傳法正宗記 6.31

6.31

Evaluation: The Dharma of the sage is one. What need is there to divide its lineage into North and South? I say: Indeed. When a whole country converges upon a path that branches, if one does not distinguish them, how could they be rectified? When children issue from one surname, there are legitimate and secondary heirs; if one does not distinguish them, who could be determined as close? The biographer (the Song Gaoseng zhuan) likened this to three powerful warriors together shooting at an impenetrable target: the first is called Malla, whose shot hits it but does not pierce it; the second is called Praśākhi, which pierces it but does not pass through; the third is the Nārāyaṇa arrow, which passes through it and pierces other objects as well. It is not that the impenetrable target has differences of strength and weakness, but rather that the power of their shooting differs. Neng of the South can indeed be called a Nārāyaṇa; he personally attained the prize. The metaphor comes close to it.