佛祖歷代通載 11.42

11.42

（二十六　戊申）　二十二年六月。帝在玉華宮。召法師玄奘至。乃曰。朕在京苦暑。故就此宮。泉石既涼氣力稍佳。然憶法師故茲相屈。涉塗當大勞也奘謝曰。四海黎庶。依陛下而生。聖躬不安。則率土煌灼。伏聞。鑾輿至此御膳順宜。凡預含靈孰不無蹈。願陛下永保崇高。與天地無極。玄奘庸薄猥蒙齒召。銜荷而來。不覺為勞。帝以法師德業冲博儀表絕倫。欲令罷道共康庶政。因曰。昔三五帝王。靡不以六合務廣萬機事殷。不能遍理。故周憑十亂。舜託五臣。翼亮朝猷弼諧邦國。彼盛明之后且爾。況朕寡昧而不寄眾哲哉。意欲法師脫緇服掛纁衣。升鉉路以陳謀坐槐庭而論道。師意何如。對曰。玄奘微生伏奉明詔。稱三五之君不能獨治。寄諸賢哲共而成之。此陛下盛德含光謙讓之詞。在理則不爾也。何哉。使臣能至治。桀紂柏靈之君豈無臣耶。以此而言不必由也。伏惟陛下聖哲之治。一人紀綱萬事咸得其緒。況撫運已來。天地休平中外寧晏。皆陛下不荒不矜不麗不侈。兢兢業雖休勿休居安思危。為善承天之所致也。餘何預焉。請粗陳其梗概。陛下經緯八紘驅駕豪傑。戡定禍亂崇闡雍熙。聰明文思之德。體元合極之姿。皆天之所授。無假於人。一也。敦本棄末崇儒尚德。移澆風於季俗。反淳政於上古。賦遵薄制刑用輕典。九州四海稟識懷生。俱沐恩波咸遂安逸。此又聖心自化。無假於人。二也。至道旁通深仁遠洽。東逾日域西邁崑丘。南盡炎州北窮玄塞。彫題鼻飲之俗。卉服左衽之人。靡不候風瞻雨稽顙屈膝。獻琛貢寶充委夷邸。此又天威所感。無假於人。三也獫狁為患其來自久。五帝所不止。三王莫能制遂使渭河為被髮之野。酆鄗為鳴鏑之場。中國陵遲匈奴得逞。殷周已來不能攘弭至漢武窮兵衛霍盡力。雖收枝葉根本猶存。自是而後無聞良策。陛下御圖一征斯殄傾巢倒穴無復孑遺。澣海燕然之域。盡入提封。單于弓騎之人。俱充臣妾。若言由人。則虞舜已來賢輔多矣。何因不獲。故知有道斯得。無假於人。四也。高麗小蕃失禮上國。煬帝總天下之師三自征伐。攻城無傷半堞。掠卒不獲一人。虛喪六軍狼狽而返。陛下暫行提數萬騎。摧駐蹕之強陣。破遼蓋之堅城。振旅凱旋俘馘三十餘萬。用兵御將其道不殊。隋以之亡。唐以之得。故知由主無假於人。五也。天地交泰日月光華。和氣氤氳慶雲紛郁。五靈見質一角呈奇。白狼白狐朱雁朱草。昭章雜沓無量億千不可遍舉。皆應德而至。無假於人。六也。明詔乃欲比喻前王寄功十亂。切為陛下不取。總復須才。今亦伊呂多矣。

(Twenty-six, wushen) In the sixth month of the twenty-second year, the Emperor was at Yuhua Palace. He summoned Dharma Master Xuanzang to come, and said, "Suffering from the summer heat in the capital, We came to this palace. With cool springs and rocks, Our energy has slightly improved. Yet missing the Dharma Master, We have put you to the trouble of coming. Traveling this road must have been exceedingly wearisome." Xuanzang expressed his gratitude, saying, "The common people within the four seas depend on Your Majesty for their very lives. When the imperial person is unwell, the entire land is gripped with anxiety. I humbly learn that since the imperial carriage arrived here, the imperial meals have been well suited to you; among all sentient beings, who would not dance for joy? May Your Majesty eternally preserve your exalted nobility, enduring without end alongside Heaven and Earth. Xuanzang, mediocre and slight, was unworthy of being summoned by name. Carrying your benevolence I came, without feeling it a weariness." Because the Dharma Master's virtue and learning were profound and extensive, and his bearing peerless, the Emperor wished him to abandon the monastic way and assist in governing the populace. Thus he said, "In antiquity, among the Three Sovereigns and Five Thearchs, none did not find the realm's affairs vast and the myriad state duties burdensome, unable to manage them all alone. Hence the Zhou relied on ten capable ministers, and Shun entrusted the realm to five officials, to assist and brighten the court's models and harmonize the state. Even rulers of such flourishing brilliance did so; how much more so should Our unworthy self rely upon the multitude of wise men! We wish the Dharma Master to cast off the black robes and don the crimson attire, to rise to the ministerial carriage to present plans and sit in the locust-tree court to discuss the Way. What is your wish?" He replied, "Your humble servant Xuanzang has respectfully received your radiant decree, stating that the rulers of the Three Sovereigns and Five Thearchs could not govern alone and entrusted it to wise men to bring about achievement together. These are words of Your Majesty's flourishing virtue, concealed brilliance, and modesty. In principle, however, it is not so. Why is this? If it were ministers who brought about supreme order, did rulers like Jie, Zhou, or Baling lack ministers? Speaking from this perspective, it does not necessarily depend on them. I humbly reflect that under Your Majesty's sagely and wise governance, when the One Man sets the guidelines, the myriad affairs all find their proper order. Furthermore, since you took hold of the dynastic fortunes, Heaven and Earth have been serene and peaceful, and inside and outside tranquil. This is entirely because Your Majesty is neither dissolute nor boastful, neither luxurious nor extravagant; attentive and diligent, resting not even in times of ease, dwelling in peace while mindful of peril, doing good to accord with Heaven. What part could anyone else have played in this? Allow me to present an outline in brief: Your Majesty has governed the eight directions and marshaled heroes, suppressed disasters and rebellions, and exalted peace and prosperity. The virtues of keen intelligence and cultured reflection, the stature of embodying the primal and uniting with the ultimate—all are endowed by Heaven, without relying on other men. This is the first. Promoting the fundamental, casting aside the peripheral, esteeming Confucianism and valuing virtue; transforming the frivolous customs of the latter ages and restoring the pure governance of high antiquity; levying taxes in accordance with light regulations and applying punishments using mild codes; all possessing consciousness and harboring life throughout the nine provinces and four seas are steeped in the waves of your grace and enjoy tranquility. This too is the sagely mind's spontaneous transformation, without relying on other men. This is the second. The supreme Way reaches everywhere, and your deep benevolence extends afar: eastward surpassing the Land of the Sun, westward venturing to the Kunlun Hills, southward exhausting the scorched regions, northward reaching the remote dark frontier. Those with customs of tattooed foreheads and drinking through the nose, people of grass-woven robes and left-lapelled garments—none fail to look up to your wind and watch for your rain, knocking their foreheads and bending their knees, offering treasures and tribute until the barbarian lodges are filled to overflowing. This too is brought about by heavenly majesty, without relying on other men. This is the third. The menace of the Xirong has endured for ages; the Five Thearchs could not stop it, and the Three Kings could not subdue it, so that the Wei River became a wilderness of disheveled hair, and Feng and Hao became battlefields of whistling arrows. The Central Plains declined, and the Xiongnu had their way. From the Yin and Zhou onwards, they could not be repelled or eliminated; until Emperor Wu of the Han exhausted military strength and Wei Qing and Huo Qubing exerted every effort, yet though the branches and leaves were cut back, the root remained. After that time, no good strategy was heard of. Since Your Majesty assumed the throne, a single campaign annihilated them, overturning their nests and digging out their caves, leaving no survivor behind. The territories of Lake Baikal and Mount Yanran have all entered the imperial maps; those who drew the bows of the Chanyu and rode their horses now all serve as your subjects and maidservants. If one were to say this depends on other men, then since the time of Yu Shun there were many worthy ministers; why did they fail to achieve it? Therefore we know that where there is the Way, it is attained; it does not rely on other men. This is the fourth. Koguryŏ, a small vassal state, lacked propriety toward the superior realm. Emperor Yang marshaled the armies of the entire realm and thrice launched campaigns in person, yet in attacking their cities he did not damage half a parapet, and in raiding soldiers he did not capture a single man; having vainly lost the Six Armies, he returned in utter disarray. Your Majesty set forth briefly, leading several tens of thousands of cavalry, smashed their formidable battle lines at Zhubi, and breached their fortified city of Liaodong, returning in triumphant march with over three hundred thousand severed left ears and captives. Employing troops and directing generals followed no different methods: the Sui fell by it, while the Tang succeeded by it. Therefore we know it depends on the ruler and does not rely on other men. This is the fifth. Heaven and Earth intertwine in harmony, the sun and moon shine brightly, the harmonious qi gathers, and auspicious clouds billow. The five wondrous spirits reveal their forms, and the single horn displays its marvel; white wolves, white foxes, crimson geese, and crimson herbs—radiant and manifold, beyond hundreds of millions, they cannot be enumerated in full. All have arrived in response to virtue, without relying on other men. This is the sixth. Your radiant decree sought to draw a parallel to former kings entrusting their achievements to the ten capable ministers; I earnestly consider this unfitting for Your Majesty. Even if talent were truly required, now there are already many like Yi Yin and Lü Shang.