弘明集 11.5

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.'"