The Etiquette of Reverence
別行篇, the book's final and most practical fascicle, turns away from doctrine and toward the physical, daily texture of lay practice — and it opens with the most basic layer of all: how to actually stand, bow, and move in the Buddha's presence. This gate gathers the classical rulings on why an image, and even objects that have merely touched one, deserve reverence; the correct method of the five-limbed prostration, set against the sloppy habits that have quietly replaced it; the etiquette of circumambulating a stupa; who is permitted to sit before the Buddha and who must stand; and the handful of days each year set aside for offerings made in his memory.
1. Milestone: What the Buddha Has Touched Remains Sacred, and the Five Merits of Paying Homage
The gate opens not with the mechanics of bowing but with a principle that governs everything that follows: reverence is not confined to an image itself, but radiates outward to anything the Buddha has actually used — even after that object is ruined. Only then does the Procedural Commentary turn to the reward side of the equation, citing the Ekottarika Āgama's list of five distinct merits earned simply by paying homage and attending upon the Buddha.
▲事鈔云『若塔廟支提受用之物、乃至擬造堂殿床座材石等已經佛像受用者。縱使風吹雨破、當奉敬之如形像無異。故四分中。王以園施佛。佛不受、當令奉僧。何以故。若佛園及園物、房舍房舍物、衣缽坐具鍼筒、便是塔廟。一切諸天世人沙門魔梵不能受用、應恭敬如塔。若施僧者、我在僧中。』
資持釋云『初受用功勝中、初正明。準前盜戒、佛受用物、乃至為佛亦不得賣易支提亦翻為廟。故下引證。王即瓶沙王。施佛則永不通僧、施僧則兼通於佛。』
The Procedural Commentary states: As for articles used by a stupa or shrine — including timber, stone, and other materials set aside to build a hall, platform, or seat — once they have actually been put to use in connection with a Buddha-image, then even if wind and rain later batter and ruin them, one must still revere them exactly as one would revere the image itself. Hence the Four-Part Vinaya: a king offered a garden to the Buddha; the Buddha declined it and had it given to the Sangha instead. Why is this? Because once a garden, or anything belonging to it — a dwelling, or anything belonging to a dwelling, a robe, a bowl, a sitting-mat, a needle-case — has been received and used by the Buddha, it becomes, in effect, a stupa. No god, human, śramaṇa, māra, or brahmā may then put it to ordinary use; it must be revered as one would a stupa. But if it is given to the Sangha, [the Buddha said,] "I too dwell within the Sangha."
The Zichi Commentary states: Within the passage on the superior merit of things the Buddha has used, the first part states the principle directly. As already explained under the precept against theft, an article the Buddha has used may never be sold or exchanged, even "for the Buddha's own sake." Here "stupa" (支提, caitya) is simply another rendering of "shrine" (廟). "Hence" then introduces the proof-text; the king in question is King Bimbisāra. What is offered to the Buddha never afterward passes to the Sangha's ordinary use, but what is offered to the Sangha extends, by that very fact, to the Buddha as well.
△事鈔續云『增一云。告諸比丘。禮佛承事有五功德。一者端正。以見佛像、發歡喜心。二者好聲。由見形像、口自稱號南無如來無所著至真等正覺。三多財報。由以華香供施故。四生長者家。由見形已、心無染著、志心禮故。五命終生天。此即諸佛常法、當如是學。』
資持釋云『二承事感報。五功德前四別報並列因果、後一總報通前為因故但示果。南無經音義、翻為歸禮、或云歸敬、或云度我。此即下勸修。諸佛所行、下凡宜學。』
The Procedural Commentary continues: The Ekottarika Āgama states — the Buddha told the bhikṣus: "Paying homage and attending upon the Buddha brings five merits. First, physical beauty, through seeing the Buddha-image and giving rise to a joyful mind. Second, a fine voice, through seeing the image and one's own mouth thereby uttering the title 'homage to the Tathāgata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly and Fully Enlightened One.' Third, abundant wealth as reward, through making offerings of flowers and incense. Fourth, birth into an elder's household, through beholding the image with a mind free of attachment and utterly sincere in bowing. Fifth, birth in the heavens at the end of one's life. This is the constant Dharma of all Buddhas; one should study accordingly."
The Zichi Commentary states: Second, the rewards of attending upon [the Buddha]. Of the five merits, the first four are individual rewards, each stated together with its own cause and effect; the fifth is an overall reward, for which the first four together already serve as cause, so only the effect itself is given. According to the classical glossaries, "namo" is rendered as "homage," or "taking refuge and reverence," or "may [the Buddha] save me." The passage beginning "this" then urges cultivation: what all Buddhas themselves practice, we lesser, ordinary beings ought to learn.
The companion guide lays the five merits out as a simple cause-and-effect table, and it's worth seeing them that way: each of the first four pairs a specific devotional act with a specific worldly reward — seeing the image and feeling joy yields physical beauty; reciting the Buddha's title yields a fine voice; offering flowers and incense yields wealth; bowing with an unattached, sincere mind yields birth into a good family. Only the fifth, birth in the heavens, is left as a pure effect, because the guide notes it is really the sum of the other four rather than tied to any single new cause. The overall shape of the list matters as much as its details: paying homage is being presented here as something that actually works on the practitioner, not a gesture performed for its own sake or for the Buddha's benefit.
2. Milestone: The Three Kinds of Bowing and the Five-Limbed Prostration
Having established why homage matters, the Procedural Commentary turns to the actual mechanics of the bow itself — ranking three grades of homage from a spoken greeting up to full prostration, then giving the five-limbed prostration a precise, step-by-step choreography that the Zichi Commentary insists most people, even in Dao Xuan's own time, had already stopped following correctly.
△事鈔續云『智論。禮法有三。一者口禮。二屈膝、頭不至地。三頭至地、是為上禮。地持、當五輪至地作禮。阿含云、二肘二膝頂、名輪也。亦云五體投地。先正立已、合掌、右手褰衣、屈二膝已、次屈兩肘、以手承足、然後頂禮。後起頂頭、次肘、次膝、以為次第。不相亂也』
資持釋云『三設禮儀式中、初引三禮。口即言相審問、名下禮。屈膝即跪、為中禮。頭至地即稽首也。地下示五輪。地持語通、故引阿含續釋。五處皆圓故名五輪、四支及首名為五體。輪則別指五處、體則通目一身。先下正示禮儀。正立者攝身儀也。合掌者定心想也。兩掌相抵、指掌齊合、今人但合指耳。屈則先下後上、起則先上後下、故註云不相亂也。手承足者舒手仰承、表敬之極。今人有結印者、不知法也。世衰法喪、不識禮儀。或覽此文、宜須依準。』
The Procedural Commentary continues: The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states there are three kinds of homage-bowing. First, verbal homage. Second, bending the knees, without the head touching the ground. Third, the head touching the ground — this is the superior form of homage. The Bodhisattva-bhūmi states one bows with the five wheels touching the ground; the Āgamas say the two elbows, the two knees, and the crown of the head are called the "wheels" — this is also called "the five-limbed prostration." First stand correctly upright, join the palms, lift the hem of the robe with the right hand, bend both knees, then bend both elbows, receive the feet with the hands, and only then touch the crown of the head to the ground. In rising, lift the crown of the head first, then the head, then the elbows, then the knees — this order must never be confused.
The Zichi Commentary states: Third, on establishing the forms of homage — the passage first cites the three kinds of bowing. "Verbal" means an inquiring word of greeting; this is called "lesser homage." "Bending the knees" means kneeling; this is "middling homage." "The head touching the ground" is what is elsewhere called "prostrating the head." The passage beginning "the Bodhisattva-bhūmi" then explains the five wheels; since that text's own wording is general, the Āgama passage is cited to make it specific. Because all five points are rounded, they are called "wheels"; the four limbs together with the head are called "the five limbs." "Wheel" refers separately to each of the five points; "limb" refers to the whole person taken together. The passage beginning "first" then directly sets out the correct manner of bowing. "Standing correctly upright" governs the deportment of the body; "joining the palms" settles and focuses the mind — the two palms should press evenly together, fingers and palms meeting flush, though people nowadays merely touch their fingertips together. In bending, one goes from lower to upper first; in rising, from upper to lower first — hence the note that this order "must never be confused." "Receiving the feet with the hands" means opening the hands and holding them upturned beneath the feet, which expresses reverence at its very fullest. People nowadays who form [esoteric] hand-seals instead simply do not know the proper method. The age has declined and the Dharma has grown corrupt, so that people no longer recognize the correct forms of homage; anyone who comes across this passage really ought to take it as their standard.
The guide is careful to spell out what "five wheels" and "five limbs" actually mean as two ways of counting the same five points of contact — the two elbows, the two knees, and the crown of the head. "Wheel" picks out each of the five points individually, while "limb" or "body" refers to the whole person moving as one — hence "the five-limbed prostration" as the everyday name for the same technique.
It also draws out the two corrections the commentary is most insistent on. First, the sequence itself is not arbitrary: one bends downward from the feet up (knees, then elbows, then head) and rises back upward from the head down (head, then elbows, then knees), and getting this order backward is exactly the kind of sloppiness the text is trying to correct. Second, and more pointedly, the guide flags the line about people who "form hand-seals" instead of properly opening their palms to receive the feet — Yuan Zhao calls this "not knowing the proper method," and adds, with evident frustration, that "the age has declined and the Dharma has grown corrupt, so that people no longer recognize the correct forms of homage." The guide reads this not as pedantry but as a live concern: a gesture performed carelessly, however sincere the intention behind it, is still not the actual practice being taught here.
3. Milestone: The Mind Behind the Bow — Planting the Field of Merit
Technique alone is not the point. The Procedural Commentary next turns from the physical form of the bow to the state of mind that must accompany it, borrowing from the Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom both a careful breakdown of what "reverence" actually consists of and an agricultural image — the Buddha as a fertile field — for why even a small act of devotion can yield merit without any real limit.
△事鈔續云『智論云。若聞諸佛功德心敬、尊重恭敬讚歎。知一切眾生中、德無過上、故言尊也。敬畏之心、過於父母師長君王、利益重故、故云重也。謙遜畏難、故云恭。推其智德、故云敬。美其功德、為讚。讚之不足、又稱揚之、為歎。又云。植佛福田者、植謂專心堅著也。隨以一善、禮誦香華等、至佛無盡。由智勝故。』
資持釋云『四對境用心中引論兩段、前段、初三句總標。知下牒釋。六義通是敬心。別分三業、恭敬二字義必兼身。又通約能敬、尊重二字則兼所敬。又云下引次段、上舉喻。佛如肥田、專心如好種、堅著如投種於田。隨下法合。一善等是因、至佛是果。由下顯意。』
The Procedural Commentary continues: The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states — on hearing of the Buddhas' virtues, the mind reveres them, honors and reveres them, and praises and extols them. Knowing that among all sentient beings there is no virtue that surpasses [the Buddha's], one calls this "honoring." A mind of reverent awe exceeding even what is felt toward one's parents, teachers, or sovereign, because the benefit received is so great, is called "weighty regard." Humbling oneself in awe of [the Buddha's] difficulty to match is called "deference." Weighing his wisdom and virtue is called "reverence." Extolling his virtues is "praise," and when praise alone does not suffice, going on to proclaim them further is "extolling." It also says: "planting the Buddha-field" means fixing the mind single-pointedly and holding to it firmly — whatever single good act one performs toward the Buddha, whether a bow, a recitation, or an offering of incense or flowers, its reward, once it reaches the Buddha, becomes inexhaustible, because of the superior power of his wisdom.
The Zichi Commentary states: Fourth, on the state of mind proper to encountering [the Buddha as] one's object [of veneration], two passages are cited from the Treatise. In the first, the opening three phrases state the general heading, and the passage beginning "knowing" then explains each term in turn — all six terms alike express a reverent mind. Distinguished according to the three types of karma, the two characters for "deference" necessarily include the body as well; taken generally with respect to the one who reveres, the terms for "honoring" and "weighty regard" include as well the object being revered. The passage beginning "it also says" cites the second passage, whose opening lines give the analogy: the Buddha is like a rich field, single-pointed focus is like good seed, and holding to it firmly is like actually casting the seed into the field. The passage beginning "whatever" then matches the analogy to its meaning — the single good act and so forth are the cause, and reaching the Buddha is the effect. The passage beginning "because" then makes the point explicit.
The guide draws out the image at the heart of this passage as its real payoff: the Buddha is compared to a rich field, single-minded focus to good seed, and the act of actually holding to that focus to the physical act of casting the seed into the ground. What makes the image work, the guide notes, is the mismatch in scale it implies — because the "field" is so extraordinarily fertile, even a modest planting (a single stick of incense, one heartfelt bow) can return a harvest that is, in the text's own words, without end. The point is not that devotional acts are magic, but that their effect depends less on their outward size than on the sincerity and single-pointedness with which they are performed.
4. Milestone: The Etiquette of Circumambulating a Stupa
The first chapter closes with its most procedural material — the concrete rules for walking around a stupa: what may not be worn, what the body and eyes must and must not do, an extended list of what the mind should be reflecting on while walking, and finally the correct direction of circling and the choreography for taking leave once the circuit is done.
△事鈔續云『毗尼母。不得著革屣入塔繞塔。富羅不得入塔者、彼圭諸人著者皆起慢心、故不聽著。寒雪多處聽著靴富羅。三千云。繞塔法。一低頭視佛、壞得蹈蟲、三不左右視、四不唾地、五不與人語。又當念佛恩大難報、念佛智慧、念佛經戒、念佛功德、念佛精進乃至泥洹。又念僧恩師恩父母同學恩。又念一切人、皆使解脫苦。又念除其三毒、求出要道。見塔上草、念手去之。有不淨、即分除之。若天雨、當脫履塔下、乃上禮佛。』
資持釋云『五入塔法中、母論。西國以跣足為敬故不得入塔。此方以穿著為禮、或著襪履亦須潔淨。寒雪處聽者謂開邊國。三千中、初明繞法。一現卑下、二示慈心、三離輕掉、四離觸穢、五離憒鬧。又當下次明用心。念佛恩者無量劫來、為度我等、不惜身命、求菩提故。念佛智者權巧方便、不思義故。念經戒者三藏教法、開發我故。念功德者威神相好、無與等故。念精進者乃至無一芥子地、非捨身處故念泥洹者示現滅度、令諸眾生、追慕勤修故。乃至者略降生成道轉法輪故。僧是福田、師則攝誘、上即三寶父母生育、同學琢磨、皆思報故。念一切人即利他。念學慧即自利。念除草即營福。天雨脫履者即知天晴亦通著上、但須淨耳。如上所念、不出三寶親友慈悲福慧自利利他、尋之可見。』
The Procedural Commentary continues: The Vinaya-mātṛkā states one must not wear leather sandals when entering a stupa-precinct or circumambulating a stupa. As for pūrṇa [a kind of boot] not being permitted inside a stupa-precinct — foreign peoples who wear them all give rise to a mind of arrogance in doing so, and this is why wearing them is not permitted; in places with much cold and snow, however, wearing boots or pūrṇa is permitted. The Scripture of Three Thousand Dignified Deportments states the proper method of circumambulating a stupa: first, keep the head lowered with one's gaze on the Buddha; second, take care not to step on insects; third, do not look left or right; fourth, do not spit on the ground; fifth, do not converse with others. One should also, at that time, reflect on the Buddha's kindness, so vast it can hardly be repaid; on the Buddha's wisdom; on the Buddha's scriptures and precepts; on the Buddha's merit; and on the Buddha's diligent effort, extending all the way to his entry into nirvāṇa. One should also reflect on the kindness of the Sangha, of one's own teacher, of one's parents, and of one's fellow students. One should also reflect on all people, wishing every one of them liberation from suffering. One should also reflect on removing one's own three poisons and seeking the essential path out of suffering. On seeing grass growing on the stupa, one should think to remove it by hand; where there is anything unclean, one should clear it away as one is able. If it is raining, one should remove one's footwear at the foot of the stupa before ascending to pay homage to the Buddha.
The Zichi Commentary states: Fifth, on the proper method for entering a stupa-precinct — as for the Vinaya-mātṛkā, in the Western Lands going barefoot is the mark of reverence, which is why footwear is not permitted when entering a stupa-precinct; in this land, wearing proper dress is itself the mark of respect, and although socks or shoes may be worn, they too must be clean. That boots are permitted in cold, snowy regions refers to an allowance made for outlying countries. In the passage from the Three Thousand, the first part sets out the method of circumambulation, the five points showing, respectively: humility; a compassionate mind; freedom from frivolous distraction; freedom from contact with impurity; and freedom from noisy commotion. The passage beginning "one should also, at that time" then explains the proper state of mind. Reflecting on the Buddha's kindness means reflecting that across countless kalpas he did not begrudge body or life in his quest for bodhi, all in order to liberate us. Reflecting on his wisdom means his skillful means, inconceivable in their subtlety. Reflecting on his scriptures and precepts means the teachings of the Tripiṭaka, which open and develop us. Reflecting on his merit means his majestic spiritual power and physical marks, unequaled by any other. Reflecting on his diligence means there was not so much as a mustard-seed's width of ground where he did not give up his own body for the sake of the Dharma. Reflecting on his nirvāṇa means his manifest passing into extinction, undertaken so that all beings would long for him and cultivate diligently. "Extending all the way to" abbreviates his birth, his attainment of the path, and his turning of the Dharma-wheel. The Sangha is a field of merit; one's teacher gathers and guides one; together with the Three Jewels and one's parents who gave one birth, and one's fellow students who polish one as a whetstone does, all are to be thought of with a mind of repayment. Reflecting on all people is benefiting others; reflecting on cultivating wisdom is benefiting oneself; reflecting on removing the grass is cultivating merit. As for removing one's footwear in the rain, this implies that once the sky has cleared, wearing footwear on the stupa is again permitted, so long as it is clean. Everything reflected upon above never strays from the Three Jewels, one's kin and friends, compassion, blessings and wisdom, and benefiting both oneself and others — trace it through, and this becomes plain to see.
△事鈔續云『五百問云。比丘繞塔、女眾隨者、不得。有優婆塞、不犯。大論、如法供養法、必應右繞。善見云。辭佛法。繞佛三匝、四方作禮而去。合十指爪掌、叉手於頂上、卻行。絕不見如來。更復作禮、迴前而去。』
資持釋云『六旋繞法中。五百問息嫌疑。智論示繞法。善見明禮辭。』已上皆見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary continues: The Five Hundred Questions states that if a bhikṣu circumambulates a stupa and women follow along, this is not permitted, but if an upāsaka is present, no fault is committed. The Great Treatise states that the proper Dharma-method of offering-veneration requires circumambulating to the right. The Samantapāsādikā states the proper form for taking leave of the Buddha: one circumambulates the Buddha three times, bows toward the four directions, and then departs; joining the ten fingers with the palms cupped and raised above the crown of the head, one withdraws walking backward, never once losing sight of the Tathāgata, until, once he is truly out of sight, one bows once more, turns around, and only then departs.
The Zichi Commentary states: Sixth, on the method of circling — the Five Hundred Questions is cited to forestall suspicion of impropriety; the Great Treatise sets out the proper method of circumambulation; the Samantapāsādikā clarifies the proper form for taking leave. [All of the above is found in Fascicle 37 of the Zichi Commentary on the Xingshi Chao.]
The guide lays the "five things to avoid" while circling a stupa out as a short checklist — head lowered and eyes on the Buddha, watching for insects underfoot, no glancing left or right, no spitting, no chatting — and then pairs it with a second, longer list of what to actively reflect on while walking: gratitude toward the Buddha in five distinct respects, gratitude toward the Sangha, one's teacher, one's parents, and one's fellow students, a wish for every being's liberation, a wish to root out one's own three poisons, and even small acts of physical upkeep, such as pulling a weed off the stupa by hand. Read together, the guide notes, the point is that circumambulation is never merely a lap walked around a building — the outward five rules keep the body and eyes from becoming a source of disrespect, while the inward list of reflections keeps the mind actually occupied with something worthwhile the entire time.
On the closing citations, the guide highlights two small but concrete details: right, clockwise circumambulation is stated as a firm requirement ("必應右繞"), not a mere custom; and the Samantapāsādikā's leave-taking sequence is unusually specific — three circuits, bows to the four directions, hands raised in añjali above the head, and then walking backward the entire time so that the Buddha is never once lost from view, only turning around once he can no longer be seen at all. The guide reads this backward-walking detail as the clearest possible expression, in pure body language, of what reverence for the Buddha is supposed to feel like.
上來敬佛儀相中第一章先示敬儀竟
The above concludes the first chapter, Demonstrating the Etiquette of Reverence, within this gate.
5. Milestone: General Censure of Irreverent Conduct
The second chapter turns from prescribing correct conduct to naming its violation directly — cataloguing the specific ways lay believers of Dao Xuan's own day had grown careless in front of images and scriptures, and diagnosing exactly what is missing, inwardly, when that carelessness sets in.
▲事鈔云『佛像經教住持靈儀、並是我等所尊敬、則至真齊觀。今多不奉佛法。並愚教網、內無正信、見不高遠。致虧大節。或在形像之前、更相戲弄出非法語、舉目攘臂偏指聖儀。或端坐倨傲、情無畏憚、雖見經像不起迎奉。致令俗人輕笑、損滅正法。』資持釋云『初通斥輕慢之相二、初斥非致毀中二、初敘合敬。我等者通指末代。敬像同真佛、敬經同真法、故云齊觀。今下次正斥又四初指非。並下示所以。初句無智、次句無信、三即無識。由無此三、不守禮度、故云虧大節也。或下出非相。文敘多事、不出三業。攘謂揎袖出臂。憚難也。致下明過狀。』
The Procedural Commentary states: Buddha-images, the scriptural teachings, and the sacred forms that sustain the Dharma in the world are all things that we ourselves ought to revere, to be looked upon exactly as though they were the true and genuine Buddha himself. Yet nowadays most people fail to honor the Buddha-dharma. This is because they are foolish about the net of the teaching, lack genuine faith within, and see nothing beyond what is right in front of them, and so they end up violating the great proprieties. Some, standing right before an image, jest and banter with one another, utter improper words, or point rudely with raised eyes and bared arms at the sacred forms. Others sit upright with arrogant bearing, their hearts free of any awe, and though they see the scriptures or the images, they do not even rise to greet and receive them. All this causes ordinary people to mock and ridicule the Dharma, and does damage to the true Dharma itself.
The Zichi Commentary states: First, a general censure of disrespectful conduct, in two parts, the first of which, censuring wrongdoing that leads to defilement, itself has two parts, the first explaining why reverence is proper. "We ourselves" refers broadly to beings of this latter age. Revering an image is the same as revering the genuine Buddha; revering a scripture is the same as revering the genuine Dharma — hence "looked upon exactly the same." The passage beginning "yet nowadays" then directly censures wrong conduct, in four points; the passage beginning "this is because" points out the wrongdoing itself. The passage beginning "because" explains its cause: the first phrase describes a lack of wisdom, the second a lack of faith, and the third a lack of discernment. Because these three are absent, proper etiquette is not observed — hence "violating the great proprieties." The passage beginning "some" sets out the improper conduct itself; though the text describes many separate acts, none of them fall outside the three types of karma. "Bared arms" means rolling up the sleeves and baring the arms; "awe" here means dread. The passage beginning "this causes" then makes plain the resulting fault.
△事鈔續云『故僧祇中。禮人不得對於佛法。乃至懸施旛蓋、不得蹈像、別施梯鄧。以此文證、明敬處別。既知多過、彌須大慎。至堂殿塔廟、如履冰臨深。睹形像經教、必懾然加敬。此則道俗通知奉法、賢聖達其信心。且如對王臣令長、事亦可會。凡情難任、聖法宜遵。』資持釋云『二引教佛誡中二、初引文。禮人懸幡。俱非惡事、猶誡輕侮。良由對聖、更無所尊、故云敬處別也。蹈謂足踐。既下次申誡、初勉慎。至下示法。履冰臨深喻其悚懼。詩云、戰戰兢兢、如臨深淵、如履薄冰。今借用之。此下彰益。上句規他、下句感聖。且下舉況。令長即郡縣官典。凡下勸依。任信也』
The Procedural Commentary continues: Hence the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya states — one must not bow to another person while facing toward the Buddha or the Dharma; furthermore, when hanging banners or canopies as offerings, one must not tread upon the image itself, but must set up a separate ladder for the purpose. This passage is cited as proof that the place accorded to reverence is set apart from all else. Knowing, then, that there are so many possible faults, one must be all the more careful — on entering a hall, shrine, or stupa, one should feel as though treading on thin ice or standing at the edge of a deep abyss; on beholding an image, or the scriptures and teachings, one must be awestruck and redouble one's reverence. In this way, both monastics and laypeople alike will recognize that the Dharma is being honored, and the worthy and the sagely will come to know one's sincerity of faith. Consider, too, how, when facing a king, a minister, or a magistrate, one already knows to compose oneself accordingly — how much more, then, when the sentiments of an ordinary being are hard to trust, ought one to follow the Dharma of the sages.
The Zichi Commentary states: Second, citing the teaching to admonish the reader, in two parts, the first of which cites the text itself. Bowing to another person, and hanging banners, are in themselves neither one an evil act, yet even so the text warns against treating the sacred with disrespect — this is precisely because, when facing what is sacred, there is nothing else left to be honored above it, hence "the place accorded to reverence is set apart." "Tread" means to step on with the foot. The passage beginning "knowing, then" goes on to state the admonition itself, first urging care, then, beginning with "on entering," setting out the proper manner. "Thin ice" and "a deep abyss" are analogies for the trembling caution required; the Book of Odes says, "trembling and fearful, as though facing a deep abyss, as though treading on thin ice" — this text borrows that same image. The passage beginning "in this way" then makes plain the resulting benefit: the first clause concerns setting an example for others, the second, moving the sages themselves. The passage beginning "consider, too" offers an analogy from ordinary life; "magistrate" refers to officials governing a commandery or county. The passage beginning "how much more" urges compliance; "trust" here means having faith.
The guide traces the whole censure back to a single diagnosis Yuan Zhao offers for why people behave this way at all: a lack of wisdom, a lack of faith, and a lack of discernment, together producing what the text calls "violating the great proprieties." None of the disrespectful behaviors catalogued — joking in front of an image, pointing rudely at it, staying seated instead of rising to greet it — are treated as isolated bad manners; they are read as the visible symptom of those three missing qualities underneath.
The guide also draws attention to the very concrete Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya rule cited here: one must never bow to another person while facing the Buddha or the Dharma, and one must never literally step on an image, not even while decorating it with banners — a separate ladder has to be set up instead. It reads this as the source text making a broader point in miniature: the space immediately around what is sacred is treated as categorically set apart, deserving a level of physical care that would be considered excessive anywhere else.
6. Milestone: The Low-Bed Controversy — Dao Xuan's Own Field Inquiry
The censure then narrows to one specific, contested custom of Dao Xuan's own time and place: paying homage to the Buddha while remaining seated on a low bed. Rather than simply asserting that this is wrong, the Procedural Commentary cites Dao Xuan's own firsthand investigation — an anecdote from his travels, and a direct inquiry he made of visiting Indian monks — to settle the question.
△事鈔續云『此世中、多有在下床上禮佛者。此全無楷模。敬人尚自被責、敬佛自心在慢。有心存道者、必不行之。作親問天竺諸僧。諸國無有此法、來此方見。』資持釋云『二別斥居慶設禮中、初指非。下床即低床。今時愚徒、多習訛風。有識苟聞、幸宜悛革。此下正斥。祖師嘗遊晉魏、親睹其事、乃於床上與僧設禮、彼反責之、故云敬人等楷模即指法律。余下引親傳以驗。既非西竺之法、顯是此土濫行。』已上皆見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary continues: In this age, there are many who pay homage to the Buddha while sitting on a low bed. This is utterly without proper model or precedent. Even bowing to another person while seated so is already something for which one would be reproached — how much more, then, when bowing to the Buddha, does the mind itself already harbor arrogance in doing so! Anyone whose heart is genuinely set on the Path would certainly never do such a thing. I personally inquired of monks from India about this, and no country there has any such practice — it is only here, in this land, that I have seen it done.
The Zichi Commentary states: Second, a specific censure of paying homage while seated at ease, in two parts, the first of which points out the wrongdoing itself. "Low bed" means a low bedstead or couch. Foolish people nowadays have widely picked up this corrupted custom; if anyone of genuine discernment happens to hear of it, they really ought to correct it. The passage beginning "this" then delivers the direct censure: our patriarch once traveled through the old territories of Jin and Wei, and personally witnessed just such an incident — a man seated on a bed offered homage to a monk, who in turn reproached him for it, hence "even bowing to another person..." "Model" here refers specifically to the Vinaya's own law. The passage beginning "I" then cites his own firsthand inquiry as proof: since this is plainly not the practice of India, it is clearly a corrupted custom that arose only in this land. [All of the above is found in Fascicle 37 of the Zichi Commentary on the Xingshi Chao.]
準事鈔釋高大床戒註、於下溼處、應開得在床上禮佛。見前持犯篇、遮罪、高大床節。
Note: according to the Procedural Commentary's own note under the precept on high and large beds, in a low, damp place one is permitted, as an exception, to pay homage to the Buddha while standing on a raised bed. See the earlier Chapter on Upholding and Violating the Precepts, under "proscribed offenses," the section on "high and large beds."
The guide treats this passage as a small but pointed case study in how Dao Xuan actually worked: rather than simply legislating from principle, he traveled through Jin and Wei territory, personally witnessed someone offering homage to a monk while seated on a low bed, corrected the man on the spot, and later went further, directly asking visiting Indian monks whether any such custom existed in their own countries — and was told, plainly, that it did not. The guide reads this as evidence for a habit worth taking seriously in its own right: a practice being widespread, or feeling traditional, is not the same thing as its actually being correct: local custom had simply drifted from the original discipline, and it took a firsthand check against the source to notice.
The guide also flags Master Hongyi's own editorial note appended immediately after this passage — an important qualification, not a loophole. Elsewhere in the Procedural Commentary, under the precept concerning "high and large beds," an exception is made specifically for low, damp ground: there, one is permitted to pay homage while standing on a raised platform, purely to keep off dampness. The guide is careful to distinguish the two cases: that narrow, practical allowance is not license to sit while bowing out of mere convenience, which is exactly the corrupted custom Dao Xuan spent real effort tracking down and rejecting.
7. Milestone: Who May Sit and Who Must Stand Before the Buddha
The second section turns to a different question of bodily etiquette: not how to bow, but whether one may sit at all in the Buddha's presence. The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom ranks several classes of visitor from the presumptuously seated down to those still required to stand, and the Guijing Yi presses the implications of that ranking directly onto the ordinary lay reader.
▲事鈔云『智論云。外道是他法、故輕佛、來至佛所自坐。白衣如客、故命坐。一切出家五眾、身心屬佛、故立。若得道羅漢、如舍利弗等、皆坐。三道已下、並不聽坐、以所作未辦結賊未破故。』資持釋云『前二俗眾俱坐、命不命別。後明道眾或坐不坐、學無學分。三道即三果、凡夫可知。未辦謂所證道、未破謂所斷惑。』
The Procedural Commentary states: The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom says — because non-Buddhist ascetics belong to another teaching, they treat the Buddha lightly, and so, on arriving in his presence, they simply seat themselves without being asked. Laypeople, being like guests, are invited to be seated. All monastics of the five assemblies, since body and mind alike belong to the Buddha, stand. Those who have attained the path as arhats, such as Śāriputra and others, are all permitted to sit. Those below the third fruit of the path are none of them permitted to sit, because what they have set out to accomplish is not yet accomplished, and the thief of their own afflictions is not yet defeated.
The Zichi Commentary states: The first two cases both concern lay assemblies who sit, the distinction between them being only whether they are invited to do so or simply sit down themselves. What follows then explains monastic assemblies, some of whom sit and some of whom stand, the distinction here being between those still in training and those who have completed it. "The third fruit" refers to the third of the four fruits of the path; the case of an ordinary unenlightened being needs no further explanation. "Not yet accomplished" refers to the path not yet realized; "not yet defeated" refers to the afflictions not yet cut off.
歸敬儀云『今有安坐像前、情無敬讓。可謂無事受罪、枉壞身心。如上三果尚立、況下凡乎。像立而坐、彌是不敬。比今君父、可以例諸。此言易矣、臨機難哉。常志在心、努力制抑、方可改革。不爾雖讓、不救常習。思之惟之。』見釋門歸敬儀第一
The Guijing Yi states: there are those nowadays who sit at ease before an image, with no feeling of reverence or deference at all — this can only be called suffering a penalty for no reason, and needlessly harming one's own body and mind. If even those who have attained the third fruit still stand, how much more should an ordinary, unenlightened being do the same! To sit while the image itself stands is all the more disrespectful still. One may reason by analogy from how one behaves before a ruler or a father today. These words are easy enough to say, yet hard to carry out when the moment actually arrives; only by constantly keeping this resolve in mind, and making real effort to restrain oneself, can the habit actually be reformed. Otherwise, however much deference one professes, it will do nothing to correct one's ordinary, habitual conduct. Reflect on this, and consider it well. [Seen in the Guijing Yi, Fascicle 1.]
案白衣已受歸戒者、似應同道眾、立而不坐。與論云白衣如客者、異也。
Note: it would seem that a layperson who has already received the refuges and precepts ought to stand rather than sit, just as the monastic assembly does — which differs from the case the Treatise describes of an [unprecepted] layperson being treated as a guest.
▲事鈔云『十誦、得對佛加趺坐。』資持釋云『或為瞻想、或復禪誦故。』已上皆見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary states: The Sarvāstivāda Vinaya states one may sit cross-legged facing the Buddha. The Zichi Commentary states: this is permitted either for the purpose of gazing upon and contemplating the Buddha, or else for seated meditation and recitation. [All of the above is found in Fascicle 37 of the Zichi Commentary on the Xingshi Chao.]
The guide sets the Treatise's ranking out as a short table running from least to most deserving of a seat: non-Buddhist ascetics seat themselves uninvited, out of open disregard for the Buddha; ordinary laypeople are invited to sit, as guests would be; all monastics stand, because body and mind alike now belong to the Buddha; practitioners who have not yet passed the third fruit of the path still stand, because their own inner work remains unfinished; and only arhats, such as Śāriputra, who have already defeated the "thief" of their own afflictions, are permitted to sit as equals.
It then highlights the Guijing Yi's own rhetorical move: if even a being who has attained the third fruit — someone already far along a path most readers will never complete in this lifetime — still stands out of respect, an ordinary unenlightened person sitting comfortably before an image looks considerably worse by comparison. The guide also singles out Master Hongyi's brief clarifying note as solving a real point of confusion: the Treatise's "laypeople are invited to sit, like guests" describes someone without precepts, essentially a visitor; a lay Buddhist who has actually taken refuge and received the precepts, Hongyi argues, has moved into the same category as the monastic assembly and ought to stand as they do, not claim the more casual guest's privilege described in the Treatise. The one remaining exception, cross-legged sitting for the purpose of gazing at the Buddha or for meditation and recitation, the guide treats as a narrow, functional allowance rather than any relaxation of the underlying principle.
8. Milestone: The Proper Timing for Offerings
The gate closes by turning from bodily etiquette to the calendar — surveying the conflicting dates various scriptures give for the Buddha's birth, enlightenment, first turning of the Dharma-wheel, and entry into nirvāṇa, and settling, by the Tang dynasty, on four fixed annual observances. Along the way, a sobering story about Śrāvastī gives the whole question of "when to make offerings" real stakes.
▲事鈔云『僧祇、佛生日乃至涅槃日、為大眾說法稱揚佛德。薩婆多云、二月八日成佛亦以此日生、八月八日轉法輪亦以此日取涅槃。若依瑞應等經、多云四月八日生。涅槃初云二月十五日臨涅槃復度十仙、云過三月已入涅槃。月德太子經、八月十五日入滅。此並由眾生見聞不同、故時節不等。智論云、舍婆提城九億家、尚三億見或聞、由慢業故。佛世猶爾。何況末法轉輕、心業最重。』
資持釋云『前引僧祇通示四時。文略成道轉法輪二日故云乃至。今時但知降生涅槃二時供養、餘二舉世未聞。聞者行之。薩下次定日月又二、初引文示異三、初多論總明四日。但二日重疊。今取下瑞應四月八日降生、復準涅槃二月十五日滅度。則四日各、修供可行、復是此方機緣所樂。故一年四日、釋門時節。二月八日成道、二月十五日涅槃、四月八日降生、八月八日轉法輪。適時之義、勿事專隅。次引瑞應別示降生。具云太子瑞應本起經、有二卷。後引涅槃月德別明入滅。涅槃初云者即第一卷序分中文、簡後三十故。一經前後自別、今時即用後文。月德中與上多論相近。阿含亦云如來八月八日涅槃。此並下二約義會通、初正明。二引證。舍婆提即是舍衛。文中且舉見聞。準論具云、舍衛九億家、三億家眼見佛、三億家耳聞有佛而眼不見、三億家不聞不見佛在舍衛二十五年而此眾生不聞不見、何況遠者。由慢業者出不見及不聞之所以。我輩生不值佛、豈非慢重。撫膺自責、深痛沈淪。嗚呼。佛下舉況。滅後正法不及現在、像不及正、末不及像、故云轉輕、謂奉佛之心薄也。心業即慢習也。』見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary states: The Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya states that on the Buddha's birthday, and again on the anniversary of his nirvāṇa, one should expound the Dharma to the assembly and extol the Buddha's virtues. The Sarvāstivāda-vibhāṣā states the Buddha attained enlightenment on the eighth day of the second month, and was also born on this same day; he turned the Dharma-wheel on the eighth day of the eighth month, and also entered nirvāṇa on this same day. According to the Sutra on the Prince's Auspicious Response and other sutras, most sources hold that he was born on the eighth day of the fourth month. The opening of a Nirvāṇa Sutra states he drew near to nirvāṇa on the fifteenth day of the second month, at which time he further liberated ten hermits, and that he actually entered nirvāṇa only after three further months had passed. The Sutra of Prince Yuède states he entered extinction on the fifteenth day of the eighth month. All these discrepancies arise simply because different beings saw and heard of these events differently, and so the recorded dates differ as well. The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states that of the nine hundred million households of the city of Śrāvastī, only three hundred million ever actually saw or heard of him, and this was due to the karma of arrogance. If even this was so during the Buddha's own lifetime, how much more should it be true in the Age of the Semblance and Final Dharma, when this karma of arrogance grows only heavier still.
The Zichi Commentary states: the passage first cites the Mahāsāṃghika Vinaya to indicate all four seasonal observances in general; the text abbreviates the two days for the attainment of the path and the turning of the Dharma-wheel, hence "and so on." People nowadays know only to make offerings on the two occasions of the Buddha's birth and his nirvāṇa; the other two are, throughout the whole world, scarcely ever heard of — whoever hears of them ought to observe them. The passage beginning "the Sarvāstivāda-vibhāṣā states" then fixes the actual dates, in two parts, the first of which cites texts to show the discrepancies, in three further parts: first, the Vibhāṣā treatise sets out all four dates together, though two of the days actually coincide. Taking, next, the Sutra on the Prince's Auspicious Response's date of the eighth day of the fourth month for the birth, and matching this with the fifteenth day of the second month for the entry into nirvāṇa, four distinct days result, on each of which offerings may properly be made — and this arrangement, moreover, is exactly what suits the karmic dispositions of beings in this land. Hence the four days observed, year after year, within our own tradition: the eighth of the second month for the attainment of the path, the fifteenth of the second month for the nirvāṇa, the eighth of the fourth month for the birth, and the eighth of the eighth month for the turning of the Dharma-wheel. What matters is observing the season appropriately, not insisting rigidly on any single date. The text next cites the Sutra on the Prince's Auspicious Response separately for the date of the birth, in full titled the Sutra on the Origins of the Prince's Auspicious Response, in two fascicles. It then cites the Nirvāṇa Sutra and the Yuède sutra separately to clarify the date of his entry into extinction; "the opening of a Nirvāṇa Sutra states" refers to a passage in the introductory section of the first fascicle, distinguished from a later, thirtieth-fascicle passage — since the two passages within this one sutra differ from each other, the later passage is the one followed today. The Yuède sutra's date is close to the Vibhāṣā treatise's own figure above; the Āgamas likewise state the Tathāgata entered nirvāṇa on the eighth day of the eighth month. The passage beginning "all these" then reconciles the discrepancy in terms of its underlying meaning, in two parts, the first stating the point directly, the second citing supporting proof. The text here mentions only seeing and hearing; the Treatise, in full, states that of Śrāvastī's nine hundred million households, three hundred million saw the Buddha with their own eyes, three hundred million heard that there was a Buddha but did not see him, and three hundred million neither heard of him nor saw him at all — even though the Buddha dwelt in Śrāvastī for twenty-five years. How much more, then, would this be true for beings farther away! "Due to the karma of arrogance" explains the very reason why they neither saw nor heard him. That we ourselves were born without ever having encountered the Buddha in person — is this not itself a case of heavy arrogance-karma? We ought to beat our breasts in self-reproach, feeling this loss deeply and painfully. Alas! The passage beginning "if even" then draws the further comparison: after his extinction, the True Dharma age cannot match the age of his actual presence, the Semblance Dharma age cannot match the True Dharma age, and the Final Dharma age cannot match the Semblance Dharma age, hence "grows only heavier," meaning that the mind's devotion to the Buddha grows ever thinner. "The karma of the mind" here means simply the habitual force of arrogance. [Seen in Fascicle 37 of the Zichi Commentary on the Xingshi Chao.]
The guide reduces the tangle of conflicting dates to the four-day calendar Yuan Zhao actually settles on: the eighth of the second month for the attainment of the path, the fifteenth of the second month for the nirvāṇa, the eighth of the fourth month for the birth, and the eighth of the eighth month for the turning of the Dharma-wheel. It notes that this is a deliberate act of reconciliation rather than a simple report of fact — different scriptures genuinely disagree, and Yuan Zhao's own explanation for the disagreement is that beings of different karmic backgrounds "saw and heard" these events differently in the first place, so the four dates that ended up governing Chinese practice were chosen as much for what suited local custom as for textual precision.
The guide gives particular weight to the closing story about Śrāvastī: of the city's nine hundred million households, a full third never so much as heard the Buddha's name in twenty-five years of his actually living there, and another third heard of him but never saw him — all, the text says, because of "arrogance-karma." The guide reads Yuan Zhao's own reaction to this story, a real note of grief rather than detached commentary, as the emotional center of the whole section: if this could happen even while the Buddha himself was alive and present, the warning about how much more likely it is now, in an age further removed from him, is not a rhetorical flourish but a genuine caution against complacency — proximity to the Dharma, in itself, guarantees nothing.
上來敬佛儀相中第二章正明敬相竟
The above concludes the second chapter, Clarifying the Marks of Reverence, within this gate.