弘明集 8.7

8.7

夫玄籍雲舒貫空有之美。聖賢功績何莫由斯。實學者之淵海。生民之日月。所以波崙菩薩慈悲等照。震聲光於冥塗。弭塵賊於險澤。汎靈舟於信風。接浮生於苦水。聞道諸經製雜凡意教迹邪險。是故不傳怪哉。道化空被禁錮。觀今學者不顧嚴科。但得金帛。便與其經。貧者造之至死不覩。貪利無慈逆莫過此。又其方術穢濁不清。乃扣齒為天鼓。咽唾為醴泉。馬屎為靈薪。老鼠為芝藥。資此求道焉能得乎。昔秦皇漢武不獲輕身。使徐福公孫遠冥雲波祈候通仙。影響無陳。夫閑心祛欲則事與道隣。豈假驟涉之勞。咽唾嗑齒者乎。

The mysterious texts, spreading like clouds, thread together the beauty of emptiness and existence; what achievement of sages and worthies has not arisen from this? They are truly an oceanic abyss for scholars, the sun and moon for the living populace. For this reason, Sadāprarudita Bodhisattva, shining equally with great compassion, thundered sound and light on the dark paths, subdued dust-like bandits in perilous marshes, floated the spiritual vessel on the winds of faith, and gathered up floating lives in the waters of suffering. One hears that the various scriptures of the Dao are fabricated with an admixture of mundane ideas, and their doctrinal traces are perverse and perilous; therefore they are not transmitted. How strange! The conversion of the Dao is uselessly locked away and prohibited. Observing today's scholars, they pay no heed to strict codes; as soon as they receive gold and silk, they hand over their scriptures. When poor people approach them, they never behold them to their dying day. Greed for profit without compassion—no perversion exceeds this. Furthermore, their arts and recipes are filthy, turbid, and impure: they click teeth to make heavenly drums, swallow saliva to make sweet wine springs, use horse dung as spiritual firewood, and old rats as mushroom drugs. Relying on this to seek the Way, how could one attain it? In the past, the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han failed to lighten their bodies; they sent Xu Fu and Gongsun afar into the obscure clouds and waves to pray for and await communion with transcendents, yet not a trace of response appeared. If one calms the mind and dispels desires, one's affairs will neighbor the Way. Why would one resort to the toil of sudden exertions, swallowing saliva and gnashing teeth?