弘明集 11.8

11.8

釋道高白。奉垂問至聖顯晦之迹。理味淵博辭義昭洗。敬覽反覆彌高德音。使君垣牆崇邃得門自難。輒罄愚管罔象玄珠。夫如來應物凡有三焉。一者見身放光動地。二者正法如佛在世。三者像教髣髴儀軌髣髴。儀軌應今人情。人情感像。孰為見哉。故淨名經云。善解法相知眾生根。至於翅頭末城龍華三會。人情感見。孰為隱哉。故法華經云時我及眾僧。俱出靈鷲山。蠰佉之宮孱然可期。西方根源何為不覩。而世之疑者多謂。經語不符闇寄情少咸以不覩生滯。夫三皇五帝三代五霸。姬旦孔丘刪詩制禮。並聞史籍。孰覩之哉。釋氏震法鼓於鹿園。夫子揚德音於鄒魯。皆耳眼所不得。俱信之於書契。若不信彼不患疑此。既能了彼何獨滯此。使君聖思淵遠洞鑒三世。願尋壽量未盡之教。近取定光儒童之迹。中推大通智勝之集。以釋眾人之幽滯。若披重霄於太陽。貧道言淺辭拙。語不宣心。冀奉見之日。當申之於論難耳。謹白。

"Shi Daogao states: I have received your inquiry concerning the traces of the Great Sage's manifestation and concealment; its theoretical flavor is profound and expansive, its diction and meaning clear and distinct. Respectfully perusing it repeatedly, I admire your virtuous words all the more. Your walls are high and deep, Inspector, so finding the gate is naturally difficult; thus I venture to exhaust my foolish brush, searching blindly as if for the dark pearl. Now, the Tathāgata responds to beings in three ways: First, he manifests his body, radiates light, and shakes the earth. Second, the True Dharma is present just as if the Buddha were in the world. Third, the Semblance Teaching dimly reflects his rites and regulations. His rites and regulations dimly respond to the sentiments of people today. When human sentiments respond to the image, who could say it is unseen? Therefore the Vimalakīrti-sūtra says: 'He skillfully understands the characteristics of dharmas and knows the capacities of sentient beings.' When it comes to the three assemblies under the Dragon Flower Tree in the city of Ketumatī, human sentiments will respond by seeing him—who could say he is hidden? Therefore the Lotus Sūtra says: 'At that time, I and the assembly of monks / all come forth on Vulture Peak.' The palace of Śaṅkha can clearly be expected; why should the root source in the West not be seen? Yet the doubters of this world mostly say that the words of the sūtras do not match reality, having little implicit faith, and all develop obstruction because they do not see. Now, regarding the Three Sovereigns, the Five Emperors, the Three Dynasties, and the Five Hegemons, or Ji Dan (Duke of Zhou) and Kong Qiu (Confucius) editing the Odes and establishing the rites—these are all heard of through historical records; who has seen them? The Śākya sounded the Dharma drum in the Deer Park, and the Master raised his virtuous voice in Zou and Lu; neither has been reached by our ears or eyes, yet we believe both through written records. If you do not doubt the former, there is no need to doubt the latter; having already understood the former, why remain obstructed only by the latter? Inspector, your sagacious thoughts are profound and far-reaching, clearly penetrating the three times. I hope you will seek the teaching on the unexhausted life-span, draw near to the traces of Dīpaṃkara and the youth Māṇava, and investigate the assembly of Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū, so as to resolve the murky obstructions of the masses, like clearing away layers of clouds under the sun. My own words are shallow and clumsy, and my speech cannot express my mind. I hope that on the day we meet, I shall explain it further in debate. Respectfully stated."