廬山蓮宗寶鑑 4.35

4.35

《禮記》曰「先祖無美而稱之者是誣也，有善而不知者是不明也，知而不傳者是不仁也。此三者君子之所恥也。」噫！在吾學佛之徒，豈不然耶？吾祖遠公，行位昭昭、功德廣大。愚忝與其教，為末流之裔，不肖孤陋、學淺才疎，未能紹襲先宗，實乃有孤慈廕。嘗讀明教記，不亦甚慚乎。又嘗觀石室琇禪師通論云「去孔子百年而有孟軻，是時孔子之道幾衰焉。軻於是力行其道而振起之。伏自佛教東流凡三百年而有遠公，是時沙門寖盛，然未有特立獨行憲章懿範，為天下宗師如遠公者，佛道由之始振。蓋嘗謂遠公有大功於釋氏，猶孔門之孟子焉。與高僧朝士同修淨社，道動帝王法流天下。」後之所習念佛者，不知吾祖之本末失其源流，多見世之薄福闡提輩，偽撰廬山成道記，裝飾虛辭盡是無根之語，誑惑善信遍傳在人耳目，逮今不能改革。予乃參考大藏《弘明集》、《高僧傳》，察其詳要，略舉七事以破群惑，識者鑒之。遠公禮太行山道安法師出家；妄傳師栴檀尊者，一誑也。妄以道安為遠公孫者，二誑也。遠公三十年影不出山、足不入俗；妄謂白莊劫擄者，三誑也。晉帝三召，遠公稱疾不赴；妄謂賣身與崔相公為奴者，四誑也。道安臂有肉釧，妄謂遠公者，五誑也。臨終遺命，露骸松下，全身葬西嶺，見在凝寂塔可證；妄謂遠公乘彩船升兜率者，六誑也。道生法師虎丘講經，指石為誓，石乃點頭；妄謂遠公者，七誑也。悲夫世之姦佞，不知祖師實德，道聽途說，妄裝點許多不遜之事，播醜於後世、取笑於四方，謗瀆聖德。識者見之，不察其所由，得不輕侮於吾祖師耶？豈非出佛身血五逆罪乎？嘗觀宋元嘉中僧才觀惠嚴、謝靈運翻《涅槃經》，增損其辭，因夢神人訶之曰：「敢以凡情輕瀆聖典。」觀等懼而止。又惠琳以才學幸帝，時號黑衣宰相，自著《白黑論》毀佛教，即感惡疾，膚肉糜爛而死。夫如是則妄造祖師傳記，三途地獄可不懼乎？凡吾同志，詳審遠公實跡，從本至末，痛告諸方，光揚祖道，庶先聖之屈於斯雪矣。

The Book of Rites states: "To praise one's ancestors where they had no merit is deception; to fail to know of their goodness is lack of clarity; to know it and not transmit it is unbenevolence. These three are the shame of the noble person." Ah! For us followers of the Buddha's learning, how could it be otherwise? Our ancestor Master Yuan was illustrious in his practice and stages, vast and great in merit and virtue. I foolishly partake in his teaching as a descendant of its endstream; unworthy, unsophisticated, shallow in learning, and sparse in talent, I have been unable to inherit and continue the ancestral lineage, and indeed have disappointed his compassionate shelter. Whenever I read the Mingjiao ji, how could I not feel deeply ashamed? Furthermore, I once observed Dhyāna Master Xiu of Shishi stating in his comprehensive treatise: "One hundred years after Confucius, there was Meng Ke; at that time the Way of Confucius was on the verge of decline. Ke thereupon vigorously practiced his Way and revived it. Humbly considering the eastward flow of the Buddhist teachings, after altogether three hundred years there was Master Yuan. At that time the śramaṇas were gradually flourishing, yet none had stood out independently to codify standard models and become the universal ancestral teacher of the realm as Master Yuan did; through him the Buddha's Way first revived. Indeed, one may say that Master Yuan possessed great merit regarding the Śākya clan, just like Mencius in the school of Confucius. Together with eminent monks and court officials he cultivated the Pure Society; his Way moved emperors and kings, and his Dharma flowed throughout the realm." Later practitioners of buddhānusmṛti do not know the beginning and end of our ancestor and have lost his source and stream. One often sees those of scarce fortune and icchantikas in the world falsely compiling the Record of Attaining the Way on Mount Lu, adorning it with empty words, all of which are groundless claims; they deceive and confuse faithful devotees, widely circulating among people's ears and eyes, and even down to the present day it has not been corrected. Thereupon, consulting the Great Canon, the Hongming ji, and the Biographies of Eminent Monks, examining their essential details, I briefly raise seven matters to shatter the assembly's delusions, for those of discerning knowledge to judge: Master Yuan was ordained under Dharma Master Dao'an of Mount Taihang; the false tradition that his master was the Venerable Candana is the first falsehood. Falsely regarding Dao'an as Master Yuan's disciple is the second falsehood. Master Yuan's shadow did not leave the mountain for thirty years, and his feet did not enter the secular world; falsely claiming that he was kidnapped at Baizhuang is the third falsehood. The Jin emperor summoned him three times, but Master Yuan pleaded illness and did not go; falsely claiming that he sold himself as a slave to Chancellor Cui is the fourth falsehood. Dao'an had a flesh bracelet on his arm; falsely attributing this to Master Yuan is the fifth falsehood. His dying command was to expose his corpse beneath the pines, and his whole body was buried on the western ridge, as attested by the Ningji Pagoda standing today; falsely claiming that Master Yuan boarded a decorated boat and ascended to Tuṣita is the sixth falsehood. Dharma Master Daosheng lectured on the sūtras at Tiger Hill, pointing to the stones as a pledge, whereupon the stones nodded; falsely attributing this to Master Yuan is the seventh falsehood. How sorrowful that treacherous and flattering people in the world do not know the Patriarch's true virtue, listen on the road and speak on the street, falsely adorning so many insolent matters, broadcasting ugliness to later generations, inviting ridicule from all quarters, and slandering and desecrating holy virtue! When discerning people see this and do not investigate its origins, how can they not disdain and insult our Patriarch? How could this not be the crime of shedding the Buddha's blood among the five deadly transgressions? I once observed that during the Yuanjia era of the Song dynasty, the monks Caiguan and Huiyan, along with Xie Lingyun, retranslated the Nirvāṇa-sūtra, adding and subtracting from its words; as a result, they dreamed of a divine being rebuking them: "How dare you lightly desecrate the sacred scriptures with ordinary sentiments!" Guan and the others were terrified and stopped. Furthermore, Huilin found favor with the emperor through his talent and learning, known at the time as the "Black-robed Chancellor"; he personally authored the Baihei lun disparaging Buddhism, and immediately contracted an evil disease, his flesh ulcerating until he died. If it is like this, when falsely fabricating biographies of the Patriarch, can one not fear the three wretched paths and the hells? All of my like-minded comrades, scrutinize Master Yuan's true deeds from beginning to end, proclaim them painfully to all quarters, and illuminate the ancestral Way, so that the injustices suffered by the former sage may be vindicated here.