高僧傳 4.45

4.45

When Tiaohua’s mourning period was completed, she reflected on the principle of the three dependencies and that a woman had no way of standing alone; she thereupon wrote a letter to Du, saying: “The hair and skin must not be harmed, and the ancestral sacrifices must not be suddenly abandoned.” She urged him “to consider the teachings of the world, alter your distant ambition, display your brilliant gifts during this flourishing and enlightened age, bring honour to the spirits of your ancestors from afar, and comfort the desires of human affection close at hand.” She also presented him with five poems, one of which ran:
“The Great Way is indeed endless; / Heaven and Earth endure far and long. / The immense rock is difficult to wear away, / and mustard seeds are hard to count. / A human life in this single world / passes swiftly as if fleeting past a window. / Can flourishing splendour fail to bloom? / Yet dawn and dusk bring it toward decay. / By the river there remains a sighing song; / as the sun sinks west, one thinks of beating the jar. / Clear music can delight the ear, / fine flavours can please the palate; / fine silk gauze can adorn the body, / splendid caps can dazzle on the head. / Why occupy yourself with cutting and shearing, / indulging in emptiness to harm what exists? / I do not speak merely of my own humble devotion, / but only wish that you, my lord, would care for what comes after.”
Du replied in a letter, saying: “Serving a ruler to govern a single state does not equal propagating the Way to rescue the ten thousand lands; comforting parents to bring peace to a single family does not equal propagating the Way to rescue the three realms. ‘The hair and skin must not be harmed’ is merely a shortsighted saying of the mundane world. It is only that my virtue does not reach far, and I am unable to benefit all; of this I am ashamed. Yet accumulating baskets of earth builds a mountain, and I also hope to proceed from the minute to the manifest. Furthermore, donning the kāṣāya, brandishing the tin staff, drinking from the clear stream, and chanting the Prajñā: even the robes of dukes and kings, the delicacies of the eight treasures, the clanging sounds of bells and chimes, or dazzling sights could not be exchanged for these! If we can achieve distant accord, we shall together share the same aspiration for nirvāṇa. Moreover, people's minds differ just as their faces do; that you do not take delight in the Way is just like my lack of yearning for the mundane. Lady Yang, farewell forever! Our karmic bond across ten thousand lifetimes is severed this day! The year draws to a close, and time waits for no one. One who studies the Way must take daily reduction as their aim, while one who dwells in the world must make seizing the moment their duty. Your youth and virtue are both in their prime; you should quickly seek an object of affection. Do not keep a man of the Way in your thoughts, only to let your best years slip away in vain.”
He also wrote five poems in response, one of which ran:
“The workings of fortune never halt; / in an instant the seasons pass away. / Even the immense rock will eventually be exhausted; / how can mustard seeds be called numerous? / Because departing never ceases, / it brought forth the lament by the river. / Have you not heard of Rong Qiqi, / who in white-haired old age raised a pure song? / Coarse cloth can warm the body; / who cares to adorn oneself in damask and silk? / Though this life may be called joyful, / what will one do about future rebirths? / Transgression and merit truly stem from oneself; / how can it be said that one harms another?”
Since Du’s resolve was not a stone that could be turned, Tiaohua was moved to realization and also gave rise to deep faith. Thereupon Du devoted himself single-mindedly to the Buddhadharma, savouring the various scriptures; he authored the Zhigui on the Abhidharma, which also circulated in the world. Later, his end was unknown.