弘明集 12.43

12.43

Xuan bows twice, speaks, and bows his head. The eighth day is approaching. Formerly, all the śramaṇas did not pay homage to rulers. Although He [Chong] and Yu [Bing] debated it, they both followed what they saw and did not subdue each other through principle. Yu's intention was to honor the lord, but his principles and evidence were not complete. He's view arose from biased faith, and so lost both name and essence. As for the transformation of the Buddha, although it is vast and boundless, posited beyond seeing and hearing, yet it takes respect as its root. In this regard there is no difference; what is aspired to may be distinct, but it is not that reverent respect should be abandoned. Laozi equated kings and dukes with the Three Greats. Tracing what he valued, it all lies in nourishing life and circulating the movement [of Dao]. Could it be solely because sages were on the throne that he compared them to the Two Powers? It must be because the great virtue of heaven and earth is called life; and to nourish life and govern things rests with the ruler. Therefore, the divine vessel is honored and the rituals are truly exalted. How could it be that rulers are vainly exalted merely because the duty lies in royal governance? The means by which śramaṇas nourish life and sustain their existence are also daily used in the ordering of life. How could they receive its virtue yet discard its rituals, partake of its benefits yet abandon its respect? Since it is not tolerated by principle, it is also unsettling to human feeling. As a great matter of a whole era, we should seek the proper mean together. I hope we can investigate it fully with one another, so that by the eighth day it may be determined in detail. Huan Xuan bows twice and bows his head. Respectfully stated.