弘明集 11.37

11.37

陛下仁愛愷悌寬不世之恩。然䂮等眷眷竊有愚心以陛下振道德之綱。以維六合。恢九德之網。以羅四海。使玄風扇千載之前。仁義陶萬世之後。宇宙之外。感純德以化寬。九域之內。肆玄津以逍遙。匹夫無溝壑之怨。𭒀婦無停緯之歎。此實所以垂化海內。所以仰賴。愚謂恒標雖區區。一介守所見為小異。然故在羅網之內。即是陛下道化之一。臣昔孛佐治十二年。未聞釋奪法衣形服。世義。苟於時有補。袈裟之中亦有弘益。何足復奪道與俗違其適性。昔巢由抗節堯許俱高四皓匪降上下同美。斯乃古今之一揆。百代之同風。且德非管仲。不足華軒堂阜。智非孔明。豈足三顧草廬。願陛下放既往之恩。從其微志。使上不過惠下不失分。則皇唐之化於斯而在。箕頴之賓復見今日矣。䂮等庸近獻愚直言懼觸天威。追用悚息。僧䂮等言。

...Your Majesty's benevolent, kind, easy, and courteous manner, extending unexampled grace. Yet Zhe and the others, full of lingering concern, harbor the humble thought: Your Majesty raises the guidelines of the Dao and virtue to maintain the six directions, and broadens the net of the nine virtues to encompass the four seas, causing the profound breeze to stir through a thousand years before and benevolence and righteousness to mold ten thousand generations hereafter. Beyond the cosmos, beings are moved by pure virtue to broad transformation; within the nine regions, they roam freely along the profound ford. Ordinary men have no lament of dying in ditches; widows have no grief over ceased weaving. This is truly the means by which Your transformation is handed down within the seas, and that on which people rely. We humbly think that although Heng and Biao are insignificant and each stubbornly guards his own view as a minor divergence, they nonetheless remain within Your netting, and thus are part of Your Majesty's moral transformation through the Dao. Formerly, when your subject assisted in government for twelve years, I never heard of stripping away Dharma robes and monastic attire for the sake of worldly duty. If it affords any aid to the times, there is also vast benefit within the kaṣāya; why must they be stripped of the monastic way and turned back to the secular, running counter to their natural disposition? Anciently, Chao and You maintained their integrity, and Yao and Xu were both deemed exalted; the Four Whiteheads did not descend [to serve], and both above and below shared in beauty. This is indeed a single standard for past and present, a common custom for a hundred generations. Moreover, their virtue is not that of Guan Zhong, insufficient to warrant the magnificent carriages of Tangfu; their wisdom is not that of Kongming, scarcely meriting three visits to a thatched cottage. We pray Your Majesty will extend your past grace, indulge their humble aspirations, and ensure that above you do not overstep in benevolence, while below they do not forfeit their proper lot. Then the governance of the August Tang [Yao] will be present here, and the guests of Ji and Ying will be seen again today. Zhe and the others, being mediocre and shortsighted, offer this blunt address, fearing to offend the celestial majesty, and are filled with trembling and awe. Respectfully submitted by Sengzhe and others.