弘明集 11
English (machine translation) 11
- Language
- English
11.1
Compiled by Vinaya Master Shi Sengyou of Jianchu Monastery in Yangdu of the Liang
11.2
Prefect of the Secretariat He Shangzhi's reply to Emperor Wen of the Song praising the Buddhist teachings;
Dharma Masters Gao and Ming's reply to Governor of Jiaozhou Li Miao's objection that the Buddha is not seen in physical form (with Li's letter appended);
Minister of Education Prince Wenxuan's letter to Censor-in-Chief Kong Zhiqui resolving doubts (with memorial and letter appended);
Heng and Biao, the two venerable masters', reply to the Yao ruler's letter urging them to abandon the Dao (with the letter appended);
Sengzhao, Sengqian, and Kumārajīva's memorial to the Yao ruler (with the letter appended);
Dharma Master Yuan's reply to Huan Xuan's letter urging him to abandon the Dao (with the letter appended);
Shi Sengyan's letter to Governor of Qingzhou Liu urging him not to return to lay life (with Liu's six rounds of exchange appended).
11.3
Prefect of the Secretariat He Shangzhi's Reply to Emperor Wen of the Song Praising the Buddhist Teachings
11.4
On the fifth day of the fifth month in the twelfth year of the Yuanjia era, the relevant officials memorialized: Xiao Mozhi, Governor of Danyang, presented a memorial stating: 'The Buddha's transformation has covered the Central Realm for four dynasties now; stupas, monasteries, and images number in the thousands across the land. Going forward, they serve to fasten the mind; retreating, they suffice to attract and encourage. However, in recent times, devotion and respect have become superficial, taking not sincere purity as ultimate, but rather prizing lavish competition. Dilapidated old dwellings are never repaired, yet each builds new structures to outdo one another. Prime estates and prominent mansions are almost exhausted by this; bamboo groves, timber, bronze, and colored silks are wasted without limit. Violating moderation and exceeding regulations, they should be restrained and restricted. If no precautions are taken against this, the straying will not end. I request that from now on, anyone wishing to cast bronze statues must personally report to the Department of State Affairs; those building stupas, monasteries, or vihāras must first report to the local two-thousand-bushel official, stating the origin and details, which will be reported according to the facts to the commandery. They must await official permission before commencing work. Anyone who arbitrarily casts bronze statues or arbitrarily builds monasteries and dwellings shall be prosecuted for failing to comply with imperial decrees, and all bronze, buildings, timber, and tiles shall be confiscated by the state.' The memorial was approved. At that time, there was a monk named Huilin who, borrowing the vestments of the sangha, disparaged its Dharma and composed the Treatise on White and Black. He Chengtian, Governor of Hengyang, who was intimate with Huilin and warmly promoted his ideas, wrote the Treatise on Penetrating the Nature; both were biased and rigid in their own corner, reviling and rebuking the Śākya teachings. Yan Yanzhi, Governor of Yongjia, and Zong Bing, Household Gentleman to the Crown Prince, were believers in the Dharma. They examined and refuted the two treatises, each writing over ten thousand words. Huilin and the others initially exchanged arguments, but ceased before reaching any result. Zong Bing thereupon wrote the Treatise Clarifying Buddhism to broaden its core doctrine. The Emperor approved of it, and said to Palace Attendant He Shangzhi: 'I do not read the scriptures, and lately have had no leisure; causation and karmic retribution across the three times are matters I have not resolved in my thoughts. Yet the reason I dare not hold heterodox views is precisely that former luminaries and the talents of your generation all revere and believe in it. Fan Tai and Xie Lingyun often said: "The canonical texts of the Six Classics originally aimed merely at helping the worldly and governing; if one truly seeks the profound mysteries of the nature and spirit, how can one not take Buddhist scriptures as a guide?" Yan Yanzhi's refutation of Penetrating the Nature and Zong Shaowen's critique of White and Black, and especially the vast and profound Treatise Clarifying Buddhism, are renowned for their principles; all suffice to enlighten and encourage people's minds. If everyone within the borders were purely transformed by this, I could sit back and achieve great peace! What more would there be to do? Recently, Xiao Mozhi requested regulations; before allowing them to be promulgated, I have shown them to you. I entrust you to adjust them: only when there are ways to curb frivolity and extravagance without harming the broad encouragement of Buddhism should they be made into decrees.' Shangzhi replied: 'The drifting masses mostly do not believe in the Dharma. With my mediocre obscurity, I still offer this foolish reply, fearing that my shortcomings will bring stain upon the Great Teaching. Now that I receive praise and encouragement instead, it is more than I dare accept. As for the worthy men of former generations, they indeed did not disappoint your brilliant decree. The Central Court of the Jin is far removed and difficult to know completely. Since crossing the Yangtze, there have been Wang Dao and Zhou Yi, the pinnacles of the chancellors; Wang Meng and Xie Shang, the models of human excellence; and Xi Chao, Wang Tan, Wang Gong, and Wang Mi, who were either praised as peerless or deemed unique in their step; their clear spirits and upright dispositions also placed them above worldly things. Guo Wen, Xie Fu, Dai Kui, and others all placed their minds between heaven and humanity, elevating their bodies amid the clouds and mists. My late great-great-uncle and his brothers guided the world with their pure understanding; Wang Yuanlin and his brothers topped the court with their talent; among the rest, Fan Wang, Sun Chuo, Zhang Xuan, and Yin Ji—roughly several tens of men—none was not an elite of the time. Furthermore, among the various monks listed in Zong Bing's treatise, Bo Dansui was of the lower tier; yet the one with whom he was compared was Yu Yuangui. From Dansui on up, masters such as Hu and Lan all had transcendent conduct and inner rectitude, or were unfathomable men. This is so even if we merely discuss recent monks and laymen. If we were to enumerate fully both foreigners and Chinese, extending back to the Han and Wei dynasties, how could the extraordinary talents and exceptional virtues ever be fully recounted? Would they ever needlessly cut short their spiritual nature, sit idly abandoning their kin, fall deluded into illusory teachings, and trap themselves in unproven conversions? Your Majesty’s thought penetrates beyond subtle mechanisms, and your contemplation is abstruse beyond external forms; dredging the deep and reaching the far, there is no need to seek only from the near. From this, down to subjects like ourselves, if we can prudently infer from these examples, then pure-faith gentlemen will never be lacking in our time. The saying that "it is humanity that can broaden the Dao"—how could it be an empty phrase? Dharma Master Huiyuan once said that there is nowhere the transformation of the Śākyan teachings cannot be applied. The Dao naturally serves as the fountainhead of teachings, yet succoring the worldly is also an essential duty. If the ruler of this world can cut away what is false and encourage what is verified and true, implementing it alongside imperial governance across the four seas, so that the unseen and seen work in concert to earnestly guide the common people, why should King Cheng, King Kang, Emperor Wen, and Emperor Jing alone be considered marvelous? If the beginnings of the Zhou and Han had additionally combined this transformation, the singing of eulogies and the clearing of criminal punishments would have been twice as swift! I humbly believe this statement accords with profound truth. Why is this so? In a village of a hundred families, if ten observe the five precepts, then ten will be pure and prudent; in a town of a thousand households, if one hundred practice the ten virtues, then one hundred will be gentle and magnanimous. If this standard of conduct is transmitted throughout the realm, and out of tens of millions of households there are a million benevolent people—and this is merely considering those who fully maintain the precepts and virtues. If those who keep one precept or one virtue are counted, they would surely make up two or three tenths. Now, if one can practice one virtue, one eliminates one evil; once one evil is eliminated, one penalty ceases. When one penalty ceases in a household, then ten thousand penalties cease in the state. How could laying aside the four hundred cases in the prisons be difficult? The rising of courtly odes and eulogies ought naturally to be swift; this is precisely what Your Majesty called sitting back and achieving great peace! If we discuss principle, it is like this; if we verify with events, I shall state further: Former histories say that the customs of the Western Regions all revere the Buddha and honor the Dharma; hence large states had tens of thousands of people, and small states had several hundreds, yet in the end they did not annex one another. After becoming subject to the central dynastic realm, their customs became somewhat deteriorated, yet they were still very gentle and weak, rarely carrying out slaughter. Moreover, ever since the Five Barbarians threw the Central Realm into chaos, the common people fell into misery, and those who suffered wrongful, violent deaths were countless. If any found relief among them, they surely relied on the Śākya teachings. Thus, when Fotudeng entered Ye, Shi Hu's slaughter was cut in half; when the precious stupa at Mianchi emitted light, Fu Jian's clubs and saws were stopped. Juqu Mengxun bit back without kin, ruthless as jackals and tigers, yet in his final years he was moved to awaken and ended up becoming a good man. When Faxian was threatened, the monk had the strength of ten thousand men; almost plunging the He and Wei into turmoil, with bound hands he gladly accepted death to face his master's plight. This was due to nothing other than reverence and faith.'
11.5
Now, spiritual efficacy assisting moral instruction has a long history. Thunderbolts striking down during sweltering rains are constant occurrences, yet when the ancestral temple was struck by lightning, the Spring and Autumn Annals concealed it out of respect. Under the reigns of Jie and Zhou, those who died unjustly were countless, yet King Xuan of Zhou and Duke Jing of Jin alone suffered retribution from wronged spirits for their excessive punishments. If one examines the tally of retribution, there are indeed discrepancies; if one adduces precedents from past and present, it merely adds to the perplexity. Yet the classics and histories record them to make warnings and admonitions manifest; even if there is only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, such shadowy traces are still deemed of profound efficacy. How could that compare to the Buddhist teaching, whose principles, when examined, possess reason to be accepted and believed, and whose facts, when verified, are free from errors and delusions? Moreover, the recent efficacy manifested by the Great Being Who Observes the World's Sounds (Avalokiteśvara) has appeared in bodily form in the world before everyone's eyes; cases among those who pray and make requests follow one after another. That is what constitutes admonition; that is what constitutes profound efficacy—how could this be mentioned in the same breath as those [secular examples]? Yet foolish and unenlightened people willfully proceed to slander and revile it, neglecting the weighty and pursuing the trivial, clinging to the small and going astray regarding the great. They resent monks and nuns renouncing matrimony and childbearing, and they abhor images and pagodas lavishly adorned with vermilion and purple. This is just as living beings receive the grace of heaven and earth to cover and support them, using it daily without discussing it, while officials tire of the toil of sacrifice and burial, sometimes showing contempt. Hui Lin and He Chengtian were simply like this. As for the memorialized regulations submitted by Xiao Mo, I do not say they are wholly wrong. However, what harms and gnaws at both the Dao and the secular world lies chiefly in unprincipled monks and nuns, yet inward intention and outward appearance are hard to distinguish, so they cannot be lightly expelled; gold, bronze, earth, and wood, though exceedingly expensive, are certainly that on which merit depends, so they too are difficult to cut off at once. Lately, I have deliberated this back and forth, finding it hard to settle comfortably. Today, hearing in person your virtuous words, I truly feel relieved and at ease." At that time, Yang Xuanbao, Gentleman of the Ministry of Personnel, was present and stepped forward, saying: "This discussion pertains to the boundary between heaven and humans; how could it be suitable for a minister like me to take part? Yet I privately fear that if Qin and Chu were discussing the art of strengthening their armies, or Sunzi and Wuzi were exhausting their strategies for annexation, they would find nothing to draw on here." The Emperor said: "These are not instruments for the Warring States period; it is truly as you say." Shangzhi said: "Now, honoring recluses makes warriors lax; esteeming benevolence and virtue weakens military morale. If one takes Sunzi and Wuzi as one's aim and cares only for swallowing up others, one would likewise find nothing to draw on in the Dao of Yao and Shun—how could it be confined only to the teaching of the Śākya?" The Emperor was delighted and said: "The Buddhist order having you is like the Confucian school having Jilu: as the saying goes, 'Evil words do not enter the ear.'"
11.6
The Two Dharma Masters [Dao]gao and [Dao]ming Reply to Li Miao, Regional Inspector of Jiaozhou, Concerning the Matter of His Challenge That the Buddha Does Not Make His Form Visible (together with Li's letter).
11.7
"Now, the Dao resides in pure emptiness, and the four great elements follow their regular principles; yet there is a Dharma-door that wondrously transcends all realms. If one praises its skillful ability to benefit creatures and deliver countless beings as its teaching, why does he not show his true form in the world, speaking only of emptiness without actual reality? Now I am earnestly inquiring into the root source of the Western regions. I humbly wish that the Great Upādhyāya will deign to accept this with indulgence, and in your humble heart will not withhold spiritual instruction. Disciple Li Miao respectfully bows."
11.8
"Shi Daogao states: I have received your inquiry concerning the traces of the Great Sage's manifestation and concealment; its theoretical flavor is profound and expansive, its diction and meaning clear and distinct. Respectfully perusing it repeatedly, I admire your virtuous words all the more. Your walls are high and deep, Inspector, so finding the gate is naturally difficult; thus I venture to exhaust my foolish brush, searching blindly as if for the dark pearl. Now, the Tathāgata responds to beings in three ways: First, he manifests his body, radiates light, and shakes the earth. Second, the True Dharma is present just as if the Buddha were in the world. Third, the Semblance Teaching dimly reflects his rites and regulations. His rites and regulations dimly respond to the sentiments of people today. When human sentiments respond to the image, who could say it is unseen? Therefore the Vimalakīrti-sūtra says: 'He skillfully understands the characteristics of dharmas and knows the capacities of sentient beings.' When it comes to the three assemblies under the Dragon Flower Tree in the city of Ketumatī, human sentiments will respond by seeing him—who could say he is hidden? Therefore the Lotus Sūtra says: 'At that time, I and the assembly of monks / all come forth on Vulture Peak.' The palace of Śaṅkha can clearly be expected; why should the root source in the West not be seen? Yet the doubters of this world mostly say that the words of the sūtras do not match reality, having little implicit faith, and all develop obstruction because they do not see. Now, regarding the Three Sovereigns, the Five Emperors, the Three Dynasties, and the Five Hegemons, or Ji Dan (Duke of Zhou) and Kong Qiu (Confucius) editing the Odes and establishing the rites—these are all heard of through historical records; who has seen them? The Śākya sounded the Dharma drum in the Deer Park, and the Master raised his virtuous voice in Zou and Lu; neither has been reached by our ears or eyes, yet we believe both through written records. If you do not doubt the former, there is no need to doubt the latter; having already understood the former, why remain obstructed only by the latter? Inspector, your sagacious thoughts are profound and far-reaching, clearly penetrating the three times. I hope you will seek the teaching on the unexhausted life-span, draw near to the traces of Dīpaṃkara and the youth Māṇava, and investigate the assembly of Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū, so as to resolve the murky obstructions of the masses, like clearing away layers of clouds under the sun. My own words are shallow and clumsy, and my speech cannot express my mind. I hope that on the day we meet, I shall explain it further in debate. Respectfully stated."
11.9
"Li respectfully bows: I have just examined your elegant treatise. Its points and sequences are well distinguished, and its diction and metaphors are refined and beautiful, bringing me immense joy. As you say, responsive transformations occur at different times, and the Semblance and True [Dharma] address distinct customs; you adduce external matters to reflect the internal, and cite texts to verify the real. Respecting and modeling myself upon your intention, I find nothing to disagree with. However, the reason for attaining awakening must rely on direct observation; implicit faith gives rise to doubt, and doubt is not the root of awakening. If wherever written records exist across different eras they are understood identically, then after ten thousand generations one would not need to await a sage to take as master! If voice and traces support each other, and words and images aid one another, yet once the great principles are violated, Ru and Mohist teachings contend; not only will right faith fail to become clear, but slander and error will also multiply faults. Can one fail to seek proof in manifest signs and predictions to secure oneself? The Great Sage, with unimpeded wisdom, extends uninvited compassion; why then should he begrudge clear light and conceal his sixteen-foot vessel, severing the hopes of the masses after Nirvāṇa and giving rise to sins and defilements before the three assemblies? When straw dogs are set out in vain, can they bring awakening? When images are established without reality, can they elicit faith? As for emperors and kings, or Ji and Kong, their instructions stopped at their own age, and matters of future lives were put aside without discussion; hence their concealment or appearance, decline or rise, provisional or real, cannot be distinguished. Now the Tathāgata's track and deeds completely span the three times, and his compassion universally nourishes; it cannot be limited to the present. The deluded masses seek liberation; they must not be brought to an impasse by his complete extinction. For this reason, transforming and delivering is not confined to written texts; the Buddha's deeds are fully enumerated by the myriads. May I ask: where are the so-called 'Buddha's deeds' today? If it is as in your refined analogy, that what is believed is here while what is verified is there, then since sages do not appear every generation and Confucius and the Śākya took different paths, speaking in terms of realities, there is nothing that is not contradictory! Can they verify each other? Unable to dismiss this in silence, I have briefly lodged these words. I hope you will examine them further in detail, as I await your clear explanation."
11.10
"Shi Daogao states: I have repeatedly received your profound instruction; its meaning is flourishing and its purpose far-reaching. Only after reading it thrice and reflecting on it nine times did I submit to its profound purport. Hence I know that ultimate truth cannot be measured by the ordinary and near, and subtle words and profound dictions cannot be engaged in by the base and halting. Now I shall respectfully follow my customary shallowness to sketch roughly what I hold in mind. Now, in teaching the myriad good deeds, the paths are not uniform: some practice dhyāna in groves and marshes; some cultivate virtue near city walls; some bow their bodies and snap their fingers; some sing hymns and chant verses. All are equally comprehended by ear and eye, and those who perform them are countless. Thus the ford to attain awakening originates from what may be called implicit faith. Why must attaining awakening depend on direct observation? Why must implicit faith generate doubt? Moreover, doubt is also the root of awakening—allow me to discuss this: through doubt, one seeks understanding; through understanding, one is able to awaken; through awakening, one enters the Dao. How is it not the root? Although the Ru and Mohists contend and the Nine Schools dispute over right and wrong, this is merely a torch flame that does not cease, not the sun and moon failing to shine. Why be in such haste for manifestation, and so hurried for a common destination? Now I do not deny that in these latter times there are no proofs, using verification to summon sincerity; nor do I say by mistake that the Great Sage begrudges his clear light. Rather, the doubters of the world, simply because they do not see his form, remain long lost in the great dream, vainly sinking and drowning in birth and death. The former Ru and past sages have roughly provided old explanations; the paths do not take different ruts, so I merely transmit without creating. When one sacrifices one's life and casts oneself into sincerity, one must evoke a response; when there is a response, both see. Without a response, one does not see. Those who have seen tell those who have not seen; those who have not seen will never believe those who have seen. How has the Sage ever not been among living beings? When has he ever not been seen? Hearing the sound of Dharma and praising goodness, the straw dogs are not said to be set out in vain; beholding the bodily image and bowing, how could the divine rite be established without reality? Ji and Kong, seeking to rescue a decaying age, had no time to spare; how could they have leisure to show beings the future? Had Qiu and Dan lived at the time of knotted cords, they would have made the three times clear without end. You ask where the Buddha's deeds are today: bowing one's head and joining one's palms—none of these is not a Buddha's deed! One only needs to have a method for profound awakening; different paths reach the same destination. What the previous letter expounded regarding doubt and faith between each other was precisely because worldly people, not seeing him, immediately say there is no Buddha; hence I took the invisibility of Zhou and Confucius as an established standard for them. This is following hand-in-hand with folded arms; how could it be called a contradiction? Inspector, you possess innate knowledge without needing assistance, and your pure character is natural. Occupying an eminent office, you exercise extraordinary grace; you wander in the garden of meaning and gallop through the grove of texts. In your leisure from administrative duties, you stroll through the long day; when your virtuous words are declared, none fails to incline his ear. My learning is coarse and shallow, and I am greatly ashamed of my writing. In replying above with errors and omissions, I fear I have defiled your magnificent composition, only adding to my awe and shame, with sweat trickling down. Respectfully stated."
11.11
"Li respectfully bows: Your elegant treatise clarifies the ford to attain awakening, stating that it originates from doubt, that implicit faith is sufficient without needing direct observation, and that bowing and singing hymns are all sufficient to reach the Dao. Reviewing your earlier analogies, I see its profound subtlety all the more. However, what is called the Semblance Dharma deviating from the True Dharma, and seeking awakening through coarse principles, borrowing the fish trap to comprehend the purport without needing manifest signs—this is indeed how Ji and Kong handed down instruction, and how brilliance handed down demonstration; drawing models from the secular classics is more than enough. What was the purpose of vainly radiating light and shaking the earth? If right faith does not stop at bowing and raising the head, and Buddha's deeds are fully enacted in form and sound, then that by which the Great Awakening is wondrous lies in his physical form; seeking it can establish its beginning. Therefore we know that believers will surely incur doubt through the Ru and Mohists, and learners will naturally repent through lack of proof. Begrudging light was no fault of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, but concealing his brightness and virtue is a transgression for the Ten Epithets! How could it not be so? Furthermore, as for your assertion that Ji and Kong were striving to rescue a decaying age and had no leisure for future lives, and that had they lived at the time of knotted cords the three times would have been clarified naturally—this too is not so. What the Seven Classics set forth in meaning encompasses the future; what the Buddhist scriptures unfold and record in fact directly addresses causes and retributions. Therefore the Changes says: 'A family that accumulates good deeds will have an abundance of blessings; a family that accumulates evil deeds will have an abundance of calamities.' The sūtra says: 'There is no self, no creator, and no receiver of karmic fruition; yet good and evil karma does not perish.' Thus, instruction on causes is ever continuous, and combined admonitions are already vast; how could one say that what they focused on was here, while what they lacked was there? Although your previous argument was fine, it is still a circular argument. I hope you will once again produce something new and expound something different, so as to wash away the obstructions of past and present, making the level road smooth and clearing all accumulated hindrances. I deeply pray the Great Upādhyāya will deign to accept my sincere feelings. Disciple Li Miao respectfully presents this."
11.12
Shi Faming speaks: Your grand treatise has been graciously bestowed upon me. I have read it reverently for days. It is as fragrant as hidden orchids and as pure as a thoroughwort breeze. As for this poor monk, my capacity is not sharp like frost, and my fortune is not that of Ding the cook: with every step I fail to strike between the joints of principle, and alone I stumble over points of doubt. This is truly because my words are halting and my meaning is obstructed, so that it is utterly difficult to array them like stars. In my foolish view, relying on the unseen relies on the extraordinary, while observing appearances demonstrates manifestation. Bowing, singing praises, and moving spiritual transformations are all ferries toward the Dao and splendid gatherings for pure ascent. Therefore, it is appropriate that relying [on the unseen] and observing [manifestation] be raised together, and that doubt and verification proceed side by side. How could one totally extinguish visible manifestations and suddenly leave behind spiritual radiance, making [the Buddha's] path merely conform to the Duke of Zhou and Confucius and sharing the same mold as worldly instruction, so that emitting light and shaking the earth become mere empty words? The Dharma-body is coagulated and quiescent, and the wondrous form is limpid and clear. Thus it can hide or manifest in accordance with the times, and its movements and concealments cannot be measured. Manifesting, it comes as one who has ridden Suchness; hiding, it departs as the Well-Gone One. When seeking the meaning from the words, how does it fault the Ten Epithets? The illumination cast by its lingering light is enough to brighten the latter-day world. How could believers increase their doubt on account of a glimmering candle? At dawn, monastics and laity stand shoulder to shoulder, and stupas, images, and scriptures fill the world. How could scholars regret their efforts due to a lack of verification? Moreover, you cite the Seven Classics as also containing the meaning of the future: 'Accumulating goodness brings surplus celebration; accumulating evil brings surplus calamity.' Although arising and ceasing anew with each thought exchange across arms in alternate succession, the karmic deeds of good and evil must inevitably be experienced. This illuminates the three times all the more and renders the Seven Classics even clearer. Examining the texts and investigating the facts, I respectfully hear your instruction. The previous treatise stated that emperors, kings, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius confined their teachings to the present world, preserving the matters of future lives without discussing them. Thus, whether they concealed or manifested, discarded or promoted, the expedient and the real could not be distinguished; it seemed contradictory, and where was the principle to rest? In the face of benevolence, one does not yield: I bow and listen to your profound subtlety. The previous letter roughly set forth the emergence and submersion of the Supreme Sage, but its doctrinal basis was not yet clear and its verbal illustrations were not yet dispelled. I now respectfully examine it in greater detail to jointly promote the Supreme Dao. Living beings sleep for long in the three realms of existence, and their consciousnesses are perpetually darkened by the six sense-dusts. Subtly shifting, they become the prey of devouring predators; continuing in succession, they turn on the revolving wheel. The body serves as an inn for travellers; the spirit acts as a guest pausing in transit. Passing back and forth in the three evil destinies, they suffer bitter pain; undergoing the eight difficulties, they endure misery and distress. Joys and pleasures are momentary delights, while sorrow and fear last for eternal kalpas. One body dies and disintegrates, and another body is received again. Even if worldly wisdom and eloquence are keen, all the books fill the belly, the hundred schools are thoroughly comprehended, and the nine lineages of thought are mastered, knowing that life and death have their destiny and wealth and honor depend on Heaven, yet ghosts and spirits cannot demand it, nor can sages and philosophers anticipate it. They still fail to avoid erroneous views obscuring their feelings and doubts and hesitations disturbing their thoughts. They lodge their hopes in shamans and spirits, and entrust their sincere faith to talismans and incantations. Grasping the heterodox, they look toward the upright; harboring the false, they wait for the true. Hesitating between two minds and wavering between two paths, how could the emitting of light and shaking of the earth ever be seen by them? Therefore, the profound texts were spread abroad and the nets of words were set out waiting for opportune capacities. When the capacity is moved, resonance inevitably follows; only after resonance is there a response. There are those who naturally lodge their intent in the profound abode and whose base conduct is deep, penetrating, and ever clearer. Viewing a single lifetime as like morning dew, they discern that the three times are not empty. They give free rein to their steeds on the path of purity and truth, and draw their reins on the thoroughfare of turbidity and falsehood. Planting virtue and weeding out evil, their [goodness] grows luxuriant; cultivating merit and watering righteousness, it spreads forth wide. Competing for every inch of time in austere discipline, purifying themselves, they vie to advance before the twilight years. Harboring sincerity and embracing aspiration, their resonance immediately penetrates. How could they not personally reflect that brilliant glory and witness its spiritual transformations? As for what is clearly understood by ears and eyes, or what is seen through dreams—it was like Emperor Ming of the Han, who was moved by the Sage through a dream, whereupon the Great Dharma came travelling [to China]. The sovereign poured out his sincere heart to take refuge in virtue; heroes straightened their robes to submit to conversion. Śramaṇas stood shoulder to shoulder with kings and dukes, and monks and nuns held themselves upright before the Son of Heaven. Among the ninety-six varieties [of non-Buddhists], which could be considered higher? When Emperor Wu of the Song first ascended the imperial throne, he dreamed of a Daoist practitioner carrying an alms-bowl who approached him to beg, and thereupon said to him: 'In a past life, you offered a single bowl of rice to Vipaśyin Buddha, and on that account you obtain this throne.' He dispatched someone to inquire of Master Yan to verify its truth, and Master Yan immediately submitted the Sūtra on the Seven Buddhas for imperial perusal. Sun Quan, the ruler of Wu, initially doubted that the Buddha-Dharma had any verification and was about to abolish it; he then obtained a relic, whose radiance illuminated the palace, which gold and iron could not crush, and which kilns and smelters could not melt. The present Jianchu Monastery in the imperial capital is that place. In Wu commandery there was a stone Buddha that floated upon the seawater. Daoist masters and shamans, followed by hundreds of people, used talismans, petitions, drumming, and dancing, but could not move it at all. Five or six monks in black robes and three or four members of the Zhu and Zhang families simply made a slight gesture of reverent reception, and they lifted it together with ease. It is present now in the North Monastery of Wu commandery. Among those whose pure sincerity reached the utmost, none failed to have a resonance. The Zhu and Zhang families served the Buddha for successive generations because they had witnessed this verification. Guo Wenju worshipped the Three Jewels, his right faith firm and clear; he reached into a tiger's throat to remove a bone, deeply understanding peace and peril. Master Lan brushed severe snow off a fierce beast, and Master Hu caused a parched spring to gush a torrential flow through his resonance. All of them possessed lofty conduct that surpassed the crowd, and their pure spirits transcended the vulgar world; all had extraordinary traces that were recorded by the world. Beyond these, they cannot be counted. This poor monk had little love for study in his youth, and now having reached white hair, I remain shallow, solitary, and of narrow hearing. Displaying my sincere feelings in straightforward words and simple phrasing, they may not necessarily be worthy of selection or appropriate. I bow in shame and trepidation. Respectfully spoken.
11.13
Layman Zong of Jingzhou composed the Treatise on Clarifying the Buddha. It stated that Boyi described the Classic of Mountains and Seas, wherein the state of Shendu is gentle toward people and loves people. Guo Pu, who was widely learned in antiquity, noted that [Shen]du was Tianzhu, where the Futu arose (Futu means Fotu [Buddha]). Liu Xiang, in his Biographies of Immortals, mentions that seventy-four persons appear in Buddhist sūtras. Scholars have had their eyes opened by this; it did not begin only with Emperor Ming of the Han. The monk Master Cheng was benevolent and sagely. In the era of Shi Le and Shi Hu, he said to Hu: 'In the city of Linzi there is the site of an ancient temple of King A-yu. There are still images and a dew-catching basin beneath deep forests and giant trees, more than twenty zhang beneath the ground.' Hu sent messengers to excavate and seek it according to the map, and everything was obtained as he had said. (King A-yu is King Aśoka.) When Yao Lue's uncle served as the Prince of Jin, at Puban in Hedong where the elders spoke of an Aśoka Temple, he saw a light. Digging and searching, he obtained a Buddha-bone inside a silver case within a stone box. Its radiance was extraordinary, and along the road it was met and viewed at the Ba River. Monks can still see it today at Xin Monastery. Looking at it from this perspective, Buddhist activities in the lands of Qi and Jin have existed for a long time. The reason they were not recounted in the Three Commentaries is just as the histories of Gan Bao and Sun Sheng do not mention the Buddha, yet the wondrous transformation was truly manifested, burgeoning under the Jin and flourishing east of the Yangtze River.
11.14
Letter from Prince Wenxuan to Censor Kong Zhiwei Explaining Doubts (With Reply)
11.15
I have read your letter and grasp it in detail. I have long lamented that superficial words obstruct the upright Dao, and that vehement passion harms pure harmony. Mencius said: 'A ruler has no fondness for cunning; a ruler has no fondness for valor.' The excesses of cunning give rise to disaster and misfortune; what one should abide by must take benevolence and righteousness as the foundation. Now, because of cultivating the instructions of Śākya, one begins to see the initial vow and thought of this practice; in putting it into practice, one desires that both the lowly and the exalted share in its excellence. Taking the metaphor of liberation, one cannot help but sustain small losses to preserve the great. As for what lies beyond external forms, it is naturally not worth speaking of. The ultimate teachings and secular teachings have one and the same end; it is only because those who grasp them have not penetrated them that differences and agreements arbitrarily arise. You say that accumulating generations of faith is simply words and deeds contradicting each other, and you ask how there can be serving of parents where one defames them at one moment and respects them at another, calling it great filial piety, saying this has never been heard of before. Now, the conduct of a benevolent person does not add to its excellence by cruelty and harm; the integrity of a pure person does not establish its virtue through greed and theft. In this manner, how could the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts be abandoned in a single thought? How could the Ten Good Deeds and the Eightfold Right Path be treasured only in fleeting thoughts? I have never seen one who disparages the root yet can value the branches. As it is said, once the root has toppled, the branches and leaves follow it down. Now you say that the two paths diverge and are different, so how can they be reconciled? These words are merely the talk of one who sees only what is shallow and near. It is not that you have not seen what is explained in the sūtras and vinaya; why do you stubbornly focus on one side and bury the thoroughfare? A gentleman never departs from the worldly when dispensing instruction; this can be known from the teachings of the world itself. If one were to say that this Dharma is purely deceptive and false, only increasing doubts, and ought to be destroyed, then speaking immediately of human relationships: how many people in contiguous neighborhoods and connected villages actually maintain filial piety and fraternal respect within their households? Can we, because they are not numerous, implicate all instructions and pronouncements, and burn all the classics, histories, and admonitions? Are your current doubts regarding the inner teaching any different from this? The reason people turn their hearts to the supreme Dharma is originally not to display their minds through ceremonial reverence; those who revere and worship it with trepidation do not forget others on account of being centered on themselves. Our current diligence and self-restraint are precisely for the sake of people like you. We wish to have us together cast off pride and arrogance, eliminate insolence, moderate desires, curb greed and pursuit, cultivate ritual deference, practice humility, uphold benevolence and righteousness, promote filial piety and fraternal respect, encourage wide giving, broaden universal love, reward the outstanding and worthy, and promote the talented and extraordinary. Then what shame would there be before ghosts and spirits? Zealous self-encouragement truly resides in this. Though I have not yet been able to fully practice it, my mind does not forget it. Now, before the nocturnal jewel has even been tossed, you have already risen with your hand on your sword; wishing to emulate each other in virtue and Dao, should you not feel much shame? This must be because you have not seen these sentiments, and therefore rely solely on your habitual prejudices. In my own heart, it is not so: I constantly distress over my own shortcomings. The Office of the Minister of Education fundamentally encourages the Five Instructions. We are now jointly promoting these excellent deeds to lead those below, wishing to cause deceit, vanity, and flattery to reform themselves as soon as they look toward our gate, and to cause frivolity, falsehood, and dissipation to change their tracks as soon as they step into our courtyard. To make this place equal to that Hall of Quelling the Mind, and to align this with that Terrace of Freeing from Desire—is this not good? First, we respectfully accord with the universal compassion of the Emperor under Heaven; second, we revere and uphold the benevolent love bestowed by the Crown Prince. Being vigilant day and night is solely out of fear that this mind might not be fulfilled. The idle talk of common folk naturally takes many forms. When they say they wish for goodness, their words do not yet understand the gravity of harming transformation. If one were to serve with loyalty and filial piety through deceit, please with benevolence and righteousness through flattery, defer with ritual through empty pretension, and act with uprightness through feigning, then if one could restrain oneself for even a single day, all under Heaven would return to benevolence—how much more so if it lasts for more than a month? My hopes are indeed exceeded. What my open heart accommodates is precisely the distress that such pretense is not more common; if such vexations are not broadened, I am deeply dismayed by petty shallowness. You ought to admonish errors and enlighten those who have not yet understood. Why do you say it harms the root of filial piety, and why do your words impair the foundation of righteousness? Feeling despondent in my heart, this was not what I expected. If this matter can be discarded, I would gladly hear of your other virtues. Furthermore, you say: 'One need not urge people to uphold the precepts; goodness should be made to arise from below.' If one were to promote teaching strictly in this way, Fangxun would have had to wait for the Four Evils to reform before opening sageliness, and Yu Shun would have had to wait for Shangjun to become worthy before his virtue shone. If only in such a way could excellence be achieved, how could it ever be hoped for? If your intention were carried out, it would lead to broad destruction: one would then have to reprimand Yao for the frugality of his earthen steps and praise the splendor of detached palaces; disparage Yu for the rusticity of his thatched roof and venerate the magnificence of the Epang Palace; feel ashamed of Ji An's upright countenance and honor Zhu Tuo's charming smiles. All the remaining virtues of integrity, righteousness, chastity, trustworthiness, humility, and deference would have to change paths and turn face. What conduct would be left to cultivate? In general, upon hearing words one must observe the deeds; upon seeing deeds one must seek the principle. If the principle is not violated and the deeds do not transgress, please do not generate heterodox views. Moreover, different paths lead to the same destination; they do not necessarily have to be uniformly identical. Recently there have also been many who share your opinion. I now commit these words to this paper. Those whose minds are not unified lodge their thoughts in doubt and delusion; our ruler universally proclaims it to them. I have briefly spoken of my feelings; do not view this as vague. Traces of ink easily become tedious, and ultimately cannot exhaust my meaning. When I meet you again soon, we shall discuss it in full detail.
11.16
Now, the differences among human minds are like those among their faces; how could they be uniform, and how could their wisdom be made equal? Observing the disparities among conditioned things, one can fully perceive how sentiments and souls diverge. One whose will is set cannot be fully described in words; one whose path has turned away cannot be overturned by persuasive discourse. I see that although your words were thorough and exhaustive in our meeting, you did not reach this point, truly because our views diverge. Fortunately, each may keep to his own direction; there is no need to fabricate right and wrong or cause slander and controversy to arise out of nowhere. Those who have settled their minds and entered into faith of old were indeed not without this intent. Nowadays, rejoicing in doing good, we curtail pride and arrogance to deal with others. If you, sir, have virtue surpassing the past sages, wisdom exceeding previous exemplars, intelligence transcending the multitude, and hold a position of supreme human nobility, then you may indeed wander beyond the world, transform things through the Dao, and hold noble aspirations in your heart; self-sufficient and without seeking, you might imitate those of old. But I fear you cannot maintain such an absolute gulf, vainly upholding two separate paths and singularly diverging from the superior Dharma. If we were merely casual acquaintances, these matters would never have been mentioned; it is because my regard for you is not slight that I reveal my inner thoughts. When we meet soon, I will elaborate further. Recently, I casually composed these two fascicles of 'Resolving Stagnations'; I presume you have already seen them outside. I now send them to show you. If you have already read them, please return them; do not tire your body and eyes. If perchance you have not seen them, you might glance through them once. I originally did not expect others to convert and be corrected; it was merely to resolve doubts and stagnations for myself. When you see it, you will surely clap your hands in amusement. Letter from Xiao Ziliang.
11.17
Letter and Reply by Kong Zhiwei
11.18
Zhiwei states: I have long received the benevolent guidance and uplifting support of your Illustrious Grace, and have deeply benefited from the instructions of your great compassion and vast patronage. Impelled by your grace and encouragement, I would surely give my life [in service]; I dare to pour out my very heart and marrow, begging for your divine sympathy to shine upon me. For generations, my family's heritage has followed Laozi, taking tranquility as its mind and plainness and retreat as its conduct, treading in the abyss of myriad goods and hoping in spirit for the dwelling of supreme compliance. Looking up to and pursuing the tracks of my predecessors, I have kept myself apart from the autumn dust; yet as for that toward which my ancestral mind tends, I still dare not let it fall. As for the luminous teaching of the Great Awakening and the orthodox source of prajñā, throughout my life what I have venerated has never contravened them. I have always inferred them based upon ultimate principle: when principle reaches the ultimate, it returns to unity; when placed in the supreme doctrine, the supreme doctrine cannot brook duality. Since receiving your Illustrious Grace's instructions and coming in touch with your Illustrious Grace's manner, guided by the orthodox vehicle and led by the universal precepts, my six stagnations have suddenly been dispelled and my five emotions have just begun to brighten. Turning my mind, I bow my head, join my palms, and vow to uphold them. In my fasts, veneration, and refuge, I have long had pure faith; regarding the heavy vinaya and light regulations, I was already half in accord with them. The reason I had not changed my robe and bowl and still yearned for Huang-Lao was truly that my family heritage has its roots, and I could not bear to cast it aside abruptly in a single day; my mind and worldly ties had their source, and I did not wish to turn back and flee in a morning. Since the two Daos are fundamentally in great harmony, I dared not begrudge my mind turning toward the real; therefore I said that abandoning my family's tradition was something my intent could not bear. How could I not delight in the Vaipulya and diligently set my will upon the Single Vehicle? How much more so as I rely upon your Illustrious Grace, whose virtue and the Dao are matched in dignity, and must all the more recite and uphold them! The supreme work composed by your pure faith, your commentary and preface: myriad gates reveal the profound, and countless categories proclaim the mysterious. Though my words may have differed from my wishes, my mind unconsciously became intoxicated. Furthermore, I could not have measured the marvelous skill of your Illustrious Grace's gentle guidance in reaching such a state. Extensive yet concise, richly varied, its refined brilliance shines forth. If I wished to stop, I could not; if I wished to turn away, how could I avoid facing it? In the past and formerly, I was indeed not clever; from now on, I request permission to follow these words. My foolish mind merely clung to family models; regarding Śākya and Laozi, I did not dare to make distinctions. In initial harmony and pursuit, my family formerly elucidated the scripture on the meaning of identity, and based on this instructed Zhang Rong. Rong then composed the 'Treatise on Penetrating the Source', whose title was 'Shaonan'. What Shaonan elucidated was the confluence and harmony of Daoism and Buddhism. This realization of Rong's originated in my family. Since it was so in my family, what hindrance could there be for me? At first I hesitated, clinging to traces; now I promptly pay homage to both with my mind. On the one hand, I do not vainly discard Huang-Lao; on the other hand, I take refuge in and master the Right Awakening. I never expected that in a single morning I would be suddenly and greatly enlightened. The guidance for this realization has been received from your Illustrious Grace. Unable to bear my supreme joy, I respectfully state this.
First 18 of 56 passages. Read on
Linked texts (1)
- 弘明集 — 僧祐, Classical Chinese