of Song was merely a petty regime of the Jing barbarians, nestled amid the rugged terrain of the Jiang and Han rivers; how could it be compared to the holy reign of the Golden Wheel of a great empire? Furthermore, as the Book of Rites says, "One clad in armor does not bow"—how could the errors be equal? Those who have cast off the secular world wear the armor of forbearance; for a white-robed layman to grasp their emblems is logically impermissible. Since the Three Jewels are unified, it is appropriate to venerate them equally; one must not selectively observe the Buddha and Dharma while precipitously abandoning the monks and nuns. Hence, the Dharma cannot propagate itself; its propagation lies with humanity. Because humans can propagate the Way, they must be venerated equally.