佛祖歷代通載 7.74

7.74

Question: Examining past histories, since the Supreme Sovereigns of high antiquity, those who held the throne and occupied the primary position have never diverged from the primal root. The root cannot be two; hence, a hundred generations have shared the same canons and unified under one lineage. This is what is meant by 'Only Heaven is great, and only Yao took it as his model.' Prior to this, it was not that wisdom failed to illuminate something, but that there was nothing outside it to be illuminated; it was not that illumination failed to exhaust something, but that there was no principle left to exhaust. Reasoning from this, beyond what is seen and heard, it is utterly empty with nowhere to reside. Since principle has nowhere to reside, the ultimate principle can be understood. Now the monks fail to realize the meaning beyond the text and are deluded by the words beyond the teaching; their error is already complete. If there is visible proof, this would indeed be unheard of in the world.