釋氏稽古略 2.125

2.125

Emperor Wen said to his minister, He Shangzhi, Prefect of Danyang: 'I have just read the treatises composed by Yan Yanzhi and Zong Bing. Their clarification of the Buddha-Dharma is truly of exalted principle, and both open up and encourage people's minds. If everyone within the borders of the realm were moved by this transformation, I could simply let my robes hang loose, fold my hands, and passively bring about Great Peace! What further need would there be for action?' Shangzhi then stepped forward and said: 'In a village of a hundred families, if ten observe the five precepts, then ten will be upright and cautious. In a town of ten households, if a hundred cultivate the ten virtues, then a hundred will be harmonious. If such manners and teachings are extended throughout the world, then among countless millions of registered households there will be millions of benevolent people. For each good deed performed, an evil deed is eliminated; when one evil is eliminated, one penalty ceases. When one penalty ceases in a household, ten thousand penalties cease throughout the country. Thus, Your Majesty’s words about passively bringing about Great Peace are truly so' (from the Imperial Annals and the Biography of He).