敕修百丈清規

CHAPTER 6 – THE TWO RANKS

The purpose of establishing the administrative monastics of the two ranks is to attend to the affairs of the Sangha and thereby maintain and rectify discipline, propagate the Buddha-Dharma, and fulfill the vital undertaking of supporting and expanding the lineage. Matters such as managing money, grain, and cloth are merely secondary daily affairs; yet whether it concerns mastery of regulations pertaining to the Dharma or to worldly matters, there is nothing in which they do not intervene and manage.

Only thereafter may they occupy senior positions in the monastery, serve as teachers of others, lead the Sangha, attain a lofty degree of moral cultivation, perfect themselves, and also bring others to perfection. The ancients thoroughly understood this principle; therefore, members of the Eastern and Western Ranks could exchange offices and substitute for one another without taking offense over differences in qualifications or status.

Nowadays, however, the rigid division of the two ranks—contrary to the spirit of the ancient regulations—is improper. Some even form factions and contend with one another, the strong oppressing the weak, until they clash like water and fire and cannot tolerate one another. It is hoped that the abbot himself will elucidate the ancestral instructions and strictly prohibit and guard against such conduct.

If disputes and strife are to be prevented, the abbot must exercise the utmost care in selecting the administrative monastics of the two ranks, so that everyone fulfills his office and outsiders have no grounds for criticism. Only then may it be called good.

CONCERNING THE LEADING OFFICERS OF THE WESTERN RANK: THE FRONT-HALL HEAD SEAT

(The responsibility of the front-hall head seat is to) serve as an exemplar for the Chan monastery and as the eyes and countenance of the assembly, to expound the Dharma on behalf of the abbot, and to awaken and guide later students. During seated meditation, he urges and supervises the disciples in strictly observing the regulations. Even in minor matters, such as whether the rice and gruel are well or poorly cooked, he must urge and supervise the administrative monastics in fulfilling their duties.

If any monastic violates the ceremonial regulations, he must impose punishment according to the rules. He comforts, visits, and arranges treatment for elderly, infirm, or sick members of the Sangha; if one dies, he must ensure that the funeral is properly conducted. In short, whatever affairs of the monastic community arise in the monastery, whether great or small, the front-hall head seat must manage and instruct them all, just as a robe has a collar and a net has a main cord.

His position is thus exalted and essential. Consequently, even if a venerable elder presides over a large and renowned monastery, if an abbot can ceremonially invite him to leave his present monastery and serve as front-hall head seat at his own, this is called “relinquishing one’s position for the sake of others.” Bodhisattva Manjusri, the embodiment of wisdom and teacher of the seven Buddhas—Buddha Vipasyin, Buddha Sikhin, Buddha Visvabhu, Buddha Krakucchanda, Buddha Kanakamuni, Buddha Kasyapa, and Buddha Sakyamuni—nevertheless manifested and assumed the office of front-hall head seat, assisting the Blessed One Sakyamuni in spreading the Buddha’s teaching.

Likewise, the renowned Chan master Muzhou Daoming once served as head seat in the monastery of Dharma Master Huangbo Xiyun; and Chan Master Yunmen Wenyan once served as head seat at the Lingshu Cloister of Chan Master Ruyuan Rumin. They brought glory to the work of the ancestral masters of former generations and set a shining example for later ages. The office of head seat is of such importance; how could its responsibilities be lightly entrusted?

The Ancestral Court’s Garden of Affairs states: “The head seat is the ‘senior seat’ of ancient times. In Sanskrit, ‘sthavira’ precisely means senior seat. (For this office,) first, the person had to be advanced in years; second, he had to be of noble birth; third, he had to have received the precepts earlier than all others; and he also had to have realized the fruit of the path. Nowadays, in Chan monasteries, one called the head seat is selected from among those capable of managing affairs independently, whose virtue and accomplishments command the obedience of the assembly, and who possess the merit and conduct of cultivation; the office is then entrusted to him.”

THE REAR-HALL HEAD SEAT

(The place of the rear-hall head seat is) beside the left side of the entrance-and-exit placard in the Sangha hall. He assists in maintaining the monastery’s tradition and, through his own dignified and exemplary bearing, serves as a model for the assembly. Because the Sangha in a large monastery is so numerous, the offices of front-hall and rear-hall head seat were distinguished.

Each day, morning and midday, when the Sangha enters the Sangha hall to eat the morning gruel or midday meal, or enters it for seated meditation, the rear-hall head seat enters and leaves through the rear door of the hall. If the office of front-hall head seat is vacant, the abbot waits until the day of ascending the Dharma hall to announce to the assembly that the rear-hall head seat is being promoted to front-hall head seat.

His name on the Sangha roster is then moved from the rear hall to the front hall, and the order observed during meals is altered accordingly; the ceremony of reciting the incantation and making vows of blessing must also be performed. Whenever there is seated meditation or an evening consultation, the rear-hall head seat waits until the quarters have sounded the third strike of the wooden board before entering the Sangha hall; there is no need to strike the board before the head seat’s quarters.

In all other duties, he acts in the same manner as the front-hall head seat.

SECRETARY

In the Ancient Pure Rules, the office of secretary was called the secretary for documents, and its duty was to manage every kind of written document. All posted notices and placards, memorials, correspondence with various places, and texts used in the monasteries’ supplicatory rites were the responsibility of the secretary. This originated in former times, when renowned elder Chan masters were summoned by imperial command, and when great and famous monasteries received an imperial decree appointing an abbot.

The newly appointed abbot then had to prepare and submit a memorial expressing gratitude for the sovereign’s favor. When the abbot of the monastery passed away, a final memorial also had to be submitted. Furthermore, whenever rewards were received from the court or the emperor made an inquiry, a memorial had to be composed and submitted either to express gratitude or to answer the imperial question.

Since the abbot devoted his attention solely to upholding the Great Dharma—the Buddha-Dharma—he was unable to handle literary work. Just as the headquarters of a commander-in-chief must establish the office of recording military secretary, a Chan monastery specially appointed a secretary to take responsibility for written documents.

In addition, a separate office was established for preserving correspondence. This was one of the attendants of the abbot’s quarters and was specifically responsible for safeguarding the abbot’s private correspondence with various places. This officer was therefore also called the private secretary.

Among the most renowned secretaries in the history of Chan, foremost honor must be accorded to Chan Master Huinan of Mount Huanglong during the Song dynasty. Next must also be mentioned the Song-dynasty Chan Master Wuzu Fayan of Dongshan in Qizhou, who directed his disciple, Chan Master Foyan Qingyuan, to hold this office. Chan Master Fayan appointed Qingyuan as secretary in order to encourage him, while cultivating the Buddha-Dharma, also to become proficient in worldly classics, thereby helping him pass through the great waves and mighty billows of the ocean of Dharma.

Earlier, Chan Master Dahui Zonggao had also held this office of secretary. Today, whoever assumes the office of secretary would do best to take the three eminent elders Huinan, Foyan, and Dahui as his models.

KEEPER OF THE MONASTERY LIBRARY

This officer is responsible for preserving all the scriptures of the monastery and must also be thoroughly versed in Buddhist doctrine and its principles. Whenever a monk wished to read the scriptures, upon entering the scripture hall—that is, the sutra repository—he first reported to the hall master, who accompanied him to the repository office, the quarters of the Keeper of the Canon, to pay respects to the Keeper. Only then was he taken to the place for reading the scriptures, where together they spread their sitting cloths upon the floor and made one prostration as an expression of reverence. The foregoing details accord with the regulations of former times.

Nowadays, most monks read the scriptures in their own quarters, while the Hall of the Sutra Repository, or scripture hall, is not furnished with tables and chairs for this purpose. Nevertheless, once one has received the title of Keeper of the Canon, one must properly fulfill the duty of managing the scriptures, regularly checking and inspecting the canonical books against the catalogue.

If anything is missing, it must be replaced so that the collection is complete. If any volume has become moldy or damp, it must be wiped clean and aired or dried. If any volume has come unbound or been torn, it must be sewn and pasted back into sound condition.

When members of the Sangha need to read the scriptures, the Keeper of the Canon prepares a register and, following the list of scriptures kept at the hall office, records the borrower’s name, then retrieves and gives the monk each volume listed. After the monk has finished reading, the Keeper consults the name recorded in the register and reminds him to return the volumes, which are then restored to the repository so that the scriptures will not be lost.

If we examine the distinctive character of our Chan school, which is said to transmit separately outside the teachings and not to establish words and letters, why, then, does it institute the office of Keeper of the Canon to manage the scriptures? The words and conduct of the Buddha constitute the teachings and discipline—the scriptural teachings and the Buddha’s Vinaya—so no one who becomes a monk can say that it is unnecessary to follow the Buddha’s words and conduct.

Yet what we Chan monks must attain through written texts is realization and understanding of the principles of the Buddha. We must not become absorbed and deluded by the words and phrases of the scriptures to the point of being bound by them; rather, we must go beyond what words and conduct express and profoundly reveal within ourselves our subtle, wondrous, eternally abiding, and unchanging original nature—our self-nature.

Furthermore, the intention of the Chan patriarchs was that we, their disciples, should investigate and study the scriptures of the other schools and traditions of Buddhism, together with the teachings of the various philosophers and schools of the secular world, in order to broaden our knowledge and learning, defend the Chan school against attacks from other Buddhist schools and secular doctrines, and attain inexhaustible adaptability in responding to circumstances.

This is precisely what the common saying means by “neither identical with nor separate from.”

Later, as the Chan school expanded greatly, the monastic communities in Chan monasteries became exceedingly numerous, and the scriptural collections likewise grew too extensive. It therefore became necessary to divide the canon into eastern and western sections, whereupon the office of Keeper of the Canon was also divided into two positions: Keeper of the Eastern Repository and Keeper of the Western Repository.

GUEST RECEPTION OFFICER

This officer’s duty is to receive and attend to guests. Whenever government officials, patrons, senior figures of the Chan monasteries, or renowned persons from various places come to visit the monastery, the Guest Reception Officer must prepare incense and tea to welcome and entertain them, instruct an attendant to notify the abbot’s quarters, and then guide the guests to the abbot’s chamber to meet the abbot. Afterward, he must arrange lodging for them.

If the guests are ordinary commoners—one rank below those mentioned above—they are generally received only in the Guest Reception Officer’s quarters. If, on occasion, guests of this kind wish to visit the abbot’s chamber, the administrative office, or the quarters of members of the community, the Guest Reception Officer must also instruct an attendant to guide them to those places. Every morning, he must go to the guest hall and inspect the beds, curtains, utensils, lamp oil, charcoal, and firewood; everything must be complete and in proper order.

He must show even greater care in gently comforting and inquiring after newly arrived itinerant monks and attendants seeking lodging at the monastery. If the rector is on leave, the Guest Reception Officer must take his place and oversee his duties. He must regularly visit the Sangha hall to inspect matters and urge the attendants to provide additional portions of rice and gruel for newly arrived guest monks.

When a monk dies, he must work with the attendant responsible for erecting the funeral canopy. If a newly arrived guest monk dies, the Guest Reception Officer must preside over and arrange the funeral on his behalf.

Chan Master Xuedou Chongxian, while in the assembly of Chan Master Dayang Huijian, and Chan Master Chanyue Guanxiu, while in the assembly of Chan Master Shishuang Qingzhu,

both once held the office of Guest Reception Officer, and both left illustrious names for all ages. How, then, could we casually disregard the importance of this office?

OFFICER IN CHARGE OF BATHING IN THE MONASTERY

Whenever bathing is to be held, before the time of the midday meal the Bath Officer must hang up the “Bath Open” notice. During the cold months, bathing is held once every five days; during the hot months, when one perspires every day, bathing is held daily.

The Bath Officer is responsible for preparing the bathhouse, hanging up hand towels, and providing washbasins and cloths for wiping shoes and feet. The chief of the attendants assigns an attendant to be on duty in the bathhouse. After the vegetarian meal, the bath chief reports to the rector, the head seat, and the abbot, and then strikes the drum three times.

First, the bathing ceremony for the image of the Holy Monk is performed: a small amount of hot water is placed in a wooden tub, incense is burned, and prostrations are made while the mind is concentrated in contemplation, as though inviting the Holy Monk to bathe. Next, the bath chief makes the rounds of the corridors, strikes the cloud-board three times, and then sounds three rounds on the drum. At the end of the first drum announcement, the monks enter the bathhouse.

At the end of the second drum round, the senior officers enter. At the end of the third drum round, the attendants enter. Only then does the abbot enter the bathhouse, screen himself completely behind a folding screen, and bathe alone.

At the end of the fourth drum round, the monastery’s workers and laborers enter to bathe. The attendant who inspects and urges on the bathing, together with the monastic officers, bathes last. On the one hand, he supervises and reprimands those who violate the rules and discipline; on the other, he inspects the work of tending the fire.

He instructs the workers responsible for firing the furnace to extinguish the fire and embers at the proper time, pour water over the coals until they are entirely out, and carry any remaining firewood to a distant place.

The order in which persons of each rank enter to bathe must be posted outside the bathhouse. Nowadays, some people hold that the abbot enters the bathhouse after the senior officers and that the administrators enter after the attendants, but both views are incorrect. If the abbot occasionally has some special reason for wishing to enter and bathe together with the senior officers during an earlier round, there is no need to set up a folding screen or enter a small private room.

He may simply undress at the senior officers’ changing place and enter the bathhouse together with them. Inside the bathhouse, a small wooden board is hung up, beside which is affixed a small sign reading: “At one strike of the board, add hot water. At the second strike of the board, add cold water.

At the third strike of the board, bathing is concluded. Please conduct the proceedings in this order.”

If a donor has resolved to build a bathhouse, then when sutras are chanted, the assembly should dedicate the merit and proclaim the donor’s lofty virtue. Only when the donor becomes a steadfast Buddhist will the merit of that offering not have been made in vain.

KEEPER OF THE MONASTERY HALLS

This person is responsible for managing the incense and lamps in the monastery halls. They must regularly sweep away dust, clean and wash the halls, and arrange the tables and chairs so that everything is always orderly, immaculate, and clean. When strong winds arise, they must extinguish all burning incense in the censers and secure the bases of banners and streamers so that these do not flap against nearby lamps or candles and cause a fire.

When donors enter the halls to worship and make monetary offerings for incense and lamps, the money must not be diverted to other purposes. On the Buddha’s Birthday, when the Buddha image is bathed, the keeper must prepare hot water for the assembly. On the four observance days—the first, the fifteenth, the eighth, and the twenty-third days of the lunar month—the hall doors must be opened wide so that faithful donors may conveniently enter and pay homage.

ATTENDANTS

There are three kinds of attendants: the incense-burning attendant, the correspondence attendant, and the guest-inviting attendant. The office of attendant in a monastery entails a very close relationship with the abbot. Attendants constantly remain near him, before and behind, receiving moral training and directly hearing his instructions morning and evening.

They also study and inquire into the Way directly under the abbot and therefore have great prospects of attaining significant accomplishment in their cultivation of the Buddhadharma. Nevertheless, in matters of etiquette, they must always maintain a respectful and circumspect bearing. In former times, Venerable Ananda, “Joyous One,” served as attendant to Buddha Shakyamuni, while Chan Master Chengyuan of Xianglin Monastery during the Song dynasty served as attendant to Great Master Yunmen Wenyan.

Both examples demonstrate the hopes and trust that Buddhas and patriarchs place in the office of attendant. How, then, could we treat this office casually or lightly?

Whenever the abbot is to ascend the Dharma hall, give a minor convocation, deliver a general discourse, open the private interview room, conduct chanting, dismiss the evening consultation, or attend important ceremonial observances, the attendants must remind and inform him. Receiving on the abbot’s behalf newly arrived monks who seek to register for residence, burning incense and performing ceremonies on his behalf, and recording the Dharma words proclaimed by him are the duties of the incense-burning attendant.

Whenever the abbot exchanges correspondence with affiliated places or needs to compose an essay, drafting the manuscript for him beforehand is the duty of the correspondence attendant. If the office of secretary in the monastery is vacant, this attendant must also undertake all the secretary’s written work. Whenever the abbot must receive guests or entertain venerable elders, or when ceremonial observances require letters and invitation cards to be prepared for him in advance and ceremonies to be performed on his behalf, these are the responsibilities of the guest-inviting attendant.

In daily communal activities, if neither the rector nor the guest prefect can be present in time to meet with the assembly, or if they are on leave, their duties are to be handled in their stead by the three kinds of attendants mentioned above. (The claim that the correspondence attendant should not become involved in other matters is groundless.) If the abbot leaves the monastery for an extended period without taking the attendants with him, the attendants must return to one of the divisions of the monastic community and take their places among its ranks as ordinary members of the assembly.

If the abbot merely goes out temporarily, however, the attendants need not leave their current positions.

ROBE-AND-BOWL ATTENDANT (No separate rank established)

In former times, senior monks usually selected a mature and experienced person from within the monastic community to hold this office. Such seasoned individuals were loyal, upright, and sincere; they helped the abbot hear and accept truthful counsel, avoid errors, and recognize talented people. They were also thoroughly familiar with all the monastery’s internal and external affairs, great and small, and could therefore adapt skillfully and harmoniously to every circumstance, ensuring that superiors and subordinates treated one another with gravity, concord, and affection.

For example, Chan Master Mi’an Xianjie had the attendant Ru assisting him, thereby filling the monastery with talented people and ultimately gaining the highly gifted and learned Chan Master Songyuan Chongyue as a Dharma heir. Likewise, when Dongsou had Chief Seat Sheng as his robe-and-bowl attendant, the standards and discipline of his lineage grew increasingly rigorous. Nowadays, monasteries throughout the various monastic communities appoint young and inexperienced monks as robe-and-bowl attendants.

Because these youths lack experience in handling affairs, harmful consequences result: the abbot’s virtue is compromised, and important matters are mishandled. How, then, could the selection of a robe-and-bowl attendant be approached casually or without care?

TEA, WATER, AND MEDICINE ATTENDANT (A separate rank established)

This attendant serves the abbot tea, hot water, medicinal decoctions, and medicines morning and evening. He assists the robe-and-bowl attendant in handling all affairs and comforts and looks after the practitioners and servants who attend upon the abbot. If the office of robe-and-bowl attendant is temporarily vacant, the tea, water, and medicine attendant must take over its duties as circumstances require. When guests come to pay their respects to the abbot, he must announce them and then burn incense. If, during ceremonial observances, no one is available to pronounce the dedication and transference of merit, the decoctions-and-medicine attendant must undertake that duty. A relatively young person of diligent and dependable character should be selected for this office.

ATTENDANT TO THE IMAGE OF THE SACRED MONK (No separate rank established; works with the assembly and attends to meals and gruel)

The chief qualification for the person holding this office is deep faith in Buddhism—that is, a mind devoted to the Way. At the two daily meals of morning gruel and the later meal, he must present offerings and strike the block to dismiss the Sangha hall. Morning and evening, he must inspect the seats where the assembly practices Chan meditation, and at midnight he must trim the spent wicks of the candles.

Together with the rector, he receives the proceeds from auctioning the robes and bowls of deceased monks. During the funeral of an abbot who has entered nirvana, he is charged with watching over the curtains and hangings. When the chief seat takes up the fly whisk and ascends the Dharma hall to teach in the abbot’s stead, this attendant is responsible for burning incense, or he may strike the block and recite the Buddha’s name on the chief seat’s behalf.

After completing his term, he returns to being an ordinary attendant in the monastery. Elders Tuigeng and Duanqiao both held this office while they were still members of the assembly. They were highly skilled in forming wholesome affinities with the community and also applied themselves resolutely to cultivating the Buddhist Way.

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ADMINISTRATORS OF THE EASTERN RANK — GENERAL SUPERVISOR

According to the provisions of the Old Pure Rules, a monastery established only the office of Supervisor. Later, as monasteries grew large and their communities numerous, the office of the Eastern Rank was added to oversee all other affairs. The principal duties of this office are to supervise the lighting of lamps and the burning of incense morning and evening, receive officials and donors visiting the monastery, properly administer accounts and documents, oversee the receipt and disbursement of money and grain, and strive to ensure that the annual funds always yield a surplus.

The officer must also continually respect the abbot and show compassion for and assist the entire community. Whenever any matter of importance arises, a council must be convened for deliberation; it must then be reported to the abbot, and only afterward may it be carried out. Laborers and servants must be instructed, and no one may arbitrarily beat them with a heavy hand.

Should circumstances compel the use of punishment or expulsion, the matter must be discussed and the abbot’s instructions sought. The circumstances of the offense must be carefully weighed, and punishment imposed only as a warning and admonition. Authority must not be abused, thereby provoking disturbances that lead to litigation and the loss of monastic dignity.

When assigning members of the Sangha to farm work or to oversee the granaries, one must act fairly

and impartially, without appointing members of “one’s own faction,” thereby causing murmured criticism throughout the community and giving rise to resentment.

In former times, when Chan monasteries flourished, the secretary, head seat of the monastery, or a member of the Western Hall—that is, a retired abbot from another monastery residing as a guest in the present monastery—was often invited to assume this office. Conversely, the Chief Supervisor could also serve as secretary or head seat. If none of these were available, one still had to select a monk of high seniority and extensive experience, thoroughly conversant with all affairs, as well as honest, impartial, and prudent, who had long been respected and trusted by the community, to fill this office.

Moreover, the person selected was required not only to make no demands upon the permanent property of the monastery, but also, in addition to possessing lofty virtue and cultivation, to have ample financial resources of his own, so that everyone could place confidence in him. Those above and below would then be of one mind in hoping that he might remain continuously in office for many terms. Therefore, what harm could there be if he passed through many terms without changing office, or if he resigned but was afterward repeatedly nominated again to resume the post?

Thus, in a monastery, there should be no more than five or six occupants of private quarters who are former senior officers. As for offices from Assistant Steward downward, anyone who has not served three consecutive terms may not resign in order to assume a position in the Front Rank. A Supervisor who has not served three consecutive terms may not resign in order to hold a position in the Meng Hall, and a Chief Steward who has not served three consecutive terms may not retire to the status of an occupant of private quarters.

A person nominated to resume the office of Chief Supervisor must publicly lock the room in which he has been residing, in the presence of the community, so as to avoid arousing suspicion. At both the morning and evening meals of rice and gruel, he must personally attend the Sangha hall to supervise and remain fully informed, thereby ensuring that the portions of rice and gruel for practitioners, laborers, and servants are naturally provided fully and properly.

Chan Master Yangqi Fanghui, who served as Chief Steward in assisting the abbot and Chan master Shishuang Chuyuan, and Chan Master Shisong, who served as Chief Steward in assisting the abbot and Chan master Hongzhi at Tiantong Monastery, may both be regarded as models of proper conduct.

The History of the Sangha states: “The administrators are the three main cords. When the great cords of a net are drawn taut, all its meshes open in proper order. The Sanskrit term Ma-ma-di means ‘master of the monastery’—the one who presides over the entire monastery.” This refers to what is now called the Supervisor. The Mahasamnipata Sutra also records: “The property of the Sangha is difficult to safeguard. I permit two kinds of persons to safeguard the property of the Three Jewels: first, an arhat; second, a stream-enterer.

There are also two further kinds: first, one who can uphold the precepts purely and understands karmic retribution; second, one who fears transgression and its consequences in future lives and possesses a sense of shame.”

KARMA-DANA

The duty of the karma-dana is to supervise the Sangha in observing the Buddha’s precepts and the monastery’s internal regulations. If a dispute occurs within the monastery, the karma-dana must make every effort to mediate or resolve it. If an itinerant monk comes to the Sangha hall and requests that his name be registered for temporary lodging, the karma-dana must examine whether his ordination certificate is genuine or false.

If quarrels or disputes arise among the Sangha, or if someone loses any property, the karma-dana must diligently investigate right and wrong and strive to reconcile the parties. In addition, the dates on which the monks entered the monastic life, their relative seniority in Dharma age, their sleeping places, their seats for Chan meditation, and the monastery’s registers and account books—in general, every affair of the Sangha, internal or external, great or small—must be known and handled by the karma-dana.

During Buddhist services, the karma-dana announces which scripture is to be recited, leads the community in chanting the sutras, and proclaims the words transferring the merit of offerings—that is, dedicating merit—taking the sacred voice as a meritorious practice of the Path. Monks who are ill must be cared for, comforted, and treated; in the case of a monk who has died, even greater attention and importance must be given to arranging the funeral and burial.

Every morning and evening, the karma-dana must personally go to the Sangha hall. When the bell before the hall is struck, he leaves his place and enters. Upon reaching the image of the Sacred Monk, he offers incense with his left hand, then withdraws two and a half steps, bows in greeting, joins his palms, and enters to stand beside the mallet.

First, he examines the names of those for whom merit is to be dedicated that day, as recorded on the memorial tablet. When the sounds of the bell and drum have ceased, he strikes the mallet once. After the assembly has set down their eating bowls, he strikes the mallet once more, joins his palms, and silently faces the names recorded on the memorial list of those whose turn it is that day to receive the dedication of merit, reciting the words expressing the dedication.

When the silent recitation is finished, he places his left hand upon the stone mallet-rest and says: “We humbly beseech the assembly to recite together ten times the name of Vairocana Buddha, the pure Dharma-body, ten times the honored name of the perfect Reward-body, and so forth.” With his right hand he strikes the mallet, raising it no more than five Chinese inches. He waits until the sound has ceased before striking it again, at an appropriate pace, neither too fast nor too slow.

When the head seat’s mealtime verse reaches the end of its third line, he turns, withdraws, and stands at the head of the platform of the head seat who establishes the Sangha. He then waits until the servers have evenly and fully provided everyone with additional rice and soup, whereupon he steps forward and strikes the mallet once, joins his palms, advances before the image of the Sacred Monk, bows in greeting, leaves the Sangha hall, and returns to his own place to eat.

If a donor provides funds to invite the Sangha to a meal offering, then after the donated articles have been distributed and the mallet signaling the meal has been struck, the rector shall proceed from behind the image of the Holy Monk to the left, face the head seat, bow, and inquire after his well-being. Only then shall he strike the mallet once more and leave the Sangha hall. This is done to invite the donor to distribute material offerings. If at that time the rector is occupied with some matter or is temporarily on leave, he must personally bring the register of ordination seniority, the leave register, and the register of matters to be known by the hall office to the guest prefect’s quarters and ask the guest prefect to assume his duties temporarily.

The Record of the Inner Dharma Sent Home from the Southern Seas states: “The term wei-na combines Chinese and Sanskrit. Wei, meaning the guiding rope of a net, is Chinese. Na is Sanskrit, an abbreviated designation formed by omitting the first three syllables of karmadana;

it means one who brings harmony and joy to the assembly.” The Ten Recitations Vinaya also states: “Because no one in the Sangha’s quarters knew the proper times for striking the wooden mallet, no one attended to sweeping and cleaning the lecture hall and dining hall, no one continually arranged the sleeping platforms, and no one restrained the great assembly when it became disorderly, and so forth, the Buddha permitted the establishment of the office of rector.” Furthermore, the Qinglun transcribes the term as “sequence,” signifying one who knows the proper order—what comes before and what follows—of the Sangha’s affairs.

ASSISTANT PRIOR

In the Ancient Pure Rules, this officer is called the Head of the Storehouse. Today, monasteries call him the Head of the Treasury, while in the north he is called the Officer of Wealth and Goods; in fact, all these titles refer to the office of assistant prior. He serves as deputy to the general prior, sharing his labors by managing the permanent community’s money, gold, silver, and grain.

Whenever the permanent community’s grain enters or leaves the storehouse, the assistant prior must promptly record it in the accounts. In matters of receipts, custody, and expenditures, he directs the storehouse to prepare a daily statement of income and expenses. After verifying it, he submits it to the abbot; this is called the daily statement.

Alternatively, accounts may be settled once every ten days in a statement called the ten-day statement. There is also a monthly settlement, and at the end of the year a final reckoning is made to determine whether it agrees with the entries presently recorded in the general ledger, called the daily yellow general register. In addition, separate registers must record the receipts and expenditures of each commodity—such as rice, flour, and the five seasonings—and these too must be examined and calculated clearly.

All the monastery’s communal property, even things as slight as a hair, constitutes the rightful share of the Sangha of the ten directions. Except for customary reciprocal courtesies—such as receiving and seeing off officials who protect the monastery, attending to regular benefactors and donors, presenting congratulatory gifts, or making funeral offerings—not even a single coin may be misappropriated for private use by deceitfully inventing an expense item.

Therefore, those appointed to oversee the storehouse, both superiors and subordinates, must be selected from persons of determination and ability who are also proficient in accounting and bookkeeping, content with their station, honest and circumspect in public affairs, and devoted to service; only such persons should be entrusted with this office.

When a monastic falls ill, whether seriously or mildly, and requires supplies for treatment, these must be issued and provided without delay. If the granaries or storehouses have gaps or leaks that allow birds and rodents to enter, causing losses of grain or making grain and flour damp, moldy, and inferior in quality; or if stored goods are not properly safeguarded and maintained according to the rules, the assistant prior must immediately attend to their management and remedy the situation.

COOK

This officer is responsible for managing the gruel and meals of the great assembly. He must ensure that offerings are always fine and pure and that the food is properly prepared and balanced. He must regularly supervise and inspect the work of the department under his charge, always cherish and protect the property of the permanent community, and never handle Heaven’s bounty roughly, trample upon it, or waste it.

He must continually instruct the practitioners to observe the rules. For the sake of the Sangha, he must serve full bowls of rice and add more when necessary so that everyone may eat their fill. He must participate in communal labor without laziness or delay.

He must care compassionately for and protect those who work in the gardens and fields, ensuring that they sow and plant in the proper seasons. When material offerings are distributed, his share must be equal to everyone else’s. Each day, when taking the two meals of gruel and rice in the kitchen, his portions must not be better than those of the great assembly.

After the gruel or rice has filled the containers, he must face the Sangha hall, burn incense, bow in reverence, and dedicate the merit before carrying the food into the Sangha hall and beginning to serve the assembly.

WORK PREFECT

This officer is responsible for managing all construction and repair work. Whenever halls or residential quarters are damaged or leaking, he must arrange timely and regular repairs. He must also continually check and inventory all implements so that nothing is lacking.

He should regularly inspect and supervise laborers according to the progress of the work, criticizing and reprimanding those who dawdle or neglect their duties. He must not allow anyone to enjoy comfort without labor, waste or embezzle property, or harm the interests of the community. He should regularly inspect, patrol, and safeguard the estates, fields and gardens, mills for hulling and pounding rice, cattle, carts, and boats, taking precautions against theft and destruction by fire.

In assigning all kinds of laborers and workers, he must ensure that rewards and punishments are given to the proper persons in accordance with their merit or offense, thereby encouraging them to labor diligently. He must also distribute duties so that toil and ease are shared equally by all. If he is entrusted with a major renovation or construction project, additional officers must be appointed to manage the work jointly with the work prefect.

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MISCELLANEOUS OFFICES: QUARTERS PREFECT

The quarters prefect manages the scriptures and assorted articles belonging to the quarters, including tea, hot water, charcoal, and firewood. He notifies and submits requests to the relevant offices so that the necessities of the quarters may be supplied. At the same time, he oversees the sweeping and cleaning of the quarters, ensures that the monastics’ heads are always clean-shaven, and sees that towel racks are kept ready for use.

Each morning after the gruel meal, the quarters prefect instructs the practitioner serving as head of tea to wait outside the quarters. When the entire assembly has returned, three strokes are sounded on the cloud-shaped board, and everyone enters the quarters. The quarters elder and the quarters prefect sit abreast, while the quarters chief and assistant quarters chief sit facing one another on the right and left.

The assistant quarters chief leaves his seat to burn incense and then returns to his original place. The practitioner serving as head of tea faces the quarters prefects and inquires after them: “May I ask whether you have little illness, little affliction, and are living at ease?” The assembly joins palms and bows to express respectful regard. On the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, when hot water is offered, the quarters prefect strikes the cloud-shaped board to assemble everyone, burns incense, and directs the practitioner to serve hot water according to the customary ceremonial form.

QUARTERS CHIEF & ASSISTANT QUARTERS CHIEF

Wherever a Sangha resides communally, the offices of dormitory chief and assistant dormitory chief must be established. The dormitory superintendent shall, according to the monks’ ordination seniority, proceeding in order from the least to the most senior, invite and appoint persons to assume these offices. The names and ages of those appointed shall be written on a placard and hung up so that the assembly may be informed.

They shall rotate once every ten days, assisting the dormitory superintendent in attending to its affairs. Morning and evening, when the Sangha goes to the Sangha hall, the dormitory chief and assistant dormitory chief shall follow one step behind and inspect the scripture tables. If anyone has left something behind, and many people previously saw it and can bear witness, they shall pick it up and return it to the person who lost it.

In addition, the dormitory chief and assistant dormitory chief are responsible for inspecting the miscellaneous articles handed over within their dormitory.

Every day, incense and lamps must be arranged and tea and hot water prepared. Outsiders must not be allowed to lodge overnight in the dormitory or consign any goods there for sale. The dormitory must also always have a reserve person ready to replace the assistant dormitory chief should that office unexpectedly become vacant. When the dormitory chief’s term ends, this must be reported to the disciplinarian, with a request that a replacement be appointed. When the assistant dormitory chief’s term ends, it must be reported to the dormitory superintendent, with a request that a replacement be selected.

HEAD OF THE INFIRMARY

The head of the infirmary is responsible for overseeing and caring for gravely ill monks. He must keep medicines, tea and hot water, lamp oil, charcoal and firewood, gruel and rice, and the five flavors used in preparing food—sour, sweet, bitter, pungent, and salty—fully stocked and ready for use in the infirmary. If the monastery’s communal stores lack the foregoing necessities but the infirmary head personally possesses them, then, aspiring to cultivate merit and form an affinity with the Buddha, he should contribute his own possessions to provide for the use of gravely ill monks.

He may also exhort and invite benefactors who wish to practice virtue and cultivate merit to contribute money or goods for the necessary supplies. When bedding, clothing, quilts, or mosquito nets become filthy and soiled, he must promptly and diligently help launder, wipe, wash, and clean them; he must not show disgust and abandon them. Among the eight fields of merit, practicing goodness and cultivating virtue by supporting, caring for, and treating the sick is the greatest field of merit.

THE LATRINE ATTENDANT

(In a Chan monastery, the latrine attendant is the monk responsible for sanitation, whose specific duties are as follows:) He must promptly sweep the courtyards and grounds, arrange incense, replace the tally sticks, count those using the latrine, heat water, and replenish the water supply. If any part of the latrine is defiled, he must immediately sweep it and flush and wash it clean. Hand towels and water buckets must always be inspected and replenished or replaced.

Whoever assumes this office must do so from a mind devoted to the Way—that is, out of sincere devotion to Buddhism and of his own free will. When a latrine attendant’s term is about to end and another person is needed to replace him, the hall office shall post a small notice reading: “The office of latrine attendant will shortly be vacant. If anyone is willing to assume this office and form an affinity with the assembly, please write his name on this notice.” The volunteer wishing to form an affinity with the assembly shall take down the notice and present it to the hall office—the disciplinarian.

The disciplinarian shall report the matter to the abbot, and only after the abbot gives his approval shall that person be invited to assume the office.

THE ALMS SOLICITOR WHO ENCOURAGES BENEFACTORS TO GIVE

Wherever a Sangha resides communally, regardless of its size, if the monastery’s regular income of money and grain is limited, it must rely upon an alms solicitor to encourage benefactors to make offerings according to their means. This is the source of supplementary provisions for the Sangha. If, however, the monastery’s income from its fixed assets is already sufficient to meet the Sangha’s expenses, the alms solicitor need not importune benefactors for donations, for persistent entreaties may easily cause people to become weary of him.

THE GARDEN SUPERVISOR

The person holding this office must not shrink from hardship but must set a personal example, inspiring the garden laborers to cultivate vegetables diligently and to water and fertilize them at the proper times, thereby supplying the kitchen so that it will not lack vegetables for the daily meals.

THE MILL SUPERVISOR

The mill supervisor manages both the grain mill and the rice-husking house. Since this work concerns the daily provision of rice and flour for the entire monastic community, a person sincere and devoted to the Way, who is also thoroughly familiar with milling grain and husking rice, must be selected for this office.

THE MONASTERY WATER ATTENDANT

This person must rise during the fifth watch to boil water for the assembly to wash their faces and hands. Hand towels, washbasins, lamps, and tooth-cleaning powder must all be fully prepared without omission. During the winter months, the hand towels must be warmed and dried; therefore, he must rise early and arrange everything in readiness. He must not wait until the items are needed and then hastily make careless preparations, thereby causing dissatisfaction among the Sangha.

THE FUEL SUPPLIER

The charcoal attendant must provide charcoal and firewood so that fires may be lit to protect the assembly from the cold. Some of these supplies may be obtained through donations from benefactors, and some may be purchased with the monastery’s communal funds; in all cases, however, an adequate supply must always be kept ready for use.

THE ESTATE STEWARD

His duties are to oversee the boundaries on all four sides—east, west, south, and north—of the monastery’s fields and gardens, preventing anyone from encroaching upon them; to repair the farmsteads, fields, and garden plots; to arrange and supervise seasonal cultivation in a timely manner; and to manage the tenant farmers well and attend to the livelihood of those who cultivate the fields and gardens. If minor disputes arise on the estate, he must promptly resolve them, preventing and eliminating the conflict before it spreads. If a serious matter affecting the whole community occurs, he must report it to the monastery so that the monastery itself may decide it.

Recently, abuses of a hundred kinds have arisen in monasteries, but those concerning the fields and gardens are more serious than all the rest. Three typical cases may be briefly cited: a—The most common affliction in monasteries is that everyone first competes for offices in the estate administration. Yet those contending are many while the offices are few, so how could everyone’s desires possibly be satisfied? Those whose wishes are not fulfilled then resent the abbot and “raise an uproar,” causing disharmony between superiors and subordinates. This is the first case.

b—Once someone has secured an office in the estate administration, he sees that the fields and gardens are situated far from the monastery and consequently dares to commit every kind of wrongdoing. This leads to indiscriminate disputes and lawsuits, so that the money and provisions that ought to have sustained the assembly are squandered entirely on litigation. The litigants themselves become liable to official penalties and indebted to the government, compelling those who later assume their offices to labor to make restitution. As a result, the monastery’s authority and discipline decline, its regulations cease to be rigorously upheld, and the tenant farmers become contemptuous and insolent, falling behind in taxes they cannot afford to pay. This is the second case.

c. Even if a dignified and seasoned elder capable of holding this office were appointed, he would still be unable to cope with the endless rounds of receiving and seeing off prefectural and county officials, local runners, village functionaries, and wealthy magnates of the surrounding area. These people make demands and seek favors that must always be satisfied; if one’s courtesies toward them are in the least incomplete, they will watch for an opening and create trouble. (Therefore, one must on no account be careless or negligent.) Because these expenses for social obligations cannot be openly disbursed, one must cleverly devise all manner of fictitious budgetary categories to cover them.

Thus, neither public nor private affairs derive any wholesome benefit. Consequently, the enormous expenses of the Farm Estates Office sometimes consume as much as half the expenditures of the entire monastery! This is the third matter.

(The Farm Estates Office has the three great abuses just described, and they cannot be left unreformed.) Consider a great household with abundant property and prosperous wealth: one has scarcely ever heard of such a family assigning its own sons and younger relatives separate duties and stationing them directly throughout its farms. (The monastery’s farms are the same.) The tenant laborers are already responsible for plowing, sowing, and cultivation; the estate overseers are already responsible for directing and supervising them; and when rents are collected, monastic practitioners serving as collection supervisors are already responsible.

Apart from these, if there is a need to remit rents and taxes to the authorities, repair the embankments surrounding the fields to prevent flooding, distribute provisions, or undertake similar work, then only at that particular time should such tasks be temporarily entrusted to former officers or current administrators for a specified period. Once the work is finished, it would be better for them to return to the monastery and resume their former duties.

This would not only reduce expenses and make up the shortfall in the permanent community’s expenditures, thereby benefiting the monastery, but would also eliminate discord between superiors and subordinates before it could arise, allowing both public and private interests to benefit. Nowadays, many monasteries have fallen into ruin and are no different from fugitive households whose poverty and hunger have forced them to abandon their native places and seek sustenance elsewhere.

If abbots and former officers can show compassionate concern for the monastery’s future, they should reduce expenditures, remedy and eradicate entrenched abuses, abolish superfluous, indiscriminately established, and useless offices, and dismiss corrupt personnel. Let the reform of the farm-estate administration begin here.

Compared with the original rules of ancient times, under such grievous and difficult circumstances—as perilous as boiling oil and blazing fire, just as described above—if anyone dares to step forward and assume the office of superintendent of the farm estates, all should confer together and provide that person with additional compensation to make up for the losses incurred!

SUPERVISORS OF COLLECTION FOR THE VARIOUS ESTATES

According to the Ancient Pure Rules, the two offices of estate master and collection supervisor did not formerly exist; these two titles were established only in recent times. As soon as these titles were instituted, abuses became rampant. In some cases, the abbot privately appointed an unworthy person; in others, people were appointed indiscriminately in pursuit of private profit and power.

Sometimes former officers and officers of the Western Rank monopolized and held these posts for many consecutive years. Sometimes persons relying on the protection of the powerful schemed to secure these offices. Sometimes factions and cliques divided the offices among themselves and occupied them.

Sometimes people fought covertly or openly used force to seize them. The embezzlement of communal property and its appropriation for private interests are beyond enumeration. Although many have thought of ways to remedy the situation and reform these abuses, nothing has ever come of it.

If, perchance, there are honest and upright former officers assisting the abbot, the nominations should be made publicly and appointments assigned according to ability. If necessary, one may even open a divination book before the assembly and cast lots to select someone to fill the office!

The person chosen to serve as supervisor of collection for the farm estates must wholeheartedly devote himself to self-denial in the service of communal affairs. He must neither treat the tenant farmers harshly nor allow the permanent property of the monastery to suffer loss. In this way, the interests of both oneself and others will be fully preserved.

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PROCEDURE FOR NOMINATING AND APPOINTING A HEAD SEAT TO ESTABLISH THE SANGHA

This is a truly weighty matter and must not be handled through a casual or indiscriminate nomination. If a retired abbot of a renowned great monastery—a Western Hall elder—or a former Head Seat of distinguished virtue is presently residing at this monastery, and his virtue and learning have long been respected and esteemed by the assembly, the monastery should tactfully explain the matter and ask his opinion. If he indicates his consent, a special ceremony of ascending the Dharma hall must be held, at which the abbot announces: “The assembly of this monastery is exceedingly large.

We need a worthy person capable of shouldering this grave responsibility, joining us in establishing the great Dharma, and strengthening the training of the monastic community. Fortunately, our monastery has such a person: one of lofty and penetrating understanding, in whom the life of wisdom is entrusted.” After the abbot has descended from the seat and a short time has passed, he, together with the officers of the two ranks and the assembly, bows and makes this request of the elder: “For the sake of the assembly, please ascend the seat and expound the Dharma so that everyone may receive instruction.

We hope you will arouse compassion and accept.”

After the elder descends from the seat, an attendant from the abbot’s quarters presents on a cloth-covered wooden tray two tablets inscribed “Entering the Chamber” and “General Invitation.” Together with the assembly below the seat, he bows and requests him, respectfully saying: “The assembly has long admired the Master with all its heart and has eagerly hoped to receive his instruction. We beseech the Master to extend his compassion and accept this request.” The person accepting the invitation immediately proceeds to the abbot’s quarters, burns incense, lowers his sitting cloth to the floor in a gesture of gratitude, and states: “I, so-and-so, have been fortunate enough to be permitted to reside at this honored monastery.

Properly speaking, I should not step forward or make myself prominent, but should merely shelter this remnant body. Yet now that I have been deemed worthy of nomination, how could I dare refuse and thereby disappoint the assembly and go against its wishes?” The abbot replies: “The propagation of the Buddha-Dharma depends entirely upon the Master’s pure virtue. We respectfully beseech you to take pity on us and graciously consent!” After the abbot has expressed his thanks, the attendant of the Hall Office sounds the bell in the Sangha hall, and the assembly together escorts the newly appointed Head Seat for Establishing the Sangha back to his quarters.

At that time, the newly appointed head-seat monk and the abbot together lowered their sitting cloths to the floor once as a token of reverence, after which the abbot escorted the newly appointed head-seat monk out of the abbot’s quarters. The newly appointed head-seat monk then bowed and exchanged greetings with the assembly. Afterward, the rector went to the quarters of the newly appointed head-seat monk to consult with him about assigning an attendant to him.

He then posted a notice inviting the entire assembly and arranged the Dharma hall, where the newly appointed head-seat monk would expound the Dharma to the assembly, furnishing it with such ritual implements as a Chan chair, a whisk, a staff, an incense burner, and candles. A roll of the drum was sounded, and the assembly gathered in the Dharma hall. Once everyone was settled, the newly appointed head-seat monk proceeded to his seat.

The rector stepped out from his rank, burned incense, and together with the assembly once again bowed low to express their earnest invitation. The newly appointed head-seat monk sat in the full-lotus posture, and the officers of both ranks bowed and exchanged greetings with him. Next, the abbot bowed and exchanged greetings with him.

After the newly appointed head-seat monk had expounded the Dharma to the assembly, the rector and the assembly again bowed low to express their personal thanks. The newly appointed head-seat monk then carried incense to the abbot’s quarters to thank the abbot. He spread out his sitting cloth and twice performed three prostrations, saying: “I have respectfully received the assignment entrusted to me by the venerable abbot.

I can do no more than boldly accept this weighty office. If there is any respect in which I fail to fulfill my responsibilities, I beseech the venerable abbot, out of compassion, to grant me generous forbearance. I am truly overcome with shame and apprehension!” Having

said this, the newly appointed head-seat monk went to the administrative office and the various quarters to bow and exchange greetings. The abbot’s quarters prepared a simple vegetarian meal to entertain the newly appointed head-seat monk, and also specially prepared hot water and an evening meal; at night, hot water and fruit were again served. At each of these receptions, the officers of both ranks were invited to attend and keep him company, and the attendant of the newly appointed head-seat monk was also included among the guests.

On the following day, the abbot specially held a tea reception in the Sangha hall to entertain the newly appointed head-seat monk. The guest attendant prepared and posted a notice announcing the tea reception, then went to the quarters of the newly appointed head-seat monk, burned incense, and respectfully invited him. The ceremonial forms were the same as those observed when arranging a tea reception for a newly appointed head seat.

The newly appointed head-seat monk was likewise required to arrange a tea reception in return for the head seat and the assembly; its ceremonial forms were the same as those observed when the front-hall head seat arranged a tea reception for the rear-hall head seat and the assembly. The abbot also selected a day on which to hold a tea reception in the abbot’s quarters for the newly appointed head-seat monk, inviting the officers of both ranks to attend and keep him company.

PROCEDURE FOR INVITING A VIRTUOUS AND EMINENT MONK TO SERVE AS HEAD SEAT

With regard to the person to be invited, the abbot must first inquire as to his wishes. If he agrees, the abbot must first entertain him with tea in the abbot’s quarters, with the officers of both ranks in attendance. The drum is then sounded for the abbot to ascend the Dharma seat, without first passing through the stage of posting a notice to inform the assembly.

From the Dharma seat, the abbot earnestly explains the reason for respectfully inviting the virtuous and eminent monk to serve as head seat. After descending from the seat, the abbot and the entire Sangha face the eminent head seat and bow to express the sincerity of their invitation. The bell is then sounded to escort the eminent head seat back to the Sangha quarters.

The ceremonial arrangements for serving tea and hot water are the same as those described above for entertaining a newly appointed head-seat monk.

The ceremonies marking the assumption and relinquishment of office by an eminent head seat are conducted separately and solemnly, rather than together with the ceremonies marking the assumption and relinquishment of office by the officers of both ranks. Because the eminent head seat does not administer any specific affairs, there is no procedure for transferring responsibilities to a successor.

Form of the invitation notice for tea with the eminent head seat:

This morning, after the meal, the venerable abbot will serve tea in the Cloud Hall (Sangha hall) in honor of the newly appointed head seat, provisionally observing the ceremony of congratulation. The administrators and the assembly are respectfully invited to attend and keep him company.

On the … day of the … month, respectfully submitted by so-and-so of the Attendants’ Office

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PROCEDURES FOR THE OFFICERS OF BOTH RANKS TO ASSUME AND RELINQUISH OFFICE

The leading officers of the Western Rank among the officers of both ranks occupy positions of great importance; therefore, persons whose virtue and ability are commensurate with their duties must be selected to fill them. Recently, however, vulgar and ignorant people have simplistically regarded the office of leading officer as nothing more than the duty of arranging food and drink to entertain others. Consequently, lofty practitioners who delight in the Way while content with poverty have become even more inclined to withdraw and conceal themselves, refusing the office of leading officer in order to preserve their purity.

If so, how can the monasteries cause people to hear of their reputation and come, thereby attracting men of talent? Those who hold the office of abbot must strive to eradicate the aforementioned abuse.

As for the administrators of the Eastern Rank, the Old Pure Rules list only five: the supervisor, rector, cook, work superintendent, and treasurer.

When the terms of the officers of both ranks had ended, they would themselves strike the wooden block, announce their retirement to the assembly, and return to the Sangha hall to resume the status of ordinary monks among the assembly. At first, they did not request such special treatment as private quarters or individual beds. For this reason, the monasteries flourished greatly.

Recently, however, customs have changed drastically. In Chan monasteries, whether large or small, the number of former officers enjoying special treatment may reach several hundred, and the number of servants attending this group has multiplied. Meanwhile, only a scant few ordinary monks remain in the Sangha hall.

During the Taiding reign period, Chancellor Tuotuo concurrently held the position of administrator of the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs. He divided the monasteries into three grades—upper, middle, and lower—and prescribed an annual quota for each monastery’s appointment of monastic administrators and former officers, determining it in accordance with whether their numbers were deficient or excessive. This was done precisely because of the matter described above.

Chan monasteries must comply with this regulation established by Chancellor Tuotuo. Any officer whose term is about to expire must go to the abbot’s quarters and request permission to relinquish office. Once the date for assuming and relinquishing office has been selected, the abbot instructs a postulant to inform the officers of both ranks.

That very evening, when the evening bell sounds, the outgoing administrators go as a group to the abbot’s quarters, burn incense, lower their sitting cloths to the floor as a token of making one prostration, return the keys and account books to the administrative office, and thereby relinquish their posts. If any among them are definitely to be retained in office, the abbot personally escorts them to the administrative office.

The attendant burns incense and serves hot water, and the abbot earnestly urges them to remain in office.

On the following day, when the bell sounds to announce the fifth watch, the leading officers carry incense to the abbot’s quarters, lower their sitting cloths to the floor as a token of making one prostration, and announce their relinquishment of office. If any of them are retained in office, the ceremony is performed in the same manner as for the administrators. Hot water is prepared beforehand for those being retained in office.

Afterward, the abbot gives the guest-reception attendant a list of the newly selected monastic officers of the two divisions, instructing him to invite the newly appointed monastic officers, together with the West Hall, to console the former officeholders over porridge. After the porridge, tea is served. The former administrators and officers of the two divisions wait until porridge has been served throughout the Sangha hall, then enter through the rear door.

A senior member among the former administrators strikes the wooden clapper once and says: “May all venerable ones please take heed! We were previously compassionately assigned by the Venerable Abbot of the Hall to oversee the various duties of the treasury office. Now, however, our minds and strength are both exhausted, and we ask leave to relinquish our posts and return to the Sangha hall as ordinary members of the assembly.

We respectfully submit this report!” He then strikes the wooden clapper once more, comes forward from the left side of the Holy Monk’s image to stand before the abbot, spreads out his sitting cloth, and bows three times on two occasions. Upon spreading the sitting cloth the first time, he says: “We formerly had the honor of being selected, promoted, and appointed by the Venerable Abbot. Knowing ourselves unequal to the responsibilities, we feel profoundly ashamed!” Upon spreading the sitting cloth the second time, he inquires after the abbot’s well-being in heat and cold.

Having spoken, he lowers the sitting cloth to the ground and bows three times, then turns and withdraws. Coming forward from the right side of the Holy Monk’s image to stand before it, he spreads out the sitting cloth, kneels, and bows three times. He then turns, rises from the head seat at the beginning of the row, makes one circuit of the Sangha hall, and stops in its exact center.

He bows in greeting and inquires after everyone’s well-being, then withdraws.

After the gruel has been eaten, the guest-prefect’s attendant retains the newly appointed office-holding monks and invites them to the abbot’s quarters for tea. When the tea has been taken, the abbot personally rises, burns a handful of incense, returns to his former place, and says: “The officers of the two divisions previously announced their retirement, but these offices cannot be left without anyone to assume responsibility.

We now respectfully invite so-and-so to fill the office of administrator, and so-and-so to fill the office of section head!” After announcing in sequence who is invited to fill each office, the abbot steps forward and stands before the incense burner. The attendant bows and invites the newly appointed officers to approach the abbot; facing one another, both sides lower their sitting cloths to the floor and make one formal bow.

The newly appointed administrators then step forward, spread their sitting cloths, and make three prostrations twice. When spreading their sitting cloths the first time, they say: “We have not long been in the monastery, and all its affairs are still unfamiliar to us. Now, having received the Venerable’s confidence and been entrusted with offices in obedience to your directions, we are truly filled with fear and trepidation!” When spreading their sitting cloths the second time, they say: “Today the season is fair and auspicious.

We respectfully wish that the Venerable of the abbot’s quarters may conduct his daily life as he wishes, take good care of his Dharma body, enjoy sound health, and possess abundant merit.” They next lower their sitting cloths to the floor three times and make three formal prostrations. Each time the new administrators bow reverently, the abbot returns one bow. The new section heads step forward, spread their sitting cloths, and make three prostrations twice, addressing him with the same words previously spoken by the new administrators.

Afterward, the newly appointed officers of both divisions return to their places, and the attendant serves hot water. According to the Hàm Thuần Rules of Purity, revised during the Hàm Thuần era of the Southern Song dynasty, at that time there were also ceremonies of bowing to invite them to sit, inviting them to burn incense, and serving them hot water; monasteries in various places still observe these practices today.

Some also maintain that on that day the monastery should provide a special reception for the newly appointed officers. This, however, may be omitted, and whether it is held depends upon the abbot’s wishes. After the hot water has been taken, the newly appointed officers must express their gratitude to the abbot.

Sometimes they spread their sitting cloths and make three prostrations; at other times this ceremony is omitted—that is, the matter is decided according to circumstances. The chief attendant has the Sangha hall bell sounded, and every member of the assembly returns to stand at his place for the meal. The abbot enters the Sangha hall and first escorts the front-hall head seat, followed by the other section heads, back to their places for the meal.

Each lowers his sitting cloth to the floor and makes one formal bow. The abbot next escorts the rear-hall head seat back to his place for the meal; facing one another, both lower their sitting cloths to the floor and exchange one formal bow. The entire group of new administrators first stands at the head-board on the western side of the hall.

After the abbot returns to his own place for the meal, the rector approaches him, bows in greeting and inquires after his well-being, then stands beside him. (If the rector has retired from office, the guest prefect or an attendant performs this rite in his stead.) The abbot hands the list of newly appointed officers to the rector. The rector immediately bows in greeting and inquires after his well-being, then passes around from behind the image of the Holy Monk and strikes the wooden sounding block once, announcing: “Reverend members of the assembly!

The former administrators have announced their retirement, but these offices cannot remain unfilled. We have just respectfully received the compassionate instruction of the Venerable of the abbot’s quarters, inviting so-and-so to fill such-and-such office and so-and-so to fill such-and-such office. This is now respectfully announced!” He strikes the wooden sounding block once more.

The attendant bows and invites the entire group of newly appointed administrators to approach the abbot, lower their sitting cloths to the floor, and make one formal bow. The rector announces: “The ceremony of respectfully inviting the new group of administrators is now concluded,” and then strikes a roll on the wooden sounding block. The entire group of newly appointed administrators spreads their sitting cloths and makes three prostrations twice, offering the same words of gratitude as before.

The new administrators pass from behind the image of the Holy Monk, emerge on its right side, and stand in a row before it. They spread their sitting cloths and perform the great homage of three full prostrations. The rector leads the group of new administrators once around the Sangha hall.

They return to stand directly in the center, exchange greetings and inquiries after well-being, then withdraw by way of the head-board on the western side and stand there. The hall-office attendant calls aloud: “Let the assembly bow in congratulations to the new group of administrators!” All lower their sitting cloths to the floor and make one formal bow together. He then says: “Let the new group of administrators bow in gratitude to the assembly!” Everyone again lowers his sitting cloth to the floor and makes one formal bow together.

He then says: “Let the assembly escort the new group of administrators to the administrative office!” The chief attendant sounds the Sangha hall bell. The abbot personally escorts the new group of administrators into the administrative office, where all lower their sitting cloths to the floor and exchange one formal bow. The newly appointed administrators then escort the abbot out of the administrative office.

The new and former groups of administrators then perform the ceremony of transferring and receiving their offices. They turn to face one another and together lower their sitting cloths to the floor and exchange one formal bow. The new administrators escort the former administrators out.

The attendants offer congratulations first, followed by the section heads, who lead the assembly in offering congratulations. When this is finished, the attendant says: “Let the assembly escort the new head seat to his quarters!” The bell is sounded once more as they escort and congratulate him. He then says: “Let the assembly escort the new rector to the hall office!” Once again the bell is sounded as they escort and congratulate him.

Next he says: “Let the retiring office-holding monks of both divisions escort the new rear-hall head seat, secretary, canon prefect, and guest prefect back to their Sangha quarters!” The courtesies of escorting and congratulating them, together with the ceremony of transferring and receiving office, are the same as those observed between the new and former administrators. When this is finished, the hall-office attendant again calls aloud: “Let the assembly escort the former head seat and the chief monastery supervisor back to their Sangha quarters!” Again the bell is sounded to signify that they are being escorted and congratulated.

He then calls aloud: “Let the senior former officers of both divisions escort the former section heads, from the former head seat downward, to the Meng Hall, and the former administrators, from the former prior downward, to the quarters before the private offices!” The same courtesies are observed as when the newly appointed officers were escorted earlier. Next, the newly appointed office-holding monks escort the abbot out of the administrative office, and the newly appointed administrators are immediately received by the quarters prefect.

They turn to face one another and together lower their sitting cloths to the floor and exchange one formal bow. There is no need, however, to escort the quarters prefect outside; instead, they remain seated and receive congratulations on assuming office. When the courtesies of escorting, congratulating, and receiving have been completed, both the new and former groups of administrators bring incense to the abbot’s quarters and bow in gratitude to the abbot.

The incense for the newly appointed officers is supplied by the administrative office. After the ceremony of gratitude, the new and former officers together make the rounds of the quarters to inquire after the assembly. The abbot’s quarters entertains them with refreshments and a light meal.

At the midday meal, only simple rice and vegetables are served, but members of the western rank and the senior former officers are invited to attend and keep them company. When officers responsible for miscellaneous duties—from the quarters superintendent downward—complete their terms, they must wait until the abbot has finished appointing the new officers of the two divisions. They then choose a suitable day to go to the rector’s quarters, or hall office, and report their request to retire.

The rector will select suitable new personnel for each miscellaneous duty, and they will perform the ceremony of transferring and receiving office together with the former personnel.

INVITING AN ADMINISTRATOR WHEN THE BEGGING BOWL IS HUNG UP

In some monasteries, the abbot invites and appoints new officers without first consulting the assembly or asking their opinion, but instead selects the persons privately on his own. He first instructs the administrative office attendant that, in the Sangha hall, just after the assembly has finished the morning gruel and hung up their bowls, he is to announce: “May the assembly remain standing for a moment for the ceremony of inviting the new officers!” The rector enters the Sangha hall, goes before the image of the Holy Monk, burns incense, makes one circuit of the Sangha hall, then goes before the abbot, bows in greeting and inquiry after his well-being, and stands beside him.

The abbot hands the rector a list of the new officers whom he has invited. Upon receiving it, the rector bows in greeting, then turns from behind the image of the Holy Monk, steps forward, strikes the gavel once, and announces: “Reverend assembly! I have just respectfully received the compassionate instruction of the abbot to invite so-and-so to assume the office of new officer.” After the rector has made each announcement in turn, the attendant bows and invites each new officer to come before the abbot and accept office.

The ceremonial observances are the same as in the customary ceremony for inviting new officers described above. They then return to the abbot’s quarters for tea. In this case, the ceremony for inviting the new principal officers is likewise the same as the customary ceremony for inviting new principal officers described above.

ATTENDANTS RELINQUISHING AND ASSUMING OFFICE

After the invitation of the officers of the two ranks has been completed, the former attendants accompany the abbot to his quarters and report: “We have attended upon the Venerable for a long time. We now wish to request leave to relinquish our offices and follow the assembly in studying and cultivating the Way and Dharma. We reverently beseech the Venerable to grant compassionate approval!” Having spoken, they burn incense, spread their sitting cloths, perform three full prostrations, and withdraw.

The abbot writes his approved nominations for the new attendants and sends them to the administrative office, that is, the rector’s quarters. The rector gives the approved document to an attendant and instructs him to invite the new attendants in accordance with it. He also asks the quarters supervisor to assist earnestly in persuading them to accept, and then they accompany the new attendants to the rector’s quarters for tea.

After inviting them inside, burning incense, and serving tea, the rector again rises, burns incense, and announces: “I have just respectfully received the compassionate instruction of the abbot, directing the Elder so-and-so to assume the office of attendant.” After making each announcement in turn, he bows and invites each appointee to step forward. Together they lower their sitting cloths toward the floor to signify one prostration, then change places and escort each person to the attendant’s seat.

The rector bows, invites him to sit, invites him to burn incense, and then returns to his own seat as rector. After the hot-water service, he leads him up to the abbot’s quarters. The abbot comes out, and the rector steps forward and reports: “I have just respectfully received the Venerable’s compassionate instruction to invite so-and-so to serve as such-and-such attendant.

I have now brought him to burn incense and pay homage to the Venerable.” The abbot sits solemnly in his place. The new attendant lights incense, spreads his sitting cloth, and performs the full ceremony of three prostrations. When this is finished, the rector escorts the new attendant back to the Sangha quarters, where together they lower their sitting cloths toward the floor to signify one prostration.

The attendant escorts the rector out of the quarters and then completes the transfer of duties with the former attendant. These observances are the same as those for the transfer of office between former and new principal officers. [According to the Chunyou Pure Rules—the pure rules of the Chunyou era of the Southern Song dynasty—there were also occasions when the abbot personally escorted an attendant back to the Sangha quarters.

The attendant was then to lower his sitting cloth toward the floor to signify one prostration to the abbot and escort him out of the Sangha quarters. According to the Zhizhi Pure Rules—the pure rules of the Zhizhi era of the Yuan dynasty—however, the abbot personally escorted an attendant into the quarters only when a renowned and fully virtuous person was appointed to that office. Facing each other, they lowered their sitting cloths toward the floor to signify one prostration, and the rector merely offered congratulations.

This should not be regarded as the regular rule.] Afterward, the attendants of the abbot’s quarters, the sedan-bearers, and those on duty in the reception hall come to bow and offer congratulations. The administrative office attendant then leads the former and new attendants on a circuit of all the quarters to greet the assembly. When this is finished, the new attendants must go to the abbot’s quarters, light incense, bow, and thank the abbot.

During the first days after the transfer of office, morning and evening the former attendants remain constantly beside the new attendants and accompany them to the abbot’s quarters to bow in greeting and inquire after the abbot’s well-being.

Three days later, the abbot issues an approved order directing the administrative office to return the former attendants to the common Sangha quarters. There, together with the rector, they lower their sitting cloths toward the floor and bow to each other once, after which they escort the rector out of the quarters. They next bow and exchange greetings with the quarters supervisor.

When this is finished, they again go up to the abbot’s quarters, burn incense, pay homage, and thank the abbot. The attendant of the Holy Monk, however, is selected under the rector’s responsibility. The rector consults with the selected person, and after he assumes office, the rector leads him up to the abbot’s quarters to pay homage and thank the abbot.

According to customary practice, tea, hot water, and refreshments are also provided for his reception.

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PROCEDURE FOR TRANSFERRING THE FURNISHINGS OF THE QUARTERS

The furnishings of the quarters are acquired by the permanent monastery only with difficulty. Yet officers often treat the quarters as though they were guest lodgings passed from one person to another. Thus, when the time comes to hand over their offices and leave the monastery, they allow their own associates to carry things off at will for personal use.

The quarters are left utterly bare, and those who come to take possession stand bewildered, not knowing what to do. Their only recourse is to draw up a list of necessary articles and ask the treasury office to supply them. If the supply is insufficient, reproaches and resentment inevitably arise, and contentious words disturb both superiors and subordinates.

If the treasury office supplies the newly installed occupants according to the number of articles requested, this merely adds further to the burden borne by the permanent monastery.

Therefore, the treasury office should establish a comprehensive register that clearly records the furnishings in every quarters, to be inspected and certified by the abbot and officers. Each quarters should also be issued a smaller register containing a complete record of its furnishings. The entries in the large and small registers must correspond exactly, with the treasury office retaining one and the administrator of each quarters retaining the other.

When former and new officers replace one another, they must transfer possession according to the articles recorded in the register and actually present. If any article is damaged, it must be repaired at the expense of the permanent monastery; if any article is missing, the person then residing in those quarters must personally compensate for it. Several days before officers are to assume or relinquish office, the assistant bursar, accompanied by an attendant carrying the register, must visit each quarters and first make a clear inspection and verification.

Specific responsibility rests with the servant assigned to those quarters, who must not allow any articles to be lost but must preserve them carefully. Anyone who violates these regulations must be censured and required to make compensation. If additional articles have been placed in the quarters since the previous inventory, they must promptly be counted and entered into the register to facilitate verification in the future.

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THE ABBOT’S QUARTERS SPECIALLY SERVE HOT WATER TO THE FORMER AND NEW OFFICERS OF THE TWO RANKS

The guest-inviting attendant instructs the guest prefect’s practitioner to prepare a wooden tray covered with cloth and an incense burner, and to proceed to the quarters of the new and former front-hall head seats. There he burns incense, unfolds the sitting cloth upon the floor, makes one bow as an expression of respect, and announces: “The Abbot invites you, before the evening Dharma instruction, to come to the abbot’s sleeping quarters to attend a reception with medicinal hot water.” Next, he goes before the new and former rectors, burns incense, and extends the invitation without bowing, using the same words as when inviting the new and former front-hall head seats, as described above.

Next, regarding the new and former officers of the two divisions, he instructs the guest prefect to invite them, while also inviting the retired senior officers to attend as companions. A placard announcing the medicinal-hot-water reception is hung in the sleeping quarters, and the seats are arranged and adorned. The retired senior officers attending as companions sit on the two sides facing one another.

The new senior officers occupy the first row, the new administrators the second row, the former senior officers the third row, and the former administrators the fourth row. The other retired senior officers attending as companions are seated on the two sides of the principal accompanying guests, with the Western Division on the left and the Eastern Division on the right.

The incense attendant burns incense and prepares the seating placard indicating the order of seats. At the appointed time, the drum is sounded. The invited guests assemble, and together with the guest-inviting attendant perform the ceremony, which is the same as the ceremony for the medicinal hot water served at the lesser seat.

Toward evening, medicinal hot water and fruit are served for their reception. The following day, after the morning gruel, the new and former officers are invited to take tea. The treasury office also invites them to tea; however, as they cannot attend in time, they first take tea in the abbot’s quarters, then immediately go to the treasury office to express thanks for the midday meal.

The treasury office serves refreshments to make up for the missed reception and provides meals and gruel to the former officeholders for three days.

THE MONKS’ HALL OFFICE SPECIALLY SERVES TEA AND MEDICINAL HOT WATER TO THE NEW AND FORMER ATTENDANTS

After the simple meal, the rector instructs the practitioner of the monks’ hall office—the rector’s quarters—to invite the new and former attendants, together with the attendant of the Sacred Sangha image, to come before the evening Dharma instruction to the rector’s quarters—the monks’ hall office—for medicinal hot water.

The monks’ hall office—the rector’s quarters—arranges the seats and hangs a placard indicating their positions, and invites the quarters superintendent to attend as a companion. The cloud-shaped board in front of the quarters is struck; the guests are received, exchange bows, and take their seats. The ceremony is the same as that of the reception given by the guest office. The medicinal hot water should be served before the reception in the abbot’s quarters, so as not to interfere with the performance of the ceremony. After the abbot’s quarters has specially served tea to the new head seat, the treasury office likewise specially invites the new and former attendants to tea. On the following day, those who received the hospitality must express their thanks at both places.

THE TREASURY OFFICE SPECIALLY SERVES MEDICINAL HOT WATER AND THE EVENING MEAL TO THE NEW AND FORMER OFFICERS OF THE TWO DIVISIONS

After the vegetable meal, the guest prefect’s practitioner is instructed to prepare a wooden tray covered with cloth, an incense burner, and a torch. The senior administrator goes to the quarters of the new and former head seats and rectors, burns incense, and announces: “This evening, after the medicinal-hot-water reception in the abbot’s quarters, you are invited to come to the treasury office, where medicinal hot water will be specially served.

We respectfully hope that your attendance will lend dignity to the occasion!” Following behind, the guest prefect invites them, saying: “After taking the medicinal hot water, please take your seats for the evening meal!” All the officers, senior and junior, are invited as well. The Western Hall elder and retired senior officers are also invited to attend as companions. The seats for the ceremony are arranged, and a placard designating the seating positions is hung.

The seating is divided into four rows: the new senior officers occupy the first row, the former senior officers the second row, the former administrators the third row, and the estate and treasury officers the fourth row. The new administrators likewise have their seats arranged according to rank. The rector alone takes a seat as an accompanying guest, while the seats for the retired senior officers are arranged as in the abbot’s quarters.

After the medicinal-hot-water reception in the abbot’s quarters has concluded, the treasury office strikes the cloud-shaped board. Everyone stands in the assigned place indicated on the placard. The rector makes one circuit of the seats, then bows to everyone and invites them to sit.

He burns incense and invites everyone to offer incense, then proceeds in the order of the rows of seats, making one circuit and bowing in greeting. Returning to the center, he burns incense and invites the accompanying guests to offer incense. He then returns to his own place and sits, whereupon medicinal hot water is served.

After taking the medicinal hot water, the invited guests rise, come before the incense burner, and express thanks for the offering. They then don their robes and proceed to their seats for the evening meal.

THE MONKS’ HALL OFFICE ESCORTS THE FORMER HEAD SEAT AND FORMER RECTOR TO THEIR EATING PLACES

Three days after the officers of the two divisions have relinquished and assumed their offices, just before dawn, the rector instructs the practitioner of the monks’ hall office to lead assistants carrying lanterns and invite the former head seat and former rector to the monks’ hall office—the rector’s quarters—to be served medicinal hot water. The rector receives them and burns incense. After they have taken the medicinal hot water, he announces: “Your honorable terms of office have just been completed.

According to the monastery’s custom, you must be escorted back to your eating places.” Having said this, he escorts them into the Sangha hall through the rear entrance. First he escorts the former head seat, and then the former rector, back to their original places at the head of their respective platforms. Together they unfold their sitting cloths upon the floor and make one bow to one another as an expression of respect.

That same day, their names are entered on the register of the Sangha hall.

THE ABBOT’S QUARTERS ENTERTAINS THE NEW AND FORMER OFFICERS OF THE TWO DIVISIONS

After the abbot has specially invited each one in turn and ascended the Dharma hall to mention their names and offer thanks, the new and former officers of the two divisions assemble beneath the Dharma seat to express their gratitude. The guest-inviting attendant instructs the guest prefect’s practitioner to prepare a wooden tray covered with cloth, together with an incense burner, candles, and an incense box. He goes before the new and former head seats and rectors, burns incense, and announces the invitation: “At the noon hour, the Abbot invites you to come to the sleeping quarters for a reception!” The guest prefect then invites the new and former officeholders and the retired senior officers who will attend as companions.

The seats are arranged in the sleeping quarters, and a placard designating their positions is hung. When all the guests have assembled, the abbot is informed. The abbot comes forth, receives everyone, and escorts them to the seats, where they stand in the order recorded on the seating placard.

Next, the incense attendant and the guest-inviting attendant make one circuit and invite everyone to sit. After burning incense, they sit at the banquet table. The entire company of attendants lines up before the abbot, bows in greeting, and then takes their places.

When the meal is served, the incense attendant leaves his seat and burns incense. Gifts are distributed, and after the meal is finished, everyone leaves the banquet table. The drum is sounded, and the tea reception ceremony is performed in the same manner as the ceremony for specially serving medicinal hot water.

Afterward, the drum is sounded three times and everyone withdraws from the seats. The new and former officeholders together spread their sitting cloths and perform the great ceremony of three prostrations twice in order to express their gratitude.

THE ABBOT’S QUARTERS SPECIALLY SERVES TEA TO THE NEW HEAD SEAT

After the reception was completed, on the following morning the attendant burned incense and reported the matter again to the abbot, then instructed the guest-hall assistant to prepare a wooden tray with a cloth cover, together with an incense burner, candles, and incense. The attendant asked the guest to write the notice announcing the tea reception (the form was the same as that used when entertaining the eminent Head Seat, described above), then went to the new Head Seat’s quarters, burned incense, cast down his sitting cloth, and made one prostration with full reverence, saying: “The Venerable Abbot invites you, after the midday meal, to the Cloud Hall for a special tea reception.

We humbly hope that you will attend and thereby lend greater solemnity to the occasion!” The guest-hall assistant informed the assembly, hung up the Tea Reception notice, invited the officers and the assembly to grace the occasion with their company, and arranged the seating chart. The attendant conducted the ceremony (all was the same as in the four ceremonies described above, except that at the first four seats no tables were placed for incense burners.

Nor was a circuit made through the Sangha Hall to invite the assembly to tea). When the ceremony ended, the teacups of the abbot and the Head Seat were cleared away. The Head Seat advanced before the abbot and performed the great prostration ceremony.

The first time he spread his sitting cloth, he said: “Today I have been especially favored by being allowed to attend this tea reception. Your solicitude has been exceedingly gracious, and in my heart I feel profoundly grateful and humbled!” The second time he spread his sitting cloth, he offered the customary words of good wishes concerning the daily changes of warmth and cold. When this was completed, he cast his sitting cloth upon the ground and made three prostrations with full reverence.

The Head Seat passed behind the image of the Holy Monk, exited by the right side, and came before the Sangha Hall. The abbot again escorted him to his former place to raise his cup. After the attendant had burned incense to thank those who had graced the occasion with their company, the cups were cleared away, the drum was struck three times, and all withdrew from the ceremonial seats.

The Head Seat remained standing outside the Dharma Hall on the right, awaiting the abbot’s departure so that he might thank him for the tea reception.

THE NEW HEAD SEAT SPECIALLY ENTERTAINS THE REAR-HALL HEAD SEAT AND THE ASSEMBLY WITH TEA

After having been specially entertained with tea by the abbot, on the following morning the new Head Seat carried incense to the abbot’s quarters and made a formal invitation, saying: “After the midday meal, I specially invite the Rear-Hall Head Seat and the assembly to the Cloud Hall (Sangha Hall) for tea. I humbly beseech you, in your compassion, to attend and thereby lend greater solemnity to the occasion!” He next presented the written invitation (the form is given below), then prepared a wooden tray covered with cloth and bearing an incense burner and candles.

He went to the Rear-Hall Head Seat’s quarters, burned incense, and formally invited him, saying: “Tomorrow morning, after the midday meal, I invite you to the Cloud Hall for a special tea reception. I humbly hope that you will attend and thereby lend greater solemnity to the occasion!” After presenting the written invitation, he instructed the tea server of his own quarters to entrust the announcement to the offerings attendant for notification of the assembly.

It was posted on the left side of the Sangha Hall, with the envelope affixed before the written notice. He then instructed the Hall Office assistant (the disciplinarian’s quarters) to notify the assembly and hang up the Tea Reception placard. Thereafter, the cloud-board was struck in one long roll, and a circuit was made through the Sangha Hall to invite the assembly to tea (the drum was struck to assemble the community, and the ceremony was conducted in the same manner as an ordinary meal reception).

Form of the written invitation:

The Front-Hall Head Seat, Bhiksu So-and-so: I, So-and-so (the new Head Seat), shall this morning, after the midday meal, hold a special tea reception in the Cloud Hall to entertain the Rear-Hall Head Seat and the assembly. I likewise invite the officers to keep this occasion in mind and grace it with their presence!

On the … day of the … month, the presenter of this written invitation, So-and-so

Inscription on the envelope:

An invitation to the Rear-Hall Head Seat and the assembly

Respectfully sealed by So-and-so, who prepared this envelope

THE ABBOT THOUGHTFULLY VISITS THE PRINCIPAL OFFICERS AND ENTERTAINS THEM WITH TEA

After the tea and hot-water receptions were completed, following the midday meal the abbot went to the quarters of the principal officers to entertain them with tea. He leisurely and cordially inquired after them and examined whatever they lacked, instructing the treasury office to provide and arrange supplies according to the circumstances.

TEA RECEPTION FOR THE TWO DIVISIONS AT THE TRANSFER OF OFFICES

After the abbot had specially entertained the new Head Seat with tea, each of the newly appointed officers, in order of rank, assumed full ceremonial deportment, carried incense, and personally went to the quarters of the person he was replacing. There he burned incense face-to-face, cast his sitting cloth upon the ground, made one prostration with full reverence, and invited him, saying: “After the midday meal, I respectfully invite you to lower yourself and come to my quarters for tea!” He then instructed the tea server to invite one person from each of the two divisions to attend as a companion, namely one retired senior officer from each of the Eastern and Western Divisions. (When inviting the Western Division to tea, the administrators sat opposite one another on the two sides.

For principal officers of equal rank, one person of lower rank was invited to attend as a companion, since it would be inconvenient for someone of higher rank to attend the reception. When inviting the Eastern Division to tea, the principal officers sat opposite one another on the two sides. If the disciplinarian currently occupied a position in the Eastern Division, then when tea was offered, one person of lower rank—the assistant prior—was invited to attend.) Seats were arranged toward the inner part of the quarters.

Host and guest sat in two rows facing one another, while the places to the right and left were for those attending as companions. After the midday meal, the cloud-board before the quarters was struck. First the invited guest was received, and then those attending as companions were welcomed.

Once they had taken their places, the attendant bowed and invited them to sit, burned incense and invited the guest to offer incense, then burned incense and invited those attending as companions to offer incense. All took their seats, and tea was served. After tea, the person being replaced rose, took the originally offered invitation incense and placed it in the incense burner, cast his sitting cloth upon the ground, made a reverential prostration of thanks, and withdrew.

On the following day, the Hall Office assistant (the disciplinarian’s quarters) was instructed to invite both those relinquishing and those assuming office to refreshments, with one eminent senior invited to attend as a companion. If the transfer concerned the Front-Hall Head Seat, one person each from among the Western-Hall seniors and the retired senior officers was invited to attend as a companion. If the transfer concerned an office under the treasury division, Western-Hall seniors, retired senior officers, and principal officers were invited to attend as companions.

The treasury office arranged curtains and screens and set places facing inward for those being entertained, with places to the right and left for those attending as companions. The principal officers and the hosts and guests divided into two sides and sat facing one another; members of the same division sat according to their respective ranks. At the refreshments on the following day, the seating arrangements were the same as on the previous day.

The place of the Western Division was by the guest prefect, and that of the Eastern Division was by the disciplinarian. Whenever attendants transferred their duties, the disciplinarian was to be invited to attend the tea reception and refreshments as a companion (the seating arrangements and ceremonies were the same as for the transfer of other offices). In recent times, it has become customary for the guest-inviting assistant, on the occasion of the refreshments, also to invite members of the incense guild; this is contrary to proper ceremony.

TEA RECEPTIONS UPON ENTERING AND LEAVING THE QUARTERS

One entering the Meng Hall shall report to the dormitory master and hang up a notice announcing a tea reception. On the left side of the notice, a small slip of paper shall be affixed, reading: “I, so-and-so, bow and invite the venerable assembly of all the dormitories to gather in the upper dormitory after the meal.” After the meal, incense and candles shall be prepared, and all shall exchange bows and greetings. The dormitory master is invited to occupy the host’s seat, while the person offering the tea occupies the guest’s place.

After sitting for a short while, the tea host rises, burns incense, and exchanges bows and greetings. All sit again and tea is served; after it has been drunk, the cups are cleared away. The dormitory master rises and, standing before the incense burner, expresses thanks.

Whenever one leaves the Meng Hall to assume an office among the principal officers, a tea reception shall be held upon completion of the transfer of duties. On another day, the tea attendant shall be instructed to report to the dormitory master and hang up a notice announcing the tea reception. After the meal, the small wooden board in the dormitory shall be struck.

The person arranging the tea reception stands to the right of the dormitory door, greeting and inviting everyone to enter, and then goes before the incense burner to exchange bows and greetings. The dormitory master sits in the host’s place, while those serving the tea sit divided into two groups facing one another. After sitting for a short while, the tea host rises, burns incense, and exchanges bows and greetings.

All sit down again, and tea is offered. When this is finished, the dormitory master and the assembly rise, go before the incense burner to express their thanks, and then escort the tea host out.

When one leaves any of the dormitories to assume an office among the principal officers, the tea attendant shall be instructed to notify the dormitory master and hang up a notice announcing the tea reception. After the meal, the board is struck. The tea host first stands to the right of the dormitories, greeting and inviting the assembly to enter and take their appointed places in the dormitory.

The tea host then exchanges bows and greetings and bows to invite them to sit. Next, incense is burned in the central bay and in the bays to the right and left. Thereafter, bows and greetings are exchanged in the central bay and on both the right and left, with a final bow and greeting in the central bay.

The dormitory steward bows to the tea host and goes to sit in the place opposite. When the tea reception is finished, the dormitory steward goes before the incense burner to express thanks and then escorts the tea host out of the dormitory. When entering the various dormitories to offer tea, the ceremonial observances are the same as those followed when offering tea upon leaving a dormitory.

However, since the dormitory steward and dormitory senior distinguish the respective places of host and guest, one may not presume to enter and take a seat on one’s own initiative.

PRINCIPAL OFFICERS ENTERING THE SANGHA HALL TO OFFER TEA

After the tea ceremony for one leaving the dormitory has been completed, prepare a notice announcing the tea reception, in the form given below, and instruct the tea attendant to post it beside the bay of the Sangha Hall. In full ceremonial deportment, invite the abbot to attend the tea reception. Each dormitory shall hang up a notice announcing the tea reception and inviting the assembly.

The offerings attendant shall be instructed in advance to heat the water and set out the cups. The storehouse office shall prepare the tea and candles. After the meal, all shall proceed to their seats for the tea reception.

The principal officers offering tea shall enter the Sangha Hall, burn incense, and present the tea; the ceremony is the same as that observed on the first and fifteenth days of the month.

Form of the notice inviting the assembly to a tea reception:

My dormitory quarters are cramped and narrow, and I dare not invite you venerable ones to attend there. Tomorrow morning, after the meal, I respectfully request that you assemble in the Sangha Hall, where tea will be offered. I humbly beg the great assembly, in its compassion, to come together and thereby add to the solemn dignity of the occasion!

On the … day of the … month, so-and-so, holding the office of …, bows and respectfully extends this invitation.

The Chan masters serving in administrative offices at our monastery.

The Chan masters of hidden traces, renowned name, and virtue.

The Chan masters of our native district and our old companions in the Way.

The Chan masters and venerable assemblies of all the halls.

THE TWO RANKS LEAVING THEIR PLACES TO OFFER INCENSE

Whenever members leave their ranks to offer incense or conduct an incense procession, the cymbals shall be struck together. The rector comes before the incense burner and stands obliquely facing outward. He bows to the abbot and invites him to offer incense, while the attendant carries the incense box.

He next bows to the two ranks. Facing one another, they step out, turn, and bow in greeting to the abbot; this is called “assisting the incense.” Only afterward do they offer incense. (When the occasion is an imperial holy anniversary or a memorial observance for a Buddha, patriarch, or Dharma master in the lineage of succession, they do not assist the incense or exchange greetings.) If a rank has been established for the Western Hall, its incumbent must offer incense first.

Some suppose that, because he is a senior monk who has already served as an abbot, he must offer incense; this is a mistake. The actual reason is that he leaves his rank together with the chief administrator.

End of the Chapter on the Western Rank.

CHAPTER 7 – THE GREAT ASSEMBLY

Waters return to the vast emptiness, and trees grow together as a forest; multitude comes through gathering together. Today, alas, the great monasteries may house assemblies numbering as many as a thousand people. Thus the storehouses must be emptied to provide fuel for cooking, and the mountains glow red with fires used to prepare the food; all this is because so many people have gathered together. Yet when people from the four quarters converge upon a monastery, if it relies only upon what it already possesses, one does not know how it could manage.

The Buddha taught that human beings revolve through the three realms and sink beneath birth and death. Only those who illumine the Way, awaken to their nature, and transcend to wondrous enlightenment can enable all sentient beings, of every differing kind, to rely upon their goodness. Moreover, all who train disciples wish them to become like themselves; therefore, everyone treats disciples as they would treat their own teachers. Though members of the Sangha arrive shoulder to shoulder and heel upon heel, one fears only that the provisions supplied for their needs may be insufficient; one would never dare neglect them merely because they are numerous. Otherwise, lawsuits arising from disputes over a single inch of land or a single measure of grain would become exceedingly common.

How could donors be merely foolish, willingly exhausting their wealth to enlarge the dormitories in which we dwell and depleting their rice to feed us? Dwelling as we do and eating as we do—what are we to do? What are we to do?

End of Fascicle Four of the Imperially Commissioned Baizhang Pure Rules