弘明集 10.118

10.118

弟子生此百年。早聞三世。驗以眾經求諸故實。神鬼之證既布中國之書。菩提之果又表西天之學。聖教相符性靈無泯。致言或異其揆唯一。但以聖人之化因物通感。抑引從急與奪隨機。非會不言言必成務。非時不感感惟濟物。而參差業報取捨之塗遂分。往還緣集淪悟之情相舛。猥其小識晦茲大旨。滯親聞見莫辯幽微。此榆枋所以笑九萬。赤縣所以駭大千。故其宜也。若斯之倫遂構穿鑿駕危辯。鼓偽言扇非學。是謂異端。故宣尼之所害也。我皇繼三五而臨萬機。紹七百以御六辯。勳格無稱道還淳粹。經天緯地之德。左日右月之明。皇王之所未曉。群聖之所不備。億兆之所宜通。將來之所必至。莫不鬯其玄波而達其幽致者也。伏覽神論該冠真俗。三才載朗九服移心。蚑行蠢蠕猶知舞蹈。況在生靈誰不撫節。弟子少缺下帷尤蔽名理。既符夙志竊深踊躍。至於百家恢怪所述良多。搜神靈鬼顯驗非一。且般若之書本明斯義。既魔徒所排輒無兼引。自非格言孰能取正。略說七條。皆承經典。譬猶秋毫之憑五嶽。觸氏之附六軍。敢瀝微塵祇增悚污。弟子庾黔婁和南。

Your disciple has lived within these hundred years, yet early on heard of the three times. Verifying them through the various scriptures and seeking them among ancient precedents, proofs of spirits and ghosts are widely scattered in the books of the Central Kingdom, and the fruit of Bodhi is displayed in the teachings of the Western Heavens. The sagely teachings agree: the nature and spirit are never annihilated. The wording of their expressions may differ, but their standard is one and the same. It is only that the transformation wrought by the sages communicates and responds according to things; they suppress or encourage following urgency, giving or taking away according to capacity. If it is not a suitable occasion, they do not speak; when they speak, it surely achieves its purpose. If it is not the right time, they do not respond; when they respond, it is only to save beings. Yet, because the retributions of karma differ, the paths of accepting and rejecting become separated; the accumulation of conditions in transmigrations diverges from feelings of sinking or awakening. How crude that those of minor intellect obscure this great purport! Stuck in their immediate seeing and hearing, they cannot discern the profound and subtle. That the elm and sappan trees should laugh at the ninety-thousand-[li flight], and the Red County be alarmed at the great chiliocosm, is therefore only natural. Those of this ilk then construct far-fetched interpretations, mount precarious arguments, stir up counterfeit words, and promote spurious learning. These are what is called 'heterodoxies,' and are thus what Confucius censured. Our Emperor has succeeded the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to preside over the myriad affairs, continuing seven hundred years of rule to control the six permutations of Qi. His achievements match the Nameless, his Dao returns to pure simplicity; with the virtue of weaving heaven and earth and the brightness of flanking the sun and moon, he clarifies what emperors and kings have not understood, supplies what the host of sages left incomplete, communicates what the hundreds of millions ought to understand, and reaches what the future will surely come to; there is none who does not allow his profound waves to flow freely and attain his deep meaning. Prostrating myself, I peruse the divine treatise: it covers and crowns both the ultimate and the conventional; the three realms of heaven, earth, and man are brightly illuminated, and the nine regions turn their hearts toward it. Even crawling and wriggling creatures still know to dance; how much more so among living beings is there anyone who would not clap their hands in rhythm? When young, your disciple lacked devotion to study and was especially blind to philosophical principles. Now that it accords with my lifelong aspiration, I feel a secret, profound joy. As for the hundred schools, their records of the wondrous and strange are indeed plentiful; their accounts of searching for spirits and numinous ghosts offer more than one clear proof. Furthermore, the Prajñā scriptures originally clarified this principle; yet, since the followers of Māra reject them, I have not cited them alongside [the classics]. Unless it is a standard saying, who can use it to establish correctness? I have briefly stated seven items, all drawn from the classics, just as an autumn down relies upon the Five Sacred Peaks, or the lice of Chushi attach themselves to the Six Armies. Daring to present this speck of dust only increases my awe and embarrassment. Disciple Yu Qianlou pays veneration.