釋氏要覽 3.398

3.398

有二種。一喪父曰。斬衰（言斬者喪君父夫心如斬截也）苴杖苴惡也。用竹陽也。大如腰經。圍七寸二分（經音迭言實也。傷椎之貫也）。精義云。苴杖用竹。蓋以體圓性正欲明孝子心哀痛自然圓足有終身之憂斷而用之無所厭殺也。長齊孝子心自成服日止大祥除之。二齊衰（齊音咨也。齊者㓨也。緶也。緝也。言喪母痛苦而刲㓨言輕於斬也）削杖削即殺也。言母於父有降殺也。用桐陰也精義云。削杖用桐。蓋削奪其貌。使不苴也。外雖削內則同也。禮曰。削使方為母象也。長齊心本在下（本根也）言。痛在心自成服。至十三月小祥日除之（此非釋氏所要因言其杖故委曲注之）白虎通云。所以必杖者。孝子失親悲哀。哭泣三日不食。身體羸病故。以扶身明不以死傷生也。禮曰。童子婦人不杖。以其不能病也。今釋子心形出俗。達了無常。雖喪親以師。豈有絕漿而成病也。何必杖乎。非是不孝及婦人童子等。蓋律禮宗致不同故。其杖不用無過失矣。

There are two kinds. First, for the mourning of a father, it is called unhemmed sackcloth (zhāncuī; "zhān" means that when one loses a lord, father, or husband, the heart feels as if severed). The rough bamboo staff (jūzhàng): "jū" means coarse. Bamboo is used because it is yang. Its thickness is like the circumference of the waist, measuring seven inches and two tenths. (Jīng is pronounced dié, meaning solid; the core of the wound). The Jingyi says: "The coarse staff uses bamboo because its body is round and its nature is straight; it is meant to signify that the grief and pain in the filial child's heart is naturally complete, with lifelong sorrow, cut and used without trimming or lessening." Its length is level with the filial child's heart, worn from the day mourning dress is donned until removed at the major auspicious sacrifice (dàxiáng). Second, for hemmed sackcloth (zīcuī; zī is pronounced zī; zī means pierced, hemmed, stitched; meaning that in mourning a mother, one is afflicted with pain and stabbing grief, which is lighter than the unhemmed): A shaved staff (xiāozhàng): "xiāo" means reduced, indicating that for the mother there is a reduction relative to the father. Paulownia wood is used because it is yin. The Jingyi says: "The shaved staff uses paulownia because its outward appearance is shaved down so that it is not coarse. Though shaved on the outside, within it is the same." The Rites says: "It is shaved to make it square to symbolize the mother." Its length is level with the heart, with the root at the bottom (běn means root), meaning grief lies in the heart, worn from the donning of mourning dress until removed at the minor auspicious sacrifice (xiǎoxiáng) in the thirteenth month. (This is not essential for Buddhists, but because the staff was mentioned, it is annotated in detail.) The Baihutong says: "The reason a staff is mandatory is that when a filial child loses a parent, in sorrow and lamentation they weep and do not eat for three days, becoming emaciated and ill; thus it supports the body, showing that death should not harm the living." The Rites says: "Boys and women do not carry staffs, because they cannot become so ill." Now, Buddhist disciples have transcended the worldly in mind and form, and comprehend impermanence. Even when losing parents or masters, how could they abstain from fluids to the point of becoming ill? Why must they carry a staff? This is not out of unfilialness or being like women and boys, but because the vinaya and the [secular] rites have different aims; hence not using a staff carries no fault.