國清百錄 2.65

2.65

今獲蔣州奉誠寺慧文律師書，敬呈如別。仰惟匡持三寶行菩薩慈，近年寇賊交橫，寺塔燒燼。仰乘大力建立將危，遂使佛法安全道俗蒙賴，收拾經像處處流通，誦德盈衢銜恩滿路。昔居戎在陳尚得存心，況息武興文方應光顯。至如慧文所述，𢭆剔伽藍必由所官人多生僻解，致令外僧惶惑憂懼不寧。貧道常念無堪謬當知識，若論愛惜形命，豈敢言忤公門。特是佛法相關，亦由香火事大，意之所為唯憂冥道，寧忘即日之身，必存未來之議。若不述愚心，則虛當四事，復乖三稔香火。是何人乎！是何人乎！在所官司唯悕事辦，豈慮因果將來善惡耶？當願聖德尊嚴，履萬安之路，福祿隆重高而不危，修菩薩行，棟梁佛法、牆塹三寶，澤覃四海、風芳萬代。若謂寺多洲少國或不聽，方便善權仰由安立。若須營造治茸城隍，江南竹木之鄉採伐彌易，仰希弘紹、提拔將沈，故寺若存新福更長。冀蒙矜允幽顯沾恩，法事仰干追深愧踖。沙門某敬白。三月十一日。

I have now received a letter from Vinaya Master Huiwen of Fengcheng Monastery in Jiangzhou, which I respectfully present separately. I look up with reverence to your upholding of the Three Jewels and your practice of bodhisattva compassion. In recent years, bandits and rebels crisscrossed the land, and monasteries and pagodas were burned to ashes. We relied upon your great power to rebuild what was about to collapse, thereby securing the Buddha-Dharma and providing sustenance for clergy and laity alike; sūtras and images were collected and circulated everywhere, and praises of your virtue filled the thoroughfares, while gratitude was on every road. In the past, even amidst the military camps and in Chen, you still preserved your dedication; how much more now, when military affairs have ceased and civil culture flourishes, ought this to shine forth! As for what Huiwen has described, the tearing down of saṃghārāmas is surely due to the officials in charge mostly harboring eccentric misunderstandings, causing the monks elsewhere to feel bewildered, anxious, and uneasy. I, a poor monk, constantly reflect on my lack of ability and my unwarranted role as a good friend (kalyāṇamitra); if it were a matter of cherishing my bodily life, how would I dare to speak against the government authorities? Yet this concerns the Buddha-Dharma, and the matter of incense and lamps is of great consequence; what my mind acts upon is solely anxiety regarding the unseen realms. How could I forget this present body without having regard for future judgments? If I did not present my foolish thoughts, I would unworthily receive the four requisites and, furthermore, betray three years of offering incense and lamps. What sort of person would that make me! What sort of person would that make me! The local officials only desire to get their tasks done; do they ever consider cause and effect, or the good and bad of the future? I pray that your sacred virtue and venerable dignity may tread the path of myriad securities; that your blessings and rank may be exalted and weighty, high yet without danger; that you cultivate the bodhisattva practices, serving as a pillar and beam for the Buddha-Dharma and a wall and moat for the Three Jewels; and that your favor extend to the four seas and the fragrance of your manners last for myriad generations. If it is said that monasteries are too numerous and prefectures few, so that the state might not permit them, the skillful means for their security must rely upon your establishment. If there is a need to construct or repair city walls, Jiangnan is a land of bamboo and timber where harvesting is exceedingly easy. I look up and hope that you will broadly sustain them, pulling up what is about to sink. If the old monasteries are preserved, new blessings will grow ever greater. I hope to receive your compassionate consent so that the unseen and manifest realms alike may be touched by your grace. In presuming to importune you with Dharma matters, I am filled with profound shame and trepidation. The śramaṇa [Zhiyi] respectfully states. Eleventh day of the third month.