緇門警訓 1.34

1.34

於戲大法下衰去聖逾遠。披緇雖眾謀道尤稀。競聲利為己能。視流通為兒戲。遂使法門罕闢教網將頹。實賴後昆克荷斯道。汝曹虛心請法潔己依師。近期於立身揚名。遠冀於革凡成聖。發揮像法捨子而誰。故須修身踐言慎終如始。勤爾學問謹爾行藏。避惡友如避虎狼。事良朋如事父母。奉師盡禮為法亡軀。有善母自矜。起過務速改。守仁義而確乎不拔。處貧賤則樂以忘憂。自然與禍斯違與福斯會。豈假相形。問命諂求榮達之期。擇日選時苟免否屯之運。此豈沙門之遠識。實惟俗子之妄情。宜乎見賢思齊。當仁不讓。慕雪山之求法。學善財之尋師。名利不足。動於懷。死生不足憂其慮。倘功成而事遂。必自邇而涉遐。不沽名而名自揚。不召眾而眾自至。智足以照惑。慈足以攝人。窮則獨善其身。達則兼善天下。使真風息而再振。慧炬滅而復明。可謂大丈夫焉。可謂如來使矣。豈得身棲講肆。跡混常徒。在穢惡則無所間然。於行解則不見可畏。以至積習成性自滅其身。始教慕彼上賢。終見淪於下惡。如斯之輩誠可悲哉。詩云靡不有初鮮克有終。斯之謂矣。中人以上可不誡歟。抑又戒慧分宗大小異學。悉自佛心而派出。意存法界以同歸。既而未曉大猷。於是各權所據。習經論則以戒學為棄物。宗律部則以經論為憑虛。習大法者則滅沒小乘。聽小乘者則輕毀大法。但見人師偏讚。遂執之而互相是非。豈知佛意常融。苟達之而不見彼此。應當互相成濟。共熟機緣。其猶萬派朝宗無非到海。百官蒞事咸曰勤王。未見護一派而擬塞眾流。守一官而欲廢庶績。原夫法王之垂化也。統攝群品各有司存。小律比禮刑之權。大乘類鈞衡之任。營福如司於漕輓。製撰若掌於王言。在國家之百吏咸修。類我教之群宗競演。果明此旨豈執異端。當須量己才。能隨力演布。性敏則兼學為善。識淺則顓門是宜。若然者雖各播風猷。而共成慈濟。同歸和合之海。共坐解脫之床。夫如是則真迷途之指南。教門之木鐸也。居乎師位諒無慚德。趣乎佛果決定不疑。汝無矜伐小小見知。樹立大大我慢。輕侮先覺熒惑後生。雖云聽尋未補過咎。言或有中。汝曹思之。

Alas! The Great Dharma has declined, and we are ever farther from the sages. Although many put on the black robes, those who seek the Dao are exceedingly rare. They compete for fame and gain as their personal achievement, and regard the propagation [of the teaching] as child's play. This has caused the Dharma-gates to be seldom opened, and the net of the teaching to border on collapse. Truly we rely upon posterity to be able to shoulder this Dao. You must seek the Dharma with an open mind, and purify yourselves to rely upon your masters. In the near term, strive to establish yourselves and make your name renowned; in the long run, hope to transform from ordinary beings into sages. To illuminate the semblance Dharma, who is there but you? Therefore, you must cultivate the person, act on your words, and be as cautious at the end as at the beginning. Be diligent in your studies; be prudent in your conduct and retirement. Avoid evil companions as you would tigers and wolves; serve good friends as you would your parents. Serve your master with complete propriety; sacrifice your body for the sake of the Dharma. If you possess goodness, do not be proud; when faults arise, be sure to reform them swiftly. Guard benevolence and righteousness and be steadfast and immovable; when dwelling in poverty and low station, find joy so as to forget sorrow. Naturally you will turn away from misfortune and meet with good fortune. Why rely on physiognomy or fate-telling to flatteringly seek the date of prosperity, or pick auspicious days and select times merely to escape seasons of adversity and obstruction? How could this be the far-reaching discernment of a śramaṇa? It is truly nothing but the deluded sentiment of worldly men. It is proper to see worthies and think of equaling them; in the face of benevolence, yield not [even] to your master. Yearn for the pursuit of the Dharma on the Snow Mountains; emulate Sudhana's search for teachers. Fame and gain should not be enough to stir your minds; life and death should not be enough to trouble your thoughts. If your work succeeds and your affairs are accomplished, you will inevitably proceed from the near to the far. Without courting fame, your fame will naturally spread; without summoning the multitude, the multitude will naturally arrive. Wisdom will suffice to illuminate confusion; compassion will suffice to gather people. In obscurity, cultivate your own virtue; when successful, bring good to the whole world. Cause the true wind, having ceased, to blow anew; cause the torch of wisdom, having been extinguished, to blaze again. [Such a one] may be called a true great man! [Such a one] may be called an envoy of the Tathāgata! How can you allow yourselves to lodge in lecture halls, blending your traces with ordinary followers, having no qualms about what is vile and foul, and seeing nothing to revere in practice and understanding, until accumulated habit becomes second nature, destroying yourselves? Beginning by teaching admiration for the superior worthies, in the end one is seen sinking into the lowest evils. People like this are truly pitiable! The Book of Odes says: 'None lacks a beginning, but few can bring it to completion.' This is what it means! Can those of middling capacity and above not take warning? Moreover, the schools of vinaya and prajñā divide, and the Greater and Lesser [Vehicles] differ in their studies; yet all branch out from the Buddha's mind, and all intend the dharmadhātu as their common destination. But failing to comprehend the great way, each seizes upon what he clings to. Those who study the sūtras and treatises regard the study of vinaya as worthless; those who take the vinaya division as their lineage regard the sūtras and treatises as resting on nothing. Those who practice the Great Dharma extinguish the Hīnayāna; those who listen to the Hīnayāna despise the Great Dharma. Merely observing the biased praises of human teachers, they grasp onto them and engage in mutual disputes over right and wrong. How could they know that the Buddha's intention is ever harmoniously fused? If only one penetrates it, there is no seeing of 'this' and 'that'. One ought mutually to support and assist, jointly ripening the conditions of potential [beings]. It is like the myriad streams paying court [to the sovereign]; all without exception reach the sea. The hundred officials attending to their duties are all said to serve the king diligently. We have never seen someone preserve one stream while intending to block the myriad currents, or guard one office while wishing to abolish all other achievements. In origin, when the Dharmarāja bestowed his transformation, he took charge of the myriad sorts [of beings], and each had its proper office. The Lesser Vinaya is like the authority of rites and punishments; the Mahāyāna resembles the responsibility of weighing and balancing the balance. Managing merits is like administering water transport; composing and compiling is like handling the royal decrees. Just as in a state the hundred officials all perform their duties, so it is comparable to the myriad lineages of our teaching competing to expound. If one truly understands this purport, how could one cling to divergent extremes? You must measure your own abilities and spread [the teaching] according to your strength. If your nature is sharp, studying concurrently is best; if your understanding is shallow, specializing in a single gate is appropriate. If it is so, then although each spreads their own manner and way, together they achieve compassionate rescue; together they return to the ocean of concord, and together they sit on the couch of liberation. Being like this, one is truly a compass on a confused path, a wooden bell for the gate of teaching! Occupying the seat of a master, one will truly have no shameful defects; heading toward the fruit of Buddhahood, one will be determined without doubt. Do not boast of petty knowledge and opinions, erecting immense conceited pride, showing contempt for those who awakened first, and bewildering later students. Although it is said that listening and investigating cannot make up for faults and errors, my words may perhaps hit the mark. Give this your contemplation!