[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [弘明集](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102) › 3.19 # 弘明集 3.19 弘明集 3.19 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [3.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.3.19) 前送均善論。并諮求雅旨。來答周至。及以為茲理興喪宜明。不可但處以可否之間。吾雖不能一切依附。亦不甚執偏見。但求夜光於巨海。正自未得耳。以為佛經者。善九流之別家。雜以道墨。慈悲愛施與中國不異。大人君子仁為己任。心無億必。且以形像彩飾將諧常人耳目。其為糜損尚微。其所引益或著。是以兼而存之。至于好事者遂以為超孔越老唯此為貴。斯未能求立言之本。而眩惑於末說者也。知其言者。當俟忘言之人。若唯取信天堂地獄之應。因緣不滅之驗。抑情菲食盡勤禮拜。庶幾廕寶稱之蓋升彌燈之坐。淳于生。所以大謔也。論云。眾聖老莊皆云有神明。復何以斷其不實如佛言。答曰。明有禮樂幽有鬼神。聖王所以為教。初不昧其有也。若果有來生報應。周孔寧當緘默而無片言耶。若夫嬰兒之臨坎。凡人為之駭怛。聖者豈猶不仁哉。又云。人形至麁人神實妙。以形從神豈得齊終。答曰。形神相資古人譬以薪火。薪弊火微薪盡火滅。雖有其妙豈能獨傳。又云。心之所感崩城隕霜白虹貫日太白入昂氣禁之醫冷煖輒應專誠妙感以受身更生七寶之土何為不可哉。 > Previously I sent the "Discourse on Equalizing Goodness" and also inquired after your refined views. Your reply was thorough, and you also considered that the rise and fall of this principle ought to be clarified, and that one cannot merely dwell between the acceptable and the unacceptable. Although I cannot conform entirely to it, neither do I rigidly cling to biased views; I am merely searching for the night-shining pearl in the vast sea, but simply have not yet found it. I consider the Buddhist sūtras to be a distinct school among the good teachings of the Nine Schools, mingled with Daoism and Mohism. Their compassion and loving giving are not different from those of the central lands. The noble man and gentleman takes benevolence as his personal duty, his mind free from preconceptions and certainty. Moreover, using images and colorful decorations will harmonize with the ears and eyes of ordinary people; the waste and damage they cause are still slight, while the benefits they induce may be prominent. For this reason, I preserve them side by side. As for busybodies who consequently take them as surpassing Confucius and transcending Laozi, holding that only this is valuable—these are people who cannot seek the foundation of establishing teachings and are bewildered by secondary doctrines. Those who understand their words must await the person who forgets words. If one merely places trust in the retribution of heaven and hell and the verification of imperishable causes and conditions, repressing sentiments, eating meagerly, and exhaustively bowing and worshipping, hoping to be shaded by the canopy of the Jeweled Scales and ascend the seat of the Boundless Lamp, this is why Master Chunyuan made such grand mockery of it. Your discourse says: 'All the sages, Laozi, and Zhuangzi all said that there are spirits and deities; on what basis can one judge it to be untrue, as the Buddha spoke of it?' I reply: Ostensibly there are rites and music, and in the unseen realm there are ghosts and spirits; this is why the sage kings established their teachings, never obscuring their existence from the start. If there truly were retribution in future lives, would the Duke of Zhou and Confucius have remained silent without a single word? When an infant is about to fall into a pit, ordinary people feel alarmed and distressed for it; could sages still be unbenevolent? Furthermore, you say: 'Man's corporeal form is most coarse, but man's spirit is truly subtle. How could the corporeal form and the spirit come to an end together?' I reply: Corporeal form and spirit rely on each other; the ancients compared them to firewood and fire. When the firewood is damaged, the fire is faint; when the firewood is exhausted, the fire is extinguished. Though there is its subtlety, how could it be transmitted alone? Furthermore, you say: 'What the mind stimulates \[causes\] a city wall to collapse, frost to fall, a white rainbow to pierce the sun, Venus to enter the Pleiades, and physicians using breath restraint to answer cold and warmth immediately; through concentrated sincerity and subtle response, to receive a body and be reborn in a land of the seven treasures—why could this not be real?' > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 3.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.3.18) - [Next: 3.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.3.20) - [Up: 3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.3) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102~en-mt.3.19) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.3.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.3.19) · Pramāṇa