[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [佛祖歷代通載](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036) › 5.49 # 佛祖歷代通載 5.49 佛祖歷代通載 5.49 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [5.49](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.5.49) 問曰。孔子以五經為道教。可拱而誦履而行之。今子說道虛無恍惚。不見其意不指其事。何與聖人言異乎。牟子曰。不可以所習為重所希為輕。惑於外類失於中情。立事不失道德。猶調絃不失宮商。天道法四時。人道法五常。老子曰。有物混成先天地生可以為天下母。吾不知其名。強字之曰道。道之為物。居家可以事親。宰國可以治民。獨立可以治身。履而行之充乎天地。廢而不用消而不離。子不解之。何異之有乎。問曰。夫至實不華至辭不飾。言約而至者麗。事寡而達者明。故珠玉少而貴瓦礫多而賤。聖人制七經之本。不過三萬言。眾事備焉。今佛經卷以萬計言以億數。非一人力所能堪也。僕以為煩而不要矣。牟子曰。江海所以異於行潦者。以其深廣也。五嶽所以別於丘陵者。以其高大也。若高不絕山阜。跛羊凌其巔。深不絕涓流。孺子浴其淵。麒麟不處苑囿之中。吞舟之魚不遊數仞之溪。剖三寸之蚌。求明月之珠。探枳𣗥之巢。求鳳凰之雛。必難獲也。何者小不能容大也。佛經前說億載之事。却道萬世之要。太素未起太始未生。乾坤肇興。其微不可握。其纖不可入。佛悉彌綸其廣大之外。剖析其窈妙之內。靡不紀之。故其經卷以萬計言以億數。多多益具眾眾益富。何不要之有。雖非一人所堪。譬若臨河飲水。飽而自足。焉知其餘哉。問曰。佛經眾多。欲得其要而棄其餘。直說其實而除其華。牟子曰否。夫日月俱明各有所照。二十八宿各有所主。百藥並生各有所愈。狐裘備寒。絺綌御暑。舟輿異路俱致行旅。孔子不以五經之備。復作春秋孝經者。欲博道術恣人意耳。佛經雖多。其歸為一也。猶七典雖異。其貴道德仁義亦一也。孝所以說多者。隨人行而與之。若子張子游俱問一孝。而仲尼答之各異。攻其短也。何棄之有哉。 > The questioner asked: "Confucius took the Five Classics as the teaching of the Way, which one can recite with folded hands and step forth to put into practice. Now you speak of the Way as empty, non-existent, indistinct, and elusive, showing neither its meaning nor pointing out its affairs. Why does it differ so from the words of the sages?" Master Mou said: "One must not value only what one is accustomed to and disparage what is rare, being misled by external categories and losing the inner truth. Establishing an undertaking without deviating from the Way and its Virtue is like tuning strings without losing the gong and shang notes. The Heavenly Way models itself on the four seasons; the human Way models itself on the Five Constants. Laozi said: 'There was a thing formed out of chaos, born before Heaven and Earth; it may be taken as the mother of all under Heaven. I do not know its name; forced to give it a character, I call it the Way.' As for the Way as an entity: staying at home, one can serve parents with it; governing a state, one can rule the people with it; standing alone, one can cultivate oneself with it. Stepping forth to put it into practice, it fills Heaven and Earth; setting it aside and not using it, it recedes without departing. You do not understand it—what difference could there be?" The questioner asked: "Now, the utmost truth is not ornate, and the utmost speech is not adorned. Words that are concise yet profound are elegant; affairs that are few yet far-reaching are clear. Therefore, pearls and jade are rare and valuable, while tiles and gravel are abundant and cheap. The root of the Seven Classics established by the sages does not exceed thirty thousand words, yet all affairs are fully provided therein. Now the Buddhist scriptures are counted in the tens of thousands of fascicles and words in the hundreds of millions, which is not what the strength of a single person can endure. I consider it burdensome and non-essential." Master Mou said: "The reason the great rivers and the sea differ from ruts and puddles is that they are deep and wide. The reason the Five Sacred Peaks are distinguished from mounds and hills is that they are lofty and immense. If their height did not exceed that of hills and mounds, a lame sheep could mount their summits; if their depth did not exceed that of a trickling stream, a child could bathe in their deep pools. The qilin does not dwell within parks and enclosures; a fish that can swallow a boat does not swim in a creek of a few fathoms. If you crack open a three-inch clam to seek a lustrous pearl, or search a bramble nest to seek the fledgling of a fenghuang, you will certainly find it difficult to obtain. Why? Because the small cannot contain the large. The Buddhist scriptures recount the events of hundreds of millions of years in the past, and explain the essentials of myriad generations to come. Before primordial substance arose, before the great beginning was born, when Qian and Kun first emerged, its subtlety cannot be grasped, its minuteness cannot be entered. The Buddha encompassed everything beyond their vastness, and dissected everything within their profound subtleties, recording every single thing. Therefore, its scriptures are counted by the tens of thousands of fascicles, and its words by the hundreds of millions. The more numerous they are, the more complete; the more manifold, the richer. How could they be non-essential? Although it is not what one person can exhaustively endure, it is like going to a river to drink: drinking one's fill and being satisfied oneself, why should one care about the rest?" The questioner asked: "Since the Buddhist scriptures are so numerous, I wish to take their essentials and discard the rest, speaking directly of their reality and removing their ornament." Master Mou said: "No. The sun and the moon both shine, each having what it illuminates; the twenty-eight lunar lodges each have what they govern; the hundred medicinal herbs sprout together, each having what it cures. Fox furs prepare against the cold; fine and coarse linen ward off the summer heat. Boats and carriages take different routes, yet both carry travelers to their destination. Confucius did not, on account of the completeness of the Five Classics, refrain from composing the Chunqiu and the Xiaojing, because he wished to broaden the arts of the Way and accommodate human inclinations. Although the Buddhist scriptures are numerous, their convergence is one. It is just as the Seven Classics differ from one another, yet their valuing of the Way, virtue, benevolence, and righteousness is likewise one. The reason filiality is spoken of so extensively is that it is granted in accordance with people's conduct. When Zizhang and Ziyou both inquired about the same filiality, Confucius answered them differently, addressing each one's shortcoming. What is there to discard?" > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 5.48](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.5.48) - [Next: 5.50](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.5.50) - [Up: 5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.5) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036~en-mt.5.49) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [弘明集](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.1.9) — 僧祐, Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.5.49](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.5.49) · Pramāṇa