西方合論 8.16

8.16

五、支離墮者，多有法師，涉獵教典記注章句，執法身之假名，析名相之分齊，東緝西補，竟月窮年，弄比盧之畫面，坐法界之排場，貢高我慢，得少為足。聞人念佛則曰：「此小乘中攝，妄想之一法。」或云：「教海義深，爾輩鈍根，念此亦可。」或云：「此三藏中，為其藏攝。」或云：「此屬何教，似坊上小兒鬪曲以多為勝。」各爭己見，無實行履。如長爪梵志以論議力摧伏諸師，搪揬蹴蹋，無能制者；後至佛所作是念：「一切論可破，一切執可轉，是中何者是諸法實相？何者是第一義？何者性？何者相？不顛倒。」作是思惟已白佛言：「瞿曇，我一切法不受。」佛問梵志：「爾一切法不受，是見受不？」梵志答言：「瞿曇，一切法不受，是見亦不受。」佛語梵志：「汝不受一切法，是見亦不受，則無所受，與眾人無異，何用貢高而生憍慢。」如是梵志不得答，自是服膺。是故當知，饑兒過屠門大嚼，止益饞心，無救枵腹。昔在江南，有一靈俐座主，為余辨析惟識，及示所得教中奧義，于諸名流注疏，多肆評駁。余問曰：「是可敵得生死不？」僧傲然曰：「有何生死可敵？」余曰：「是即是，但恐閻羅殿前，無譯字生，不會座主語言三昧也。」此雖一時戲笑，亦大中講席之病。奉勸少年開士，長篇短章，牽藤引蔓，口誦心憶，腦昏眼眯，究其效驗，不過上幾迴座，講幾期經，受幾個瞎漢禮拜；若無真實功行，唯添業債。何若一聲阿彌，直登不退，事一功百。如曇謨最講《涅槃》、《華嚴》，領眾千人。為閻羅所呵云：「講經者心懷彼我，以驕凌物，比丘中第一麁行。」即押付司。可為明戒。然有義解高流，因參教典，悟此西方不思議大事，以此自利利他，轉益未來，燃長夜炬，功德無量，又何必懲噎廢食，見蹶停驂哉！

Fifth, those who fall into pedantic fragmentation: there are many Dharma masters who skim through doctrinal texts, glosses, and chapter-and-verse, clinging to the provisional names of the dharmakāya and dissecting the delimitations of names and characteristics, stitching from east and patching from west through months and years, playing with the painted mask of Vairocana, setting up the stage-play of the dharmadhātu, arrogant and conceited, taking a little to be sufficient. Hearing someone practice buddhānusmṛti, they say, 'This is subsumed within the Hīnayāna, a dharma of delusional thinking.' Or they say, 'The ocean of doctrine is deep in meaning; you of dull faculties may practice this as well.' Or they say, 'Among the three piṭakas, by which piṭaka is this subsumed?' Or they say, 'To which teaching does this belong? It is like neighborhood children singing contests, taking quantity to be victory.' Each contends for his own view, without real practice. It is like the Long-nailed Brahmacārin, who with the power of debate subjugated all masters, clashing, kicking, and trampling, with none able to control him; later, arriving at the Buddha's place, he thought: 'All treatises can be refuted, all attachments can be overturned; among them, what is the true characteristic of all phenomena? What is the primary truth? What is the nature? What is the characteristic? What is not inverted?' Having pondered thus, he said to the Buddha: 'Gautama, I accept no phenomena.' The Buddha asked the brahmacārin: 'You accept no phenomena; do you accept this view or not?' The brahmacārin replied: 'Gautama, I accept no phenomena, and I do not accept this view either.' The Buddha said to the brahmacārin: 'If you do not accept all phenomena, and do not accept this view either, then there is nothing accepted; you are no different from the common crowd. What need is there to be arrogant and give rise to conceit?' Thus the brahmacārin had no reply, and from then on submitted in his heart. Therefore, one should know: a hungry child passing a butcher shop and chewing vigorously only increases his gluttonous desire, but does not save his empty stomach. In the past in Jiangnan, there was an agile lecture master who analyzed Vijñaptimātra for me and showed me the profound meanings he had obtained from the teachings, leveling many critiques and refutations against the commentaries of famous figures. I asked him: 'Can this withstand saṃsāra?' The monk said haughtily: 'What saṃsāra is there to withstand?' I said: 'Be that as it may, I fear that before the hall of King Yama there are no translators, and they will not understand the lecture master's verbal samādhi.' Although this was a momentary jest, it also hit squarely upon the illness of the lecture rostrum. I advise young open-minded scholars: long treatises and short chapters, dragging vines and trailing creepers, chanting with the mouth and memorizing with the mind until the head is dizzy and the eyes are blurred—examining its efficacy, it amounts to nothing more than ascending the seat a few times, lecturing on sūtras for a few periods, and receiving bows from a few blind fellows; if one lacks genuine practice and achievement, one merely adds to one's karmic debts. How could it compare to a single invocation of Amitābha, directly ascending to non-retrogression, where the effort is one and the result is a hundredfold! For example, Tanmozui lectured on the Nirvāṇa and Avataṃsaka, leading a community of a thousand people. He was rebuked by King Yama: 'The lecturer harbored thoughts of other and self, arrogantly bullying others; among bhikṣus, this is the foremost coarse conduct.' He was immediately dispatched to the authorities. This can serve as a clear warning. Yet there are those of high caliber in doctrinal understanding who, through consulting doctrinal texts, awaken to this inconceivable great matter of the Western Land, and use this to benefit themselves and benefit others, turning to aid the future and lighting the torch of the long night, with boundless merit; why must one choke on food and give up eating, or see a stumble and halt one's carriage!