佛祖歷代通載 5.62

5.62

問曰。云佛道至尊至快無為淡泊。世人學士多譏毀之。云其辭說廓落難用虛無難信何也。牟子曰。至味不合於眾口。大音不比於眾耳。作咸池設大童發簫韶詠九成。莫之和也。張鄭衛之絃。歌時俗之音。必不期而柎手也。故宋玉云。客歌於郢為下俚之曲。和者千人。引商激角。眾莫之應。此皆悅邪聲不曉於大度者也。韓非以管闚之見而謗堯舜。接輿以毛釐之分而刺仲尼。皆耽小而忽大者也。夫聞清商而謂之角。非彈絃之過。聽者之不聰矣。見和璧而名之石。非璧之賤也。視者之不明矣。神蛇能斷而復續。不能使人不斷也。靈龜發夢於宋元。不能免豫且之網。大道無為非俗所見。不為譽者貴。不為毀者賤。用不用自天也。行不行乃時也。信不信其命也。

Question: "It is said that the Buddhist Way is supreme, exceedingly pleasant, non-active, and tranquil, yet worldly scholars mostly ridicule and slander it, saying its statements are diffuse and hard to apply, empty and hard to believe. Why is this?"

Mouzi said: "The supreme flavor does not suit every mouth; the great music does not harmonize with every ear. If one performs the Xianchi, sets up the Datong, plays the Xiaoshao, and chants the Nine Compositions, none will join in harmony. If one tunes the strings of Zheng and Wei and sings the tunes of contemporary fashion, people will inevitably clap their hands without prompt. Therefore Song Yu said, 'When a guest sang in Ying, singing a lowly, vulgar song, thousands joined in harmony; when he drew on the Shang tone and stirred the Jiao tone, none among the multitude responded.' These are all fond of perverse sounds and do not understand grand measures. Han Fei, with his viewing through a tube, slandered Yao and Shun; Jieyu, with his hair-splitting division, criticized Confucius. Both were indulging in the small and neglecting the great. When someone hears the pure Shang tone and calls it Jiao, that is not the fault of the plucked string, but the listener's lack of acuity. When someone sees the jade of He and calls it a stone, that is not because the jade is base, but because the viewer lacks clear vision. The divine serpent can be severed and reconnect itself, yet cannot cause humans not to sever it; the spiritual turtle manifested a dream to Lord Yuan of Song, yet could not avoid Yuqie's net. The Great Way is non-active and not what the vulgar perceive. It is not noble because of those who praise it, nor base because of those who slander it. Whether it is used or not depends on Heaven; whether it is practiced or not depends on the time; whether it is believed or not is its fate."