禪林寶訓 1.15

1.15

大覺曰。妙道之理。聖人嘗寓之於易。至周衰先王之法壞禮義亡。然後奇言異術。間出而亂俗。逮我釋迦入中土。醇以第一義示人。而始末設為慈悲。以化群生。亦所以趨於時也。自生民以來。淳朴未散。則三皇之教簡而素。春也。及情竇日鑿。五帝之教詳而文。夏也。時與世異。情隨日遷。故三王之教密而嚴。秋也。昔商周之誥誓。後世學者。故有不能曉。比當時之民。聽之而不違。則俗與今如何也。及其弊而為秦漢也。則無所不至矣。故天下有不忍願聞者。於是我佛如來。一推之以性命之理。冬也。天有四時循環。以生成萬物。聖人設教迭相扶持。以化成天下。亦由是而已矣。然至其極也。皆不能無弊。弊者迹也。要當有聖賢者世起而救之。自秦漢以來千有餘載。風俗靡靡愈薄。聖人之教。列而鼎立。互相詆訾。大道寥寥莫之返。良可嘆也（答侍郎孫莘老書）。

Dajue said: “The principle of the wondrous Way was once lodged by the sages in the *Changes*. When the Zhou declined, the laws of the former kings decayed and ritual and righteousness were lost; thereafter, strange words and heterodox arts emerged by turns to disorder the customs. When our Śākya entered the central lands, he showed people the unadulterated ultimate truth, and throughout set forth compassion to transform the multitude of beings, which was also a way to adapt to the times. Since the dawn of humanity, before the original simplicity was dispersed, the teachings of the Three Sovereigns were concise and plain—this was spring. When the openings of the passions were daily carved out, the teachings of the Five Emperors became detailed and refined—this was summer. As the times differed from the world and passions shifted with each passing day, the teachings of the Three Kings were dense and strict—this was autumn. In the past, regarding the proclamations and oaths of the Shang and Zhou, later scholars naturally could not understand them; yet when the people of those times listened to them, they did not disobey—how then do ancient customs compare to today? When their decline turned into the Qin and Han, there was nothing to which [depravity] did not reach; thus there were things in the realm that people could not bear to hear. Thereupon, our Buddha, the Tathāgata, deduced everything back to the principle of nature and destiny—this was winter. Heaven has the four seasons cycling to generate and complete the myriad things; the sages established teachings to assist one another in turns so as to transform and complete the world—it is also merely like this. Yet when reaching their culmination, none can be free from abuses. Abuses are merely traces; what is essential is that sages and worthies arise through the generations to remedy them. For more than a thousand years since the Qin and Han, customs have degenerated and grown ever more base. The teachings of the sages stand arrayed like a tripod, slandering and reviling one another. The Great Way is desolate and there is none to return to it; how truly lamentable!” (*Letter in Reply to Vice Minister Sun Xinlao*)