Entering the Temple, Guarding the Sangha
This gate opens with the plainest kind of instruction — where to bow, which way to walk, how to behave the moment one steps through a monastery gate — following the old etiquette handed down from Jetavana in the Buddha's own India. But it does not stay plain for long. Its second half turns to something Dao Xuan clearly regarded as far more urgent than any bow or circumambulation: an extended, deeply serious warning that a layperson must never presume to see, and judge, a monastic's faults — a discipline framed not as excusing the Sangha, but as protecting the very possibility of a layperson's own path forward.
1. Milestone: Why Enter With a Quiet Mind
Before laying out a single concrete step, Dao Xuan's Procedural Commentary explains why any of this etiquette matters at all: a monastery is not an ordinary place, and a person who treads on it carelessly turns what should be a source of good into a source of harm. This gate divides into two chapters — the first, "the old rule of the Middle Land" (中國舊法, the Buddha's own India, not modern China), sets out the inherited etiquette for entering and conducting oneself within a monastery; the second, "our own teacher's essential method" (今師要術), is Dao Xuan's own addition, and it is here that the gate's real weight falls.
▲事鈔云『俗人士女入寺法。先出文意。息心靜默非喧亂所集、軌法施訓豈漏慢所踐。且心棲相表、形異世儀。歸奉憑趣、理存規則。故應其俯仰、識其履行。是敬事儀或、如法親覲。豈可足蹈淨剎、心形懈慢。非唯善法無染、故得翻流苦業。可不誡哉。』
資持釋云『初敘寺處清嚴。僧居有二、一者慕靜即自行、二者施訓即化他。居靜不宜喧、稟訓不當慢。此四句即約行顯處也。且下次敘入須法式二、初明所應為。上二句標境勝、下六句示須法所以。應合也。俯仰即儀貌。履行即所為事。豈下次示不應為。蹈履也。形見也。非唯等者謂無益有損。流墜也。』見事鈔記卷三十九
The Procedural Commentary says: "The rule for laymen and laywomen entering a temple — let me first bring out the meaning behind it. Monastics still their minds and dwell in silence; they are not the kind of people who gather in noisy commotion. They uphold a discipline and dispense instruction — how could this be trodden carelessly, by the rude and the slack?
Moreover, a mind that dwells beyond outward form takes on a bearing different from worldly manners. To take refuge and to rely upon it is, by its very nature, to keep to a set of rules. One should therefore attend to one's every gesture, and understand one's own conduct. This is the etiquette of reverent service, of a proper personal audience. How could one set foot on this pure ground with a mind and body grown slack and careless? Far from remaining untainted good conduct, this would instead turn one back into the very stream of suffering karma. How could one fail to take this as a warning?"
The Zichi Commentary explains: "First, this describes the purity and solemnity of where monastics dwell. Their dwelling has two aspects: longing for stillness, which is their own practice, and dispensing instruction, which is their teaching of others. Dwelling in stillness, one should not be noisy; receiving instruction, one should not be careless — these four lines together describe the setting in terms of practice. 'Moreover' and what follows describes the etiquette required on entering, in two parts: first, what one ought to do — the first two lines mark out how excellent this ground is, the next six show why etiquette is needed at all; 'gesture' means outward bearing, 'conduct' means one's actual deeds. 'How could' and what follows shows what one ought not to do — 'set foot' and 'body' mean exactly what they say; 'far from... this would instead' means: not only no benefit, but actual harm — a falling back and away."
[Zichi Commentary, fasc. 39]
The companion guide flags a detail easy to miss: "中國" (the Middle Land) in this text names India, where the Buddha walked — not the China of Dao Xuan's own seventh century. The old rule being handed down is Indian monastic custom, imported and preserved through Chinese Vinaya scholarship.
The guide also frames the gate's own architecture this way: Chapter One inherits a fixed, largely ceremonial etiquette from the Buddha's own community at Jetavana; Chapter Two is Dao Xuan speaking in his own voice, adding a teaching he clearly felt the inherited rule alone did not sufficiently cover — how to guard the Sangha from a layperson's own rash judgment.
2. Milestone: The Proper Way to Enter
The gate's first chapter, on the old rule of the Middle Land, opens its treatment of laymen (清信士法) with the concrete choreography of entering: where to bow, how to walk, whom to greet first, and — already, even here — a first warning against criticizing what one happens to see.
▲事鈔云『今依祇洹舊法出。中國士民、凡至寺門外整服一拜、入門復禮一拜。安詳直進、不左右顧眄。先至佛所、禮三拜竟、圍繞三匝、唄讚三契。若未見佛供養、設見眾僧不先與語。禮佛已。方至僧房戶外、禮一拜。然後入見上座、次第至下、各禮一拜。若見是非之事、不得譏訶。若發言嫌責者、自失善利、非入寺之行。僧中亦不可識。事似俗闕、檢意則殊。今以俗情檢道、意誡非易。若以見僧之過、則不信心生、生便障道、終無出期。且初入寺、背僧取異、云何得作出家因緣。經云、夫入寺者、棄捨刀杖雜物、然後乃入。順佛而行、不得逆行。設緣礙左繞、恆想佛在我右。入出之時、悉轉面向佛。』
資持釋云『初禮敬捨惡等法有五、初入寺門二拜總禮三寶。先下次禮佛。禮佛下三禮僧。戶外總禮如今眾堂之處。若下四誡守慎、初敘誡。註中俗闕者謂同俗流、闕於道行。背僧即不信心生、取異謂求見僧過。經下引證。順佛下五示行法。順佛行即右繞、西入東出、佛在我右、偏袒右肩示有執作之務。逆行即左繞、反上可知。緣礙左繞者示權開也。入出身佛者假事表心、歸依不背也。』
The Procedural Commentary says: "I now set this forth following the old rule of Jetavana. Among the gentry and commoners of the Middle Land, the custom was this: on reaching the temple gate, one straightens one's robes and bows once; on passing through the gate, one bows again. One walks forward calmly and directly, without glancing left or right. One goes first to where the Buddha is, bows three times, circumambulates three times, and chants three verses of praise. If one has not yet made offering before the Buddha, then even on meeting members of the Sangha, one does not speak to them first. Having bowed to the Buddha, one then goes to the door of the monks' quarters and bows once there; only then does one go in to see the most senior seat, and, proceeding in order down to the most junior, bow once to each in turn.
If one happens to see something that looks like right or wrong conduct, one must not criticize or reproach it. Whoever speaks up to find fault forfeits the very benefit of the visit — this is not conduct proper to entering a temple. Nor should one, within the Sangha, go about singling out who is who. The matter may resemble an ordinary worldly shortcoming, but the intention behind it is something else entirely. To scrutinize the path with worldly sentiment is truly no small caution. If, through seeing some fault in a monastic, one's own faith is lost, then one's own path is obstructed the moment that faith is lost, and in the end there is no way out at all. Moreover, to turn one's back on the Sangha at the very moment of first entering a temple, seeking to set oneself apart — how could this possibly serve as a cause for one's own eventual going forth?
A sutra says: one who is about to enter a temple must first set aside knives, staves, and all such things, and only then go in. One should walk in accordance with the Buddha, not against it. If circumstances prevent circling to the right, one should still constantly hold in mind that the Buddha is on one's right. Whether entering or leaving, one should always turn to face the Buddha."
The Zichi Commentary explains: "First, the practices of reverent bowing and setting aside faults comprise five points: first, on entering the gate, two bows form a single general bow to the Triple Gem; second [marked by 'first'], bowing to the Buddha; third ['having bowed to the Buddha'], bowing to the Sangha — bowing outside the door corresponds to today's general assembly hall; fourth ['if'], the warning to be watchful — the note's 'ordinary worldly shortcoming' means being no different from ordinary people, lacking in the conduct of the path; 'turning one's back on the Sangha' means faith is lost, 'setting oneself apart' means seeking out the Sangha's faults; 'a sutra says' cites scriptural proof. Fifth ['one should walk in accordance with the Buddha'], the actual manner of conduct — walking in accordance means circling right, entering from the west and leaving from the east, keeping the Buddha on one's right, the right shoulder bared to show readiness for service; walking against it means circling left, the reverse, and understood accordingly; the exception for obstructed circling shows an expedient allowance; turning to face the Buddha on entering and leaving borrows an outward act to express an inward attitude — taking refuge without turning away."
The guide lays this out as a simple five-step sequence: bow once outside the gate, straighten robes, bow again on entering; walk in calmly, without looking around; go first to the Buddha image, bow three times, circle three times, chant three verses; only then approach the monks' quarters, bow once at the door, and greet the seniormost monastic first, working down in order — never striking up conversation with a monastic before this sequence is complete.
It also underlines a detail this section shares with the gate's later, weightier teaching: already here, on one's very first entry, the rule against criticizing anything that "looks like" wrongdoing among the Sangha appears — planting, in miniature, the seed of the warning that will occupy the whole of Chapter Two.
3. Milestone: One Body, Three Treasures
The Procedural Commentary continues directly from the etiquette just given, turning from outward gesture to inward reflection: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, it argues, are not three separate things to be ranked against one another, but one and the same reality seen at different stages — a reflection meant to dissolve, at the root, any temptation to look down on the Sangha.
△事鈔續云『禮拜佛法僧者、常念體唯是一。者。覺法滿足、自覺覺他名佛。所覺之道名法。學佛道者名僧。則一體無別矣。始學時名僧、終滿足名佛。僧時未免諸過、佛時一切惡盡一切善滿也。今我未出家學道、名俗人、迴俗即是道器。如此深思、我亦有道分、云何輕侮。宜志心歸依、自作出家因緣者。是名圍繞念佛法僧之大意矣。低頭看地、不得高視。見地有蟲、勿誤傷殺。不唾僧地。當歌唄讚歎。若見草土、自手除之。』
資持釋云『二想念慎護等法有三、初念三寶。佛僧能覺、因果雖分、所覺道同、故云一體。道即諸佛果源、眾生心本。極證名佛、始學名僧。僧現學法、終至佛果。若此待僧、豈容輕侮。註中初教念僧、則三寶備矣。今下次令念己、與僧不殊。尚當尊己、豈敢慢人。低下次離諸過。初二句捨憍慢、次二句止殺害、後一句離觸穢。當下三修淨福。』
The Procedural Commentary continues: "As for bowing to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha — one should constantly hold in mind that their essence is but one and the same. Why is this so? Full and complete awakening, awakening both oneself and others, is called Buddha. The path awakened to is called Dharma. One who studies the Buddha's path is called Sangha. So the three are, in essence, one and without difference: at the start of study one is called Sangha, at the completion of study one is called Buddha; in the time of being Sangha one has not yet escaped every fault, in the time of being Buddha every evil is exhausted and every good complete.
Now, I myself have not yet gone forth to study the Buddha's path, and am called a layperson — yet the very moment I turn away from worldliness, I am already a vessel fit for the path. Reflecting deeply in this way — that I too have a portion in the path — how could I dare treat the Sangha with contempt? I ought to take refuge with a sincere and undivided mind, and make of this my own cause for eventually going forth. This is the great meaning behind circumambulating while holding the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha in mind.
Keep the head bowed and the eyes on the ground; do not look up and about. If one sees an insect on the ground, take care not to step on it and kill it by mistake. Do not spit on the temple ground. One should chant hymns of praise. If one sees fallen grass or dirt, remove it with one's own hand."
The Zichi Commentary explains: "Second, the practices of mindful reflection and careful protection comprise three points. First, holding the Triple Gem in mind: Buddha and Sangha are both capable of awakening — though cause and fruit are distinguished, the path awakened to is the same, hence 'one essence.' 'The path' is the very source of every Buddha's fruit and the very root of every being's mind; where realization is complete it is called Buddha, where study has just begun it is called Sangha — the Sangha is presently studying and will in the end arrive at Buddhahood. Regarding the Sangha in this light, how could contempt possibly be tolerated? The note first teaches holding the Sangha in mind, whereby the Triple Gem is complete; 'now' and what follows turns one to reflect on oneself as no different from the Sangha — if one ought even to honor oneself, how much less dare one treat others with contempt? 'Keep the head bowed' and what follows is, second, avoiding every fault: the first two lines let go of arrogance, the next two stop killing and harming, the last avoids defiling contact. 'One should' and what follows is, third, cultivating pure merit."
The guide singles this passage out as worth lingering over: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha are, on this reading, not three ranked things but the same road seen at different points — the Sangha is simply "just starting," the Buddha simply "already arrived." A layperson who has not yet gone forth is not on a separate, lesser track; the instant the mind turns from worldliness, that person already stands on the same road as the monastic. The guide reads this as the passage's whole point: understanding this leaves no room left for looking down on the Sangha at all.
It also notes the concrete conduct that follows directly from this reflection — walking with eyes lowered, watching for insects underfoot, never spitting on temple ground, sweeping away fallen leaves or dirt by hand — small physical habits meant to keep the humbling insight just stated from staying merely theoretical.
4. Milestone: Lodging Overnight — Guarding Against Presumption
The Procedural Commentary now turns to a specific circumstance — a layperson who, for some reason, must actually stay the night inside the monastery — and uses it to press the same lesson from a new angle: even hospitality received from the Sangha is not an occasion for familiarity.
△事鈔續云『若有因緣寺中宿者、不得臥僧床席、當以己物藉之。亦勿臥沙門被中。應自設供、供養於僧。豈損他供、自害善器。并調戲言笑、說非法事。沙門未眠、不得先寢。為除憍慢故。又勿坐僧床席、輕侮僧故。俗中貴士之座、猶不許賤人升之。況出世高僧、輒便相擬。是以經中、共僧同床半身枯也。如是因緣如別廣說。若至明晨、先沙門起。修恭敬之行』
資持釋云『三有緣暫宿等法有五、初護毀損。註云他。供即臥具等皆他所施故。善器即自身堪受道故。並下除調戲。沙門下不先臥。又下敬僧坐處。舉況引證、尋文可了。經中即寶印手經。又文殊問經云、死坐鐵床上。若下不後起。』已上皆見事鈔記卷三十九
The Procedural Commentary continues: "If, for some reason, one must lodge overnight within the temple, one must not lie down on a monastic's own bed or mat — one should spread one's own belongings there instead, and never lie down inside a monk's own bedding. One should provide one's own bedding as one's offering to the Sangha — how could one damage what has been given to others, and thereby harm the very vessel that sustains one's own good karma?
Likewise, one must not engage in playful teasing, idle talk, or laughter, or discuss improper matters. So long as the monastics have not yet gone to sleep, one must not lie down to sleep first — this removes arrogance and contempt. Nor should one sit upon a monastic's bed or mat, since this shows disrespect toward the Sangha: even among worldly people, the seat of an honored official is not one a person of low station may occupy — how much more so the seat of a monastic who has gone beyond the world, that one should casually presume to take it for one's own? This is why a sutra tells of someone who shared a bed with a monk and had half his body wither away. Such causes and conditions are explained more fully elsewhere.
When morning comes, one should rise before the monastics do. In this way one cultivates the practice of reverence."
The Zichi Commentary explains: "Third, the practices for one who has occasion to lodge overnight comprise five points. First, guarding against damage — the note's 'others' means the bedding and so on are all donated by others; 'the vessel of good' means one's own person, insofar as it is capable of receiving the path. 'Likewise' and what follows is avoiding playful teasing. 'So long as the monastics' is not lying down to sleep first. 'Nor' is respecting the monastics' seating — the comparisons and scriptural citations can be understood by consulting the texts themselves; the sutra referred to is the Ratna-mudrā-hasta Sūtra, and the Sutra of Mañjuśrī's Questions likewise speaks of dying while seated upon an iron bed. 'When' and what follows is not rising later than the monastics."
[The three passages translated in the two sections above are all found in the Zichi Commentary, fasc. 39.]
The guide reads this section as extending the previous one's logic from posture and speech into the specific test case of hospitality: a layperson who stays overnight should bring their own bedding rather than use a monastic's, should never joke around or discuss improper matters once inside the monastery, should not go to sleep before the monastics do, and should rise before them the next morning — small, deliberate acts of deference rather than casual, guest-like ease.
It highlights the striking scriptural image cited here — someone who shared a monk's own bed and suffered half his body withering away — not as a literal threat, but as the tradition's way of underlining just how seriously the old etiquette treats what might otherwise seem like a minor lapse in manners: familiarity with a monastic's own person and possessions is precisely the presumption this whole section warns against.
5. Milestone: The Purpose of a Temple, and the Peril of Contempt
Having covered laymen's etiquette in full, the Procedural Commentary steps back to state, briefly, what entering a temple is actually for — and then turns, at greater length, to what it looks like when people miss that purpose entirely, closing with a sobering account of where careless disrespect toward the Sangha actually leads.
▲事鈔云『凡入寺之行、與俗人作入道之緣。建立寺者、開淨土之因。供養僧者、為出離之軼也。』
資持釋云『初示入寺本意。入道緣者善要由發故。淨土因者心靜淨故。出離軼者期解脫故。軼即是轍、車所從之道也。』
The Procedural Commentary says: "The practice of entering a temple serves, for a layperson, as a cause for entering the path. Building a temple opens the cause for the Pure Land. Making offerings to the Sangha lays down the track toward liberation."
The Zichi Commentary explains: "First, this shows the fundamental purpose of entering a temple. 'A cause for entering the path' — because the essential root of goodness must first be aroused. 'The cause for the Pure Land' — because the mind grows still and pure. 'The track toward liberation' — because one looks forward to genuine release; 'track' is the same as 'rut,' the road a cart actually travels."
△事鈔續云『今末法中、善根淺薄、不感聖人示導、僅知有寺而已。不體法意。都無敬重佛法超生因緣、供養福田、而來入寺也。如此者多、非謂全無敬信者。多有人情來往、非法聚會。又在寺止宿、坐臥床褥、隨意食噉。乞索取借、如俗去還、逐意則喜、違心必瞋。繫綴胸抱、望當圖剝、猶牛羊之牴突、恣頑癡之鄙情。或用力勢逼掠、打撲抄奪。具造惡業、必死何疑。一但橫骸、神何可滅、隨業受苦、永無救護。可共悲哉。非三寶不能救由此人不可拔若有智之人、終不行此敬重寺法、準而行之。護惜三寶、諮請法訓、自招大益。故經云、眾僧良福田、亦是蒺藜園。斯言實矣。當知衰利由心、非前境咎。』
資持釋云『二明非法之相二、初敘無知。僅猶略也。不體法意者總迷上三也。都無下二句反上因緣也、供養福田反上出離軼也。多下次出非法三節、初敘無智造業又四、前斥聚會。今世多然。又下斥侵毀。圖剝謂謀害。牴突即觸犯。恣頑癡者即不畏因果。或下斥規奪。具下總示因果。二明有智獲益。三引經合證。經文雙喻、下云衰利即合田園。蒺藜有刺、如菱而小。前境謂僧寺。』已上皆見事鈔記卷三十九
The Procedural Commentary continues: "In this present age of the Dharma's decline, people's good roots are shallow; they lack the good fortune of a sage's direct guidance, and know merely that temples exist, nothing more. They do not grasp the meaning behind the Dharma at all — coming to a temple with no reverence whatsoever for the cause of transcending birth-and-death, and no thought of making offerings to this field of merit. Many are like this — though it is not to say there is no one who comes with genuine reverence and faith.
Many come and go merely out of social obligation, holding gatherings that have nothing to do with the Dharma. Some even lodge overnight in the temple, sit or lie upon its beds and cushions, and eat and drink as they please — begging, borrowing, coming and going exactly as among worldly people, pleased when things go their way and inevitably resentful when they do not. Their hearts grow entangled with schemes to extract some advantage, butting and clashing like cattle or sheep, indulging every stubborn, foolish, and base impulse. Some even resort to outright force — coercing, seizing, beating, and plundering. Having thus fully committed such evil karma, how could their eventual downfall be in doubt? The instant their bones lie fallen, how could their consciousness simply be extinguished? They will follow their karma into suffering, forever without rescue — how truly pitiable! It is not that the Triple Gem is unable to save such a person; it is that, because of this very conduct, the person cannot be drawn out at all.
If a person of genuine wisdom instead never behaves this way, but reveres this rule for entering a temple and conducts himself accordingly — cherishing the Triple Gem and seeking instruction in the Dharma — he thereby brings great benefit upon himself. Hence a sutra says: 'The Sangha is an excellent field of merit — and also a garden of thorny caltrop.' These words are entirely true. One should understand that decline or benefit both come from one's own mind, and are no fault of what stands before one."
The Zichi Commentary explains: "Second, this clarifies the marks of improper conduct, in two parts. First, describing ignorance — 'do not grasp the meaning of the Dharma' sums up confusion about all three points named above; 'no thought whatsoever' and the next two lines reverse the 'cause for entering the path,' 'offerings to the field of merit' reverses 'the track toward liberation.' 'Many' and what follows sets out improper conduct in three sections, first describing karma created from ignorance in four parts: condemning improper gatherings, common enough in the present age; condemning encroachment and destruction — 'scheming to extract advantage' means plotting harm, 'butting and clashing' means giving offense, 'indulging every stubborn, foolish impulse' means having no fear of cause and effect; condemning coercive seizure; and summing up the causal result as a whole. Second, clarifying the benefit gained by the wise. Third, citing a sutra to confirm this by comparison — the passage uses a double simile, 'decline or benefit' corresponding to 'field' and 'garden'; caltrop has thorns, resembling a small water-chestnut; 'what stands before one' refers to the temple and its Sangha."
[Both passages above are found in the Zichi Commentary, fasc. 39.]
The guide reads this section as a real turn in tone — from etiquette instruction to open warning. Its examples are strikingly concrete: people treating a monastery as a place for social visits and gatherings unrelated to practice, lodging and eating there as freely as at home, demanding and borrowing as though owed something, and, at the extreme, actually resorting to coercion and outright seizure against the Sangha's property.
The line the guide keeps returning to is the closing one — "decline or benefit both come from one's own mind, and are no fault of what stands before one." The same Sangha that is an excellent field of merit for a respectful visitor becomes, for a presumptuous or exploitative one, a thicket of thorny caltrop that wounds the very person who tramples through it. Nothing about the field itself has changed; only the visitor's own heart decides which one they actually walk into.
6. Milestone: Laywomen's Etiquette — Modesty, and Respect for Novices
The chapter's final block on entering the temple turns to laywomen specifically. Most of the etiquette already given applies without change, but the Procedural Commentary adds several points of its own — on modesty, on deportment, and, strikingly, on the respect owed even to the most junior members of the Sangha.
▲事鈔云『清信女人入寺、儀式同前。唯不得在男子上坐。形相語笑。脂粉塗面、畫眉假飾。非法調戲、共排盪、持手撐人。必須攝心整容、隨人教令、依次持香、一心供養。懺悔自責、生女人中常成礙絕、於此妙法修奉無因。不得自專、由他而辦、一何苦哉。應深生鄙悼。若見沙彌、禮如大僧、以位注而不加敬。此於大僧為小、於俗為尊。出家受具、便入僧婁。不得以小兒意、輕而持接。設有說法、當謹聽受。勿復喚名而走使。』
資持釋云『初指同。唯下次彰異又二、初指過。排謂推排、即牽推等。盪謂縱放。撐觸也。必下示法。礙絕謂繫屬於人、不自在故。鄙謂厭惡、悼即悔恨。敬沙彌者恐謂具、不加敬故。』見事鈔記卷三十九
The Procedural Commentary says: "When a laywoman of pure faith enters a temple, her conduct follows the same rule as above. The only differences are these: she must not sit above the men present, must not put her figure on display or engage in flirtatious talk and laughter, must not apply powder and rouge to her face or paint her eyebrows in false adornment, and must not engage in improper teasing, jostle about with others, or take hold of another's hand or press against them. She must keep her mind gathered and her bearing composed, follow whatever instruction she is given, hold incense in proper order, and make offering with a single, undivided mind.
She should feel repentance and reproach herself, reflecting that being born in a woman's body has always meant being bound and hindered — that she has, through no cause of her own, no way to cultivate and uphold this wondrous Dharma as a monastic herself. To be unable to decide this for oneself, but to have it decided instead by another — how bitter a thing this truly is! She ought to feel this deeply, with genuine sorrow and regret.
If she happens to see a novice monk, she should bow to him just as to a fully ordained monastic, and not withhold her respect on account of his junior rank. For although a novice ranks as junior within the Sangha, he still ranks above any layperson; having gone forth and received the precepts, he has already entered the ranks of the Sangha. One must not treat him with the casual manner one would use toward a child. Should he happen to expound the Dharma, one should listen and receive it with all due care, and never simply call him by his given name and treat him as an errand-runner."
The Zichi Commentary explains: "First, this points out what is the same as for laymen. 'The only' and what follows brings out what differs, in two parts: first, pointing out faults — 'jostle' means to push and shove, much the same as pulling and pushing; 'about' means unrestrained, indulgent behavior; 'press' means to make bodily contact. 'She must' and what follows shows the proper conduct — 'bound and hindered' means bound in dependence on others, lacking freedom of one's own; 'deeply' means a feeling of aversion, 'sorrow and regret' means genuine remorse. As for respect toward a novice: the concern is that people, supposing him not yet fully ordained, fail to show him due respect on that account."
[Zichi Commentary, fasc. 39]
The guide notes that a laywoman's etiquette mirrors a layman's almost entirely, with the added instructions all pointing the same direction: toward composure rather than display, and toward keeping physical distance from others in the assembly. It reads the commentary's remark about the constraints historically placed on women's monastic cultivation as a candid observation about its own era, worth understanding in its historical context rather than treating as a timeless prescription.
It also draws out the logic behind bowing to a novice as fully as to a senior monastic: a novice may rank low within the Sangha's own internal seniority, but has already, by taking the precepts, crossed the threshold that separates every monastic from every layperson — which is exactly why treating a novice with a child's casualness, or using him as an errand-runner, misses what has actually already changed. The guide's companion material on this chapter also notes a formal departing etiquette in the wider tradition — bowing again before the Buddha image, at the door, and outside the gate on leaving, and, where possible, leaving behind some small offering of goods or labor, down to simply sweeping the grounds, as a way of making amends for whatever lapses in decorum a person inevitably commits merely by walking through such a place. The surviving text of this abridged compendium moves straight from the laywoman's etiquette to the close of this chapter without setting that departing rule out in its own citation.
7. Milestone: The Central Teaching — "One Must Not Presume to See Their Faults"
Here the gate turns to what Dao Xuan presents as his own contribution, beyond anything inherited from the old rule of the Middle Land: an "essential method for guarding against fault-finding" (護過要術). Its core instruction is stated with striking bluntness — a layperson must not presume to see, and judge, a monastic's faults — and its logic rests on a claim about mutual dependence between the monastic and lay worlds that the rest of the gate will spend its remaining space defending.
▲事鈔云『此入寺法、中國傳之矣。余更略出護過要術。謂一切天人龍鬼、是出家人修道之緣。一切出家人、為天人龍鬼生善境界。出家人既為四輩生善之處、不得對彼幽顯輕有所失。彼四輩既是出家修道之緣、又不得輒便見過。佛已敕竟、假使道人畜妻挾子、供養恭敬如舍利弗大目等莫生見過、自作失善境之緣也。』
資持釋云『初明道俗相資。修道緣者假彼外護故。生善境福智由生故。四輩即天人龍鬼。幽通三趣、顯則唯人。』
假使道人等文出賢愚經、如下第五門第一章中具引。
The Procedural Commentary says: "This rule for entering a temple has been handed down from the Middle Land. I will now briefly set forth, in addition, the essential method for guarding against fault-finding. It is this: all gods, humans, dragons, and spirits serve as the very conditions that support a monastic's cultivation of the path; and every monastic, in turn, serves as the field in which gods, humans, dragons, and spirits generate goodness. Since monastics thus serve as the very place where these four classes of being generate their goodness, they must not carelessly fall short before them, whether seen or unseen. And since these four classes of being depend on monastics as a condition for their own cultivation, one must, in turn, not presume to see and judge their faults.
The Buddha himself has already given this instruction directly: even supposing a monk were to keep a wife and raise children, one should still make offerings to him and revere him just as one would Śāriputra or Mahāmaudgalyāyana — one must not give rise to fault-finding, and thereby make of oneself the very cause of losing this field for generating one's own goodness."
The Zichi Commentary explains: "First, this clarifies how the monastic and lay worlds depend on one another. 'A condition supporting cultivation of the path' means relying on their outer protection; 'generating goodness' means that merit and wisdom are both generated from this. 'The four classes' are gods, humans, dragons, and spirits; 'unseen' extends to beings in the three lower destinies, while 'seen' refers only to human beings."
Editorial note: the passage beginning "even supposing a monk..." is drawn from the Sutra of the Wise and the Foolish (Xianyu Jing); Master Hongyi notes that it is quoted in full below, in Gate 5, Chapter 1, of this compendium.
The guide calls this one of the most striking passages in the whole gate. The claim it makes is uncompromising: gods, humans, dragons, and spirits all depend on the Sangha as a field for generating their own goodness — which means that even a monastic who visibly appears to have broken his vows, the guide's own example being a monk who "keeps a wife and children," is still to be revered as one would revere Śāriputra or Mahāmaudgalyāyana, the Buddha's own foremost disciples, rather than singled out for judgment.
The guide is careful to draw out where the actual harm falls in this teaching: rising to fault-find does not damage the monastic being judged so much as it damages the person doing the judging, who thereby destroys, by their own hand, the very field of goodness they might otherwise have drawn on. This is the gate's ethical center of gravity — not a rule about how monastics should behave, but a rule about the real cost, to a layperson's own practice, of presuming to sit in judgment over them at all.
8. Milestone: Why the Heavens Protect the Sangha — Judging by the Ultimate Outcome
The Procedural Commentary closes this gate by defending its central teaching against the obvious objection — that monastics plainly do have faults, so why should a layperson pretend otherwise? Its answer draws on the example of gods, dragons, and spirits themselves, who see every fault clearly and protect the Sangha anyway, and ends with one of Dao Xuan's own recorded visionary testimonies before delivering its final, blunt verdict on small-minded fault-finding.
△事鈔續云『凡出家者、長標遠望、必有出要之期。始爾出家捨俗、焉能已免瑕疵也。智士應以終照遠度、略取其道。不就同彼愚小、拾僧過失。所以天龍鬼神、具有他心天眼、而護助眾僧者。非僧無過、以剋終照遠耳。今人中、無察情鑒失之見。情智淺狹、意無遠達。暫見一過、毀辱僧徒。自障出要、違破三歸失於前導、常行生死不受道化。可謂惑矣、小兒癡矣。』
資持釋云『二誡拾僧過失中、初敘道眾志遠行薄。智下次教俗士取志舍行。終照即即深識不責目今、遠度即大量不見小過。略謂揀略。所下示幽靈同贊。剋猶究也。剋照皆龍天之心、終遠即出家之志。如感通傳、韋天告祖師云。天竺諸國、不及此方。此雖犯戒、大塗漸愧、內雖陵犯、外猶慎護。故使諸天見其一善、忘其百非。若見造過、咸皆流涕、悉加守護、不令魔惱。今下斥凡俗多譏。初敘其愚迷。自下彰過失。上句障聖道、次二句失善利、後二句招苦報。可謂下結歎。』已上皆見事鈔記卷三十九
The Procedural Commentary continues: "Whoever has gone forth as a monastic sets a distant mark and gazes far ahead — such a person is certain, eventually, to reach a moment of true release. But at the very moment of first going forth, having only just left worldly life behind, how could he possibly already be free of every flaw?
A person of genuine wisdom should therefore judge by the ultimate outcome and take the long view, grasping only what is essential — never behaving like those of foolish, petty character, who go about picking up on the Sangha's faults. This is precisely why gods, dragons, and spirits, who possess the very power to read minds and see with heavenly eyes, nonetheless protect and assist the assembly of monastics: not because monastics are without fault, but because these beings judge by the ultimate outcome and take the long view.
People today, however, lack any real capacity to discern intentions or weigh faults with understanding — their feeling and their wisdom are both shallow and narrow, and their thinking never reaches far. The moment they catch sight of a single fault, they revile and disgrace the body of monastics. In doing so they obstruct their own path to release, violate and break their own threefold refuge, and lose the very guide who walks before them — remaining forever caught in birth-and-death, never receiving the transforming influence of the path. Truly, this can only be called delusion — the foolishness of a small child."
The Zichi Commentary explains: "Second, this warns against picking up on the Sangha's faults. First, describing how those who have taken up the path aim far while their conduct is still thin. 'A person of genuine wisdom' and what follows teaches the layperson to fix his own aspiration while setting aside judgment of others' conduct — 'judge by the ultimate outcome' means recognizing deeply, without holding someone to account for the present moment alone; 'take the long view' means a largeness of vision that does not dwell on small faults; 'grasping only' means selecting what is essential.
'This is precisely why' and what follows shows that even unseen spirits offer the same protection. 'Judge' is much like 'examine thoroughly'; both this judging and this power of sight belong to the mind of dragons and gods, while 'the ultimate outcome' corresponds to the monastic's own aspiration in going forth. As told in the Records of Sympathetic Resonance, the heavenly deity Wei once said to our Patriarch: 'None of the countries of India can match this land in this respect — even where a monastic here has broken a precept, in the greater course of things he still feels shame; even where he has transgressed within, he still guards his outward conduct with care. This is why, when the gods observe him, they see the one good deed and forget the hundred faults; and should they happen to see him commit some transgression, they are all moved to tears, and only redouble their protection of him, so that no demonic disturbance may trouble him.'
'People today' and what follows condemns how ordinary worldly people are so quick to criticize — first describing their foolish confusion, and from there making plain the harm that follows: the first line shows how they obstruct the sagely path, the next two how they lose real benefit, the last two how they bring suffering upon themselves. 'Truly, this can only be called' draws the passage to its concluding lament."
[The two passages translated in this section and the section above are both found in the Zichi Commentary, fasc. 39.]
The guide devotes real attention to Dao Xuan's own testimony here, recorded in his Records of Sympathetic Resonance: the protector deity Wei tells him plainly that Chinese monastics, even when they inwardly transgress, still guard their outward conduct and still retain genuine shame — which is exactly why the heavens, watching them, "see the one good deed and forget the hundred faults," and are moved to tears rather than contempt when they do witness a lapse. If beings with literal heavenly sight and the power to read minds respond to monastic imperfection this way, the guide asks, what standing does an ordinary layperson — who cannot see nearly so clearly, and whose own "feeling and wisdom are shallow and narrow" — actually have to judge more harshly than they do?
The guide reads the passage's closing lines as Dao Xuan's real verdict on the whole matter: catching sight of a single fault and using it to revile the Sangha does not punish the monastic at all — it obstructs the layperson's own path, breaks their own threefold refuge, and strips away their own guide toward liberation, leaving them "forever caught in birth-and-death." Calling this "the foolishness of a small child" is, in the guide's reading, not mere rhetorical flourish but the entire chapter's plain, final judgment: small-minded fault-finding is self-harm dressed up as discernment.