續高僧傳 28.34

28.34

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.