西方合論 10.17

10.17

十、五逆往生者，《大經》曰：「唯除造五無間惡業，誹謗正法及諸聖人。」《觀經》則五逆十惡，臨終十念，皆得往生。當知《大經》揀五逆者，以誹謗故。何故？入淨土以信為導師，誹謗是信之賊。如水無所不容但不容火，以火自不能容故；如風無所不入但不入石，以石自不堪入故。誹謗之人，燒正法如猛焰，障佛智如鐵壁，是故法海慧風，無因得受。《觀經》揀誹謗不揀五逆者，義同文異。以五逆雖至惡，尚無決定不信之見，不應揀故。然有大心之人，始或不信，後因啟發，猛省前失。如韓昌黎始斥佛骨，後歸依大顛；張無盡初詆佛書，欲著無佛論，後觀《淨名經》，大有省發，卒為宗門龍象，尤是法中希有之事。是故儒林英特，或有謬聽先入，誤謗佛法，但速圖改悔，即是盛事，不應以謗為障難故。

Tenth, on rebirth for those guilty of the five heinous crimes: The Larger Sūtra states: "Excepted only are those who commit the five heinous acts of uninterrupted karma, and who slander the true Dharma and all the noble ones." The Guan jing, however, states that even those guilty of the five heinous crimes and ten non-virtues can achieve rebirth through ten recitations at the end of life. One should understand that the Larger Sūtra excludes those who commit the five heinous crimes because they slander [the Dharma]. Why is this? Entering the Pure Land takes faith as its guide; slandering is the bandit of faith. It is like water, which accommodates everything except fire, because fire itself cannot be accommodated; it is like wind, which penetrates everything except stone, because stone itself cannot be penetrated. For one who slanders, burning the true Dharma is like a raging flame, and obstructing the Buddha's wisdom is like an iron wall; therefore, they have no cause through which to receive the ocean of Dharma and the wind of wisdom. That the Guan jing excludes slandering but does not exclude the five heinous crimes means that the meaning is the same while the text differs. Because the five heinous crimes, though extremely evil, do not yet possess the fixed view of disbelief, they ought not be excluded. However, there are people of great resolve who at first may not believe, but later, being enlightened, profoundly awaken to their past errors. For example, Han Changli at first rejected the Buddha's relics, but later took refuge in Dadian; Zhang Wujin initially reviled Buddhist books and wished to compose a treatise on the non-existence of the Buddha, but later, upon reading the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra, had a great awakening and ultimately became an elephant and dragon of the Chan lineage—this is an especially rare occurrence within the Dharma. Therefore, if there are outstanding elites among Confucian scholars who, having erroneously listened to preconceived notions, mistakenly slander the Buddhadharma, as long as they swiftly resolve to repent and reform, it is an auspicious event; one should not take their past slandering as an insurmountable obstacle.