弘明集 3.14

3.14

近得賢從中郎書。說足下勤西方法事。賢者志大。豈以萬劫為奢。但恨短生無以測冥靈耳。治城慧琳道人作白黑論。乃為眾僧所排擯。賴蒙值明主善救。得免波羅夷耳。既作比丘乃不應明此白徒亦何為不言。足下試尋。二家誰為長者。吾甚昧然。望有以佳悟。何承天白。

Recently I received a letter from your worthy cousin, the Court Gentleman of the Household, who said that you are diligently practicing the Buddhist rituals of the Western Regions. A worthy person has great ambitions; how could you consider ten thousand kalpas to be excessive? I only regret that in this short life there is no means to fathom the unseen spirit. Śramaṇa Huilin of Zhicheng composed the Treatise on the White and the Black, and was thereupon rejected and ostracized by the assembly of monks. Fortunately, he encountered an enlightened sovereign who skillfully rescued him, enabling him to escape a pārājika offense. Once he had become a monk, he should not have clarified this; yet why would a layman say nothing? I ask you to examine which of the two schools is superior. I am exceedingly in the dark, and hope to receive good illumination from you. He Chengtian speaks.