弘明集 8.16

8.16

The traces left behind by the utmost transformation cannot be falsely obscured. Determining posthumous names and titles for the spirits must be based on illustrious virtue. Having no true essence of the Dao, they wildly pursue phantom vacuities, glibly asserting that those who went east died while drunk on wine. Are such ignorant gifts of titles not vulgar and depraved? Furthermore, their petitions to promote the ancestors of seven generations are shallow and flimsy in meaning, begging exemption from carrying sand and gravel only to serve perpetually as Dao demons. Indeed, the sagely wisdom penetrates the minute; whatever thought arises, it illuminates. Why trouble libationers to squander paper and ink recklessly? If a verdict must await petitions and lawsuits, then one realizes that the Lord of the Dao lacks the capacity for profound discernment, and the Heavenly Bureaus lack the illumination of heaven's clarity. The Three Officials would be exhausted by scrutinizing cases, and the inspecting clerks worn out by pursuit and capture. We hear that their presented petitions were originally meant for emergencies, yet on the wuchen day they surely do not arrive. If they do not arrive before the Supreme Lord, then the living people die wrongfully. Alas! How tragic! This is truly the fifth perversity.