唐護法沙門法琳別傳 3.29

3.29

若夫神妙無方。非籌算能測。至理凝邈。豈繩準可知寔乃常道無言。有涯斯絕安可憑諸天縱窺其杳冥者乎。至如五門六度之源。半字一乘之教。九流百氏之目。三洞七撿之文。曷可以經緯闡其圖。詎可以心力到其境者。英猷茂實代有其人焉。法師少學三論名聞朝野。長該眾典聲振殊俗。威儀肅穆介節淹通。留連清翰發摘微隱。比地方春。藏用顯仁之量。如愚若訥。外闇內明之功。固能智同測海道亞彌天。豈止操類山濤神侔庾亮而已。爾其文情。乃典而不野。麗而有則。猶八音之並奏。等五色以相宣。道行則納正見於三空。拯群生於八苦。既學博而心下。亦守卑而調高。寔釋種之梁棟。善人之羽儀者矣。加以賑乏扶危先人後己。重風光之拂照林牖。愛山水之。負帶烟霞。願力是融晦迹肥遯。以隋開皇之末隱。於青溪山之鬼谷洞焉。逈搆巖崖。則弊虧日月。空飛戶牖。則吐納風雲。其間採五芝而偃仰。遊八禪而寢息。餌松朮於溪㵎披薜茘於山阿。皆合掌歸依。摩頂問道。經行恬靜十有餘年。然而疊嶂危岑長松巨壑野老之所栖盤。古賢之所遊踐。莫不身至目覩。攀穴指歸。仍撰青溪山記一卷。見行於世故此闕書。太史令傅弈。學業庸淺識慮非長。乃穿鑿短篇憑陵正覺。將欲震茲布鼓竊比雷門。中庸之人頗成阻惑。法師愍彼後昆。又撰破邪論一卷。雖知虞衛同奏表異者九成。駑驥並馳見奇者千里。終須朱紫各色清濁分流。訶以凡測聖之亹責以俗挍真之咎。引文證理。非道則儒。曲致深情。指的周密。莫不轍亂旗靡瓦解氷銷。入室有操矛之圖。崩角無容頭之地。於是傳寫不窮流布長世。若披雲而見日。同迷蹤而得道乎。法師著述之性。速而且理。凡厥勒成多所遺失。今散採所得。詩賦碑誌。讚頌箴誡。記傳啟論。及三教系譜。釋老宗源等。合成三十卷。法師與僕。情敦淡水。義等金蘭。雖服制異宜。而風期是篤。輒以藤綆聯彼珪璋。編為次第具如別目。並悉文遒旨婉。桂馥蘭葩。盛傳緇素。流乎視聽矣。釋彥琮贊曰易稱。大極生兩儀。兩儀生四象。老子述無名天地始。有名萬物母。序道序德。談孝談忠。斯亦方內之至言。域中之大訓也。詎聞視聽之外四德常身。形器之先一如凝湛。肇欲施安品物託像迦維。利見閻浮龍飛道樹。於是淨五眼朗三明。具六通圓萬德。耀神光於此界。放毫相於他方。動大地以警迷徒。震雷音而駭群品。始垂雲於鹿野。蔭彼小根。終灑潤於鶴林。霑茲大葉。其間則三邪服道。捐火具於禪河。十異歸心。沐清流於福地。自爾微言既絕佛曰潛輝。大義將乖邪風競扇。則有提婆童受緝彼頹綱。龍樹馬鳴維其絕紐。逮乎金人感夢秦蔡西遊。玉馬東旋騰蘭降趾。則有九仙左道蟻聚於京畿。五岳邪徒鴟張於帝闕。競誇蚊翼各恃螢光。欲方駕大鵬比暉龍燭。騰上靡施於三略。已薦苞茅蘭公未逞於六韜。嚮風銜璧。故得空懸五雲之蓋。庭雰七寶之花。韜映日宮揚輝綺殿。于時捐巾褐者其數若林。遵解脫者如風偃草。此則釋門大敞佛日方興。牧野倒戈詎堪為比。自後名僧間出髦彥挺生代有其人。詳諸史牒。則有道融牟最。提智劍以橫行。始上顯公。擁法䗍而直進。挫姜斌於魏闕。撲陸靜於齊朝。資神武於一時。流榮聞於千載。粵我巨唐之有天下也。跨三皇而越五帝。母堯舜而子成康。光宅八埏君臨萬國。闡玉鼓法䗍之訓。揚佛日金鏡之光。蕩蕩巍巍斯之謂矣。時有傅劉作鯁妄搆邪言。唱和既同互為脣齒。而法師幼懷高量志殄群兇。所以搜括典謨約文申理。並懸諸日月緇素皎然。卷氛祲於四生。舒慧照於三界。遂使朱藍各色邪正區分。盛藻嘉聲傳乎口實。余既側聞餘論思記德音。先乏史才徒知勵朽。至若詩賦啟頌之作。章表碑誄之科。重席劇談花文豔藻者。則詳諸別簡。非此所云。若股肱佛聖之篇。牆塹法王之記。對揚天命光顯大猷者。則載彼見聞存乎實錄。庶使前芳弗墜後進思齊。補僧史之缺遺。記盛德之請問者矣。

'Now, the spiritual and wondrous is without fixed form, and cannot be measured by calculations; the supreme principle is congealed and distant, and how could it be known by line and standard? It is truly the eternal Way without words, where the bounded comes to an end. How can one rely on heaven-endowed talents to peer into its dark depths? As for the sources of the five gates and the six pāramitās, the teachings of the half-letter and the One Vehicle, the titles of the Nine Schools and Hundred Philosophers, and the texts of the Three Caverns and Seven Registers—how could one elucidate their designs by mere warp and weft, or how could one reach their realm through mental effort? Yet in each generation there have been men of eminent plans and luxuriant achievements. In his youth, the Dharma Master studied the Three Treatises, his name resounding in the court and among the commoners. In maturity, he encompassed the various scriptures, his voice shaking diverse lands. His deportment was solemn and revered, his resolute integrity profound and penetrating. Linger though he did over pure writings, he uncovered the subtle and hidden. Matching the Earth when spring arrives, he possessed the capacity to harbor utility and manifest benevolence; appearing dull as though simple, he had the efficacy of outer obscurity and inner brilliance. He was truly capable of matching his wisdom to measuring the ocean and his virtue to Dao'an, far surpassing a conduct like that of Shan Tao or a spirit equal to Yu Liang. His literary style was classic without being rustic, beautiful and rule-governed, like the eight timbres played together, or the five colors displayed in harmony. In religious practice, he absorbed right view into the three kinds of emptiness, and rescued sentient beings from the eight sufferings. Already broad in learning, his mind remained humble; while keeping to lowliness, his tone was lofty. He was truly the beam and pillar of the Śākya clan, the model and paragon for good people! Moreover, he relieved the needy and supported the imperiled, putting others first and himself last. He valued the gentle breeze and sunlight caressing the forest window, and loved the mountains and waters draped in mist and clouds. With his vow-power harmonized, he concealed his traces in fruitful seclusion. At the end of the Kaihuang reign of the Sui, he secluded himself in the Guigu Cave on Mount Qingxi. Its towering structure set upon cliff and crag eclipsed the sun and moon; its windows floating in the air inhaled and exhaled wind and clouds. In the meantime, he picked the five mushrooms while reclining, roamed through the eight dhyānas while resting, fed on pine needles and atractylodes by stream and valley, and wore creeping fig on mountain slopes. All folded their palms and took refuge in him, having their crowns rubbed and inquiring after the Way. He practiced walking meditation in tranquility for more than ten years. Yet the layered ridges, hazardous peaks, tall pines, and giant gorges where wild elders dwelt and ancient worthies trod—there were none that he did not reach in person and behold with his own eyes, scaling caves and discerning their sites. Thereupon he composed the Record of Mount Qingxi in one fascicle, which is currently circulated in the world and therefore omitted here. Fu Yi, the Grand Astrologer, was mediocre and shallow in learning, lacking far-sighted discernment. He patched together petty writings to encroach upon the Rightly Enlightened One, wishing to strike his cloth drum and steal a comparison to the Gate of Thunder, so that ordinary people became quite obstructed and confused. Pitying those of later generations, the Dharma Master composed the Poxie lun in one fascicle. Although knowing that when the music of Yu and Wei are played together, the distinction is marked by the Nine completions, and when packhorses and thoroughbreds gallop together, excellence is revealed at a thousand li, in the end vermilion and purple must each keep their color, and the clear and the turbid must flow apart. He rebuked the folly of measuring the sage with the worldly, and blamed the error of evaluating the true with the mundane. Adducing texts to prove principles, he drew on none other than Daoism and Confucianism. Expressing deep sentiments thoroughly, his aim was meticulous. None failed to have their tracks disordered and banners fallen, dissolving like broken tiles and melting ice. Entering his room, they had the plot of handling a spear; their horns broken, they had no place to hide their heads. Thereupon, transcription never ceased, and it circulated for generations to come, like parting the clouds to see the sun, or finding the Way after losing one's path! By nature, the Dharma Master wrote quickly yet with good order. Most of what he produced has been lost. Now, what has been gathered from various scattered collections—poems, rhapsodies, stele inscriptions, eulogies, hymns, admonitions, records, biographies, petitions, treatises, as well as the Genealogies of the Three Teachings and the Origins of the Śākya and Lao Traditions—amounts to thirty fascicles in total. Between the Dharma Master and me, affection was pure as water, and fellowship was equal to gold and orchids. Although our vestments were different, our shared aspirations were earnest. I have thus ventured to bind those jade tablets with vine cords and arrange them in sequence, as detailed in the separate table of contents. All of them are vigorous in style and graceful in import, fragrant as cassia and blossoming as orchids, widely circulated among monastics and laypeople, and passing through sight and hearing.' Śramaṇa Yancong says in praise: The Book of Changes states: 'The Great Ultimate generates the Two Modes, and the Two Modes generate the Four Emblems.' Laozi related: 'The Nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth; the Named is the mother of all things.' Treating of the Way and virtue, discoursing on filial piety and loyalty, these are indeed the supreme words within the realm, the great instructions of the domain. Yet how could they hear of the four virtues of the eternal body beyond sight and hearing, or the single suchness congealed and clear before concrete forms? Wishing at the outset to establish and pacify all beings, he manifested his likeness in Kapilavastu. Appearing auspiciously in Jambudvīpa, he soared like a dragon beneath the Bodhi tree. Thereupon he purified the five eyes and brightened the three knowledges, completed the six supernatural powers and perfected the ten thousand virtues. He shone spiritual light in this realm and emitted the ūrṇā ray to other regions, shaking the great earth to warn confused mortals, and resounding with the thunderous voice to startle all kinds of beings. At first, he spread clouds at the Deer Park to shade those of lesser capacity; at the end, he poured moisture in the Crane Grove to soak these great leaves. In the interim, the three heretics submitted to the Way, discarding their fire implements in the river of dhyāna; the ten heterodox groups turned their hearts, bathing in the pure stream of the field of merit. After the subtle words were cut off, the Buddha-sun concealed its radiance. As the great meaning was about to diverge, evil winds vied in fanning flames. Then there were Āryadeva and Kumāralāta to mend the decaying guidelines, and Nāgārjuna and Aśvaghoṣa to hold the severed cords. When the Golden Man moved the dream, and Qin Jing and Cai Yin journeyed west, the White Horse wheeled east, and Mātaṅga and Dharmaratna set foot here. Then nine classes of transcendents and heterodox ways gathered like ants in the capital, and heretical followers of the Five Peaks spread their wings like owls at the imperial palace. Vying in boasting of mosquito wings and each relying on firefly glow, they wished to drive abreast with the giant roc and compare radiance with the dragon's torch. Soaring above, they could not execute the Three Strategies, yet already presented wrapped cogon-grass; Master Dharmaratna had not yet exerted the Six Secret Teachings, but they turned to his influence holding jade in their mouths. Thus they could suspend in the empty sky canopies of five-colored clouds, and shower the courtyard with flowers of the seven treasures, outshining the Palace of the Sun and scattering brightness across the patterned halls. At that time, those who discarded their turbans and coarse clothes were as numerous as a forest; those who complied with liberation were like grass bending before the wind. This was the great opening of the Śākya gate, the Buddha-sun just rising; how could the turning of spears at Muye bear comparison? Since then, famous monks have appeared from time to time, and eminent talents have stood forth generation after generation, as detailed in the historical records. There were Daorong and Mouzui, brandishing the sword of wisdom to march sideways; Shishang and Master Hui Xian, holding the Dharma conch to advance straight forward. They thwarted Jiang Bin at the Wei palace and struck down Lu Xiujing at the Qi court, relying on spiritual martiality for a time, and leaving glorious fame for a thousand years. Now when our Great Tang possesses the realm, it transcends the Three Sovereigns and surpasses the Five Emperors, treating Yao and Shun as mothers and Cheng and Kang as sons. Radiating across the eight borders and ruling over the ten thousand states, it proclaims the instructions of the jade drum and the Dharma conch, and raises the light of the Buddha-sun and the golden mirror. Vast and majestic—truly this describes it! At that time, Fu Yi and Liu Huai thought to cause obstruction, falsely concocting heterodox words. Singing and answering in harmony, they were to each other like lips and teeth. But the Dharma Master from youth harbored lofty capacity, his resolve set on destroying the horde of villains. Therefore, searching through ancient records and canons, he condensed the texts to express principles, hanging them together with the sun and moon, clear and bright to monastics and laypeople. He rolled away the noxious vapors from the four modes of birth, and unfolded the light of wisdom across the three realms. Thereupon he caused vermilion and indigo to take their separate colors, and the heterodox and orthodox to be divided. His magnificent style and praiseworthy reputation became spoken by all mouths. Having personally heard his remaining discourses, I wished to record his virtuous voice. Formerly lacking historical talent, I only knew to exert my decaying ability. As for works of poetry, rhapsodies, petitions, and eulogies, and categories of memorials, steles, and elegies, or dramatic debates upon doubled mats with florid writing and brilliant ornamentation, these are detailed in separate volumes and not recounted here. As for the treatises that served as limbs to the Buddha and sage, the records that served as ramparts to the King of the Dharma, and those that responded to the imperial command and illustrated the great plan, I have recorded what was seen and heard and preserved them in this factual record. I hope that the fragrance of the former will not fall, that later students will seek to emulate him, supplying what was missing in the monastic histories, and recording the inquiries addressed to his abundant virtue.'