弘明集 3.5

3.5

夫佛也者體道者也。道也者導物者也。應感順通無為而無不為者也。無為故虛寂自然。無不為故神化萬物。萬物之求卑高不同。故訓致之術或精或麁。悟上識則舉其宗本。不順者復其殃放。酒者羅刑淄為大罰。盜者抵罪三辟五刑。犯則無赦。此王者之常制。宰牧之所同也。若聖王御世百司明達。則向之罪人必見窮測無逃形之地矣。使姦惡者不得容其私。則國無違民而賢賢之流必見旌敘矣。且君明臣公世清理治。猶能令善惡得所曲直不濫。況神明所莅無遠近幽深。聰明正直罰惡祐善者哉。故毫釐之功錙銖之釁。報應之期不可得而差矣。歷觀古今禍福之證。皆有由緣載籍昭然。豈可掩哉。何者陰謀之門子孫不昌。三世之將道家明忌。斯非兵凶戰危積殺之所致耶。若夫魏顆從治而致結草之報。子都守信而受驄驥之錫。齊襄委罪。故有墜車之禍。晉惠棄禮。故有弊韓之困。斯皆死者報生之驗也。至於宣孟愍翳桑之飢。漂母哀淮陰之憊。並以一飡拯其懸餒。而趙蒙倒戈之祐。母荷千金之賞。斯一獲萬報不踰世。故立德闇昧之中。而慶彰萬物之上。陰行陽曜自然之勢。譬猶灑粒於土壤。而納百倍之收。地穀無情於人。而自然之利至也。

Now, the Buddha is one who embodies the Dao. The Dao is that which guides creatures. Responding to stimuli and according with unobstructed passage, it acts through non-action yet leaves nothing undone. Because it is non-action, it is empty, tranquil, and natural. Because it leaves nothing undone, it divinely transforms the myriad things. The demands of the myriad things differ in being low or high; hence the methods of instructing and guiding them are either subtle or crude. When awakening those of superior understanding, it sets forth the primary source. For those who are not compliant, retribution and disaster return to them: those who overindulge in wine are snared by punishment; intoxication becomes a major penalty. Thieves are brought to justice under the three penal codes and five punishments; once violated, there is no pardon. These are the regular regulations of monarchs, shared by governors and shepherds alike. If a sage king rules the world and the hundred officials are luminous and perceptive, then the aforementioned criminals will surely be thoroughly investigated, having nowhere to conceal themselves. If the treacherous and wicked are not allowed to indulge their private ends, then the state will have no rebellious subjects, and the virtuous will surely be praised and promoted. Furthermore, when the lord is enlightened and ministers are impartial, the world is pure and good order prevails; they are still able to ensure that good and evil find their proper places and that the crooked and straight are not confounded. How much more so when divine spirits preside, knowing neither near nor far, hidden nor deep, clear-sighted and upright, punishing evil and blessing good? Therefore, the merit of a hair's breadth and the fault of a tiny weight—the time of their retribution cannot fail or err. Reviewing the evidence of misfortune and fortune through antiquity and the present, all have their causes and conditions, brilliantly documented in the records; how could they be obscured? Why is it that the descendants of families plotting secret schemes do not prosper, and generals for three generations are expressly avoided by the Daoists? Is this not brought about by the fact that weapons are ominous, war is perilous, and killing has accumulated? As for Wei Ke following the instructions given in sound mind and thus obtaining the recompense of knotted grass, or Zidu keeping faith and receiving the gift of a fine piebald horse; Duke Xiang of Qi shifted blame and therefore met the disaster of falling from his carriage; Duke Hui of Jin abandoned propriety and therefore faced the distress of defeat at Han. These are all proofs of the dead rewarding or punishing the living. As for Xuan Meng pitying the starving man under the mulberry tree, and the washerwoman feeling sorrow for the exhaustion of the Lord of Huaiyin, both saved someone in desperate hunger with a single meal: Zhao received the boon of a reversed halberd, and the old woman enjoyed a reward of a thousand pieces of gold. This is obtaining ten thousandfold retribution from a single act, without it exceeding a single lifetime. Thus, when one establishes virtue in obscurity, its blessings manifest above the myriad things. Hidden actions shining in the open are of a natural tendency, just like scattering grains upon the soil and reaping a hundredfold harvest: the earth and the grain have no personal feelings toward humans, yet the natural benefit arrives.