弘明集 13.32

13.32

夫含氣之倫其神無方。蠢爾之類其質無常。寄若水勢託若火光。隨行繾綣迭枯迭芳。往來出沒冥冥茫茫。洪海環流大變輪迴。乘波遠漂濟來曷階。宛轉三塗之中。沈滯八難之圍。愍企竅之無期。悼容作之有歸。瞻崇德之可速。鑒聚凶之宜遲。斯成務之易覩。匪先見之動微。五福起於履是。六極構於蹈非。理感自然冥對玄凝。福兮誰造禍兮孰興。水運鍾卑人道惡矜。釁因豐積祉緣謙升。僮孺正而鬼退。丈夫邪而魅凌。覽形聲之兩偶。考休咎之雙徵。理投思而合契。迹望目而相應。若圓轉之抱規。猶直桷之附繩。蒼犬出於帝父。黃熊咨於聖子。聿徵化而不救。奚天屬之云恃。諒求福之在躬。信為人之在己。咨次吸其靡常。知忽往其何止。彼非人之什岌。豈無氣之所始。悲婉孌之夭徂。還託生於家豕。昔鞠育而懷抱。今屠刳以為禮。神居妙而恒我。形受變而易體。未一旬而相忘。可長歎而流涕。夫閘愚其皆然。匪伊人之獨爾。察寡孕於嘉類。悟繁產於蟲豸。喻零霖其猶希。若翻囊之倒米。為囂囂以日日。誰識伏而達倚。匪余情之能測。謬聞之以如是。若夫倒置之族矇矇徒生。兵風既至忽然潛征。神道雖昧鬼法尤明。徘徊中陰徂彼鐵城。霄絕望舒晝無曜靈。身造笮蕚之檻。足蹈炎炭之庭。刀岳霜鋩以積刃。劍林翹鋒而嘯精。陶銅汪洋以海涌。巨鑊波沸而雷鳴。閻王領閱卒傍執釵。三扐一奮百千累羅。鴆鴆利嘴煌煌火車。銳釘欃槍狡狗凝牙。淫徒燋於幻柱。飢囚枯於塵沙。資輕妙之靈質。益痛戮之易加。永煩冤以彌劫。安斯酷之可過。三六峻罔不可列縷。千條殊劇萬端異苦。靡喘息而不經。俄聿來而忘宇。予略一朝以言之。將終年而震楚。爰有五德無玷。十淑道全。夕陽造逝慶升九天。寶殿晃昱高構虛懸。瓊房兼百瑤戶摩千。金門煥水精之朗。玉巷耀琉璃之鮮。珠樹列於路側。鸞凰鳴於條間。芳華神秀而粲藻。香風靈飄而飛煙。想衣斐釁以被軀。念食苾芳以盈前。彼羲和之長邁。永一日而萬年。無事為以干性。常從容於自然。映光蘂之爍爍。眇輕騰之翩翩。究妙音之至樂。窮有生之遐延。捨陋世而上濟。伴超倫之高遷。然夫饗茲舊德日用玉食。厥土不毛罔施稼穡。積畜雖多焉有不竭。齡祚雖修終焉歸滅。三災起而宮宇散。七證至而天祿絕。會大秋以考落混椿菌之無別。是以如來大聖三達洞照。哀我困蒙。曉了道要。善權灑落。或麁或妙。如溟海之運流。若天日之垂曜。上士虛懷忘其言。中才貞志執其教。教無定方適物所由。宜陸以車。應水以舟。敷設云云。廣術悠悠。駧未塞乎三百。要指在乎一幽。掘累玄之綱領。遣毛目於鬯裘。宏籠大訓展我智分。治無不均。質有利鈍。虛往實歸。各足方寸。愚黠並誘龍鬼俱化。萬塗叢歸一由般若。譬彼濟海非船莫過。驅萬動於道場。畢無為而息駕。本夫三乘之始同歸一無。才照各異致用參殊。應真忘有而求空。遂耽空而恬愉。緣覺亮累於知微。爰遷玄而不居。雖妙迹其再喪。猶有遣而未虛。開士解物於都盡。作無存其焉除。悟之豁於鑒先。體之冥乎意初。理重深而絕韻。疇剋諒而業諸。自古在昔先民有遇。堂堂蔭映躬受聖喻。喁喁群黎耳目仰注。或發矇於一咳。或革面於一哺。並因言而後化。未有人而不度。善逝迄今道運轉衰。大教雖存味之者希。栴檀與蓼蘇同芬。夜光與熠燿齊暉。于氏超世綜體玄指。嘉遁山澤仁感虎兕。護公證寂道德淵美。微吟穹谷枯泉漸水。闕叟登霄衛度係軌。咸淡泊於無生。俱脫骸而不死。今則支子特秀領握玄標。大業冲梓神風清肅。一言發則蘊滯披。三番著則重冥昭。見之足以洗鄙吝。聞之可以落矜驕。遜濯流以逸契。詠遂初於東睪。何深味以栖素。輕大寶於秋毫。道風之所扇蕩。深達之所逍遙。才不難則賢不貴。愚不笑則聖不高。遠聲見陋於近耳。孰能忘味於聞韶哉。奚適非道何之無神。理有精麁物有彥真。大居細君小為碩臣。羽族隷乎金翅。甲屬屬乎須倫。兩儀宗於太極。眾星繫於北辰。是以九十六種枝條繁張。輕遺重根躁廢靜王。俱曰與聖各擅一方。或移山而住流。或倏忽於存亡。命天衣之采粲。嘯靈厨之芬芳。曜振旅之兇暴。化礫石之琳琅。竭變幻之掘奇。惜有待之無長。斯乃數內之甘醇。不如至道之糟糠者也。逮乎列仙之流練形之匹。熊經鳥伸呼吸太一。夕餐渝陰與素月。朝挹陽霞與朱日。赤斧長生於服丹。涓子翻飛於餌朮。安期久視於松毫。豐人輕舉於柏實。彼和液之所深。足支年而住質。中不夷而外猗。徒登雲而殞卒。俱括囊以堅𭴕固同門而共出。理未升於顏堂。永封望乎孔室。貴乎能飛則蛾蝶高翬。奇乎難老則龜蛇修考。伊逆旅之遊氣。唯心玄之可寶。存形者不足與論神。狎俗者未可與言道。道乎奚言無問無對。諮者叩窮應者負內。默之斯通語焉則匱。當於玄珠與講道。吾成罔象與無謂兀然寂泊玄酬有箴。宗鑽浮饗莫悟冥音。希之彌錯搜之愈沈。郢人其逝為誰匠椹。設筌蹄乎淵薈。俟魚兔乎川林。儻得意於談表。共目擊而廢心。無運睒倏。往矣斯復。忍立賢達忽如涉宿。千師誕化。肇過一六。慈氏方隆。仰期仁育。孰云數遼瞥若眴目。靈轡雖迅緣樞靡窮。彼無本標我有始終。假步灼電之末。託息石飈之中。知畏塗而驚寇。迷塵欲之致戎。替遠勝而婪近。謂賒儉而交豐。不防枯於未颻。既零落於勁風。思反蔕而更秀。結萬悔其胡充。是以大誓之徒燒指穿石。冥期無待。志與心積。浚智塹。崇慧壁。拔神劍。揮戒戟。想將萌而夷斬。情向兆而翦刺。掃六賊於胸中。休五道之長役。拱己內治總持法忍。三世都寂一心豁盡。寄耳無明寓目莫准。塵隨空落穢與虛隕。廓焉靈悟因權作尹。普濟安度大悲誰愍。託蘧廬以和光。常遊居乎冥泯。任天行與物化。如蹈水之無軫。若乃妙變神奇理不思議。大千舉於指掌。芥子含於須彌。四海宅於毛孔。七寶永於劫移。可信而不可尋。可由而不可知。非談詠之所宣。惡毫素之能披。善乎優陀之言也。使夫智者滿於天下。人有百頭。頭有百舌。舌解百義。辯才鋒逸。合茲人以讚道。猶萬分而未一。唯覺覺之相歎。乃敷暢而彰悉。矧愚昧之固陋。託狂簡而仰述。抗螢燭之烱烱。欲增暉以毘日者歟。

Now, the spirit of breathing beings has no fixed spatial bound, and the bodily substance of writhing creatures knows no constancy. They lodge like the surging of water; they rely [on forms] like the flickering of a flame. Following their deeds entangled, they alternate between withering and flourishing; coming and going, surfacing and plunging, in darkness and vast confusion. The great ocean swirls around; the great transformation revolves. Drifting far upon the waves, by what ladder shall they cross over? Tossing and turning within the three bad destinies, mired and detained within the ring of the eight difficulties, one pities the lack of any appointed time for their aspiration to emerge, and laments that their corporeal forms must have their return [to dust]. One observes that the accumulation of virtue can be swift, and perceives that the amassing of misfortune ought to be forestalled. These achievements of undertakings are easy to witness; it is not that the subtle stirrings were seen beforehand. The five blessings arise from treading the right; the six extremities are constructed by treading the wrong. The principle responds naturally; the dark retribution condenses in the unseen. Who creates good fortune? Whence does misfortune arise? The movement of water gathers in the low; the Way of humanity abhors pride. Faults accumulate through abundance; blessings ascend by reason of modesty. When a child is upright, ghosts retreat; when a grown man is perverse, spectres oppress him. Reviewing the twin pairs of forms and sounds, examining the dual portents of good and ill fortune: the principle accords with thought and joins in unison; traces meet the gaze and correspond with one another. It is like a revolving circle embracing the compass, or a straight rafter adhering to the carpenter's line. The gray dog came forth from the imperial father; the yellow bear was lamented by the sage son. When transformations are thus summoned, none can be saved; how could heavenly kin be relied upon? Truly, seeking fortune depends on one's own person; surely, acting as a human being lies within oneself! Alas, rapid inhalations are inconstant; who knows where the swift departure will halt? Those abnormal beings in their precarious states—how could they have begun without breath? One grieves that the graceful and lovely should die untimely, only to return and take birth as a domestic pig! In former days nurtured and held in the bosom, now butchered and disembowelled to serve as an offering. The spirit abides in the wondrous and remains ever the self; the body undergoes transformation and changes its form. Before ten days have passed, they have forgotten each other; this truly warrants a long sigh and the shedding of tears! For all unenlightened fools are like this; it is not that this person alone is so. Observe how sparse are births among the noble kinds, and realize how prolific are offspring among the insects and vermin! As a metaphor, falling showers are still rare compared to the emptying of a sack and pouring out of rice. Making a clamour day by day, who recognizes latent [misfortune] or understands the leaning [nature of fortune]? It is not that my own mind could fathom it; erroneously I have heard it to be thus. As for the inverted race, they live in vain in darkness and ignorance. Once the winds of death arrive, suddenly they make their hidden journey. Though the way of the spirits is obscure, the law of ghosts is exceedingly clear: wandering through the intermediate state, they proceed to that iron fortress. The night is devoid of the moon; the day has no shining sun. Their bodies enter cages of pressed thorns; their feet tread courtyards of blazing coals. Mountain peaks of knives bristle with frost-sharp blades; forests of swords raise their points, whistling with eerie essences. Melted copper spreads vastly, surging like a sea; gigantic cauldrons boil with waves, roaring like thunder. King Yama inspects the records, while minions beside him grasp pitchforks. Three thrusts and a single heave, hundreds and thousands are netted together! Poisonous birds with sharp beaks, blazing fire-carts, sharp nails and piercing lances, cunning hounds with clenched teeth! Licentious fellows are scorched against illusory pillars; starving prisoners wither away in dust and sand. Endowed with a light and wondrous spiritual substance, the painful punishments are all the more easily inflicted upon them. Forever aggrieved through entire kalpas, how could such cruelty be endured? The three-and-six strict nets cannot be listed in detail; thousands of severe ordeals, myriad varieties of diverse sufferings. Not a breath is drawn without undergoing them; in an instant they arrive, forgetting all shelter. Were I to speak of it briefly for a single morning, it would shock and distress one for a whole year! Now, there are those whose five virtues are without blemish, whose ten goodnesses complete the Way: when the evening sun departs and they pass away, their felicity ascends to the nine heavens. Precious palaces gleam brilliantly, elevated structures suspended in the void. Chambers of jasper number hundreds; gates of jade touch thousands. Golden portals are radiant with the clarity of crystal; jade avenues shine with the freshness of lapis lazuli. Jewel trees line the roadside; phoenixes sing among the branches. Fragrant blossoms are spiritually exquisite and brilliantly ornate; sweet-scented winds float wondrously, swirling like mist. Merely thinking of garments, patterned robes drape the body; merely contemplating food, fragrant delicacies fill the front. There, Xihe journeys far, an eternity where a single day lasts ten thousand years! Free from worldly affairs to disturb their nature, they are ever leisurely within the natural. Radiating amidst sparkling luminous buds, soaring lightly and fluttering on high, they plumb the supreme joy of wondrous music, and exhaust the far-reaching span of living existence. Forsaking the vile world, they cross over above, companions to those exalted in transcendent flight. However, though they enjoy these past virtues and daily consume jade-like foods, that land is not fertile and yields no sowing or reaping. Though accumulated stores be vast, how could they not be exhausted? Though their lifespan and blessings be extended, in the end they return to destruction. When the three disasters arise, their palaces disperse; when the seven omens arrive, their heavenly stipends are cut off. Meeting the great autumn when all decays, they are mingled without distinction, like the long-lived chun tree and the morning fungus. Therefore, the Tathāgata, the Great Sage, thoroughly illuminates with the three knowledges. Pitying our troubled ignorance, he clarifies the essentials of the Way. His skillful means are unconstrained, sometimes coarse, sometimes subtle: like the flowing currents of the vast ocean, like the suspended radiance of the heavenly sun. Superior gentlemen empty their minds and forget his words; those of middling talent hold fast to his teachings with steadfast intent. The teachings have no fixed method, but adapt to that by which things proceed: suitable for land, a carriage; fitting for water, a boat. Expounded in great variety, the broad arts are boundless. Even if the three hundred odes have not covered it, the essential point lies in the single obscurity. Digging out the main cords of the accumulated mysteries, discarding the trivial hairs and eyes from the fragrant robes, his grand basket of great instructions unfolds our portion of wisdom. In his governance nothing is unequal; substances have the sharp and the dull. Going empty and returning full, each is satisfied in his own mind. The foolish and the clever are both guided; dragons and ghosts are alike transformed. Myriad paths converge together, all proceeding from prajñā. Like crossing the ocean, without a boat none can traverse it; driving the myriad stirrings to the bodhimaṇḍa, all ends in non-action and halts the carriage. Originally, the beginning of the three vehicles shared a single return to nothingness; but their talents and insights differ, leading to diverse applications. The Arhat forgets being to seek emptiness, and thus indulges in emptiness, tranquil and content. The Pratyekabuddha clearly understands the entanglement of subtle knowledge, and thereupon moves toward the mysterious without dwelling. Although their wondrous traces are twice lost, they still have what is renounced without being empty. The Bodhisattva understands things to their total exhaustion: when non-existence is realized, what remains to be eliminated? Their awakening opens wide before all perception; their essence merges in the primal intent. The principle is deeply profound and beyond resonance; who can comprehend it and make it their task? From ancient times, early peoples had their encounters: dignified and sheltered, they personally received the sage's instructions. Murmuring crowds of common folk looked up with ears and eyes intent: some had their blindness opened at a single cough; some changed their faces at a single meal. All were transformed by means of words; there was none who was not ferried across. From the Sugata until now, the fortune of the Way has progressively declined. Though the great teaching remains, those who relish it are few. Sandalwood and marsh celery share the same fragrance; the night-shining pearl shares its glow with the firefly. Master Yu transcended the world, synthesizing the essence of the mysterious purport; retiring happily to mountains and marshes, his benevolence moved tigers and wild beasts. Venerable Dharmarakṣa realized tranquility, his moral power deep and beautiful; humming softly in the vaulted valley, dried springs gradually brought forth water. Old Que ascended to the firmament; Weidu followed in his tracks. All were detached in the unarisen; all cast off their skeletons without dying. Now there is Master Zhi, exceptionally preeminent, grasping the mysterious standard. His great undertaking surges from the press; his spiritual breeze is pure and solemn. Once a word is uttered, stagnations are dispelled; when the three turns are displayed, the deep darkness is illumined. To see him suffices to wash away meanness and stinginess; to hear him can cast down pride and arrogance. Yielding and washing in the stream with easy accord, chanting of fulfilling his original intent at the eastern field. How deep his relish in resting in simplicity, looking upon the great jewel as lighter than an autumn hair! Wherever the wind of the Way fans and sweeps, there the deeply perceptive wander at ease. If talent were not difficult, the worthy would not be valued; if fools did not laugh, the sage would not be exalted. A distant sound is seen as base to near ears; who can forget the taste upon hearing the Shao music? Where does one go that is not the Way? What is there that lacks spirit? Principles have the refined and the coarse; things have the worthy and the true. The great dwells as the ruler of the minute; the small serves as the minister to the great. The feathered tribes are subject to the garuḍa; the armored kinds belong to the asura. The two forces take the Great Ultimate as their ancestor; the host of stars is tied to the Northern Star. Therefore, the ninety-six kinds branch out profusely; tossing aside the heavy root, their restlessness abandons the quiet king. All claim to equal the sage, each dominating a quarter: some move mountains and halt rivers, or vanish and appear in an instant; commanding heavenly robes of brilliant splendor, whistling forth fragrant delicacies from divine kitchens; displaying the ferocious violence of rallying armies, or transforming gravel into fine jade. Exhausting bizarre marvels of mutation and illusion, it is pitiable that dependent things have no permanence! These are merely the sweet wine within worldly measures, not equal to the dregs and chaff of the Utmost Way. Coming to the ranks of the immortals, the peers of refined forms: stretching like bears and craning like birds, exhaling and inhaling the Great Unity; in the evening dining on shaded mists and the white moon, in the morning drinking solar vapors and the vermilion sun. Chifu attained long life by ingesting cinnabar; Juanzi took wing by feeding on atractylodis. Anqi gained prolonged sight through pine needles; the man of Feng soared lightly on cypress seeds. That which their harmonized fluids deepened sufficed to sustain their years and maintain their substance; but within they were not pacified while outwardly they were unsteady, so they mounted the clouds in vain only to fall and die suddenly! All tied up their sacks to solidify their shells; truly they came forth from the same gate together. Their principle has not ascended to the hall of Yan Hui; forever their hopes are barred from the chamber of Confucius! If being able to fly is prized, then moths and butterflies soar high; if resistance to aging is deemed marvelous, then tortoises and snakes enjoy long years. As for the wandering breath of this lodging house: only the mystery of the mind is to be treasured! Those who preserve the form are not fit to discuss the spirit; those who are intimate with the vulgar cannot yet be spoken to concerning the Way. How can the Way be spoken of? There is no questioning and no answering. The questioner knocks upon exhaustion; the replier betrays what is within. Silent, one penetrates it; speaking, one is depleted. One should match with the Mysterious Pearl and discourse on the Way; I become Wangxiang and the Ineffable. Motionless and tranquil, the mysterious response holds an admonition. Those who dig into floating appearances never comprehend the dark sound. The more one listens for it, the more one is mistaken; the more one searches for it, the deeper it sinks. The man of Ying has passed away; for whom should the axeman wield his block? Setting the fishtrap and the snare in the deep pool and marsh, awaiting the fish and hare in the rivers and woods: if perchance one grasps the meaning beyond words, together a single glance will dispel all calculation. There is no movement without an instant: once gone, it returns. For the worthy and perceptive who stand with forbearance, it is suddenly like passing a single night. A thousand teachers are born to transform beings, beginning past the sixteen. Maitreya is now prospering, and we look up hoping for his benevolent nurture. Who says the reckoning is distant? It is a fleeting glance of the eye. Though the spiritual chariot is swift, the pivot of conditions is inexhaustible. That has neither root nor summit; we have a beginning and an end. Borrowing footsteps at the tip of blazing lightning, lodging our breath in the midst of a gale of stones: we recognize the perilous road and take fright at bandits, yet are confused by worldly desires that invite conflict. Forsaking distant excellence, we covet what is near; deeming restraint to be meager, we plunge into abundance. Failing to guard against withering before the wind blows, once we are scattered by the fierce gale, we yearn to return to the stem and blossom anew—what can myriad regrets avail to make amends? Therefore, those of great vows burn their fingers and bore through stone. In the dark anticipation there is no waiting; their resolve accumulates with their minds. Digging deep the moat of knowledge, raising high the wall of wisdom, drawing the spiritual sword, brandishing the halberd of precepts: as soon as thoughts sprout, they cut them down; as soon as feelings show signs, they prune and pierce them. Sweeping the six thieves from within the breast, resting from the long toil of the five destinies, folding one's hands in self-cultivation, one grasps dhāraṇī and Dharma-forbearance. The three times are entirely silenced; the single mind opens and exhausts all. Entrusting the ear, there is no sound; lodging the eye, there is no standard. Dust falls away with emptiness; defilement drops with the void. Vastly illuminated with spiritual awakening, one acts as a ruler by relying on skillful means. Universally delivering and peacefully ferrying across, who does Great Compassion not pity? Lodging in an inn to harmonize the light, ever wandering and abiding in the dark and indistinct, yielding to heavenly movement and material transformation, like treading upon water without a trace. As for wondrous transformations and marvelous marvels, the principle is inconceivable: the great chiliocosm is lifted on the palm of a hand; a mustard seed contains Sumeru; the four oceans lodge within a pore of hair; the seven treasures endure beyond the shifting of kalpas! It may be believed, but cannot be pursued; it may be followed, but cannot be known. It is not something that talk and song can express; how could brush and silk unfold it? How fine was the word of Udāyin! Suppose the wise filled all under heaven, and each person had a hundred heads, each head a hundred tongues, each tongue understanding a hundred principles, their eloquence sharp and unfettered: even if all these people united to praise the Way, it would not equal a ten-thousandth part! Only when the Awakened Ones praise one another is it fully expounded and made entirely manifest. How much more so for my ignorant and obstinate shallowness, relying on wild simplicity to look up and relate this: holding up the tiny glow of a firefly, wishing to add brilliance to aid the sun!