續高僧傳 28.34

28.34

論曰。尋夫讀誦之為業也。功務本文。經歎說行。要先受誦。何以然耶。但由庸識未剖必假聞持。崑竹不斷鳳音寧顯。義當纔登解髮即須通覽。採酌經緯窮搜名理。疑偽雜錄單複出生。普閱目前銓品人世。然後要約法句誦鎮心神。廣說緣本用疎迷結。遂能條貫本支。釋疑滯以通化。統略玄旨。附事用以徵治。是故經云。受持讀誦書寫解說如法修行。斯誠誡也。世多惰學。愚計相封。以尋理為諸見。用博文為障道。故調達善星之廣富。未免泥犁。槃特薄拘之寡約。尚參中聖。凡斯等議未成通論。原夫。道障之起。起乎心行。道在無滯。滯則障道。焉有多聞能為道障。夫聞本筌解。封附不行。此則滯指亡月。正違出要。是以愚夫當斯一計莫非學既未功隨言便著於經律論生未曾沾。惑妄發心誓不執卷。見學教者目為文字。故使慢水覆心。膏肓誰遣。至於決斷篇聚判析偽真。由來未知事逾聾瞽。既恥來問反啟寧陳。遂即惟心臆斷。汎浪無准。傍為啟齒。何急如前。又有薄讀數帙略誦短章。謂為止足。更絕欣尚。便引大集法行比丘十住不貴多讀。竊以。教門宏曠待對塵勞。藥病相投豈徒繁積。藏部所設止在奉持。聞而莫依校量非一。今倒想如草之蔓慢我如山之立。要資博讀見有廣治之能。隨境流觀務存祛滯之本。但以暗識未萌集熏怠構。稱情昏倒反福成罪。故此方見錄卷止六千。尚怖不希壅迷頓足。何論天竺遺典龍藏現經。敢慕窺求通觀聞海。必能追功。起觀無暇廣尋。要拔苦輪方聞為飾。斯則莊嚴道論慧解前驅。不待抑揚自然會理。又有曲媚佛言詐辭學論。便言論作小聖吐言隱密。彫淳樸散道味已離。故我誦持無心悟入。斯言何哉。妄有穿鑿。原夫。諸佛說法。本惟至道。赴接凡小方便乘權。權道多謀任機而現。或以聲光動之。或以威容鼓之。法譬亂舉緣事相開。以悟達為本言。以亡筌為意得。但以去聖久遠時接澆浮。專寶文詞罕會幽旨。所以大小諸聖。悲大道之將崩。廣採了義。製明論以通教。故文云。隨聲取義有五過失。謗佛輕法誑人退信。斯言極矣。不量己之神府。而輒揆於成教。明佛而侮賢聖。憎愛於是由生。嗟乎法侶又何詳哉。且夏屋非散材所成。大智豈庸情所搆。固當通其所滯悟其所迷。不然則至聖於何起悲。正士於何揚化。事敘緣於本紀。故不廣之。

The treatise says: Examining the pursuit of chanting and recitation, its merit lies in attending to the root text. The sūtras praise preaching and practicing, but upholding and chanting must come first. Why is this so? Because when mediocre understanding has not yet unfolded, one must rely on hearing and retaining. If the bamboo of Mount Kun is not cut, how can the sound of the phoenix be manifested? By principle, as soon as one has tied up one's hair, one should read widely, drawing upon the longitudinal and latitudinal texts, exhaustively searching out prominent principles, clarifying apocrypha and mixed catalogues, single translations and successive outputs, broadly perusing all before one's eyes and evaluating the human world. Then, one condenses the essential Dharmapadas, chanting them to anchor the mind and spirit, and expounding the fundamental causes extensively to loosen the knots of delusion. Thereby one can trace the branches back to the root, resolve doubts and blockages to propagate transformation, summarize the profound purport, and apply it to affairs to verify and govern. Therefore the sūtra says: 'Upholding, reading, reciting, copying, explaining, and practicing in accordance with the Dharma'—these are truly earnest admonitions. Many in the world are lazy in their studies, clinging to foolish views; they consider seeking the principle to be falling into various views, and regard broad learning as an obstacle to the Path. Thus, despite the extensive learning of Devadatta and Sunakṣatra, they could not avoid the Avīci hell; while despite the sparse simplicity of Panthaka and Bakkula, they still joined the ranks of the intermediate sages. All such arguments have not reached a comprehensive understanding. Tracing the origin of obstacles to the Path, they arise from the mind's actions. The Path lies in being without obstruction; obstruction itself is the obstacle to the Path. How could much learning ever be an obstacle to the Path? Hearing is originally the fish trap for understanding; if one clings to it and does not move forward, this is grasping the finger and forgetting the moon, which directly opposes the essential way of transcendence. Therefore, whenever foolish persons hold this one view, none of them have achieved proficiency in their studies, yet they become attached to every word. Never having dipped into the sūtras, vinaya, or treatises, they deludedly bring forth an aspiration and vow never to take up a scroll. Seeing those who study the teachings, they label them as [clinging to] mere letters. Thus the water of arrogance floods their minds; who can cure such a fatal disease? As for determining the offenses and analyzing the false and the true, they have never known them, being worse off than the deaf and blind. Ashamed to ask, how could they even begin to explain? Thereupon they rely entirely on mental speculation, drifting without a standard, causing bystanders to scoff; why were they so hasty in the first place? Furthermore, there are those who casually read a few volumes and briefly chant short chapters, consider this sufficient, and completely cut off further aspiration. They then cite the Mahāsaṃnipāta's [praise of] the monk of Dharma practice and the Daśabhūmika's not valuing extensive reading. I humbly submit: The doors of teaching are vast, designed to counter defilements; when the medicine matches the illness, how could it be a superfluous accumulation? The canonical divisions were set forth solely to be observed and upheld; to hear them and not follow them has been weighed many times. Today, inverted notions spread like creeping grass, and haughty ego stands firm like a mountain. One must rely on broad reading to see its capacity for extensive remedy; observing things in accordance with phenomena, one must strive to preserve the foundation for eliminating blockages. Yet because benighted consciousness has not yet awakened, habitual tendencies accumulate in negligence; indulging the mind in deluded confusion, they turn merit into transgression. Thus in this land, the recorded texts do not exceed six thousand fascicles, yet people still dread not wishing to study them, standing paralyzed in blockage and confusion. How much more so for the extant scriptures of India and the dragon palace's present sūtras—who would dare yearn to seek and thoroughly contemplate that ocean of hearing? If one can truly pursue the merit of practice, generating contemplation without leisure for extensive searching, and prioritizing the eradication of the wheel of suffering, only then can extensive hearing serve as an adornment. This is the treatise that adorns the Path, with wisdom and understanding leading the way; without needing praise or blame, it naturally accords with principle. There are also those who crookedly flatter the Buddha's words and deceitfully decline to study the treatises, claiming that the treatises were made by lesser sages whose uttered words are obscure and secret, carving away plain simplicity and scattering the flavor of the Path. They claim: 'Therefore I recite and uphold without the intention of realizing entry.' What kind of talk is this? It is reckless fabrication! Originally, when the Buddhas expounded the Dharma, it was solely for the ultimate Path; approaching ordinary and lesser beings, they employed skillful means. The path of skillful means involves many methods, appearing in response to capacities. Sometimes they move them with sounds and lights; sometimes they inspire them with awe-inspiring demeanor. Dharmas and parables are presented together, and conditioned events are successively revealed, taking awakening and comprehension as the fundamental speech, and forgetting the trap as the true attainment. Yet because the Holy One is long gone and the age has met with frivolity, people exclusively treasure literary expressions and rarely accord with the profound purport. Therefore, all the holy ones, great and small, lamenting the impending collapse of the Great Path, broadly gathered the definitive teachings and composed clear treatises to open up the doctrine. Thus the text says: 'Taking meaning according to sound has five faults: slandering the Buddha, disparaging the Dharma, deceiving people, and causing faith to regress.' These words are utterly profound! Not assessing one's own mental capacity, one rashly evaluates the established teachings; illuminating the Buddha while insulting the worthy and holy, hatred and love arise from this. Alas, Dharma companions, how could this be prudent? Furthermore, a grand mansion is not built from scattered timber, and great wisdom is not constructed by ordinary sentiments. One must surely penetrate what is obstructed and awaken from what is deluded. Otherwise, whence would the Ultimate Sage arouse compassion, and whence would the upright beings promote transformation? Since the accounts and circumstances are detailed in the primary records, I do not elaborate them here.