[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [廣弘明集](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2103) › 12.28 # 廣弘明集 12.28 廣弘明集 12.28 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [12.28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2103.12.28) 概聞中國者三千日月萬萬三千天地之中央也。故有輪王迭出聖主繼興。御七寶而王四天。行十善而被萬國。開平等之化。和怨以睦親。扇慈悲之風。勝殘而去殺。故得不威不怒。物以之行。不役不勞。民以之治。自大劫將邁淳風漸澆。至德云衰正氣斯殄。於是五濁鼎沸三災競起。十六大國各擅尊名。八千聚落咸據封域。競尋戈劍爭事廢興。彼此貪殘更相屠害。故釋迦愍斯塗炭哀其沈溺。陳經教勸善以誘賢。制戒律禁惡以懲罪。皆令息妄歸真還源返本。比乎中原之地。上古之初。世朴時淳書契未作。民澆俗偽典籍方興。故周公不出於上皇。孔子唯生於下代。制禮作樂導俗訓民。致治興風匡時救弊。皆欲令止澆息競返素還淳。比於釋迦其揆一也。若言帝王未有佛法之前。則大治年長。有佛法之後。則虐政祚短。不得事佛像不得讀佛經者。科類而言。帝王未有周孔之前則大治年長。有周孔之後。則虐政祚短。亦不得祭周孔神行周孔教。理豈然乎。但無佛無法。人不知遠惡以修善。無禮無教。世不識事君以養親。以此而推。禮教不可一日而虧。佛法豈得暫時而廢也。 > I, Gai, have heard that the Central Kingdom is the center of the three thousand suns and moons and the myriad millions of three thousand heavens and earths. Therefore, Wheel-Turning Kings appear by turns, and holy rulers arise in succession. They drive the seven treasures, rule over the four heavens, practice the ten good deeds, and cover the myriad states. They inaugurate an egalitarian transformation, harmonizing animosities to make all kin; they fan the breeze of compassion, overcoming brutality and eliminating killing. Thus, without severity or wrath, things follow them; without servitude or toil, the people are governed. Since the great kalpa has progressed, pure simplicity has gradually deteriorated; supreme virtue has waned, and the correct energy has been extinguished. Thereupon, the five turbidities boil over, and the three calamities arise in contention. The sixteen great states each arrogate noble titles; the eight thousand settlements each occupy their bounded territories. They vie in taking up spear and sword, contending over rise and fall; in mutual greed and brutality, they slaughter and harm one another. Therefore, Śākyamuni pitied their suffering, grieved over their drowning, expounded the scriptural teachings, and encouraged the good to attract the worthy; he instituted the precepts and vinaya to prohibit evil and punish transgressions, all to cause them to cease delusion and return to the true, returning to the origin and reverting to the source. Compare this to the Central Plains: in the earliest antiquity, the age was rustic and the times were pure; written contracts had not yet been made. Only when the people became frivolous and customs grew false did the canonical records arise. Thus the Duke of Zhou did not appear in the primordial ages, and Confucius was born only in the later era. They instituted rites and composed music to guide customs and instruct the people, achieving order, inspiring culture, rectifying the times, and remedying defects, all desiring to halt frivolity, end contention, and return to plainness and simplicity. Compared to Śākyamuni, their intention was one and the same. If it is said that before rulers had the Buddha-dharma, their reign enjoyed great order and long years, and after having the Buddha-dharma, they had tyrannical governance and short-lived dynasties, so that one must not serve Buddhist images nor read Buddhist sutras; then by categorical analogy, before rulers had the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, their reign enjoyed great order and long years, and after having the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, they had tyrannical governance and short-lived dynasties, so that one also must not sacrifice to the spirits of Zhou and Confucius nor practice their teachings. How could such reasoning hold true? Without the Buddha and without the Dharma, people do not know to shun evil and cultivate good; without rites and without moral instruction, the world does not understand serving the sovereign and nurturing parents. Inferring from this: moral instruction through rites cannot be neglected for a single day; how could the Buddha-dharma be abolished for even a moment? > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 12.27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2103.12.27) - [Next: 12.29](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2103.12.29) - [Up: 12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2103.12) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2103~en-mt.12.28) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2103.12.28](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2103.12.28) · Pramāṇa