佛祖歷代通載 10.58

10.58

（二十一）　是年李士謙卒。士謙字約。少喪父。事母以孝聞。其族長伯瑒每歎曰。此子吾家顏子也。善天文術數。自以少孤未甞飲酒食肉。如此積三十年。雅好舉止約以戒定。有謂其修陰德。士謙笑曰。夫陰德其猶耳鳴。唯己知之。人無得而知者。今吾所作仁者皆知。何陰德之有。最善玄言。客有疑佛報應之說。士謙喻之曰。積善餘慶積惡餘殃。豈非休咎之徵耶。佛曰。輪轉五道無復窮已。而賈誼亦云。千變萬化未始有極。至若鮌為黃熊。杜宇為鶗鴂。褒君為龍牛哀為虎。君子為鵠。小人為猿。彭生為豕。如意為犬。黃母為黿。宣武為鼈。鄧艾為牛。徐伯為魚。羊祜前身李氏子。此皆佛家變異形報之驗。客人曰。邢子才云。世有松柏化為樗櫟。僕以為然。士謙曰。此不類之談也。變化皆由心業。豈關木乎。又問三教優劣。士謙曰。佛日也。道月也。儒五星也。客不能難而去。

(21) In this year, Li Shiqian died. Shiqian's courtesy name was Yue. Losing his father in his youth, he served his mother with renowned filial piety. His clan elder Boyang often sighed and said, "This child is the Yanzi of our family." He was skilled in astronomy and mantic arts. Because he was orphaned at a young age, he had never consumed alcohol or meat, continuing in this way for thirty years. He was refined and fond of propriety, restraining himself with precepts and samādhi. When someone said that he cultivated hidden virtue, Shiqian smiled and said, "Hidden virtue is like ringing in the ears: only oneself knows it; no one else can know it. Now, what I do is known to all benevolent people; what hidden virtue is there in it?" He was supremely skilled in profound discourse. When a guest expressed doubt about the Buddhist doctrine of karmic retribution, Shiqian instructed him by analogy, saying: "Accumulated goodness leaves surplus blessings; accumulated evil leaves surplus calamity. Are these not the signs of auspiciousness and misfortune? The Buddha said that transmigration through the five destinies has no end; and Jia Yi also said that the thousands of transformations have never had a limit. As for Gun turning into a yellow bear, Du Yu into a cuckoo, the Lord of Bao into a dragon, Niu Ai into a tiger, the gentleman into a crane, the petty person into an ape, Pengsheng into a boar, Ruyi into a dog, Mother Huang into a soft-shelled turtle, Xuanwu into a mud turtle, Deng Ai into an ox, Xu Bo into a fish, and Yang Hu having been in his former life the son of the Li family—these are all verifications of the Buddhist changes into different forms as karmic retribution." The guest said, "Xing Zicai said that in the world there are pines and cypresses that turn into chus and oaks; I consider this to be true." Shiqian said, "This is an improper comparison. Transformation is entirely driven by mental karma; how could it pertain to trees?" The guest also asked about the relative superiority of the three teachings. Shiqian said, "The Buddha is the sun; Daoism is the moon; Confucianism is the five stars." The guest could not rebut him and departed.