[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [四明尊者教行錄](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1937) › 1.145 # 四明尊者教行錄 1.145 四明尊者教行錄 1.145 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.145](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1937.1.145) 粵若庖犧氏之王天下也，始作罔罟，以佃以漁，取之有時、用之有節，蓋所以順殺伐而育人民也。是故四靈為畜，禽魚亡獝淰之悲；萬物由庚，草樹遂抽零之性。及乎大道既隱，淳風不還，人欲無厭，天物斯暴，蚳蝝盡取，潛蟄咸傷。聖人所嗟，君子用憫，歷代而下，申禁非一，所貴乎卒天下以仁，而登夫壽域者也。聖宋奄有萬國，真宗嗣致太平，既縱雉以升中，復育縠而報本，然猶儲精垂思，修墜起廢。天禧紀元之初，詔淮南江浙荊湖之地，有放生池者，俾繕完而增新之。惟四明之奧區，乃揚州之舊域，水居者眾，鱗族甚繁。蚩蚩之氓惟利是視，蠢蠢之類曾不聊生。濫彼洿池，陳諸數罟，鯤鮞亦及，鰌鱓難逃，幸增無藝之貪，孰救可欺之失。有法智大師（知禮）者，道風孤峻，行業純慤。傳天台止觀之宗，修普賢懺滌之法，申旦不寐，三歲是期。每念是身可惡如賊，志當捨離，樂在寂滅。固以比行廁之極厭，垂將効焚軀之真供。而大善知識懇勸住世，官曹府檄督責保全，實徇眾之攸依，思利他之為廣。矧遘聖神之運，宜恢方便之慈，式警群迷、聿形悲濟。顧此淨剎旁有積流，窅若神淵達于巨浸，極願力以爰度，獲俞命之亟下。公私率協，終始罔愆，矗然巨防環茲，注注繇是。普化廛里之俗，博市鱗介之品，脫豫且之網朝有千計，返西江之使春盈萬數。又每歲以佛生之旦，眾大和會，浮泛綵鷁，演暢竺墳，寤流水之勝緣、識銜珠之善報，莫不競持詭類，咸造碕潯，縱之於波。快哉共歎，頳尾者戲荷而逝，呴沫者依莆而游。固以樂甚濠梁、望逾斗水，敝笱以之咸屏，枯肆謂之一空，至有斷罟折竿悔過而易業者矣。嗚呼！淳古之俗前志有云：雜人獸之居，靡相為害；食草木之實，各遂所養。聖哲繼作，播種是教。以前民用篾聞餒者。是故二儀訢合、百嘉茂暢，龜龍在宮沼、胎卵不殪殈，雖火化䆮變，而血祀有經。故曰獺祭魚，然後虞人入澤梁。又曰釣而不網，田則不漁。皆所以昭上之德，而塞下之違也。自古致治之君，皆以好生為本，每嚴戒令務抑末游。其如利人之所誘，蕩而忘返。害既為甚，法不勝姦，繼以天災，遂廢嗇事，家乏兼晨之爨、野無遺秉之利，乃至旱乾水溢、山童澤涸，昆蟲為孽、道殪相望，強暴之徒雚蒲是聚，椎牛屠狗鬻鹽盜醞。豈唯棄失本業，率多抵冐刑戮，得非歛飫腥味。天殘物性，犯道家之明忌；事必好還，背春秋之美談，政之所敗者乎。不有慈悲之士，孰臻覺寤之本？且曰凡有血氣同一觸體，盡諸沙界共一真性。庸詎恣口腹之慾，結輪迴之業？其理不昧，緣心可觀，則《金光明經》論之詳矣。況復吳越之區膏膄兼倍，漠漠粳稻油油麻苧，陸則有苞筍薑彙，水則有海苔菰苜，固足以旅踐嘉珍、豐溢兼豆，亦何必剖豢豹之胎、嚼魚子之鬧，滋味煎其府藏、香芳腐其骨髓。食氣既勝，腊毒增厚，而殃病短折者，亦未必不由茲也。夫先聖立法本以馭眾，大小貴賤不相踰越。惟辟玉食順時以視膳，惟郊特牲因禮以貴臭。豈料後世有冐於寵利，罔知紀極，管氏設鏤簋、秊氏旅泰山，乃至養食客之三千、探牛心之一割，騁嗜奔慾，窮奢極侈，豪傑胥傚，風俗益訛。固雖罄川陸之毛、殫漁獵之力，驅以就役莫充其求。是知其源至深、其來有漸，機權不足以為禦，鈇鉞不足以用威，故曰善人為邦百年，然後可以勝殘去殺。洪惟我朝在宥而治，以聖繼聖垂六十年，率上仁而綏群品、用柔道而懷獷俗，尊老氏之三寶、為大雄之外護。大師所以顧逢盛旦，集此妙果、介其祕祉、仰佑慈宸、表洪施之無疆、實含靈之允賴。謂是於益、宜有鋪昭。予病夫也、曩在禁林、尋墮職業、旋承官乏、待罪中司。自時辱書、猥託敘事、而不知中乾已甚，軋思無堪，避讓有初，阻修罔愬，今遂偃藩之適方存喉息之微。而又廣印大師（智環）疊寓訊函，督茲銘述。強攀逸駕，僅成累句。繹顏公之妙作，嗤鄙自彰。諷周沼之靈篇，揄揚曷既。辭不迨意，取媿群英。其銘曰： > Ah, when Fu Xi ruled all under heaven, he first wove nets and snares to hunt and fish; he took at proper seasons and used with restraint, taking life in accord with the seasons so as to nourish the people. For this reason, the four spirits were as domestic animals, and birds and fish lacked the grief of being terrified; the myriad things followed their natural course, and herbs and trees fulfilled their propensity to flourish and fall. But when the Great Way receded and the pure simplicity did not return, human desires grew insatiable and creatures under heaven suffered violence: insect eggs and pupae were thoroughly harvested, and hibernating creatures were all harmed. The sages lamented this, and the superior persons felt pity. Down through successive dynasties, prohibitions were repeatedly proclaimed, all valuing the guiding of the empire with benevolence and bringing it to the realm of longevity. Our sacred Song dynastic house holds all the ten thousand realms, and Emperor Zhenzong has succeeded to bring about Great Peace: having released pheasants in the suburban sacrifice, he has also nurtured silkworms to repay the source; yet he still gathers his spiritual essence and directs his thoughts to restoring what was lapsed and raising what was abandoned. In the first year of the Tianxi reign era, he issued an edict to the regions of Huainan, Jiangzhe, and Jinghu, decreeing that wherever there were ponds for releasing life, they should be repaired and renewed. Now the deep recess of Siming, formerly the domain of Yangzhou, has many dwellers on water, and its finned creatures are exceedingly abundant. The ignorant common people look only for profit, and the teeming creatures find no means to survive. Into those murky pools, close-meshed nets are repeatedly cast; fry and roe are caught, and loaches and eels find it hard to escape. Good fortune merely inflames unbridled greed, and who can remedy the error of taking advantage of the defenseless? There is Master Fazhi (Zhili), whose conduct along the Way is solitary and lofty, and whose religious practice is pure and sincere. Transmitting the tradition of Tiantai cessation and contemplation, he practiced the method of the Samantabhadra Repentance to wash away impurities, not sleeping until dawn, setting a three-year period. Ever reflecting that this body is loathsome as a bandit, he resolved to abandon it, finding joy in tranquil extinction. Indeed, comparing it to a walking latrine with utmost revulsion, he was about to enact the true offering of burning his body. But great spiritual friends earnestly urged him to remain in the world, and government offices and prefectural dispatches pressed him to preserve his life, so that he genuinely complied with what the multitude depended on, considering the vastness of benefiting others. Moreover, having encountered the auspicious destiny of the sacred ruler, he should expand skillful compassion to alert the deluded masses and manifest compassionate salvation. Looking beside this pure monastery, there was an expanse of accumulated water, deep as a divine abyss, flowing out to the great flood; with the utmost power of his vow he brought about deliverance, and swiftly received the imperial decree of approval. Official and private realms united in concord, without fault from beginning to end; a towering great embankment enclosed these surging waters, and thenceforth the customs of the markets and hamlets were broadly transformed. Varied products of fish and shellfish were purchased widely: those escaping Yuqie's net numbered by the thousands each morning; those returned to the envoy of the West River filled tens of thousands each spring. Furthermore, each year on the morning of the Buddha's birthday, the great assembly gathers in harmony, floating painted raptor-boats and expounding Indian scriptures; awakened to the supreme conditions of Jalavāhana (Flowing Water) and recognizing the good retribution of the jewel in the mouth, none fail to vie in bringing diverse creatures, all arriving at the banks and shallows to release them into the waves. How joyful! Together they exclaim in delight: the red-tailed ones frolic among lotuses and dart away; those breathing moisture rely on the water-plants and swim freely. Truly, their joy surpasses that at the Hao River, and their relief exceeds that of a dipper of water. Broken fish traps were completely discarded because of this, and the dried-fish stalls were said to be entirely emptied; some even severed their nets and snapped their rods, repenting their past errors and changing their livelihoods. Alas! Regarding the customs of high antiquity, former records say: humans and beasts dwelt mixed together without harming each other; feeding on the fruits of grasses and trees, each fulfilled its nourishment. Sages arose in succession and taught the sowing of seeds; before that, the people had rarely heard of hunger. Therefore, the two primal modes harmoniously joined, and the hundred bounties flourished; turtles and dragons were in the palace ponds, and embryos and eggs were not destroyed. Although cooked food gradually changed habits, blood sacrifices had their regular rules. Hence it is said: only after the otter offers fish do the foresters enter the marshes and weirs; and it is said: fish with a hook but not a net, hunt \[animals\] but do not fish. All these make manifest the virtue of the sovereign and stem the transgressions of those below. From antiquity, rulers who achieved good order all took the love of life as their root, always strictly enforcing prohibitions and working to curb decadent pursuits. Yet how can one withstand being enticed by profit, becoming reckless and forgetting to return? When harm becomes extreme, the law cannot overcome wickedness; followed by celestial disasters, agriculture is consequently abandoned; families lack hearth-fires for two consecutive mornings, and fields lack the harvest of fallen ears of grain; droughts parch and waters flood, mountains become barren and marshes dry up, insects become pests, and corpses lie facing one another on the roads; violent ruffians gather in the reed marshes, slaughtering cattle, butchering dogs, smuggling salt, and stealing liquor. Not only do they abandon their primary occupations, but most run headlong into punishments and executions. Is this not from gorging on game and fish, violently injuring natural life, offending the clear prohibitions of Daoist teaching, and inevitably meeting retribution, running counter to the fine discourse of the Spring and Autumn Annals, and thereby ruining governance? Without persons of great compassion, who could attain the root of awakening? Furthermore, it is said that all possessing blood and breath share the same tactile body, and across all the sands of realms they share one true nature. How could one indulge the desires of mouth and belly to bind karma for saṃsāra? The principle is not obscure, and it can be contemplated through the conditions of the mind, as explained in detail in the Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra. What is more, the region of Wu and Yue is doubly fertile, with boundless non-glutinous rice and lush hemp and ramie; on land there are bamboo shoots, ginger, and wild vegetables; in the water there are seaweed, wild rice, and water chestnuts—certainly enough to serve as excellent delicacies and overflow the dual platters. Why must one cut open the belly of a penned leopard or chew on the commotion of fish roe, boiling the viscera with savory tastes and rotting the marrow with fragrant odors? When the dietary vapor becomes overpowering, the cured poisons grow thicker, and that premature deaths and illnesses occur is not necessarily unrelated to this. Now, the ancient sages established laws fundamentally to govern the multitudes, so that great and small, noble and base, would not overstep one another. Only the ruler enjoyed jade delicacies, examining the meals in accordance with the seasons; only in the suburban sacrifice was a single victim offered, honoring its simple aroma in accordance with ritual. Who would have expected that later generations would scramble for favor and profit, knowing no measure or limit? Guan Zhong set out carved vessels, Ji Sun sacrificed at Mount Tai, down to keeping three thousand guests and slicing a single cut from the heart of a live ox, indulging tastes and racing after desires, exhausting luxury and extravagance. Prominent figures imitated one another, and customs grew ever more corrupt. Even if the living things of waters and lands were exhausted and the efforts of fishing and hunting were drained, driving them into service would not satisfy their demands. Thus one knows that its origin is exceedingly deep and its progression gradual; expedients are insufficient to resist it, and axes and halberds are insufficient to display authority. Hence it is said: only when a good man governs a state for a hundred years can violence be overcome and killing set aside. We reflect with reverence that our dynasty rules by letting things be and following nature, sagacity succeeding sagacity for nearly sixty years; leading with supreme benevolence to comfort all beings, employing gentle ways to cherish unruly customs, honoring the Three Treasures of Laozi and serving as the external protector of the Great Hero (the Buddha). Thus, the Master met this glorious era, assembled these wondrous fruits, brought forth this secret blessing, looked up to aid the compassionate court, displayed boundless vast gifts, and truly served as the reliable refuge of sentient beings. Believing that this brings benefit, it ought to be proclaimed and manifested. I am a sick man; formerly in the Hanlin Academy, I soon lost my post, and thereupon received an official vacancy, awaiting punishment in the censorate. Ever since receiving your letter, I was presumptuously entrusted with this narrative, but unaware that my inner vitality was already exhausted and my forced thoughts inadequate, I initially declined; being far away and obstructed, I could not state my plight, and now retiring to the regional border, I barely preserve the faint remnant of my breath. Moreover, Great Master Guangyin (Zhihuan) repeatedly sent letters pressing for this inscription. Striving to keep pace with his swift chariot, I have barely composed these clumsy lines. Reflecting on Duke Yan’s wondrous work, my vulgar unworthiness becomes evident; chanting the spiritual verses of the Zhou pond, how could my praise ever be exhausted? My words do not match my intent, and I incur shame before all the eminent talents. 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