弘明集 12.106

12.106

The decline and defilement of the Buddhist teachings have gone on for a long time. Whenever I ponder this, indignation fills my breast. I have constantly feared that an unintended turn of fortune might plunge [the Dharma] into oblivion. This is why day and night I sigh in dread, forgetting sleep and food. Seeing the dānapati clear away corrupt practices among the Daoists, it truly answers to what was originally in my heart. When the Jing River is distinguished from the Wei, the clear and the turbid flow separately; when the crooked is rectified by the straight, the unbenevolent naturally distance themselves. Drawing an analogy from this, once the decree is carried out, these two principles will surely both be attained. Thus those who feign pretense to gain acceptance will cut off their own path of spurious admission, while those who believe in the Dao and cherish the truth will no longer bear the suspicion of following secular [motives]. In this way, both the Dao and the world will flourish side by side, and the Three Jewels will once more prosper here. The reason why this poor monk entrusted his life south of the Yangtze was in the hope of relying upon one who possesses the Dao to preserve this supreme endeavor. The flourishing or decline of this endeavor truly depends on men. To encounter you, the dānapati, in the prime of your years is indeed a stroke of mid-course resurgence for this poor monk. That which my hidden feelings relied upon was already secretly established in the past. Therefore, in previous letters and missives, I have always put relying [upon you] first. Whenever I have sought comfort, my thoughts of attachment have not been forgotten. I only fear that my years run contrary to the times, so that I cannot fully witness the dānapati's flourishing and grand transformation. Now, therefore, I consult and report several items, as set out in a separate letter. What the scriptural teachings open up generally comprises three categories: first, entering subtlety through meditative contemplation; second, chanting and savoring the bequeathed scriptures; third, initiating and establishing meritorious karma. Although the three categories are indeed distinct, they all take conduct according to the vinaya as their foundation. The dānapati's recent regulation seems largely in accord with this, and there is no doubt about it. Yet there may be those who produce merit, internally not breaking the prohibitions, but whose outward traces are not those of an araṇya dweller; or there may be those who frequently chant scriptures and recite them without end, but cannot clearly expound the doctrine; or there may be those advanced in age who, though having no achievements in the three categories worthy of record, are upright and righteous in character and commit no grave transgressions. All such sorts of persons are matters of doubt. Examining the precedent of those to be dismissed by the dānapati, these ought not to be questioned; yet outsiders are fearful and bewildered, and none dare feel at ease. Therefore I report this separately. Now, outward conduct is easy to scrutinize, but the true and the false are difficult to distinguish. Unless one possesses farsighted discernment, it is truly difficult to comprehend them. If they are śramaṇas of the capital who have passed under the dānapati's personal observation and hearing, there is certainly no doubt. But if they are in outlying jurisdictions and remote offices, whose discernment does not extend far, they will not have comprehended the intention of your instructions. Or perhaps, on account of the decree, good people will be swept up indiscriminately; this is the deepest worry. If the local law-enforcing officials do not understand [a person's] intent clearly, and furthermore there is no senior, respected śramaṇa at hand from whom they can seek an impartial judgment, if they are ordered to send [the candidates] to the grand headquarters to undergo your elevated inspection, then in terms of principle this would be broad-minded. I imagine that the dānapati's spiritual reflection has already grasped this in your heart; it is simply that this poor monk's ordinary, near-sighted sentiments could not refrain from mentioning it. Furthermore, if there are sons and younger brothers of noble clans who were not originally of the labor-corvée registers, and whose families have either venerated the Great Dharma for generations, or who were endowed with natural understanding when young, and who wish to abandon secular life to enter the Dao and seek to become śramaṇas, examining the precedents and discerning their intent would seem not to obstruct their pure path. However, it is essential that this be deliberated and decided, so that those who cleanse their hearts and turn to savor [the Dharma] will no longer harbor self-doubt. In the past, the various kings of foreign countries mostly took part in harboring the sacred scriptures; they also, in accord with the times, assisted in promoting the grand transformation, supporting what was precarious and rescuing what was decadent. This truly has an ancient origin. As the dānapati always measures your mind against the ancients, I have again briefly related what I have heard.