唐護法沙門法琳別傳 1.9

1.9

陛下。至德含弘仁心鞠育。爰復降情正法留意出家。廣布慈雲重興佛日。利益之道難得而稱。此則大唐帝業慈被百靈。聖種鴻基惠流千祀。不敢輒以愚昧輕測天心。謹課庸辭略申管見。塵黷御覽伏深戰越。時高祖覽法師對。竟亦無辭。法師頻詣闕庭。不蒙臧否。但傅氏所陳之事。高祖未遣頒行。弈乃公然宣布遐邇。禿丁之誚閭里盛傳。胡鬼之謠昌言酒席。致使明明佛日翳以虧光。濟濟法流壅之無潤。于時達鑒君子。揮翰者彌多。契理名僧。動毫者非一。總持道場釋普應者。戒行精苦博物不群。屬弈狂言。因製破邪論二卷。又前扶溝令李師政者。歸心佛理篤意玄宗。義忿在懷。又撰內德正邪二論。莫不僉疏佛教委指業緣。競引梵言曲垂邪正。而法師咸詢作者。備覽諸文。情用不安。謂眾人曰。經教弈之所廢。豈得引廢證成。雖欲破邪歸正。未遣邪原。今案孔老二教師敬佛文。就彼宗承斥其虛謬。眾人皆以為然。法師因著破邪論一卷。可八千餘言。理會宮商文諧鍾律。傳之耳目故此闕書。但法師筆削。清奇冠乎群品。遂使朝賢貴士咸誦在心。遁世名儒家藏一本。實可謂詞峯峻峙理海宏深。為廣海之舟航。作大夜之燈炬。法師以論軸初製道俗無聞。若不廣露其情。何以革茲聾俗。因以五年春正月。啟上儲后云。緬尋三元五運之肇。天皇人帝之興。龜圖鳥[竺-二+冊]之文。金版丹笥之典。六衡九光之度。百家萬卷之書。莫不遵人倫信義之風。述[(ㄙ/月)*力]華周孔之教。統其要也。未達生死之源。詳其理也。不出有無之域。豈若五分法身三明種智。湛然常樂何變何遷。邈矣真如非生非滅。而能道資萬有。慈被百靈。啟解脫彼岸之津。開究竟無為之府。拔群生於苦海之外。救諸子於火宅之中。但以化隔䓗河。千有餘載教流漢土。六百許年龕塔相望。神人接踵。所以道安登秦帝之輦。僧會上吳主之車。高座法師能敷八正。浮圖和上巧說五乘。化洽九州福霑三世。其為利物。此之謂歟。有隋褫運戎馬生郊災起四兇毒流百姓。慧燈既隱法雨將收。賴我大唐。上應乾心下協黎願。補天以麗三象。紐地以安五嶽。生民蒙再造之恩。釋門荷中興之賜。方欲六茲五帝四彼三皇。返淳朴之風。行無為之化。竊見傳弈所上誹毀之事。在司既未施行。弈乃公然遠近流布。人間酒席競為戲談。有累清風寔穢華俗。長物邪見損國福田。理不可也。伏惟殿下。往藉三歸久資十善。赴蒼生之望。應大寶之期。道叶隆平德光副后。發荐雷之響。則蟄戶俱開。啟明離之暉。則幽衢並鏡。赫矣美矣。難得名矣。固以漢光重世周卜永年。復能降意福門。迴情勝境。津梁在念牆塹為心。伏願。折邪見幢燃正法炬。像化攸寄深幸茲乎。不任憤懣惄焉之志。謹上破邪論一卷。塵黷威嚴伏增悚息。又文帝龍潛之日。復上啟云。琳聞。情切者其聲必哀。理正者其言必直。是以窮子念達其言。勞人願歌其事。何者。竊見大業末年。天下喪亂。二儀慘毒四海沸騰。波振塵飛丘焚原燎。五馬絕浮江之路。七童有平壘之歌。熢燧時警羽檄競馳。關塞多虞刀斗不息。道消德亂運盡數窮。轉輸寔繁頭會箕𣫍。積屍如莽流血為川。人不聊生物亦勞止。於是控告無所投骸莫從。百姓苦其倒懸。萬國困其無主。豈徒法輪絕響正教陵夷。聖上興弔俗之心。順昊天之命。爰舉義旗平定區宇。當時道俗蒙賴華戎胥悅。於是叶天地而通八風。測陰陽而調四序。上和邦國下敘人倫。功蓋補天神侔立極。降雲雨而生育。開日月而照臨。發之以聲明紀之以文物。恩霑荇葦施洽蟲魚。方欲重述九疇。再敷五教。興石渠之學。布庠序之風。遠紹羲軒近同文景。功業永隆。不知手之舞之足之蹈之者矣。竊見傳弈所上之事。披覽未遍五內分崩。尋讀始周六情破裂。嗚呼邪言惑正魔辯逼真。猶不足聞諸下愚。況欲上干天聽。但弈職居時要物望所知。何容不近人情無辜起惡。然其文言淺陋事理不詳。辱先王之典謨。傷人倫之風範。何者。夫人不言。言必有中。夫子曰。一言合理。則天下歸之。一事乖常。則妻子背叛。觀弈所上之事。括其大都窮其始末。乃罔冒闕庭處多。毀辱聖人甚切。如弈此意。本欲因茲自媒苟求進達。實未能益國利人。直是譏弄朝野。然陛下應天順時握圖受籙。赴萬國之心。當一人之慶。扶危救世之力。夷兇靜難之功。固以威蓋前王聲高往帝。爰復存心三寶留意福田。預是出家之人。莫不咸戴天澤。但由僧等不能遵奉戒行酬報國恩。無識之徒非違造罪。致令傅弈陳此惡言。擗踊痛心投骸無地。然僧尼有罪甘受極刑。恨弈輕辱聖人言辭切害。深恐邪見之輩因此行非。無識之徒漸生異見。又案春秋云。魯莊公七年夏四月恒星不見。夜明如日。即佛生時之瑞應也。然佛有真應二身。權實兩智。三明八解。五眼六通。神曰不可思議。法號心行處滅。其道也運眾聖於泥洹。其力也接下凡於苦海。自後漢明帝永平十三年夢見金人已來。像教東流靈瑞非一。具如漢魏諸史姚石等書。至如道安道生之輩。圖澄羅什之流。並有高行深解。當世名僧。盡被君王識知貴勝崇重。自五百餘年已來。寺塔遍於九州。僧尼溢於三輔。並由時君敬信朝野歸心。像教興行於今不絕者。寔荷人王之力也。然世間君臣父子。猶謂恩澤難酬。昊天不報。況佛是眾生出世慈父。又為凡聖良醫。欲抑而挫之罪而辱之。理不可也。仰尋如來。智出有無。豈三皇能測。功苞造化。非二儀可方。故列子曰。昔吳大宰嚭問孔丘曰。夫子聖人歟。孔子對曰。丘博識強記。非聖人也。又問。三皇聖人歟。對曰。三皇善用智勇。聖亦非丘所知。又問。五帝聖人歟。對曰。五帝善用仁信。聖亦非丘所知。又問。三王聖人歟。對曰。三王善用時。聖亦非丘所知。太宰嚭大駭曰。然則孰為聖人乎。孔子動容而對曰。丘聞。西方有聖者焉。不治而不亂。不言而自信。不化而自行。蕩蕩乎民無能名焉。若三皇五帝必是大聖。孔丘豈容隱而不說。便有匿聖之愆。以此挍量。推佛為大聖也。

Your Majesty's supreme virtue encompasses all, and your benevolent heart nurtures and fosters. You furthermore descend to attend to the true Dharma and turn your mind to the renunciant life, widely spreading the clouds of compassion and rekindling the sun of the Buddha. The way of bringing benefit is difficult to praise adequately. This shows that the imperial enterprise of the Great Tang spreads compassion over all living spirits, and the vast foundation of the sage dynasty pours forth bounty for a thousand generations. I would not presume to lightly measure the imperial mind with my own folly, but have carefully assembled these humble words to briefly set forth my narrow view. Desecrating the imperial gaze, I submit this with profound trembling." At that time, Gaozu read the Dharma Master's response, yet ultimately uttered no word. The Dharma Master frequently went to the imperial court, but received neither approval nor censure. But regarding the matters submitted by Fu [Yi], Gaozu did not issue an order to promulgate them. Fu Yi nevertheless openly proclaimed them far and wide. Taunts of 'bald rascal' circulated widely through the neighbourhoods, and songs mocking the 'barbarian ghost' were boldly declaimed at drinking parties. This caused the brilliant sun of the Buddha to be clouded and lose its light, and the abundant stream of the Dharma to be obstructed, depriving all of its moisture. At that time, many were the gentlemen of penetrating insight who wielded the brush, and not a few were the famous monks attuned to the principle who set their hairs to paper. Śramaṇa Puying of the Zongchi Bodhimaṇḍa, whose ascetic practice of precepts was exacting and whose erudition was peerless, encountered Fu Yi's mad words and accordingly composed the Poxie lun in two fascicles. In addition, the former magistrate of Fugou, Li Shizheng, who had turned his mind to the Buddha's principle and was deeply devoted to the profound teaching, harboured righteous indignation and furthermore wrote two treatises: the Neide lun and the Zhengxie lun. Both fully elucidated the Buddha's teachings and thoroughly pointed out karmic retributions, vying to cite Sanskrit words and subtly distinguish right from wrong. Yet when the Dharma Master consulted the authors and examined all the texts, he was uneasy in his heart, and said to the multitude: 'The scriptures and teachings are what Fu Yi rejects; how can one cite what he rejects to establish proof? Though you wish to crush the heterodox and return to the orthodox, you have not eliminated the root of heterodoxy. Now, examining the texts where the two teachers Confucius and Laozi respected and revered the Buddha, I will rely on their own lineages to refute his falsehoods.' The multitude all agreed. The Dharma Master therefore composed the Poxie lun in one fascicle, of about eight thousand words. Its principle accorded with the gongs and shangs, and its writing harmonised with bells and pitch-pipes. As it is known to the eyes and ears of all, it is omitted from this account. Yet the Dharma Master's style of composition and editing was pure, extraordinary, and surpassed the ordinary run, so that the worthy and noble lords of the court all recited it by heart, and renowned recluses preserved a copy at home. Truly, it may be said that its peaks of diction towered aloft and its sea of principle was vast and deep; it was a ferry across the expansive sea, a torch in the long night. Thinking that as the treatise was newly written, neither monks nor laity had heard of it, the Dharma Master thought: 'If I do not openly display its contents, how can I reform these deaf and dull folk?' Therefore, in the first month of spring in the fifth year, he submitted a memorial to the Crown Prince, saying: 'Probing far back to the origin of the Three Primes and Five Cycles, and the rise of the Heavenly August and Human Sovereigns, one finds the writings of the turtle charts and bird tracks, the scriptures of the golden tablets and cinnabar caskets, the standards of the Six Balances and Nine Lights, and the books of the hundred masters in ten thousand fascicles. None fail to follow the way of human relationships and faithfulness, or recount the teachings of the Shaohua, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius. Yet gathering their essentials, they have not reached the source of birth and death; examining their principles, they do not transcend the realm of existence and non-existence. How could they compare to the fivefold dharmakāya, the trividyā, and the sarvākārajñatā, which are utterly serene, eternally joyful, undergoing neither change nor shift? Boundless is the tathatā, neither arising nor ceasing; yet its way can sustain all that exists, and its compassion can blanket all living spirits, opening the ferry to the other shore of liberation, unfolding the treasury of ultimate unconditioned action, pulling the multitude of beings out of the sea of suffering, and saving all children from the burning house. However, as the transformation was separated by the Pamirs, more than a thousand years passed before the teaching flowed into the Han lands. For some six hundred years, shrines and pagodas have faced each other, and holy men have succeeded one another. Thus Dao'an mounted the carriage of the Qin emperor, and Senghui rode the chariot of the Wu ruler; Master Gaozuo was able to spread the eightfold noble path, and Upādhyāya Fotu skilfully expounded the five vehicles. Their transformation bathed the Nine Provinces, and their blessings moistened the three realms of existence. What is called benefiting all creatures refers to this, does it not? Under the Sui, its mandate dissolved, war-horses bred on the outskirts, disasters arose from the four fiends, and poison flowed to the common folk. The lamp of wisdom having dimmed, the rain of the Dharma was about to cease. Relying on our Great Tang, which above answered the mind of Heaven and below harmonised with the people's wishes, it mended Heaven to beautify the three celestial luminaries, and bound the Earth to secure the Five Peaks; the people received the grace of rebirth, and the Śākya gate was blessed with restoration. Just as it is about to surpass the Five Emperors and excel the Three August Ones, restoring the customs of simplicity and enacting the transformation of non-action, I have observed the defamatory matters submitted by Fu Yi. Although the authorities have not put them into practice, Fu Yi nevertheless openly disseminated them far and wide, so that at human drinking feasts they are competitively turned into playful mockery. This blemishes pure customs and truly sullies Chinese ways; it increases wrong views and harms the nation's puṇyakṣetra. In principle, this must not be. I humbly submit that Your Highness has long relied on the Three Refuges and long cultivated the Ten Virtues, fulfilling the hopes of the populace and answering the destined time of the Great Treasure. Your way accords with prosperity and peace, and your virtue illuminates your station as heir-apparent. When you send forth the resonance of repeated thunder, all sleeping insects open their doors; when you shed the radiance of bright fire, dark roads are all illuminated. How glorious! How beautiful! It is difficult to praise by name! It certainly surpasses the Han Guangwu's restoration and the Zhou divination of long years. Moreover, you are able to turn your mind to the gate of blessings and bestow your regard on the supreme realm, holding the ferry in your thoughts and setting your heart as a rampart. I humbly pray that you will break the banner of wrong views and light the torch of the saddharma. That the semblance teaching depends on you is truly a supreme blessing! Unable to bear my indignation and anxious sorrow, I respectfully submit this Poxie lun in one fascicle. Desecrating your majesty, I submit this with deepened awe.' Furthermore, during the days when Emperor Taizong was still a hidden dragon, he submitted another memorial, saying: 'Falin has heard that when feelings are urgent, the voice is necessarily mournful; when the principle is upright, the words are necessarily straightforward. Therefore, the destitute son yearns to make his words reach, and the weary worker desires to sing of his affairs. Why so? I have observed that in the final years of the Daye era, the world fell into turmoil: Heaven and Earth were grievously afflicted, the Four Seas boiled, waves surged, dust flew, hills burned, and plains were scorched. The five horses severed the route floating on the river; the seven boys sang the song of the flattened fortifications. Beacon fires alarmed constantly, and feathered despatches raced. Frontier passes were full of anxiety, and the night watches never ceased. The Way vanished, virtue was overthrown, the mandate was exhausted, and fortune ended. Transport was exceedingly burdensome; taxes were gathered down to the last grain. Piled corpses were like weeds, and flowing blood became rivers. The people found no joy in living, and living beings were exhausted. Thereupon, they had nowhere to lodge their complaints, and no place to cast their bones. The common folk suffered as if hanging upside down; the ten thousand states were distressed without a master. How could it merely be that the wheel of the Dharma ceased its sound and the orthodox teaching fell into ruin? The Sacred Emperor aroused a heart of commiseration for the people and complied with the decree of Vast Heaven. Thereupon, he raised the banner of righteousness and pacified the world. At that time, both clergy and laity found refuge, and Chinese and barbarians were alike delighted. Thereupon, he harmonised with Heaven and Earth, opened the eight winds, examined yin and yang, and attuned the four seasons. Above, he harmonised the states, and below, he ordered human relationships. His merits surpassed mending Heaven, and his spirit equalled establishing the ultimate pole. He sent down clouds and rain to nurture life, and opened the sun and moon to shine from above. He manifested this through music and rites, and recorded it with cultural institutions; his kindness moistened the reeds, and his bounty bathed insects and fish. Just as he is about to restate the Nine Categories, expound anew the Five Teachings, revive learning at the Shiqu Hall, and spread the customs of the schools, inheriting from Fuxi and Xuan[yuan] afar and matching Emperors Wen and Jing near at hand, so that his glorious achievements endure forever—making people unconsciously dance with their hands and stamp with their feet—I have observed the matters submitted by Fu Yi. Before I had finished reading them, my five organs broke apart; when I had just completed reading them, my six sentiments shattered. Alas! Heterodox words confuse the right, and māra's eloquence encroaches upon the true. They are unworthy even to be heard by the most foolish of men; how much less should they reach the imperial hearing! Fu Yi holds an important office of our time and is known to the hopes of men; how can he act so contrary to human nature and produce evil without cause? Moreover, his prose is shallow and vulgar, and the facts and principles are unrefined. It shames the canons and models of the former kings and impairs the standards of human relationships. Why so? When a gentleman does not speak, it is one thing, but if he speaks, he must hit the mark. The Master said: 'If a single word accords with principle, the whole world turns to him; if a single deed departs from constancy, even wife and children rebel.' Looking at the matters submitted by Fu Yi, summarising their main drift and probing them from beginning to end, they mostly deceive the imperial court and severely insult the Holy Sage. Fu Yi's intention was originally to advance himself thereby and seek promotion; it truly could not benefit the state or help the people, but was merely mockery directed at court and country. Now, Your Majesty has complied with Heaven and followed the seasons, grasping the charts and receiving the mandates, answering the hearts of the ten thousand states and assuming the solitary joy of the one man. With the power to support the endangered and save the world, and the merit of suppressing villains and pacifying crises, your authority truly overshadows the former kings and your reputation surpasses previous emperors. Furthermore, you turn your mind to the Triratna and fix your thoughts on the puṇyakṣetra. All those who have entered the renunciant life without exception receive the imperial bounty. It is only because we monks cannot uphold the precepts to repay the state's grace, and foolish fellows commit violations and create offences, that Fu Yi has been brought to set forth these wicked words. We beat our breasts in aching grief, with nowhere to hide our bodies. Yet if monks and nuns have committed offences, they are willing to receive the ultimate punishment. What we lament is that Fu Yi lightly insults the Holy Sage with harsh and injurious words. We deeply fear that those with wrong views will act wrongly based on this, and that ignorant fellows will gradually produce divergent views. Moreover, examining the Chunqiu, it says: in the seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu, in the fourth month of summer, the fixed stars were not seen, and the night was bright like the day. This was precisely the auspicious response at the Buddha's birth. Now, the Buddha has two bodies, the true and the responsive, and two kinds of wisdom, the provisional and the real; he possesses the three clarities and eight liberations, the five eyes and six supernormal powers. His spirit is called inconceivable, and his Dharma is named 'where the mind's operation is extinguished.' His way conveys all the holy ones into nirvāṇa; his power rescues ordinary mortals from the sea of suffering. Since Emperor Ming of the Later Han dreamed of the golden man in the thirteenth year of the Yongping era, the semblance teaching has flowed east with manifold spiritual omens, fully recorded in the histories of the Han, Wei, and books of the Yao and Shi dynasties. As for those like Dao'an and Daosheng, or Fotudeng and Kumārajīva, all possessed lofty conduct and profound understanding, being famous monks of their age; all were acknowledged by sovereigns and revered by the noble and great. For more than five hundred years, monasteries and pagodas have spread throughout the Nine Provinces, and monks and nuns have filled the Three Commanderies. This was entirely because the rulers of the times reverently believed, and court and country turned their hearts to it. That the semblance teaching has flourished down to the present without interruption is truly thanks to the power of human kings. If worldly lords and ministers, fathers and sons, still consider such grace difficult to repay, like Vast Heaven beyond requital, how much more is the Buddha the transcendent compassionate father of sentient beings, and the excellent physician for mortals and sages! To attempt to suppress and humiliate him, to penalise and insult him, is in principle impermissible. Looking upward to examine the Tathāgata, his wisdom transcends existence and non-existence; how could the Three August Ones fathom it? His merit encompasses creation and transformation; Heaven and Earth cannot compare to it. Thus Liezi says: 'Formerly, the Grand Minister Pi of Wu asked Confucius, "Is the Master a sage?" Confucius answered, "Qiu is broadly learned and of strong memory; I am not a sage." He asked again, "Were the Three August Ones sages?" He answered, "The Three August Ones were skilled in employing wisdom and courage; whether they were sages is not known to Qiu." He asked again, "Were the Five Emperors sages?" He answered, "The Five Emperors were skilled in employing benevolence and faithfulness; whether they were sages is not known to Qiu." He asked again, "Were the Three Kings sages?" He answered, "The Three Kings were skilled in employing the seasons; whether they were sages is not known to Qiu." Grand Minister Pi was greatly astonished and said, "Then who is a sage?" Confucius changed his expression and answered, "Qiu has heard that in the west there is a sage: he does not rule yet there is no disorder; he does not speak yet he is naturally trusted; he does not convert yet it naturally proceeds. So vast is he that the people cannot find a name for him!"' If the Three August Ones and Five Emperors were definitely great sages, how could Confucius have concealed it without speaking, thereby committing the fault of hiding a sage? Calculating by this, we deduce that the Buddha is the Great Sage.