樂邦文類 2.181

2.181

韓文公，以平時排佛之心而作此文，有所謂以妄塞悲之語，宜也。雖然，彼徒知妄之為非，意以斥佛，殊不知妄亦有合於教意。且夫第一義諦一法不可得，則凡佛之所以為像、教之所以為言，與夫今淨土之所以為門，莫非妄也；苟濟於道，孰曰非乎？然則文公之說，未必非陽抑而陰助之耳。則今類見於此，亦宜也。

Lord Han, Duke of Literature, composed this text with his usual mind of rejecting Buddhism, and had the phrase about "using falsehood to stem sorrow," which is to be expected. Even so, he only knew falsehood as an error and intended thereby to denounce Buddhism, entirely unaware that falsehood also accords with the teaching's intention. Moreover, within the ultimate truth not a single dharma can be found; thus, whatever the Buddha used as images, whatever the teachings used as words, along with what the Pure Land today uses as an entrance—none of these is not a provisional falsehood. If it brings rescue onto the Way, who could say it is wrong? In that case, Duke Han's statement may well be nothing other than openly suppressing it while secretly assisting it. Thus, its inclusion here in this collection is also appropriate.