弘明集 11.24

11.24

奉去月二十八日詔勅。尚書令奪道恒道標等法服。承命悲懼。五情失守。俯仰慚惶無地自厝。恒等誠才質闇短。染法未久。所存既重。眷慕亦深。猥蒙優詔褒飾過美。開喻誨勵言理備至。但情之所安實懷罔已。法服之下誓畢身命。兼少習佛法不閑世事。徒發非常之舉。終無殊異之功。雖有拔能之名。而無益時之用。未見幾毫之補。將有山嶽之損。竊為陛下不取也。光武尚能縱嚴陵之心。魏文全管寧之操。抑至尊之高懷。遂匹夫之微志。在宥群方靡不自盡。況陛下以道御物。兼弘三寶。使四方義學之士萃於京師。新異經典流乎遐邇。大法之隆於茲為盛。方將闡揚洪化助明振暉。嗣祇洹之遺響。扇靈鷲之餘風。建千載之軌模。為後生之津塗。而恒等豈可獨屈於明時。不得申其志願。伏願鑒其元元之情。特垂曠蕩通物之理。更賜明詔聽遂微心。則銜恩九泉感德累劫。不勝戰悚。謹奏以聞。

We have received the imperial edict of the twenty-eighth of last month ordering the Prefect of the Masters of Writing to strip Daobiao and Daobiao of their Dharma robes. Receiving the command with sorrow and fear, our five emotions have lost their composure; bowing and looking up in shame and anxiety, we have no place to set ourselves. We, Heng and the others, are truly dull and short in talent and substance, and have not been steeped in the Dharma for long; yet what we cherish is already weighty, and our affection and longing are also profound. We have unexpectedly received a gracious edict with excessive praise and embellishment, providing explanations, guidance, and encouragement with complete and thorough reasoning. But that in which our feelings find rest is truly boundless. Beneath the Dharma robes, we vowed to finish our lives. Furthermore, having practiced the Buddha's Dharma since youth, we are unacquainted with worldly affairs; vainly initiating an extraordinary move will ultimately yield no remarkable merit. Though we would have the reputation of being selected for ability, we would have no practical utility for the times; not seeing the slightest benefit, there would instead be a mountain of harm. We privately consider that Your Majesty should not take this course. Emperor Guangwu was still able to indulge the inclination of Yan Ling, and Emperor Wen of Wei preserved the integrity of Guan Ning, restraining the exalted desires of the supreme ruler to fulfill the humble ambitions of common men; in leniently pardoning all regions, everyone was allowed to exhaust their own nature. How much more so when Your Majesty governs things with the Dao and universally propagates the Three Jewels, causing scholars of doctrine from the four quarters to gather in the capital, and new and extraordinary scriptures to spread near and far! The flourishing of the Great Dharma is at its peak at this time. You are about to expound the grand transformation to assist in brightening and radiating splendor, inheriting the lingering echoes of Jetavana and fanning the remaining breeze of Gṛdhrakūṭa, establishing a model for a thousand years and creating a ford for future generations. How could Heng and the others alone be bent in this enlightened era and not be permitted to express our wishes? We humbly hope you will examine our sincere and humble feelings, specially extend the principle of broad and open accommodation of all things, and once more grant an enlightened edict allowing us to fulfill our humble wish. Then we shall harbor gratitude in the Nine Springs and appreciate your virtue across repeated kalpas. Unable to bear our trembling, we respectfully submit this memorial.