廣弘明集 6.42

6.42

趙人。魏延昌末為高陽王友。于時人多絕戶為沙門。瑒上言曰。禮以教世法導將來。迹用既殊區流亦別。故三千之罪。莫大於不孝。不孝之大。無過於絕祀。然則絕祀之罪。大莫甚焉。安得輕縱背禮之情而肆其向法之意也。寧有棄堂堂之政。而從鬼教乎。靈太后責以鬼教謗毀佛法。瑒曰。竊欲清明佛法使道俗兼通。非敢排棄真學妄為訾毀。且鬼神之名皆是通靈達稱。三皇五帝皆號為鬼。易曰。知鬼神之情狀。周公自美。亦云。能事鬼神。禮曰。明則有禮樂。幽則有鬼神。佛非天非地。本出於人。應世導俗。其道幽隱。名之為鬼。愚謂非謗。靈太后不罪。後遇害於河陰。詳瑒上言欲沙汰僻左。非為疵謗矣。

A native of Zhao. Toward the end of the Yanchang era of the Wei, he served as Companion to the Prince of Gaoyang. At that time, many people extinguished their households to become śramaṇas. Yang submitted a memorial stating: 'Ritual is used to instruct the worldly; the Dharma guides what is to come. Their traces and functions are different, and their streams are distinct. Therefore, among the three thousand offenses, none is greater than unfilial piety; and the greatest form of unfilial piety is none other than severing ancestral sacrifices. Thus, among crimes, none is greater than severing ancestral sacrifices. How can one lightly indulge the sentiment of turning one's back on ritual and unleash one's mind toward the Dharma? How could one abandon magnificent governance to follow the teachings of ghosts?' Empress Dowager Ling rebuked him for slandering and vilifying the Buddhist Dharma by calling it the 'teachings of ghosts'. Yang replied: 'I secretly wished to purify the Buddhist Dharma so that the religious and the secular might both be accommodated; I did not dare reject true learning or recklessly make slander. Furthermore, the titles of ghosts and spirits are all general designations for communicating with the numinous. The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were all termed ghosts. The *Yijing* says: "Understand the conditions of ghosts and spirits." The Duke of Zhou praised himself, also saying: "I am able to serve ghosts and spirits." The *Liji* states: "In the manifest there are rites and music; in the obscure there are ghosts and spirits." The Buddha is neither heaven nor earth; he originally emerged from human beings. Responding to the world to guide the secular, his way is hidden and obscure. Calling him a ghost was, in my foolish view, not slander.' Empress Dowager Ling did not punish him. Later he was killed at Heyin. When examining Yang's memorial, he merely wished to purge deviance and error; it was not intended as faultfinding and slander.