弘明集 3.21

3.21

答曰。潛謝不住。豈非自生入死自有入無之謂乎。故其言曰。有駭形而無損心。有旦宅而無憤死。賈生亦云。化為異物又何足患。此達乎死生之變者也。而區區去就在生慮死。心繫無量志生天堂。吾黨之常靈異於是焉。又云。神光靈變及無量之壽。皆由誠信幽奇。故映其明。今沒於邪見。理固天隔。答曰。今亦不從慢化者求其光明。但求之於誠信者耳。尋釋迦之教。以善權救物。若果應驗若斯。何為不見其靈變以曉邪見之徒。豈獨不愛數十百萬之說而悋俄頃神光。徒為化聲之辯。竟無明於真智。終年疲役而不知所歸。豈不哀哉。又云內懷虔仰故禮拜悔罪。達夫無常故情無所悋。委妻子而為施。豈有邀於百倍。答曰。繁巧以興事。未若除貪欲而息競。遵戒以洗悔。未若剪榮冀以全朴。況乃誘所尚以祈利。忘天屬以要譽。謂之無邀。吾不信也。又云。泥洹以無樂為樂。法身以無身為身。若誠能飡仰則耽逸稍除獲利於無利矣。答曰。泥洹以離苦為樂。法身以接善為身。所以使飡仰之徒不能自絕耳。果歸於無利。勤者何獲而云獲於無利耶。此乃形神俱盡之證。恐非雅論所應明言也。又云。欲此道者。可謂有欲於無欲矣。至若啟導麁近者。有影嚮之實。亦猶于公以仁活致封。嚴氏以好殺致誅。厲妙行以希天堂。謹五戒以遠地獄。雖有欲於可欲。實踐日損之塗。此亦西行而求郢。何患其不至。

I reply: Does 'covertly shifting away and not abiding' not refer to passing from life into death, from being into non-being? Thus their words say: 'One may suffer distress of the physical form without injury to the mind; one may alter one's dwelling without harboring bitterness over death.' Master Jia also said: 'If transformed into an alien thing, why should one consider it a grief?' These were men who understood the mutations of life and death. Yet petty people vacillate, fretting about death while alive, their minds tied to the boundless and their aspirations fixed on rebirth in heaven. How could the everyday spiritual insight of our peers be so different as this? Moreover, you say that the divine light, marvelous transformations, and measureless lifespans all stem from sincere faith in the profound and wonderful, so that its brilliance is reflected; and that now, immersed in heterodox views, the principle is naturally separated from them as heaven from earth. I reply: At present, I am not seeking its brilliant light from those who are contemptuous and unruly, but only seeking it from those who are sincere and faithful. In examining the teaching of Śākya, it employs skillful means to save living beings. If the responses and verifications were truly like this, why does he not display his marvelous transformations to enlighten the followers of heterodox views? Would he spare nothing for hundreds of thousands of sermons, yet begrudge a brief flash of divine light? In vain making eloquence out of preaching sounds, in the end there is no clarity regarding true wisdom; toiling away all one's years without knowing where to return—is this not lamentable? Moreover, you say that because people cherish reverent devotion within, they prostrate and repent of their transgressions; and that because they realize impermanence, their hearts begrudge nothing, abandoning wives and children to practice giving, without coveting a hundredfold return. I reply: To stir up activities through intricate contrivances is not as good as eliminating greed and stopping contention; to abide by precepts in order to wash away regret is not as good as clipping away worldly glory and desires to preserve simplicity. How much worse is it to entice what people esteem in order to pray for profit, and to forget natural kin in order to demand fame? To call this having no covetousness—I do not believe it. Moreover, you say that Nirvāṇa takes the absence of pleasure as its pleasure, and the Dharma body takes the absence of a body as its body; and if one can truly feed upon and revere this, indulging in indolence will gradually be removed, and one will obtain benefit in non-benefit. I reply: Nirvāṇa takes separation from suffering as its pleasure, and the Dharma body takes receiving the good as its body; this is only how those who feed upon and revere it are kept from cutting themselves off. If it truly returns to non-benefit, what do the diligent obtain that you speak of obtaining in non-benefit? This is evidence that form and spirit are both exhausted, which I fear is not what your refined thesis ought to state clearly. Moreover, you say: 'One who desires this Dao can be said to have desire for desirelessness. As for guiding the coarse and near, it has the reality of shadows and echoes—just as Lord Yu obtained enfeoffment through his benevolent preservation of life, and the Yan family suffered execution due to their fondness for killing. Exerting oneself in marvelous practices to aspire to heaven, and observing the five precepts to distance oneself from hell, though having desire in what is desirable, actually treads the path of daily reduction; this is also heading west to seek Ying—why worry that one will not arrive?'