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I - Homeless Brothers
1. A man who wishes to become my disciple must be willing to give up all direct relations with his family, the social life of the world and all dependence upon wealth.
A man who has given up all such relations for the sake of the Dharma and has no abiding place for either his body or mind has become my disciple and is to be called a homeless brother.
Though his feet leave their imprints in my footsteps and his hands carry my garment, if his mind is disturbed by greed, he is far from me. Though he dresses like a monk, if he does not accept the teaching, he does not see me.
But if he has removed all greed and his mind is pure and peaceful, he is very close to me though he be thousands of miles away. If he receives the Dharma, he see me in it.
2. My disciples, the homeless brothers must observe the four rules and build their lives upon them.
First, they wear old and cast-off garments; second, E they get their food through alms-begging; third, their home is where night finds them as under a tree or on a rock; and, fourth, they use only a special medicine made from urine laid down by the Brotherhood.
To carry a bowl in the hand and go from house to house is a beggar's life, but a brother is not compelled to do so by others, he is not forced into it by circumstances or by temptation; he does it of his own free will because he knows that a life of faith will keep him away from the delusions of life, will help him to avoid suffering, and will lead him toward Enlightenment.
The life of a homeless brother is not an easy one; he ought not to undertake it if he can not keep his mind free from greed and anger or if he can not control his mind or his five senses.
3. He who believes himself to be a homeless brother and to be able to answer when he is asked about it, must be able to say:
"I am willing to undertake whatever is necessary to be a homeless brother. I will be sincere about it and will try to accomplish the purpose for becoming one. I will be grateful to those who help me by donations and will try to make them happy by my earnestness and good life."
To be a homeless brother he must train himself in many ways: He must be sensitive to shame and dishonor when he fails; he must keep his body, speech and mind pure if his life is to be pure; he must guard the gates of his five senses; he must not lose control of his mind for the sake of some passing pleasure; he must not praise himself or rebuke others; and he must not be idle or given to lengthy sleep.
In the evening he should have a time for quiet sitting and meditation and a short walk before retiring. For peaceful sleep he should rest on the right side with his feet together and his last thought should be of the time when he wishes to rise in the early morning. Early in the morning he should have another time for quiet sitting and meditation and a short walk afterwards.
During the whole day he should always maintain an alert mind, keeping both body and mind under control, resisting all tendency towards greed, anger, foolishness, sleepiness, inattention, regret, suspicion, and all worldly desires.
Thus, with his mind concentrated, he should cultivate excellent wisdom and aim only at perfect Enlightenment.
4. If a homeless brother, forgetting himself, lapses into greed, anger, resentment, jealousy, conceit, self-praise, or insincerity, he is like one carrying a keen two-edged sword, covered only by a thin cloth.
He is not a homeless brother simply because he wears a monk's rags and carries a begging bowl; he is not a homeless brother just because he recites scriptures easily; he is only a man of straw and nothing more.
Even if his external appearance is that of a monk, he can not remove his worldly desires. He is not a homeless brother; he is no more than an infant clothed in a monk's robe.
Those who are able to concentrate and control the mind, who contain wisdom, who have removed all worldly desires, and whose only purpose is to attain Enlightenment - only these can be called the true homeless brothers.
A true homeless brother determines to reach his goal of Enlightenment even though he loses his last drop of blood and his bones crumble into powder. Such a man, trying his best, will finally attain the goal and give evidence of it by his ability to do the meritorious deeds of a homeless brother.
5. The mission of a homeless brother is to carry forward the light of the Buddha's teachings. He must preach to everyone; he must wake up sleeping people; he must correct false ideas; he must help people have a right viewpoint; he must go everywhere to spread the teaching even at the risk of his own life.
The mission of a homeless brother is not an easy one, so he who aspires to it should wear Buddha's clothes, sit on Buddha's seat and enter into Buddha's room.
To wear Buddha's clothes means to be humble and to practise endurance; to sit on Buddha's seat means to see matter as non-substantial and to have no attachments; to enter into Buddha's room means to share His all-embracing great compassion and to have sympathy for everyone.
6. Those who wish to teach the Buddha's teaching acceptably must be concerned about four things: first, they must be concerned about their own behavior; second, they must be concerned about their choice of words when they approach and teach people; third, they must be concerned about their motive for teaching and the end they wish to accomplish; and fourth, they must be concerned about the great compassion.
Firstly, to be a good teacher of the Dharma, then, a homeless brother must first of all have his feet well set on the ground of endurance; he must be modest; he must not be extreme or desire publicity; he must constantly think of the emptiness of things; and he must not become attached to anything. If he is thus concerned he will be capable of right conduct.
Secondly, he must exercise caution in approaching people and situations. He must avoid people who are living evil lives or people of authority; he must avoid opposite sex. Then he must approach people in a friendly way; he must always remember that things rise from a combination of causes and conditions, and, standing at that point, he must not blame or abuse them, or speak of their mistakes, or hold them in light esteem.
Thirdly, he must keep his mind peaceful, considering Buddha as his spiritual father, considering other homeless brothers who are training for Enlightenment as his teachers, and looking upon everyone with great compassion. Then he must teach all equally.
Fourthly, he must let his spirit of compassion display itself, even as Buddha did, to the utmost degree. Especially he should let his spirit of compassion flow out to those who do not know enough to seek Enlightenment. He should wish that they might seek Enlightenment, and then he should follow his wishes with unselfish effort to awaken their interest.
II - Lay Followers
1. It has already been explained that to become a disciple of Buddha one must believe in the three treasures: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Samgha.
To become a lay follower one must have an unshakable faith in Buddha, must believe in His teachings, study and put precepts into practice, and must cherish the Brotherhood.
Lay followers should follow the five precepts: not to kill, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to lie or deceive, and not to use intoxicants.
Lay followers should not only believe in the three treasures and keep the precepts by themselves, but also they should; as far as they are able, help others observe them, especially their relatives and friends, trying to awaken in them an unshakable faith in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Samgha, so that they, too, may share in Buddha's compassion.
Lay followers should always remember that the reason they believe in the three treasures and keep the precepts is to enable themselves ultimately to attain Enlightenment, and for that reason they should, though living in the world of desires, avoid becoming attached to such desires.
Lay followers should always keep in mind that sooner or later they will be obliged to part with their parents and families and pass away from this life of birth and death; therefore, they should not become attached to things of this life but should set their minds on the world of Enlightenment, wherein nothing passes away.
2. If lay followers want to awaken an earnest and undisturbed faith in the Buddha's teachings, they should realize within their minds a quiet and undisturbed happiness, that will shine out on all their surroundings and will be reflected back to them.
This mind of faith is pure and gentle, always patient and enduring, never arguing, never causing suffering to others but always pondering the three treasures: the Buddha, the Dharma and the Samgha. Thus happiness spontaneously rises in their minds, and the light for Enlightenment can be found everywhere.
Since they are resting in the bosom of Buddha by faith, they are kept far from having a selfish mind, from attachment to their possessions, and, therefore, they have no fear in their daily life or dread of being criticised.
They will have no fear about their future death since they believe in the birth in Buddha's Land. Since they have faith in the truth and the holiness of the teachings, they can express their thoughts freely and without fear.
Since their minds are filled with compassion for all people, they will make no distinctions among them but will treat all alike, and since their minds are free from likes and dislikes it will be pure and equitable and happy for them to do any good deed.
Whether they live in adversity or in prosperity, it will make no difference to the increase of their faith. If they cherish humility, if they respect the Buddha's teachings, if they are consistent in speech and action, if they are ,aided by wisdom, if their mind is as immovable as a mountain, then they will make steady progress on the path to Enlightenment.
And though they are forced to live in a difficult situation and among people of impure minds, if they cherish faith in Buddha they can even lead them toward better deeds.
3. Therefore, one should first have the wish of hearing the Buddha's teachings.
If anyone should tell him that it would be necessary for him to go through fire to gain Enlightenment, then he should be willing to pass through such a fire.
There is satisfaction in hearing the Buddha's name, that is worth passing through a world filled with fires.
If one wishes to follow the Buddha's teaching one must not be egoistic or self-willed, but should cherish feelings of good-will toward all alike; one should respect those who are worthy of respect; one should serve those who are worthy of service and treat everyone with uniform kindness.
Thus, lay followers are to train their own minds first and not be disturbed by the actions of others. In this manner, they are to receive the Buddha's teaching and put it into practice, not envying others, not being influenced by others, and not considering other ways.
Those who do not believe in the Buddha's teaching have a narrow vision and, consequently, a disturbed mind. But those who believe in the Buddha's teaching, believe that there is a great wisdom and a great compassion embracing everything and, in that faith, they are undisturbed by trifles.
4. Those who hear and receive the Buddha's teaching know that their lives are transient and that their bodies are merely the aggregation of sufferings and the source of all evils, and so they do not become attached to them.
At the same time, they do not neglect to take good care of their bodies, not because they wish to enjoy the physical pleasures of the body, but because the body is temporarily necessary for the attainment of wisdom and for their mission of explaining the path to others.
If they do not take good care of their bodies they can not live long. If they do not live long, they can not practise the teaching personally or transmit it to others.
If a man wishes to cross a river he is very careful of his raft. If he has a long journey to make, he takes good care of his horse. So, if a man seeks to attain Enlightenment he must take good care of his body.
The disciples of Buddha must wear clothing to protect the body from extremes of heat and cold and to cover its private parts, and should not wear it for decoration.
They must eat food to nourish the body so that they may hear and receive and explain the teaching, but they should not eat for mere enjoyment.
They must live in the house of Enlightenment to be protected from the thieves of worldly passions and from the storms of evil teaching, and they should use the house for its real purpose and not for display or the concealment of selfish practices.
Thus, one should value things and use them solely in their relation to Enlightenment and the teaching. He should not possess them or become attached to them for selfish reasons but only as they serve a useful purpose in carrying the teaching to others.
Therefore, his mind should always dwell on the teaching even when he is living with his family. He should care for them with a wise and sympathetic mind, seeking various means to awaken faith in their minds.
5. Lay members of the Buddha's Samgha should study the following lessons every day: How to serve their parents, how to live with their wives and children, how to control themselves, and how to serve Buddha.
To best serve their parents they must learn to practise kindness toward all animate life. To live happily with their wives and children they must keep away from lust and thoughts of selfish comfort.
While hearing the music of the family life they must not forget the sweeter music of the teaching, and while living in the shelter of the home, they should often seek the safer shelter of Zen practice, where wise men find refuge from all impurity and all disturbance.
When laymen are giving offerings they should remove all greed from their hearts; when they are in the midst of crowds, their minds should be in the company of wise men; when they face misfortune, they should keep their minds tranquil and free from hindrances.
When they take refuge in the Buddha, they should seek His wisdom.
When they take refuge in the Dharma, they should seek its truth which is like a great ocean of wisdom.
When they take refuge in the Samgha, they should seek its peaceful fellowship unobstructed by selfish interests.
When they wear clothes, they must not forget to put on also the garment of goodness and humility.
When they want to relieve themselves, they must wish to discharge all greed, anger and foolishness from their minds.
When they are toiling on an up-hill road, they should think of it as the road to Enlightenment that will carry them beyond the world of delusion. When they are following an easy road, they should take advantage of its easier conditions to make greater progress toward Buddhahood.
When they see a bridge, they must wish to construct the bridge of the teaching to let the people cross.
When they meet a sorrowful man, they should lament the bitterness of this ever-changing world.
When they see a greedy man, they should have a great longing to keep free from the illusions of this life and to attain the true riches of Enlightenment.
When they see savory food, they must be on guard; when they see distasteful food, they should wish that greed might never return.
During the intense heat of summer, they must wish to be away from the heat of worldly desires and gain the fresh coolness of Enlightenment. During the unbearable cold of winter, they must think of the warmth of Buddha's great compassion.
When they recite the sacred scriptures, they should be determined not to forget them and resolve to put their teaching into practice.
When they think of Buddha, they should cherish a deep wish to have eyes like Buddha.
As they fall asleep at night, they should wish that their body, speech and mind might be purified and refreshed; when they awake in the morning, their first wish ,should be that during that day their minds might be clear to understand all things.
6. Those who follow the teaching of Buddha, because they understand that everything is characterized by -non-substantiality," do not treat lightly the things that enter into a man's life, but they receive them for what ,hey are and then try to make them fit tools for Enlightenment.
They must not think that this world is meaningless and filled with confusion, while the world of Enlightenment is full of meaning and peace. Rather, they should taste the way of Enlightenment in all the affairs of this world.
If a man looks upon the world with defiled eyes dimmed by ignorance, he will see it filled with error; but if he looks upon it with clear wisdom, he will see it as the world of Enlightenment, which it is.
The fact is there is only one world, not two worlds, one meaningless and the other full of meaning, or one good and the other bad. People only think there are two worlds, due to their discriminating faculty.
If they could rid themselves of these discriminations and keep their minds pure with the light of wisdom, then 'hey would see only one world in which everything is meaningful.
7. Those who believe in Buddha taste this universal purity of oneness in everything, and in that mind they feel compassion for all and have a humble attitude to serve everyone.
Therefore, they should cleanse their minds of all pride and cherish humility, courtesy and service. Their minds should be like the fruitful earth that nourishes everything without partiality, that serves without complaint, that endures patiently, that is always zealous, that finds its highest joy in serving all poor people by planting in their minds the seeds of the Buddha's teaching.
Thus, the mind that has compassion for poor people, becomes a mother to all people, honors all people, looks upon all as personal friends, and respects them as parents.
Therefore, though thousands of people may have hard feelings and cherish ill-will toward Buddhist lay followers, they can do no harm, for such harm is like a drop of poison in the waters of a great ocean.
8. A lay follower will enjoy his happiness by habits of recollection, reflection and thanksgiving. He will come to realize that his faith is Buddha's compassion itself and chat it has been bestowed upon him by Buddha.
There are no seeds of faith in the mud of worldly passion, but, because of Buddha's compassion, the seeds of faith may be sown there, and they will purify the mind until it has faith to believe in Buddha.
As has been said, the fragrant Chandana tree can not grow in a forest of Eranda trees. In a like manner, the seeds of faith in Buddha can not be in the bosom of delusion.
But actually, the flower of joy is blooming there, so we must conclude that while its blossoms are in the bosom of delusion, its roots are elsewhere; namely, its roots are in the bosom of Buddha.
If a lay follower becomes ego-centered, he will become jealous, envious, hateful and harmful, because his mind has become defiled with greed, anger and foolishness. But if he returns to Buddha, he will accomplish even a greater service for Buddha as mentioned above. It is, indeed, beyond any expression.
