[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) › 9.78 # 弘明集 9.78 弘明集 9.78 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [9.78](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.9.78) 難曰。佛之有無寄於神理存滅。既有往論。且欲略言。今指辯其損益語其利害。以弼夫子過正之談。子云。釋氏蠧俗傷化費貨損役。或者為之。非佛之尤也。佛之立教本以好生惡殺修善務施。好生非正欲繁育鳥獸。以人靈為重。惡殺豈可得緩宥逋逃。以哀矜斷察。修善不必瞻丈六之形。以忠信為上。務施不苟使殫財土木。以周急為美。若絕嗣續則必法種不傳。如並起浮圖。又亦種殖無地。凡且猶知之。況我慈氏寧樂爾乎。今守株桑門迷瞀俗士。見寒者不施之短褐。遇飢者不錫以糠豆。而競聚無識之僧。爭造眾多之佛。親戚棄而不眄。祭祀廢而不修。良繒碎於剎上。丹金縻于塔下。而謂為福田期以報業。此並體佛未深解法不妙。雖呼佛為佛。豈曉歸佛之旨。號僧為僧寧達依僧之意。此亦神不降福。予無取焉。夫六家之術各有流弊。儒失於僻。墨失於蔽。法失於峻。名失於詐。咸由祖述者。失其傳以致泥溺。今子不以僻蔽誅孔墨峻詐責韓鄧。而獨罪我如來貶茲正覺。是忿風濤而毀舟檝也。今逆悖之人無賴之子。上罔君親下虛儔類。或不忌明憲而乍懼幽司。憚閻羅之猛畏牛頭之酷。遂悔其穢惡。化而遷善。此之益也。又罪福之理。不應殊於世教背乎人情。若有事君以忠。奉親唯孝。與朋友信。如斯人者猶以一眚掩德蔑而棄之。裁犯蟲魚陷于地獄。斯必不然矣。夫忠莫踰於伊尹。孝莫尚乎曾參。伊公宰一畜以膳湯。曾子烹隻禽以養點。而皆同趨炎鑊俱赴鋒樹。是則大功沒於小過。奉上反於惠下。昔彌子矯駕猶以義弘免戮。嗚呼曾謂靈匠不如衛君乎。故知此為忍人之防。而非仁人之誡也。若能監彼流宕釁不在佛。觀此禍福悟教開誘。思息末以尊本。不拔本以極末。念忘我以弘法。不後法以利我。則雖曰未佛。吾必謂之佛矣。 > \[The guest\] objected: The existence or non-existence of the Buddha rests on whether the spiritual principle endures or perishes. Since there are past arguments on this, I shall speak briefly for now. Today, I specifically point out its harms and benefits, and discuss its advantages and disadvantages, in order to rectify your excessive words, sir. You say: 'The Buddhists corrupt customs, damage moral transformation, waste wealth, and diminish labor.' If certain people do this, it is not the fault of the Buddha. The Buddha's establishment of the teaching was fundamentally based on cherishing life, detesting killing, cultivating goodness, and prioritizing charity. Cherishing life does not simply mean desiring the proliferation of birds and beasts, but taking the human spirit as paramount. Detesting killing—how could it mean pardoning fugitives without distinction? It means judging and investigating with compassion. Cultivating goodness does not necessarily require gazing at the sixteen-foot form, but considers loyalty and trustworthiness supreme. Prioritizing charity does not casually cause the exhaustion of wealth on earth and timber, but considers relieving emergencies as excellence. If lineages are terminated, then the Dharma-seed will surely not be transmitted; if everyone builds Buddhist monasteries, there will also be no land for cultivation. Even ordinary people still know this, so how could our Maitreya take pleasure in such things? Nowadays, stubborn śramaṇas and confused secular people do not give coarse clothes to those who are cold, nor grant bran and beans to those who are hungry; instead, they compete to gather ignorant monks and vie to construct numerous Buddhas. Relatives are abandoned and ignored; ancestral offerings are neglected and uncultivated. Fine silks are shredded upon banners, and red gold is tied down beneath stupas, calling this a field of merit and anticipating retributive karma. These people have not deeply comprehended the Buddha nor understood the subtlety of the Dharma. Although they call the Buddha 'Buddha', how could they know the true intent of taking refuge in the Buddha? Though they designate monks as 'monks', how could they comprehend the purpose of relying on the Saṅgha? In these cases, the spirit will not bestow blessings; I do not approve of them either. Now, the methods of the Six Schools each have their degenerations: Confucianism erred in being eccentric, Mohism erred in being narrow-minded, Legalism erred in being harsh, and the School of Names erred in deceit. All of this was caused by later exponents losing the transmission and falling into delusion. Today, you do not execute Confucius and Mo Di for eccentricity and narrow-mindedness, nor hold Han Fei and Deng Xi accountable for harshness and deceit, but exclusively condemn our Tathāgata and disparage this Right Awakening. This is like being enraged at wind and waves and destroying the boat and oars! Nowadays, rebellious persons and worthless scoundrels deceive sovereign and parents above and betray their peers below; some do not fear manifest laws, yet suddenly fear the dark tribunals; dreading the fierceness of Yama and fearing the cruelty of Ox-Head, they then repent their defilements and evil, and transform themselves toward goodness. This is its benefit! Furthermore, the principle of sin and merit should not differ from worldly teachings nor run contrary to human nature. If there is one who serves his sovereign with loyalty, attends to his parents with pure filial piety, and acts with trust toward friends—if such a person, because of a single flaw, had his virtue obscured, was spurned, and merely because of harming an insect or fish were plunged into hell, this would certainly not be so. In loyalty, none surpassed Yi Yin; in filial piety, none was greater than Zeng Can. Lord Yi slaughtered an animal to feed Tang; Master Zeng cooked a bird to nourish Dian. If both were equally driven to boiling cauldrons and jointly pushed onto trees of blades, then great merit would be drowned by minor faults, and serving superiors would conflict with bestowing kindness on subordinates. In the past, when Mizi hijacked a carriage, he was still pardoned from execution because of broad righteousness. Alas, could one say that the Spiritual Master is inferior to the Lord of Wei? Therefore, one knows that this is a prevention against cruel men, not an admonition for benevolent men. If you can observe that the transgressions of those wayward people do not lie with the Buddha, discern that these fortunes and misfortunes are instructional expedients, resolve to extinguish the branches to honor the root without uprooting the root to exhaust the branches, and contemplate forgetting the self to propagate the Dharma rather than subordinating the Dharma to benefit the self—then though he may be called 'not a Buddha', I will surely call him a Buddha! > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 9.77](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.9.77) - [Next: 9.79](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.9.79) - [Up: 9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.9) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102~en-mt.9.78) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.9.78](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.9.78) · Pramāṇa