萬善同歸集 3.81

3.81

答：「佛法眾善，普潤無邊；力濟存亡，道含真俗。於國有善則國霸，於家有善則家肥，所利弘多，為益不少。所以《書》云：『積善之家必有餘慶；積惡之家必有餘殃。』又云：『行善降之百祥；為惡降之百殃。』宋典文帝，以元嘉中問何侍中曰：『范泰、謝靈運云：「六經本是濟俗，若性靈真要，則以佛經為指南。」如其率土之濱，皆純此化，則吾坐致太平也。』侍中對曰：『夫百家之鄉，十人持五戒，則十人淳謹；千室之邑，百人修十善，則百人和厚。傳此風訓，已遍宇內；編戶千萬，則仁人百萬。夫能行一善，則去一惡；去一惡，則息一刑。一刑息於家，萬刑息於國。陛下所謂坐致太平也。』是以包羅法界，遍滿虛空；一善所行，無往不利。則是立身輔化，匡國保家之要軌矣。若以此立身，無身不立；以此匡國，無國不匡。近福人天，遠階佛果。」

Answer: "The myriad wholesome practices of the Buddha-Dharma universally nourish without bounds; their power saves both the living and the deceased, and their Way encompasses both the absolute and the conventional. If there is good in a state, the state will flourish; if there is good in a family, the family will prosper. That which is benefited is vast, and the advantages are by no means small. Thus the Book [of Documents] says: 'The family that accumulates goodness will surely have an abundance of blessings; the family that accumulates evil will surely have an abundance of calamities.' It also says: 'He who does good is sent a hundred blessings; he who does evil is sent a hundred misfortunes.' During the Yuanjia era, Emperor Wen of the Song asked Palace Attendant He: 'Fan Tai and Xie Lingyun said: "The Six Classics were originally meant to aid the secular world; if one seeks the true essentials of the spiritual nature, one must take the Buddhist sūtras as a guide." If all within the four seas were purely transformed by this teaching, I could bring about great peace while sitting back.' The Palace Attendant replied: 'In a township of a hundred households, if ten people uphold the five precepts, then ten people will be pure and prudent. In a city of a thousand homes, if a hundred people cultivate the ten good deeds, then a hundred people will be harmonious and generous. If this ethos is transmitted throughout the realm, among tens of millions of registered households there will be millions of benevolent people. For every good deed one can perform, one eliminates one evil; by eliminating one evil, one puts an end to one punishment. When one punishment is ended in a family, ten thousand punishments are ended in the state. This is what Your Majesty meant by bringing about great peace while sitting back.' Therefore, encompassing the dharmadhātu and pervading empty space, wherever a single good deed is practiced, there is nowhere it is not beneficial. It is indeed the essential rule for establishing oneself, assisting in moral transformation, rectifying the state, and preserving the family. If one establishes oneself by this, there is no self that is not established; if one rectifies the state by this, there is no state that is not rectified. In the short term, it brings blessings to humans and devas; in the long term, it ascends to the fruit of buddhahood."