佛祖統紀 10.76

10.76

江州太守許端夫。序其詩曰。慈雲之詩。文貫於道。言切於理。酷似陶彭澤。蓋合於情動形言止乎禮義之意。昔貫休作禪月集。初不聞道。而才情俊逸。有失輔教之義。中庸子作閒居編。言雖鳴道而文句闒冗。有失詩人之體。慈雲則不然。文既清麗。理亦昭顯。雅正簡淡。有晉宋之風。蓋其道業宏大。故詩名不行也。

Xu Duanfu, the Prefect of Jiangzhou, wrote in his preface to his poetry: "In Ciyun's poetry, the writing is continuous with the Way, and the words are pressing upon principle; it closely resembles Tao Pengze. It indeed accords with the intention that feelings are stirred and find expression in words, yet stop within propriety and righteousness. Formerly, Guanxiu composed the *Chanyue ji*; at first he had not heard the Way, yet his talent and feeling were exceptional, which fell short of the principle of assisting the teaching. Zhongyongzi composed the *Xianju bian*; although his words gave voice to the Way, the sentences and phrasing were vulgar and redundant, falling short of the style of a poet. Ciyun, however, was not like this: his writing was clear and lovely, his principles were also manifest and bright, elegant, correct, simple, and plain, possessing the style of the Jin and Song dynasties. It is because his accomplishments in the Way were so vast that his renown as a poet did not circulate widely."