佛祖歷代通載 19.15

19.15

（八　甲子）　司馬光表進所編書。賜名資治通鑑。帝親製序。授資政殿學士。甞作秀水真如華嚴法堂記曰。壬辰歲夏四月。僧清辨踵門來告曰。清辨秀州真如草堂僧也。真如故有講堂。痺狹不足以庥學者。清辨與同術惠宗治而新之。今高顯矣。願得子之文。刻諸石以諗來者。光謝曰。光文不足以辱石刻。加平生不習佛書。不知所以云者。師其請諸他人。曰清辨所不敢請也。故維子之歸。而子又何辭。光固辭不獲。乃言曰。師之為是堂也。其志何如。曰清辨之為是堂也。屬堂中之人而告之曰。二三子苟能究明吾佛之書。或不能則將取於四方之能者。皆伏謝不能。然後相率抵精嚴寺迎沙門道歡而師之。又屬其徒而告之曰。凡我二三子。肇自今以及于後。相與協力同志。堂圮則扶之。師缺則補之以至于金石可弊山淵可平。而講肄之聲不可絕也。光曰。師之志則美矣。抑光雖不習佛書。亦甞剽聞佛之為人矣。夫佛蓋西域之賢者。其為人也。清儉而寡欲。慈惠而愛物。故服弊補之衣。食蔬糲之食。岩居野處斥妻屏子。所以自奉甚約而憚於煩人也。雖草木蟲魚。不敢妄殺。蓋欲與物並生而不相害也。凡此之道皆以涓潔其身。不為物累。蓋中國於陵子仲焦先之徒近之矣。聖人之德周。賢者之德徧。周者無不覆。而末流之人猶未免棄本而背原。況其偏者乎。故後世之為佛書者。日遠而日訛。莫不侈大其師之言而附益之。以淫怪誣罔之辭。以駭俗人而取世資厚。自豐殖不知厭極。故一衣之費或百金。不若綺紈之為愈也。一飯之直或萬錢。不若膾炙之為省也。高堂鉅室以自奉養。佛之志豈如是哉。天下事佛者莫不然。而吳人為甚。師之為是堂。將以明佛之道也。是必深思於本原而勿放蕩於末流。則斯堂為益也。豈其細哉。

(8. Jia-zi) Sima Guang presented the work he had compiled to the throne, and the emperor bestowed on it the title Zizhi Tongjian, personally composed a preface, and conferred upon him the rank of Hanlin Academician of the Zizheng Hall. He once composed 'A Record of the Avataṃsaka Dharma Hall of Zhenru in Xiushui', which reads: 'In the summer of the ren-chen year, in the fourth month, the monk Qingbian came to my gate and reported: "I, Qingbian, am a monk of the Zhenru Caotang in Xiuzhou. Zhenru formerly had a lecture hall, but it was low and cramped, insufficient to shelter scholars. Together with my fellow-practitioner Huizong, I repaired and renovated it, and now it stands lofty and prominent. We wish to obtain your writing to carve on stone so as to inform those who come after." Guang declined, saying: "My writing is not worthy to grace an inscription, and furthermore, throughout my life I have not studied Buddhist books and do not know what to say. Master, please request it of someone else." He said: "I, Qingbian, would not presume to ask anyone else. Therefore, I have come solely to you; how could you decline?" Guang resolutely declined but could not avoid it, so he spoke, saying: "Master, in building this hall, what was your intention?" He said: "In building this hall, I addressed the people in the hall, saying: 'Can you gentlemen thoroughly fathom our Buddha's scriptures? If you cannot, we shall seek capable persons from all quarters.' They all bowed, apologized, and admitted inability. Thereupon, leading one another, we went to Jingyan Monastery to invite the śramaṇa Daohuan to be our teacher. I then addressed his disciples, saying: 'All you gentlemen, from now into the future, work together with one mind: if the hall collapses, prop it up; if the teacher is missing, replenish the seat, even until metal and stone wear away and mountains and abysses are leveled, yet the sound of lectures and recitations must not cease.'" Guang said: "The master's aspiration is indeed admirable. Yet, although I have not studied Buddhist books, I have also casually heard of what kind of man the Buddha was. The Buddha was presumably a worthy man of the Western Regions. In his character, he was pure, frugal, and had few desires, compassionate and loving toward all creatures. Therefore, he wore patched clothes, ate coarse vegetable foods, lived in caves and dwelt in the wilderness, rejecting wife and banishing children; thus he provided for himself very frugally and feared troubling others. Even plants, trees, insects, and fish he did not dare kill arbitrarily, wishing to live alongside all things without harming one another. All these practices were meant to cleanse his body and avoid being burdened by material things. In China, men like Yuling Zizhong and Jiao Xian were close to this. The virtue of a sage is comprehensive; the virtue of a worthy is extensive. What is comprehensive leaves nothing uncovered, yet men of the degenerate stream still cannot avoid abandoning the root and turning their backs on the source; how much more so for those who are partial? Therefore, later generations who composed Buddhist books grew further astray and more corrupted day by day. None failed to aggrandize their master's words, adding to them with extravagant, monstrous, false, and deceptive statements to shock worldly people and acquire worldly wealth, enriching themselves without knowing when to stop. Thus, the cost of a single robe may be a hundred pieces of gold, worse than silks and satins; the price of a single meal may be ten thousand coins, worse than fine roasted meats. They rely on high halls and huge mansions to provide for themselves—how could the Buddha's intention have been like this? Throughout the realm, those who serve the Buddha are without exception like this, and the people of Wu are the worst. The master's construction of this hall is intended to illuminate the Buddha's Way. You must reflect deeply on the fundamental source and not indulge in the degenerate streams; then the benefit of this hall will indeed not be minor!"'