弘明集 1.40

1.40

問曰。吾昔在京師。入東觀遊太學。視俊士之所規。聽儒林之所論。未聞修佛道以為貴。自損容以為上也。吾子曷為耽之哉。夫行迷則改路。術窮則反故。可不思與。牟子曰。夫長於變者不可示以詐通於道者不可驚以怪。審於辭者不可惑以言。達於義者不可動以利也。老子曰。名者身之害。利者行之穢。又曰。設詐立權。虛無自貴。修閨門之禮術時俗之際會。赴趣間隙務合當世。此下士之所行。中士之所廢也。況至道之蕩蕩。上聖之所行乎。杳兮如天。淵兮如海。不合闚牆之士數仞之夫。固其宜也。彼見其門我覩其室。彼採其華我取其實。彼求其備我守其一。子速改路吾請履之。禍福之源。未知何若矣。

The questioner asked: In former days, when I was in the capital, I entered the Dongguan Library and strolled in the Imperial Academy; I observed the standards of eminent scholars and listened to the discourses of the Confucian forest, yet I never heard of cultivating the Buddha's Dao being considered noble, or of disfiguring one's own appearance being deemed superior. Why, Sir, are you obsessed with it? When one's course is lost, one changes paths; when a method is exhausted, one returns to the old. Can you not reflect on this? Mouzi said: One who is versed in changes cannot be taken in by deceit; one who penetrates the Dao cannot be alarmed by anomalies; one who is discerning in words cannot be deluded by talk; one who comprehends righteousness cannot be moved by profit. Laozi said: 'Fame is the detriment of the body; profit is the defilement of conduct.' He also said: 'Devising deceits and setting up expedients, they falsely claim noble rank; cultivating the ritual of the inner chambers, they conform to the occasions of the contemporary vulgar; rushing into crevices, they strive to match the present age. This is what inferior men practice and mediocre men abandon.' How much more is this so for the vastness of the Supreme Dao, which is practiced by superior sages! Distant as the heavens, deep as the sea, it naturally is not suited to scholars who merely peek over walls or men of short measure. They see the gate, while I behold the chamber; they pluck the flowers, while I take the fruit; they seek the particulars, while I preserve the One. You may quickly change your path, but I beg to tread upon this one. As for the sources of misfortune and fortune, it remains to be seen how they turn out.