廣弘明集 11.9

11.9

陛下應天順時。握圖受籙。赴萬國之心。當一人之慶。扶危救世之力。夷兇靜難之功。固以威蓋前王聲高往帝。爰復存心三寶留意福田。預是出家之人莫不感戴天澤。但由僧等不能遵奉戒行酬報國恩。無識之徒非違造罪。致令傅奕陳此惡言。躄踊痛心投骸無地。然僧尼有罪甘受極刑。恨奕輕辱聖人。言詞切害。深恐邪見之者因此行非。案春秋魯莊公七年夏四月。恒星不見夜明如日。即佛生時之瑞應也。然佛有真應二身權實兩智三明八解五眼六通。神曰不可思議。法號心行處滅。其道也。運眾聖於泥洹。其力也。接下凡於苦海。自後漢明帝永平三年。夢見金人以來。像教東流靈瑞非一。具在漢魏諸史姚石等書。至如道安道立之輩。圖澄羅什之流。並有高行深解。當世名僧。盡被君王識知貴勝崇重。自五百餘年已來。寺塔遍於九州。僧尼溢於三輔。並由時君敬信朝野歸心。像教興行於今不絕者。寔荷人王之力也。世間君臣父子。猶謂恩澤難酬昊天不報。況佛是眾生出世慈父。又為凡聖良醫。欲抑而挫之罪而辱之。不可得也。仰尋如來智出有無。豈三皇能測。力包造化。非二儀可方。昔吳太宰嚭問孔丘曰。夫子聖人歟。孔子對曰。丘博識強記。非聖人也。又問。三王聖人歟。對曰。三王善用智勇。聖非丘所知。又問。五帝聖人歟。對曰。五帝善用仁信。聖亦非丘所知。又問。三皇聖人歟。對曰。三皇善用時。聖亦非丘所知。太宰大駭曰。然則孰為聖人乎。夫子動容有間曰。西方之人有聖者焉。不治而不亂。不言而自信。不化而自行。蕩蕩乎民無能名焉。若三王五帝必是大聖。孔丘豈容隱而不說。便有匿聖之愆以此挍量。推佛為大聖也。老子西昇經云。吾師化遊天竺善入泥洹。符子云。老氏之師名釋迦文。直就孔老經書。師敬佛處文證不少。豈奕一人所能謗讟。昔公孫龍著堅白論。罪三皇非五帝。至今讀之。人猶切齒。以為前鑑。良可悲夫。

Your Majesty has responded to Heaven and conformed to the seasons, holding the charts and receiving the mandates, meeting the hearts of the ten thousand states, and bearing the blessings of the One Man. Your strength in upholding the endangered and saving the world, your merit in subduing the vicious and pacifying distress, already overshadow past kings in awe and surpass former emperors in renown. Furthermore, you turn your mind to the triratna and pay heed to the fields of merit, so that among all who have left the household, there is none who does not gratefully cherish the celestial benevolence. It is merely because monks like us have failed to observe and uphold the precepts and conduct so as to repay the state's grace, and ignorant fools have violated rules and committed offenses, that Fu Yi has been brought to utter these wicked words. We beat our breasts and stamp our feet in agonizing heartbreak, with nowhere to cast our bodies. Now, if monks and nuns have committed crimes, they willingly accept the ultimate punishment; but we resent that Yi lightly insults the sage, his words being fiercely venomous. We deeply fear that those of false views will, on this basis, practice wrongdoing. Consider that in the Spring and Autumn Annals, in the seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu, in the fourth month of summer, 'the constant stars were not seen, and the night was bright as day'—this was indeed the auspicious response at the time of the Buddha's birth. Furthermore, the Buddha possesses the two bodies of truth and response, the two wisdoms of the expedient and the real, the three vidyās, the eight liberations, the five eyes, and the six supernormal powers. His spirit is called inconceivable; His Dharma is termed the cessation of the tracks of mental activity. His Way: it conveys the multitude of sages into nirvāṇa. His power: it rescues lowly worldlings from the sea of suffering. Since the third year of the Yongping era of Emperor Ming of the Later Han, when he dreamed of the golden man, the image teaching flowed east, and its wondrous auguries have not been single; they are fully recorded in the various histories of Han and Wei, and the books of Yao and Shi. As for the likes of Dao'an and Daoli, the company of Fotudeng and Kumārajīva, all possessed exalted conduct and profound understanding, being famous monks of their age; all were recognized by rulers and kings, and revered by the noble and preeminent. For more than five hundred years since, temples and pagodas have spread throughout the nine provinces, and monks and nuns have filled the Three Auxiliaries. This has all been due to the contemporary monarchs' reverent faith, with court and countryside submitting their hearts. That the image teaching has flourished and continued down to the present without cessation is truly due to carrying the strength of human kings. In the world, between lord and minister, father and son, people still say that grace and favor are hard to repay, as boundless as the vast heavens; how much more so is the Buddha the transcendent compassionate father of sentient beings, and the excellent physician for both ordinary and holy! To desire to suppress and humiliate Him, to convict and insult Him, is impossible. Respectfully examining it: the Tathāgata's wisdom transcends being and non-being—how could the Three Sovereigns fathom it? His power encompasses creation—He cannot be compared to the Two Modes. Formerly, Pi, the Grand Minister of Wu, asked Kong Qiu: 'Is the Master a sage?' Confucius replied: 'Qiu has broad knowledge and a strong memory; I am not a sage.' He asked again: 'Were the Three Kings sages?' He replied: 'The Three Kings were good at employing wisdom and courage; whether they were sages is not known to Qiu.' He asked again: 'Were the Five Emperors sages?' He replied: 'The Five Emperors were good at employing benevolence and trustworthiness; whether they were sages is likewise not known to Qiu.' He asked again: 'Were the Three Sovereigns sages?' He replied: 'The Three Sovereigns were good at employing the seasons; whether they were sages is likewise not known to Qiu.' The Grand Minister was greatly astonished and said: 'If so, then who is a sage?' The Master's countenance changed, and after a moment he said: 'Among the people of the west there is a sage: he does not govern, yet there is no disorder; he does not speak, yet he is naturally believed; he does not transform, yet [the Way] naturally proceeds. How vast! The people cannot find a name for him.' If the Three Kings and Five Emperors were definitely great sages, how could Kong Qiu have concealed it and not spoken? That would be the fault of hiding sages. Appraising it by this, the Buddha is acknowledged as the Great Sage. The Laozi xisheng jing says: 'My master transformed and journeyed to India, well entering nirvāṇa.' The Fuzi says: 'The master of Laozi was named Śākyamuni.' Directly consulting the classics and books of Confucius and Laozi, textual witnesses to their honoring the Buddha as master are not few. How could Yi alone slander Him? Formerly, Gongsun Long wrote the treatise On Hard and White, blaming the Three Sovereigns and censuring the Five Emperors; down to this day, when people read it, they still gnash their teeth, regarding it as a warning from the past. How truly lamentable!