Making Images, Building Stupas and Temples
This gate opens with the Buddha's own charge to Maudgalyāyana — make every image resemble the Buddha, so that whoever sees it grasps the bearing of the Dharma body — and then follows that charge down through the centuries into an age Dao Xuan describes as "correct in cost, careless in form." Across three sections it treats the making of Buddha-images, six concrete regulations for building and caring for a stupa, and, last, the building and guarding of a monastery, where reverent, symbol-laden architecture is set directly against monasteries reduced to private estates, banquet halls, and slaughterhouses.
1. Milestone: Why the Buddha Left Images and Scriptures Behind
The gate opens by stating, in a single sweeping claim, why images and scriptures exist at all: they are the second of two benefits a Buddha brings into the world, one immediate and one reaching across the ages still to come.
▲事鈔云『造經像法意者。如來出世有二益。一為現在生身說法。二未來經像流布、令諸眾生於彌勒佛聞法悟解、超昇離生。此大意也。』
資持釋云『現在即化相佛法一期益近、未來即住持佛法三時益遠。即經云、應可度者皆悉已度、其未度作得度緣是也。』見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary states: "On the purpose of making scriptures and images: the Tathāgata's appearance in the world brings two benefits. The first is that, in his present physical body, he preaches the Dharma. The second is that, in future ages, scriptures and images will circulate widely, so that sentient beings may hear the Dharma and awaken through them when Maitreya Buddha appears, rising above and departing from birth. This is the essential meaning."
The Zichi Commentary states: "'Present' refers to the Dharma of the transformation-body Buddha, whose benefit is near and confined to a single age; 'future' refers to the Dharma sustained through the ages of the True, Semblance, and Final Dharma, whose benefit reaches far. This is exactly what the sutra means when it says: those capable of being saved have all already been saved; for those not yet saved, the conditions for their eventual salvation are being established." [Zichi Commentary, fascicle 37]
The guide frames this opening line as the key to the entire gate: everything that follows — the rules for making an image, building a stupa, or raising a monastery — exists in service of this single purpose, namely keeping the path to awakening open for beings who will never meet the Buddha in the flesh, all the way until Maitreya's own appearance in the world. Once that purpose is forgotten, the guide notes, every rule that follows risks becoming empty formality.
2. Milestone: The First Buddha-Image — Maudgalyāyana's Ascent to Paint the Buddha's Likeness
Having stated why images matter, the gate turns to how the very first one came to be made — a story of thirty-two craftsmen sent to heaven itself in search of an accurate likeness, and of the image's own miraculous greeting when the Buddha returned to earth.
▲事鈔云『恐後生造像無所表彰。故目連躬將匠工、上天圖取。如是三反、方乃近真。至於下天、此像垂地來迎。世尊命曰、汝於來世廣作佛事。因垂敕云。我滅度後、造立形像一一似佛。使見者得法身儀則。乃至幡華供養、皆於來世得念佛三昧、具諸相好。如是造立是佛像體。』
資持釋云『先敘目連圖寫。以佛生七日、摩耶命終、生忉利天。佛後成道、思報母恩、昇天說法、經於一夏。按造像經、時優填王思念如來、命目連引三十二匠往彼天中、以栴檀木各圖一相、如是至三方得圓足。文云恐者若論圖寫似指目連、取後垂誡須推佛意。雖緣在優填、意存來世。
後引如來垂誡中二、初明授記。即優填王聞佛下天、將像至寶所、像即迎佛自行七步。佛為摩頂授記、辭如鈔引。低首曲身故云垂地。因下次正誡敕。法身儀則者威容相好、法身之表。得念佛三昧者由見色像、三昧易成故。具相好者由生欣慕、能感勝報故。如是者即指檀像、敕後效之。』見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary states: "Fearing that later generations, in making images, would have nothing true to model them on, Maudgalyāyana himself led craftsmen up to the heavens to copy the Buddha's likeness there. Only after doing so three times over did the image come close to the true form. When the Buddha descended from that heaven, this image bowed its head to the ground and came forward to greet him. The World-Honored One then charged it, saying: 'In ages to come, you shall broadly carry out the Buddha's work.' He further proclaimed: 'After my extinction, whoever makes images should make each one resemble the Buddha, so that those who see them may grasp the bearing proper to the Dharma body. Moreover, through offerings of banners and flowers before them, all shall in future ages attain the samādhi of buddha-recollection and be endowed with every excellent mark. Images made in this way truly embody the Buddha.'"
The Zichi Commentary states: "This passage first recounts Maudgalyāyana's copying of the Buddha's likeness. Seven days after the Buddha's birth, his mother Māyā passed away and was reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. After the Buddha attained the Way, wishing to repay his mother's kindness, he ascended to that heaven and taught the Dharma there for one summer retreat. According to the Sutra on Making Images, King Udayana, longing for the Tathāgata, sent Maudgalyāyana together with thirty-two craftsmen up to that heaven, where they each copied one aspect of his features in sandalwood; only by repeating this three times was the likeness made complete. The text's word 'fearing,' read narrowly, seems to point only to Maudgalyāyana's own act of copying; but its later exhortation must be traced back to the Buddha's own intention. Although the occasion arose through King Udayana, the Buddha's true concern was for ages yet to come.
"What follows, citing the Tathāgata's own charge, falls into two parts. The first records the bestowal of a prediction: when King Udayana heard that the Buddha was descending from that heaven, he brought the image to the place of the Buddha's arrival, and the image itself came forward seven steps of its own accord to greet him; the Buddha then placed his hand upon its head and bestowed a prediction upon it, in the words the Procedural Commentary quotes. Its bowing low and bending its body is what is meant by 'bowed to the ground.' The second part, beginning 'He further proclaimed,' gives the substance of that charge. 'The bearing proper to the Dharma body' means the dignified appearance and excellent marks that make manifest the Dharma body. 'Attaining the samādhi of buddha-recollection' comes about because seeing a physical image makes this samādhi easy to accomplish. 'Being endowed with the excellent marks' comes about because seeing the image gives rise to admiration, which is able to draw forth a superior recompense. 'In this way' points to that very sandalwood image, and charges later generations to model themselves upon it." [Zichi Commentary, fascicle 37]
The guide fills in the background the citation assumes: seven days after the Buddha's birth his mother Māyā died and was reborn in the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven; after his enlightenment the Buddha ascended there for a full summer retreat to repay her kindness by teaching her the Dharma. In his absence, King Udayana, aching with longing, sent Maudgalyāyana and thirty-two craftsmen up to that heaven to copy the Buddha's features in sandalwood — and it took three full attempts before the likeness was judged accurate. When the Buddha finally descended, the finished image itself walked forward seven steps to greet him, and the Buddha, placing his hand on its head, charged it to carry on his work in ages to come.
The guide reads this story as establishing, from the very first image ever made, the standard every later image is held to: not decorative approximation, but a likeness pursued with such seriousness that it took the Buddha's own designated craftsman three attempts to get right — precisely because a good image genuinely helps a viewer picture the Buddha's actual bearing, and a careless one does not.
3. Milestone: From Reverent Craftsmanship to "Correct in Cost, Careless in Form"
The gate now turns from the Buddha's own age to its own — first praising the vigor and fidelity of earlier images transmitted into China, then pivoting sharply into a passage the study guide singles out as this section's real point: a blunt indictment of image-making reduced to haggling over price and size.
▲事鈔云『所以中國傳像在嶺東者。並皆風骨勁壯、儀肅隆重、每發神瑞、光世生善。逮於漢世彷彿入真、流之晉宋頗皆近實。並由敬心殷重、意存景仰、準聖模樣。故所造靈異。』
資持釋云『初前代近真中二、初引西土傳來。嶺東即此震旦、在蔥嶺之東。風骨勁壯言其體貌、勁即直也。儀肅隆重言其威勢。每發神瑞言其靈異。光世生善言其動人。逮下次引此土創製。漢世佛法初來、至於晉宋已前也。彷彿猶似像也。並下總出所由。初句心重、次即追慕、三謂法古。故下結成所引。』
The Procedural Commentary states: "This is why, when images transmitted from the Middle Country [India] reached the lands east of the Pamirs, they were all vigorous and upright in bearing, solemn and dignified in manner, constantly manifesting numinous omens, and illuminating the age by inspiring goodness in those who saw them. By the Han dynasty they had come close to approximating the true likeness, and by the time this transmission reached the Jin and Song dynasties, the images were, for the most part, quite close to the real thing. This was entirely because those who made them held reverence deeply in their hearts, kept their minds fixed on veneration, and modeled their work faithfully on the sacred original — and so what they produced showed numinous wonders."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This first section, on approaching the true likeness in earlier ages, has two parts. The first cites the transmission from the Western lands. 'East of the Pamirs' refers to this land of China, lying east of the Pamir range. 'Vigorous and upright in bearing' describes their physical appearance; 'vigorous' means straight and true. 'Solemn and dignified in manner' describes their imposing presence. 'Constantly manifesting numinous omens' describes their wondrous power. 'Illuminating the age by inspiring goodness' describes how they moved people's hearts. What follows cites this land's own production of images. 'The Han dynasty' means the period when the Buddha Dharma first arrived, down through the Jin and Song dynasties and before. 'Approximating' is much the same as 'resembling.' The passage beginning 'This was entirely because' sums up the underlying reasons taken together: the first phrase concerns depth of reverence, the second concerns heartfelt longing, the third concerns fidelity to the sacred model. The passage beginning 'and so' draws the conclusion from what has just been cited."
△事鈔續云『今隨世末、人務情巧。得在福敬、失在法式。但問尺寸短長、不論耳目全具。或爭價利鈍、計供厚薄。酒肉餉遺、貪婬俗務、身無潔淨、心唯涉利。致使尊像雖樹、無復威靈。乃至鈔寫經卷、唯務賤得。弱筆粗紙、惡匠鄙養。致使前工無敬、自心有慢。彼此通賤、法儀滅矣。』
資持釋云『二後世失法三、初明非法中二、先敘得失。與之且言福敬、奪之過在無法。但下次列非相又二、初斥造像。上四句是營勾人非、酒下四句即匠者之非、致下二句顯其無功。乃至下次明造經。』
The Procedural Commentary continues: "Now, as the age follows its decline, people pursue only cleverness of feeling. What is gained lies in blessing and reverence; what is lost lies in proper form. Patrons ask only about the image's height and width, never whether its ears and eyes are fully and correctly formed. They haggle over price, whether the workmanship is sharp or dull, and calculate how meager or generous the payment should be. They ply the craftsmen with wine and meat, taken up with worldly and lustful concerns, their bodies unclean and their minds bent only on profit. As a result, though a venerable image may indeed be set up, it no longer carries any numinous power. The same is true, further, of copying out the scriptures: people seek only to get it done cheaply, using weak brushes and coarse paper, and hiring the poorest, least reputable scribes for the lowest wages. As a result, the very craftsmen who do the work feel no reverence for it, while the patrons themselves grow contemptuous — both sides treat the matter as worthless, and the proper forms of the Dharma are thereby destroyed."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This second section, on later ages losing the proper form, has three parts. The first, explaining what is not in accord with the Dharma, itself has two parts. It first sets out gain and loss together: what is granted them is, at best, only blessing and reverence, while what they forfeit — the fault lying in their utter disregard for proper form — is far greater. The passage beginning 'Patrons ask only' then lists their faults in turn, again in two parts: it first censures the making of images — the first four clauses describe the faults of those who commission the work, the clauses beginning 'they ply the craftsmen' describe the faults of the artisans themselves, and the two clauses beginning 'as a result' make plain that no true merit results from any of it. The passage beginning 'the same is true, further' then goes on to address the copying of scriptures in the same terms."
The guide highlights this passage as the sharpest critique in the entire gate, and gives it its own callout box: "correct in blessing, wrong in form." Patrons, it explains, care only about an image's height and whether the face looks complete — never whether the craftsman making it approached the work with a clean, reverent mind — while haggling over price and plying workers with wine and meat to cut costs. The same rot infects scripture-copying: cheap brushes, coarse paper, the lowest bidder. The result, either way, is an object that exists but carries no numinous presence, because neither the reverence of the artisan nor the sincerity of the patron went into making it.
The guide is explicit that this fourteen-hundred-year-old critique still lands squarely on today's mass-produced, price-driven market for Buddha statues and ritual implements — the very same failure Dao Xuan describes, simply wearing modern packaging.
4. Milestone: The Price of Careless Images — and What True Reverence Still Draws
The critique sharpens further into consequence: images and scriptures stripped of reverence invite theft, destruction, and real karmic harm — while the same passage closes by promising the opposite outcome for images made and kept in genuine good faith.
△事鈔續云『致令經像訓世為諸信首、反自輕侮、威靈焉在。故致偷盜毀壞、私竊冶鑄、焚經受用、多陷罪咎。並由違背世出世法。現在未來受無量苦、皆由失法之所致也。』
資持釋云『二示過患中三、初敘無靈。經像住持功高故為信首。故下顯過。偷盜是遭奪失、毀壞即風火所損、私冶鑄謂金銅等像鎔為別物、焚經受用即金銀字經燒取餘用。多陷罪咎謂累他也。並下出意。薄賤輕侮、乖俗禮教、非佛嚴敕、故云違背世出世法。現未兩報因像而致、後之製造可不慎耶。』
The Procedural Commentary continues: "This causes scriptures and images — which ought to instruct the age and stand foremost among objects of faith — to be instead treated with contempt by the very people who made them; how, then, could any numinous power remain in them? And so they come to be stolen and destroyed, secretly melted down and recast, or burned so that their gold and silver characters can be salvaged for other use — and in all of this, people fall deeply into wrongdoing. All of this comes from turning one's back on both worldly and transcendent law alike. The immeasurable suffering endured, in the present life and in lives to come, is entirely brought about by this loss of proper form."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This second section, showing the resulting harm, has three parts. The first describes the loss of numinous power: because scriptures and images sustain the Dharma and are therefore of the greatest merit, they are called foremost among objects of faith. The passage beginning 'and so they come to be' then makes plain the resulting harm: being stolen means being seized and lost outright; being destroyed means being ruined by wind and fire; being secretly melted down and recast means that bronze and gilded images are melted into some other object; being burned so their gold and silver can be salvaged means that sutras written in gold or silver ink are burned merely to recover material for other use. Falling deeply into wrongdoing means that one thereby implicates others as well. The passage beginning 'all of this' then draws out the underlying point: to treat something so lightly and with such contempt runs against ordinary human decorum, let alone the Buddha's own solemn charge — which is exactly why it is called turning one's back on both worldly and transcendent law. Both kinds of retribution, present and future, are brought about entirely on account of these images — how, then, could those who make them in later times afford to be anything but careful?"
△事鈔續云『若使道俗存法、造得真儀。鳥獸不敢汙踐、何況人乎。但能奉聖像儀、佛亦垂形示跡。』資持釋云『三明應法中、初明合法有靈。但下次明至誠感聖。』已上皆見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary continues: "But if monastics and laypeople alike hold fast to the proper form, and the image made is a genuinely true likeness, then not even birds and beasts will dare to defile or trample it — how much less any human being? Only let one truly honor the sacred image and its proper bearing, and the Buddha himself will manifest his form and reveal his traces through it."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This third section, showing what accords with the Dharma, first shows that what accords with the Dharma carries numinous power. The passage beginning 'only let one' then shows that utter sincerity is able to move the sage himself." All of the above is found in the Zichi Commentary, fascicle 37.
The guide traces the chain of cause and effect the text lays out: because an image made without reverence carries no numinous power, it becomes just another object — which is exactly why it ends up stolen, melted down for its metal, or burned for its gold and silver lettering, and why those responsible fall into real wrongdoing on top of it. Dao Xuan calls this "turning one's back on both worldly and transcendent law," and warns that the suffering it brings spans this life and lives to come.
Against that, the guide draws out the passage's closing promise as a genuine counterweight rather than mere consolation: an image made and kept with real sincerity earns a kind of protection that has nothing to do with locks or walls — not even birds and animals will defile it, and the Buddha himself will manifest through it. The entire section, the guide notes, turns on one hinge: not the material an image is made from, but the reverence that goes into making and keeping it.
5. Milestone: What a Stupa Is, and the Blessings of Building One
The gate now turns from images to stupas, opening the six regulations named in its outline with the most basic questions: what distinguishes a stupa from a chaitya, and what reward does building or repairing one actually bring.
▲事鈔云『雜心云、有舍利名塔、無者名支提。塔、或塔婆、或云偷婆。此云塚也亦云墳支提云廟。廟者貌也』
資持釋云『初示名。舍利及塔、名通凡聖。今明造立、多是佛塔、亦通餘聖。無名支擔謂安形像、故下釋云廟貌也。塔或下翻釋。』見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary states: "The Abhidharma-hṛdaya-śāstra states: where there are relics, it is called a stupa; where there are none, it is called a chaitya. 'Stupa' is also rendered 'stūpa' or 'thūpa'; in this land these are translated 'mound' or 'grave-mound.' 'Chaitya' is translated 'shrine' — a 'shrine' being, literally, a 'likeness.'"
The Zichi Commentary states: "This first passage explains the names. 'Relics' and 'stupa' are terms that apply broadly to both ordinary and sagely beings; here, in speaking of construction, the text mainly has Buddha-stupas in mind, though it extends to other sages as well. Where there are no relics it is called a chaitya, meaning a place where an image is enshrined — which is why the text goes on to gloss it as 'shrine,' or 'likeness.' The passage beginning 'stupa, also' gives the transliterated alternatives and their translation." [Zichi Commentary, fascicle 37]
▲事鈔云『增一阿含云。初起偷婆、補治故寺、並受梵福。云何梵福。如閻浮一洲人功德、不如一轉輪王功德。如是西東北天下、乃至四天六欲初禪總多、此一梵主功德。此為梵福量。當如是學。』
資持釋云『初示因果。初起謂新創也。梵福謂梵天王福最勝也。次校量梵福。此下勸修。』見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary states: "The Ekottarika Āgama states: newly raising a stupa, and repairing an old, decaying monastery, both earn what is called Brahmā-merit. What is Brahmā-merit? The merit of every person in the single continent of Jambudvīpa does not equal the merit of a single wheel-turning king; and in just the same way, the combined merit of the western, eastern, and northern continents, and further of the Four Heavenly Kings, the six heavens of desire, and the first dhyāna heaven altogether, does not equal the merit of a single lord of the Brahmā heaven. This is the measure of Brahmā-merit — one should train oneself with this in mind."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This first passage shows cause and result. 'Newly raising' means building anew. 'Brahmā-merit' means the merit of a Brahmā-king, which is the most excellent of all such merits. What follows compares the relative measures of Brahmā-merit in turn. The passage beginning 'this is the measure' then exhorts practice." [Zichi Commentary, fascicle 37]
The guide keeps the terminology simple: a "stupa" properly contains relics, while a structure holding only an image, without relics, is a "chaitya" — a distinction the source glosses, almost playfully, by noting that "shrine" literally just means "likeness." On reward, the guide walks through the escalating comparison exactly as the text gives it: the combined merit of an entire continent's population still falls short of a single wheel-turning king's merit, and the combined merit of every heaven up through the first dhyāna still falls short of a single Brahmā-king's merit — and building or repairing a stupa is credited with reward at that very scale.
6. Milestone: Building and Siting a Stupa with Reverence
The Four-Part Vinaya supplies a remarkably concrete building code — shape, materials, railings, who may climb where, how offerings are sheltered from weather — and the Sarvāstivāda-vinaya Mātṛkā adds a rule for where a stupa should stand in relation to the rest of the monastery, one that Dao Xuan is careful to note does not transplant unchanged from India to China.
▲事鈔云『四分。若起塔者、應四方若圓若八角。以石塹、木作。作已、用黑泥乃至石灰白土等。應安基。四邊作闌楯、安香華著上。聽安懸幡蓋物。不得上塔上闌楯上、護塔神瞋。若有所取與、開。彼安幡蓋、不得蹈像上、作餘方便梯凳安之。若塔露地供養具、雨漬風飄、鳥烏不淨者、作種種舍覆之。地有塵、種種泥泥之。須洗足器、安道邊、外作牆門安置。若上美餘食、用金寶等器盛之。令白衣伎樂供養。若飲食、當與比丘沙彌優婆塞。經營塔作者應食。舍利安金寶塔中、若繒綿中。若持行者、若畜生若頭上肩上擔戴。若拂、應用樹葉雀尾拂。多有香華、羅列基上闌上。□上。響中、繩貫懸屋簷前。有香泥、作手輪像。乃至有餘、泥地等。』
資持釋云『初明造立。安基為堅牢故。作闌為外護故。懸幡蓋物即梯凳也。不得下次制踐汙。若塔下明覆蓋。地下明泥治。須下明器具。以西國俗風多跣足故。安道邊者登上便故。外作牆者恐觸穢故。若上下明獻供養飲食得與道俗即守塔人。經營即造立者。舍下明護舍利。若下明帚拂。但可去塵、餘物皆得。多下明莊嚴。手輪者舊云佛手中千輻輪。』見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary states: "The Four-Part Vinaya states: when raising a stupa, it should be square, round, or octagonal in shape, built with stone facing and timber. Once built, it should be finished with black clay, or with lime and white clay, and so on. A base should be set beneath it, and railings built along its four sides, with incense and flowers placed upon them; hanging banners and canopies are permitted. No one is to climb up onto the stupa itself or onto its railings — the guardian spirit of the stupa will grow angry at this. But an exception is allowed when something must actually be handed up or taken down, such as hanging banners and canopies in place; even then, one must not step on the image itself, but should use some other expedient, such as a ladder or stool, to reach it. If the offerings set out in the open around the stupa are being soaked by rain, scattered by wind, or fouled by crows, various kinds of shelter should be built to cover them.
"Where the ground is dusty, it should be repeatedly treated with clay. A basin for washing the feet should be set beside the path, with a wall and gate built around the outside to enclose it. When fine food is offered, it should be presented in vessels of gold or other precious material, and laypeople should provide music as an offering. As for food and drink, it should be given to bhikṣus, novices, and upāsakas; those who actually labor in building the stupa should also be fed.
"Relics should be kept in a stupa of gold or other precious material, or wrapped in silk floss. Whether they are carried on a journey, or even carried on the head or shoulder of an animal, they must be treated the same way. As for a whisk, one made of tree leaves or a peacock's tail feathers should be used. Where there is abundant incense and flowers, they should be arranged along the base and the railings [and] ... upon it. Bells should be strung on cords and hung before the eaves. Where there is fragrant clay, it may be shaped into hand-wheel images; and if any remains, it may be used to plaster the ground and the like."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This first passage explains construction. Setting a base beneath it is for the sake of solidity; building railings is for the sake of outer protection. Hanging banners and canopies refers to the ladder and stool mentioned. The passage beginning 'no one is to' then forbids treading upon and defiling it. The passage beginning 'if the offerings' explains covering and sheltering. The passage beginning 'where the ground' explains treating it with clay. The passage beginning 'a basin' explains the necessary implements: because the custom in the Western lands is largely to go barefoot, a foot-basin is needed. Setting it beside the path is for convenience when ascending. Building an outer wall is to guard against contact with impurity. The passage beginning 'when fine food' explains offering food, which may be given to monastics and laypeople alike — meaning here those who guard the stupa; those who 'labor in building' are those who actually construct it. The passage beginning 'relics' explains the protection of relics. The passage beginning 'as for a whisk' explains its proper use — it may only be used to remove dust, nothing else is permitted with it. The passage beginning 'where there is abundant' explains adornment; the 'hand-wheel' referred to is what the old teachers called the thousand-spoked wheel in the Buddha's palm." [Zichi Commentary, fascicle 37]
▲事鈔云『僧祇。塔事者。起僧伽藍時、先規度好地、作塔處。其塔不得在南在西、應在東在北。中國、伽藍門皆東向、故佛塔廟宇皆向東開。乃至廚廁亦在西南、由彼國東北風多故。神州尚南為正陽、不必依中土法也。不得僧地侵佛地、佛地不得侵僧地。』
資持釋云『初明擇地。規謂看視。其下指方所。須東北者以寺門向東、即在前面左邊二方為之。註中、前示西土。亦合作並。東北風多則穢氣不至殿塔、此示寺門向東所以。下明此方應南西。今此廚多在東北、亦以南西風多故也。不得下制侵犯。西土佛法僧地各有分齊、不相混濫。』見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary states: "The Sarvāstivāda-vinaya Mātṛkā states: as for the placement of a stupa, when first raising a monastery one should survey and choose good ground in advance to serve as the site for the stupa. The stupa should not be sited to the south or the west, but should be sited to the east or the north. In the Middle Country [India], the gates of monasteries all face east, and so the halls and shrines of Buddha-stupas likewise all open to the east; even the kitchen and latrines are placed to the southwest, because that country has winds prevailing from the northeast. In this Land of the Gods [China], south is honored as the direction of correct sunlight, so it is not necessary to follow the rule of the Middle Country exactly. What must not happen is for the saṅgha's land to encroach upon the Buddha's land, nor for the Buddha's land to encroach upon the saṅgha's land."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This first passage explains the choice of ground. 'Survey' means to inspect and look over. What follows indicates the proper direction: the need for east or north follows from the monastery gate facing east, so that the stupa is placed in one of the two directions to the front, on the left-hand side. In the annotation, what is shown first is the practice of the Western lands: since the northeast wind prevails there, foul air is kept from reaching the shrine and stupa — this explains why the monastery gate faces east. What follows shows that in this land the stupa should instead face south or west, since here the kitchen is mostly placed to the northeast, again because the wind prevails from the south and west. The passage beginning 'what must not happen' forbids encroachment: in the Western lands, the land of the Buddha and the land of the saṅgha each have their own separate boundary, and are never permitted to be confused with one another." [Zichi Commentary, fascicle 37]
The guide condenses the building code into its practical core: a stupa may be square, round, or octagonal, built of stone and timber, finished with black clay or lime; it needs a solid base and railings, and offerings may be hung on it, but no one may climb onto the stupa or its railings — the text warns that the guardian spirit takes offense — except by the expedient of a ladder or stool when banners genuinely need hanging. Exposed offerings need shelter from rain, wind, and birds; dusty ground should be treated with clay; and a foot-washing basin belongs outside, beside the path, behind its own enclosing wall, since bare feet were ordinary practice in the source culture.
On siting, the guide is careful to draw out Dao Xuan's own point about local adaptation: in India, prevailing northeast winds pushed the kitchen and latrines to the southwest and put the stupa toward the east or north so that foul air never reached it; in China, where the wind runs the other way, the logic reverses to favor south or west. The rule that survives the change of country intact, the guide stresses, is the underlying principle rather than the compass direction itself: the saṅgha's land and the Buddha's land must never encroach on each other.
7. Milestone: The Spirit of Offering, and the Duty to Keep a Stupa in Repair
The Sutra on the Upāsaka Precepts turns from construction to the inner disposition offerings actually require — and then, in three further citations, from disposition to the ongoing, unglamorous labor of keeping a stupa clean, whole, and free of vermin, decay, and disrepair.
▲事鈔云『善生經云。善男子。如來即是一切智藏。是故智者應當志心勤修、供給身滅身形像塔廟。若於空野無塔像處、常當繫念尊重讚歎。若自力作、若勸人作、見作生喜。如其自有功德力者、要當廣教眾多之人而共作之。既供養已、於己身中莫生輕想、於三寶所亦應如是。凡所供養、不使人作、不為勝他。作時不悔、心不愁惱合掌讚歎恭敬尊重。若以一錢一線一華一香一偈一禮一匝一時、乃至無量寶無量時。若自獨作、若共他作。善男子。若能如是志心供養佛法僧者、若我現在若涅槃後等無差別。若見塔廟、應以金銀銅鐵繩鎖幡蓋伎樂香油燈明而供養之。』
資持釋云『初勸化供養五段、初勸修。一切智者總收十界世出世智無不圓足、含蘊無窮出生無盡故喻如。生身即現在、滅身即舍利。若自下明營辦。自有功德者謂富於道行、人所信重者。於己莫輕者以能供養、獲大福德故。凡下明用心。若以下明施物。現在滅後無差別者謂所得福、存沒正等故。若見下明供具。』
The Procedural Commentary states: "The Sutra on the Upāsaka Precepts states: Good son, the Tathāgata is himself the storehouse of all wisdom. For this reason, the wise should single-mindedly and diligently cultivate the practice of making offerings to his living body, his relic body after death, and to images and stupas alike. Where one finds oneself in some empty wilderness with no stupa or image present, one should still constantly hold the Buddha in mind, revering and praising him.
"Whether making an offering by one's own effort or urging others to make it, one should rejoice at seeing it done. If one happens to possess the strength of merit to do so, one should broadly teach many people so that they may join in doing it together. Once the offering has been made, one should never grow the least bit self-satisfied on that account; and one's attitude toward the Three Jewels in general should be exactly the same.
"In every offering that is made, one should not simply have others do the labor, nor act in order to outdo anyone else. While making the offering, one should have no regret, one's mind free of anxiety, and one should join palms, praise, revere, and honor it — whether the offering is a single coin, a single thread, a single flower, a single stick of incense, a single verse, a single bow, a single circumambulation, offered in a single moment; or is an immeasurable treasure, offered over an immeasurable span of time; whether it is done entirely alone, or together with others.
"Good son, if one is able in this way to make offering single-mindedly to the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, then it makes no difference at all whether this is done while I am still present in the world or after my final nirvāṇa. Whenever one sees a stupa or shrine, one should make offering to it with gold, silver, bronze, iron, chains, banners, canopies, music, fragrant oil, and lamps."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This first passage, exhorting people to make offerings, unfolds in five parts. The first exhorts cultivation: 'the storehouse of all wisdom' takes in, without exception, every kind of worldly and transcendent wisdom across the ten dharma-realms, containing an inexhaustible fullness and giving rise to endless benefit — hence the comparison to a storehouse. 'The living body' refers to the present body; 'the relic body after death' refers to the relics. The passage beginning 'whether making an offering' explains how the work should actually be organized. 'If one happens to possess the strength of merit' refers to one who is rich in spiritual practice and trusted and respected by others. 'Never grow the least bit self-satisfied' means that, because one is able to make offerings, one thereby gains great merit oneself, and so has no grounds for pride. The passage beginning 'in every offering' explains the proper state of mind. The passage beginning 'whether the offering' explains the actual gift. 'It makes no difference whether while I am present or after nirvāṇa' means that the resulting merit is exactly the same whether the Buddha is living or has passed away. The passage beginning 'whenever one sees' explains the implements of offering."
△事鈔續云『若見鳥獸踐蹋毀壞、要當塗治、掃除令淨。暴風水火人所壞處、亦當自治。自若無力、當勸人治。或以金銀銅鐵土木。若有塵土、洒掃除拂。若有垢汙、以香水洗。』資持釋云『二見塔塗治。自作勸人、隨力所構。』
The Procedural Commentary continues: "If one sees a stupa trampled and damaged by birds or beasts, one should certainly repair it, sweeping and cleaning it until it is pure again. Where it has been damaged by violent wind, flood, fire, or by human hands, one should likewise repair it oneself; and if one lacks the means to do so oneself, one should urge others to repair it, whether with gold, silver, bronze, iron, earth, or wood. Where there is dust, one should sweep and wipe it away; where there is grime, one should wash it clean with scented water."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This second passage concerns repairing a stupa when it is seen to need it — whether doing the work oneself or urging others to do it, each according to one's own means."
△事鈔續云『若作寶塔及作寶像、當以種種幡蓋香華奉上。若無真寶、力不能辦、次以土木而造成之。成訖、亦當幡蓋香華伎樂種種供養若是塔中草木不淨、鳥獸死屍及其糞穢、萎華臭爛、悉當除去。蛇鼠孔穴、當塞治之。銅像木像石像泥像金銀琉璃頗梨等像、常當洗治。任力香塗。隨力造作種種瓔珞、乃至猶如轉輪聖王塔。精舍內、當以香塗、若白土塗。作塔像已、當以琉璃真珠綾絹錦綵鈴磬繩鎖而供養之。畫佛像時、綵中不雜膠乳雞子。應以種種華貫散華、妙拂明鏡、末香散香燒香、種種伎樂歌舞供養、晝夜不絕。不如外道、燒酥大麥而供養之。終不以酥塗塔像身、亦不乳洗。』
資持釋云『三造立莊嚴中、初明造立。若是下明淨治。任下嚴飾。畫下明雜穢。此土多用魚牛等膠、雖復腥膻、且圖久固。應下明供養。不下示非法。酥塗乳洗皆外道法故。』
The Procedural Commentary continues: "If one is making a precious stupa or a precious image, one should present it with every kind of banner, canopy, incense, and flower. If one lacks genuine precious materials and cannot afford them, one may instead make it of earth and wood; and once it is completed, one should likewise make offering to it with banners, canopies, incense, flowers, and music of every kind.
"If, within a stupa, there are impure plants, the corpses of birds or animals along with their filth, or withered flowers left to rot and stink, all of this must be cleared away; holes made by snakes or rats must be sealed and repaired. Images of bronze, wood, stone, clay, gold, silver, glass, or crystal should all be constantly washed and cared for, and, as one's means allow, anointed with fragrance, and adorned with every kind of jeweled garland one is able to provide, up to the level of a wheel-turning king's own stupa.
"Within the shrine hall, one should apply fragrant paste or white clay to the walls. Once a stupa or image is completed, one should make offering to it with glass, pearls, damask, silk, brocade, bells, chimes, and chains. When painting a Buddha's image, one must not mix glue, milk, or egg into the pigments.
"One should make offering with every kind of flower garland and scattered flower, with fine whisks and bright mirrors, with powdered incense, scattered incense, and burning incense, and with every kind of music and dance, continuing without interruption day and night — unlike the non-Buddhist ascetics, who make offering by burning ghee and barley. One should never anoint a stupa or an image's body with ghee, nor wash it with milk."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This third passage, on construction and adornment, first explains construction. The passage beginning 'if, within a stupa' explains keeping it clean. The passage beginning 'as one's means allow' explains adornment. The passage beginning 'when painting' explains what must be kept out of the materials — in this land, fish- or ox-hide glue is commonly used, and although this does carry an odor of flesh, it is used with a view to lasting durability. The passage beginning 'one should make offering' explains the offerings themselves. The passage beginning 'unlike the non-Buddhist ascetics' shows what is not in accord with the Dharma: anointing with ghee and washing with milk are both practices belonging to non-Buddhist teachings."
△事鈔續云『不應造作半身佛像。若有形像身不具足、當密藏覆、勸人令治、治具足已然後顯示。見毀壞像、應當志心供養恭敬、如完無別。如是供養、要身自作。自若無力、當為他使、亦勸他人令作助之。』資持釋云『四接續毀損。令密藏者不生善故。令恭敬者恐生慢故。今時有作涌壁、或畫佛首相、並宜藏之。』已上皆見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary continues: "One should not make a half-length Buddha image. If an existing image is incomplete in its body, it should be quietly kept hidden and covered, and others urged to repair it; only once it has been made whole should it be put on display again. Where one sees a damaged image, one should still make offering to it single-mindedly and with reverence, exactly as if it were undamaged, with no distinction made. Such offerings should genuinely be made with one's own hands; and if one lacks the ability to do so oneself, one should act on another's behalf, and likewise urge other people to do it and to help."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This fourth passage concerns images that are incomplete or damaged. They are to be kept hidden because leaving them exposed does not give rise to wholesome feeling in those who see them; they are to be treated with reverence because carelessness might otherwise give rise to contempt. In the present day there are cases of bulging, cracked walls, or of a painted Buddha's head alone surviving — all such images should likewise be kept hidden." All of the above is found in the Zichi Commentary, fascicle 37.
The guide draws out the sutra's real point about the size of a gift: whether the offering is a single coin, thread, or flower, or an immeasurable treasure given over an immeasurable time, the merit gained is exactly the same as long as it is offered with real sincerity — and, remarkably, exactly the same whether given while the Buddha still lives or long after his final nirvāṇa. What is explicitly forbidden is offering purely to outdo someone else, or delegating the actual labor to others while taking the credit oneself.
On upkeep, the guide reads the remaining citations as one continuous practical duty rather than three separate rules: clear away vermin, corpses, and decaying flowers; seal snake and rat holes; keep every kind of image material clean; and if real treasure cannot be afforded, earth and wood are entirely acceptable substitutes, since the point was never the price of the material. Most striking to the guide is the instruction on damaged images — a half-length or incomplete image should be quietly hidden and mended rather than displayed unfinished, yet a damaged image already standing in public should still be venerated exactly as if it were whole, since contempt for it, not its condition, is the real danger.
8. Milestone: Two Fruits — the Blessings of Care, the Retribution for Harm
The sixth and final stupa-regulation closes the section with a matched pair: the ordinary, almost menial act of sweeping a stupa's ground carries five distinct blessings, while destroying a monastery or killing a monastic carries a correspondingly severe retribution — the very contrast Dao Xuan says exists to show how deep the merit of building truly runs.
▲事鈔云『無垢清信女問經云。未知掃佛塔地、有善報。佛告女言。掃佛地得五福。一自心清淨、他人見已亦生淨心。二為他愛。三天心歡喜。四集端正業。五命終生善道天中。涅槃云。不犯佛物、塗掃佛僧地、造像若佛塔、常生歡喜心。皆生不動國。』
資持釋云『初掃治善報二、初無垢女經。五福一是內感。二三即外應。四五即來報、四是別報、五即總報。二涅槃偈。彼云。東方有佛世界名不動、佛號滿月光明。無畏菩薩白佛、此土眾生造何等業、得生彼國。佛以偈答、如鈔引。上四句即四種因、正取中二。下一句示果。言不犯者謂不侵損也。』
The Procedural Commentary states: "The Sutra of the Immaculate Laywoman's Questions states: not knowing that sweeping the ground of a Buddha-stupa brings good reward, the Buddha told her: sweeping the ground of the Buddha earns five blessings. First, one's own mind becomes pure, and others, seeing this, likewise give rise to a pure mind. Second, one is loved by others. Third, the gods' hearts rejoice. Fourth, one accumulates the karma that produces an upright and dignified form. Fifth, at the end of one's life one is born among the gods in a good realm. The Nirvāṇa Sutra states: one who does not misuse property belonging to the Buddha, who plasters and sweeps the ground of the Buddha and the saṅgha, and who makes images or Buddha-stupas, constantly gives rise to a joyful mind, and all such people are born in the land of Akṣobhya."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This first passage, on the good rewards of sweeping and repair, has two parts. The first cites the Sutra of the Immaculate Laywoman's Questions. Of the five blessings, the first is an inward effect; the second and third are outward responses to it; the fourth and fifth are rewards yet to come — the fourth being a particular reward, the fifth an overall one. The second cites a verse from the Nirvāṇa Sutra. There it states: in the eastern direction there is a Buddha-world called Akṣobhya, whose Buddha is named Full Moon's Bright Light. The bodhisattva Abhaya asked the Buddha what karma the beings of this land must create in order to be born in that land, and the Buddha answered in verse, as the Procedural Commentary quotes it. Of these lines, the first four give the four kinds of cause, of which the middle two are the ones actually being drawn on here; the final line shows the result. 'Does not misuse' means does not encroach upon or damage."
△事鈔又云『十輪。若破寺、殺害比丘。其人欲終、支節皆疼、多日不語。墮阿鼻獄、具受諸苦。』資持釋云『二毀壞惡報。破寺報重、反明造立功深。』已上皆見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary further states: "The Sutra of the Ten Wheels says: whoever destroys a monastery or kills a bhikṣu — when that person is about to die, every joint of the body aches, and for many days he cannot speak; he then falls into the Avīci Hell, where he undergoes every manner of suffering in full."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This second passage shows the evil reward of destruction. The retribution for destroying a monastery is grave — which, read the other way round, shows all the more how deep the merit of building one truly is." All of the above is found in the Zichi Commentary, fascicle 37.
The guide lays out the five blessings of sweeping a stupa's ground in order — an inner effect (one's own mind grows pure), two outward responses (others are drawn to that same purity, and the gods themselves rejoice), and two future rewards (an upright, dignified form in a later life, and eventual rebirth among the gods in a good realm) — and pairs this with the Nirvāṇa Sutra's promise that whoever does not misuse the Buddha's property, and plasters and sweeps its ground, is reborn in Akṣobhya Buddha's own land.
Against this, the guide places the grim mirror image: destroying a monastery or killing a monastic brings agonizing pain at the moment of death, days of being unable to speak, and rebirth in the Avīci Hell. The guide reads Yuan Zhao's closing remark as the whole point of setting these two side by side — precisely because the retribution for destruction is so severe, the passage lets that severity itself measure just how much merit building and caring for a monastery actually carries.
9. Milestone: Dharma Master Lingyu's Monastery-Building Treatise, and a Temple Built to Teach
The gate's second chapter, on building a monastery, opens by naming its source — Dharma Master Lingyu's ten-part Sigao — before turning to how a monastery's very architecture, sited to avoid suspicion and built according to the Jetavana plan, is meant to teach the Dharma silently, through tree, stone, and structure alike.
▲事鈔云『有盛德法師造寺誥十篇。具明造寺方法。祇桓圖樣、隨有所造必準正教。并護持匡眾僧網綱要等。事繁不具、略引宗科造寺一法。』
資持釋云『初標人法。即靈裕法師。稱美道行故云盛德。寺誥即彼文通題。具下示其所述。事下明今所引。』見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary states: "There was a Dharma Master of eminent virtue who composed the Sigao — the Monastery-Building Treatise — in ten sections, which sets out in full the proper method for building a monastery. Whatever is to be built must, according to the pattern of the Jetavana plan, always conform to correct teaching; the treatise also covers, among other things, the essentials of protecting and guiding the assembly of monastics. Since the matter is too extensive to set out in full here, only its main outline concerning the building of a monastery is briefly cited."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This first passage identifies the person and the text. The Dharma Master referred to is Dharma Master Lingyu; he is praised for his cultivation and conduct, hence 'of eminent virtue.' 'The Sigao' is the general title of that work. The passage beginning 'sets out in full' indicates what it covers. The passage beginning 'since the matter' explains what is being cited here." [Zichi Commentary, fascicle 37]
▲事鈔云『謂處所須避譏涉、當離於尼寺及市傍府側等。佛殿經坊極令清素、僧院廚倉趣得充事。如此、則後無所壞。祇桓圖中、凡立木石土宇並有所表。令人天識相、知釋門多法。故能影覆邪術、禽獸畏威。形儀隱映、為世欽仰。』
資持釋云『譏謂譏嫌、涉即幹涉。經坊即今經藏。木石等者植樹、表其生長。立石、表其堅貞。戒壇居東、表發生之義。無常院在西、菜傾沒非久。立剎表邊者知歸。樓觀、表道品階漸。池沼表魔外洗心。栽蓮、表行人心淨。餘如彼說、須者尋之。圖經、近日本將至、文有兩卷。即祖師撰者。影覆邪術謂使魔外無其威勢、影猶閉也。禽獸畏威謂令異類不敢侵犯。形儀隱映謂像設可觀。為世欽仰即士庶生善。』見事鈔記卷三十七
資持註云圖經等者。宋時由日本齎遠、旋復佚失。今再由日本請歸。天津刻經處刊本、名祇桓寺圖經、與戒壇圖經合為一冊。
The Procedural Commentary states: "As for the site itself, it must avoid anything that might invite suspicion or entanglement — it should be kept apart from convents, marketplaces, and government offices, and the like. The Buddha hall and scripture repository should be kept as pure and unadorned as possible, while the monks' quarters, kitchen, and storerooms need only be sufficient for their actual use. Built this way, nothing will later come to ruin. In the plan of the Jetavana monastery, every tree, stone, and structure of earth and timber carries its own meaning, so that beings both human and divine may recognize what it signifies and understand that the gate of Śākya holds many teachings within it. For this very reason, it is able to overshadow deviant arts, and even birds and beasts stand in awe of its authority; its very form and bearing, quietly manifest, draw the reverent admiration of the age."
The Zichi Commentary states: "'Suspicion' means being an object of gossip or reproach; 'entanglement' means being caught up in worldly affairs. 'The scripture repository' is what is now called the sutra library. As for the things that carry meaning: planting trees signifies growth; erecting stones signifies steadfastness; the ordination platform, placed to the east, signifies the arising [of the aspiration for enlightenment]; the Impermanence Hall, placed to the west, signifies that all things decline and pass away before long; erecting a finial signifies giving the lost a point to return to; towers and lookouts signify the gradual stages of the path; ponds signify washing the heart clean of demonic and heterodox influence; planting lotuses signifies the practitioner's own mind made pure. The remaining details are as that text describes them; those who wish to know more should consult it directly — the Jetavana Illustrated Sutra, recently brought back from Japan, in a text of two fascicles, composed by our patriarch himself. 'Overshadowing deviant arts' means depriving demonic and heterodox forces of their power — 'overshadow' here carries the sense of 'block out.' 'Birds and beasts stand in awe of its authority' means that even other kinds of creature dare not encroach upon it. 'Its very form and bearing, quietly manifest' means that what has been built is genuinely worth beholding. 'Draw the reverent admiration of the age' means that it inspires goodness in officials and commoners alike." [Zichi Commentary, fascicle 37]
A further note in the Zichi Commentary adds, regarding this Illustrated Sutra: during the Song dynasty it was brought from far-off Japan, but was afterward lost again; it has now once more been obtained from Japan. The edition printed by the Tianjin Sutra-Carving House is titled the Jetavana Monastery Illustrated Sutra, bound together in a single volume with the Illustrated Sutra of the Ordination Platform.
The guide identifies the "Dharma Master of eminent virtue" as Dharma Master Lingyu of the Sui dynasty, whose ten-part Sigao laid out both how to build a monastery and how to protect and lead its community once built — a text too long for Dao Xuan to quote in full, so only its outline on construction is drawn on here.
On siting, the guide underlines the practical concern behind avoiding convents, marketplaces, and government offices: not doctrinal purity but reputation, since proximity to any of these invites the kind of gossip a monastery cannot afford. Its real interest, though, is in the table of symbolic architecture the commentary supplies: planting trees for growth, erecting stone for steadfastness, an ordination platform to the east for the arising of the aspiration for enlightenment, an Impermanence Hall to the west for how quickly all things pass, a finial to give the lost a point of return, towers for the gradual stages of the path, ponds for washing the heart of demonic influence, lotuses for the practitioner's own purity of mind. The guide reads this as "teaching through architecture" — every plank and stone of a well-built monastery doing quiet doctrinal work on everyone who walks through it — and suggests it is worth remembering the next time one visits any temple grounds.
10. Milestone: When the Dharma Is Lost — a Monastery Turned to Private Property
Having shown what a monastery built and sited with real intention accomplishes, the text turns to its opposite: centuries of drift have left construction driven by rivalry and display rather than doctrine, and monasteries themselves treated by laypeople as private estates, their monastics reduced to servants.
▲事鈔云『但歷代綿積、秉教陵遲。事存法隱、錯舉意旨。俗人既不曉法、眾僧未解示導。但相倣效、虛費財物、競心精妙、力志勝他。房廊台觀務令高顯、過彼便止、都不存法。』
資持釋云『初造立非法。綿積猶言長久。秉即執也。錯舉謂每事廢立皆任意耳。倣效謂互習訛風。競心謂鬥競為懷、力志即竭力用意。高顯即副競妙之心、過彼乃稱勝他之志。』
The Procedural Commentary states: "But as the generations have piled up one upon another, the holding to correct teaching has steadily declined. The outward practice survives while its underlying rationale has been lost, so that people take up and discard each detail entirely according to their own whim. Laypeople, for their part, no longer understand the proper teaching, and monastics have not managed to explain and guide them. People simply copy one another, squandering wealth in the process, driven by a competitive urge toward ever more elaborate refinement and a determination to outdo one another. Halls, corridors, towers, and pavilions are built as high and imposing as possible; once a rival's building has been surpassed, the effort simply stops there — with no thought given to proper form at all."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This first section concerns building that is not in accord with the Dharma. 'Piled up one upon another' is much the same as saying 'over a long span of time.' 'Holding' means grasping firmly. 'Take up and discard entirely according to their own whim' means that every decision to build or tear down is made purely on impulse. 'Copy one another' means picking up each other's corrupted habits. 'A competitive urge' means being driven by rivalry; 'a determination to outdo one another' means exhausting all one's effort and attention toward that end. 'Built as high and imposing as possible' answers to the competitive urge toward refinement; 'once a rival's building has been surpassed' answers to the determination to outdo others."
△事鈔續云『又還自騰踐、如己莊宅。眾僧房堂、諸俗受用。毀壞損辱、情無所愧。屈道承俗、如奴事主。是名寺法滅也。其甚者、打罵眾僧、種種非法。取要言之。從僧強力抑奪、貸借乞請。乃至停屍僧院、舉哀寺內、置塚澡浴等。並非法也。』
資持釋云『二騰踐毀壞。明俗人愚暗。文敘本主、義通餘人。毀壞約物、損辱約僧。承即奉事。此科大字並引寺誥、故註以助之。乞請即求索。請觀諸事、彼時尚然、今何足怪。更有殿堂飲醼、僧廚宰殺。寄著雜物、貯積糧儲。或射作衙庭、或編為場務。婚姻生產、雜穢難言。斯由道眾之非纔、豈獨俗儒之無識。每恨法門之覆滅孰為扶持、更嗟獄報之艱辛誰當救療。必懷深識、豈不再思。是知禍福無門、唯人所召。有力能濟、傳而勉之。』
The Procedural Commentary continues: "They further go so far as to trample about the place themselves, treating it exactly as their own private estate; the very halls and quarters of the monastic assembly are put to use by lay outsiders as they please. All this damage and disgrace is inflicted without the least sense of shame, and monastics are made to bow before laypeople, serving them exactly as a servant serves a master — this is what is meant by the destruction of a monastery's proper order. In its worst form, monastics are actually struck and cursed, and every kind of unlawful conduct occurs. To put the matter plainly: property is forcibly seized from the saṅgha through pressure, loans extracted, and demands made without restraint; monasteries are even used to lay out corpses, hold funeral wakes, bury the dead, and bathe — all of which is entirely unlawful."
The Zichi Commentary states: "This second passage concerns trampling and damage. It makes clear the ignorance of laypeople; though the text speaks of the original owner, its meaning extends to others as well. 'Damage' refers to physical property; 'disgrace' refers to the monastics themselves. 'Bow before' means to serve and wait upon. This main passage draws directly on the Sigao, and so the annotation is added here to reinforce it. 'Demands made' means asking for and extracting things. Considering all these matters — such things were already happening in that earlier age, so how could it be any surprise that they happen now? There is more still: halls used for banquets and drinking, monastery kitchens used for slaughtering animals, all manner of goods stored away and provisions stockpiled there, the grounds used as archery ranges or turned over to some official bureau, and even weddings and childbirth taking place within them — matters too sordid to fully describe. All this comes about because of the very inadequacy of the monastic community itself — it is hardly the ignorance of lay Confucians alone that is to blame. One can only lament again and again how the gate of the Dharma comes to be overturned, and ask who is left to uphold it; and sigh again over how bitter the retribution of hell will be, and ask who will step in to save these people from it. Anyone who truly holds this matter close to heart could hardly fail to reflect on it once more. Thus we know: calamity and blessing come through no gate of their own — it is entirely people themselves who call them forth. Whoever has the power to remedy this, let this passage be handed down, and let them make every effort."
The guide reads this passage as the gate's harshest and most contemporary-feeling critique. It highlights the reversal of roles the text names outright: patrons treating monastic quarters as their own private estate, monastics forced into the position of servants "serving them exactly as a servant serves a master," and, in the worst cases, monastics actually struck and cursed. Beyond that lies outright theft of monastery property through pressure and endless demands, and the use of monastery grounds as staging areas for corpses, funeral wakes, burials, and washing.
Even more striking to the guide is Yuan Zhao's own added list of abuses beyond the source text — halls turned into banquet and drinking venues, monastery kitchens used for slaughtering meat, storage of miscellaneous goods and stockpiled grain, grounds converted into archery ranges or requisitioned by officials, even weddings and childbirth taking place on temple grounds — and, more pointedly still, his refusal to blame laypeople alone: "this comes about because of the very inadequacy of the monastic community itself." The guide singles out Dao Xuan's closing line — "calamity and blessing come through no gate of their own; it is entirely people themselves who call them forth" — as a phrase that recurs elsewhere in this same text, and reads its repetition as a signal of how central this idea is to the whole work: nothing here is fated, and no one involved, lay or monastic, is exempt from responsibility for it.
11. Milestone: True Repentance and the Way to Protect a Monastery
Against everything just described, the gate closes with its own positive answer — what protecting a monastery actually looks like — and clinches the point with a historical example: even a king guilty of patricide, once he turned to genuine faith, knew enough to lighten the burden on those who served the Buddha.
△事鈔續云『若改往修來、追法更新、慎敬無犯者、是則護持寺法也。俗人造寺、本為求福、作出家之因、得道之緣。唯應禮拜供養、為法諮請、時時覲問、如法往來。彼此利益、自他無惱、名護持也。故增一云、阿闍世王得信已後、敕國中、無令事佛之貲輸迎送。豈非僧傳正法、得信於人乎。』
資持釋云『三引勸俗流中、初正勸。改往謂悔上諸過、修來謂期後超昇。追法即依教、更新即起敬。次引經證。闍王逆邪見、後方歸佛求悔、故行此敕。貲輸謂科配財物也、迎送即祇奉官僚、事佛之家俱令免放。豈下推得信所以。』已上皆見事鈔記卷三十七
The Procedural Commentary continues: "But if one turns from past error toward future cultivation, pursues the proper teaching afresh, and acts with care, reverence, and no further transgression — this is what it means to protect and maintain a monastery's proper order. When a layperson builds a monastery, the original purpose is to seek blessing, to lay the causal ground for leaving the household life, and to establish the conditions for attaining the Way. One should therefore only bow in worship, make offerings, ask after the Dharma, pay respectful visits from time to time, and come and go in accordance with proper conduct — so that both sides benefit and neither monastic nor lay patron is caused any distress. This alone is what deserves to be called true protection and support.
"For this reason, the Ekottarika Āgama states: after King Ajātaśatru came to have faith, he decreed throughout his kingdom that households devoted to serving the Buddha should be exempted from the levies and official escort-duties otherwise required of them. Is this not exactly why, when the saṅgha genuinely transmits the true Dharma, it comes to earn people's trust?"
The Zichi Commentary states: "This third passage, citing scripture to exhort the lay community, first offers direct exhortation. 'Turns from past error' means repenting of all the faults described above; 'toward future cultivation' means looking forward to eventual transcendence. 'Pursues the proper teaching' means acting in accordance with the Buddha's own instruction; 'afresh' means giving rise to renewed reverence. What follows then cites scripture as proof. King Ajātaśatru had, through wrong and rebellious views, killed his own father; only afterward did he turn to the Buddha and seek repentance, and it was for this reason that he issued this decree. 'Levies' refers to the apportioning of financial obligations; 'official escort-duty' refers to the service owed in attending on officials — and households devoted to serving the Buddha were, in every such case, granted exemption. The passage beginning 'is this not' then draws out the reason such trust was won." All of the above is found in the Zichi Commentary, fascicle 37.
The guide reads this closing passage as intentionally modest in its demands: protecting a monastery does not require grand gestures, only bowing, making offerings, asking respectfully about the Dharma, visiting from time to time, and coming and going as proper conduct requires — behavior that benefits both sides and burdens neither. It stresses the guide's own reminder of why a layperson builds a monastery in the first place: to seek blessing, and to plant the causal ground for eventually leaving household life and attaining the Way — a purpose easily forgotten once a monastery starts being treated as property instead.
The Ajātaśatru anecdote closes the case: a king who had killed his own father, once genuinely repentant and turned toward faith, exempted households that served the Buddha from the state's ordinary levies and official duties. The guide reads Yuan Zhao's closing question — "is this not exactly why the saṅgha, transmitting the true Dharma, comes to earn people's trust?" — as the gate's real answer to everything said before: a monastic community that genuinely upholds the Dharma does not need to demand protection by force; trust of that kind is earned, not extracted.