弘明集 8.16

8.16

夫至化。餘塵不可誣蔽。詮諡靈魄務依明德。道無真體妄逐妖空。輒言東行醉酒沒故。如此頑贈寧非陋僻。又遷達七祖文意淺薄。乞免擔沙石長作道鬼。夫聖智窮微有念斯照。何煩祭酒橫費紙墨。若必須辭訴然後判者。始知道君無玄鑒之能。天曹無天明之照。三官疲於謹案。伺吏勞於討捕。聞其奏章本擬急疾。而戊辰之日上必不達。不達太上則生民枉死。嗚呼哀哉。實為五逆。

The traces left behind by the utmost transformation cannot be falsely obscured. Determining posthumous names and titles for the spirits must be based on illustrious virtue. Having no true essence of the Dao, they wildly pursue phantom vacuities, glibly asserting that those who went east died while drunk on wine. Are such ignorant gifts of titles not vulgar and depraved? Furthermore, their petitions to promote the ancestors of seven generations are shallow and flimsy in meaning, begging exemption from carrying sand and gravel only to serve perpetually as Dao demons. Indeed, the sagely wisdom penetrates the minute; whatever thought arises, it illuminates. Why trouble libationers to squander paper and ink recklessly? If a verdict must await petitions and lawsuits, then one realizes that the Lord of the Dao lacks the capacity for profound discernment, and the Heavenly Bureaus lack the illumination of heaven's clarity. The Three Officials would be exhausted by scrutinizing cases, and the inspecting clerks worn out by pursuit and capture. We hear that their presented petitions were originally meant for emergencies, yet on the wuchen day they surely do not arrive. If they do not arrive before the Supreme Lord, then the living people die wrongfully. Alas! How tragic! This is truly the fifth perversity.