廣弘明集 28.23

28.23

洽稽首和南。夫教之所由。必暢物之所未悟。物之所以通。亦得之於師資。雖玄宗冲緬妙旨幽深。然所以會之者。固亦簡而易矣。是以致雖遠必假近言以明之。理雖昧必借朗喻以徵之。故夫殆墜之旨。可得之於千載。將絕之趣。可悟之於一朝。今本無之談。旨略例坦然。每經明之。可謂眾矣。然造精之言誠難為。允理詣其極。通之未易。豈可以通之不易。因廣異同之說。遂令空有之談。紛然大殊。後學遲疑莫知所擬。今道行指歸通敘色空。甚有清致。然未詳經文為有明旨耶。或得之於象外。觸類而長之乎。今眾經甚多。或取譬不遠。豈無一言昭然易喻。古人有云。聖人之言可能使人信之不可能。是以徵之於文。未知所釋。今故諮其數事。思聞嘉誨以啟其疑。洽稽首和南。

Qia bows his head and pays reverence. The purpose of teaching must be to elucidate what beings have not yet comprehended; that which enables beings to understand is also acquired from teachers. Although the mysterious lineage is subtle and remote, and its wondrous tenets are deep and obscure, that which unifies them is inherently simple and easy. Therefore, though the reach is distant, one must employ proximate words to clarify it; though the principle is dark, one must borrow bright metaphors to verify it. Thus, tenets on the verge of falling can be preserved across a thousand years, and tendencies about to be severed can be realized in a single morning. At present, the discourse on original non-being (benwu) is generally clear and straightforward; every scripture clarifies it, which may be said to be manifold. Yet expressions that penetrate the subtle are truly difficult to frame; the true principle reaches the ultimate, and understanding it is not easy. How could one, simply because understanding is not easy, then expand disparate and converging theories, thereby making the discourses on emptiness and existence wildly divergent, so that later students hesitate and know not what to follow? Now your Guide to the Practice of the Way comprehensively sets forth form and emptiness with exceedingly refined purport. Yet it is not yet clear whether the scriptural text possesses an explicit teaching, or whether you have grasped it beyond the images, extending it according to categories? Now the scriptures are very numerous, and their metaphors are not far to seek; how could there not be a single word that makes it lucid and easy to understand? The ancients said: 'The words of the sages can make people believe them, but cannot make them understand.' Therefore, examining them in the texts, I do not know how they are explained. Now, I inquire into several matters, longing to hear your fine instructions to resolve my doubts. Qia bows his head and pays reverence.