廣弘明集 6.8

6.8

初序沙汰僧眾者。夫以稊稂之穢青田。榮華之弊白首者。良有以也。故六群之過興舍衛。十濫之偽起毘離。大聖因立條章。無學由而正犯。遂有七擯量其小失。四法拔其大𮘧。張網目而示三千。顯律儀而陳八萬。故得正像咸稱有道內外同號無塵。自法漸王門。金科之刑無墜。僧羅海岳。藏疾之隙滋章。舉統以法繩之。烹鮮之儀可覿。隨機以時勸勉。握泥之喻自隣。人誰無過。垂珠之誡有津。醜迹易欣。掩耳之夫難覩。所以宋唐兩帝王顏等賢。鑒物性之昏明曉時緣之淳薄。縱釋門之紛蕩。則淄澠一亂。彈僧徒之得失。則涇渭殊流斥貪競之鄙夫。毀藏積之僧滓。存高尚之道德。延重惠以攝人。至如漢魏齊梁之為政也。恢恢天網取漏吞舟。察察王政事兼苛濫。所以大弘佛法通濟於五乘。該洽明時陶漸於清濁。使濁者知歸令自新於大造。清者容養悟適化之多方。其猶大赦天下。逋逃因之改容。忘瑕納眾。群小以之遷善。堯舜豈非聖主而化不及丹朱。漢祖焉樂亂階而亮貫高之逆。孔門季路雖僻而預升堂。釋種達多乃邪而參清眾。是知權道抑揚神機利用。或收或縱。事出乘時。後序除廢三寶意者。夫以保形存命有生之所貴。重財愛食鄙俗之共珍。故位稱大寶。無以摧於死王。力拔青山。莫有亡於老病。斯佛教也。故四山常逼王位非常。三相恒遷生涯有數。斯實錄也。俗有讖記之傳。不知由何而得。或云口授。或述符圖。虛然顯密布露士俗。竊以五運更襲帝者一人自。餘凡叟誰之顧錄。周祖已前有忌黑者。云有黑人次膺天位。故齊宣惶怖欲誅稠禪師。稠以情問。云有黑人當臨天位。稠曰。斯浪言也。黑無過漆。漆可作耶。齊宣妄解手殺第七弟渙。故可笑也。周太祖初承俗讖。我名黑泰可以當之。既入關中改為黑皂。朝章野服咸悉同之。令僧衣黃以從讖緯。武帝雄略初不齒之。張賓定霸。元嵩賦詩。重道疑佛將行廢立。有實禪師者。釋門之望帝亦欽重。私問後運是誰應得。實曰。非僧所知。帝曰。如讖所傳云黑者應得。僧多衣黑。竊有所疑。實曰。僧但一身誰所扶翼。決非僧也。帝曰。僧非得者。黑者是誰。實曰。至尊大人保信浪語。外相若聞豈言至聖。黑者大有老烏亦黑。大豆亦黑。如是非一。可亦得耶。帝聞有姓。烏姓竇者。假過誅之元其情本。疑意在釋。遂即蕩除。魏太武本是戎鄉。素無文墨。八歲登位。一信崔浩。故兩帝厚身信讒信讖。陵殘佛化自取殃及。旋踵更興。興由時來。不在人力。故經傳云。佛化惟遠終於六萬歲時住持。小聖功在九億無學。不可削也。蔡謨已下上事諸賢。並挾私忿於僧有隙。發憤忘身。何況佛法。極筆而書罪狀。深文而掛刑網。禿賊以驚視聽。妖胡而動王臣且律令條章。未若凝脂之密。滔滔天網自有陷目之夫。言賊斯即盜科。述妖乃當死例。書表盛云妖賊。未識妖賊是誰。可謂匿名之書。足投諸火。如須勘檢虛迹自形。前後上事雖有十賢。荀濟一夫差有才用。自餘連寫未足人聞。傅奕後來謂自脫頴。言無典據才氣虛劣。瓦礫云寶。賢愚所輕。然素本無道門起家。貧賤投僧乞貸。不遂所懷。蓄憤致嫌固其本志。武德之始西來入京。投道士王巋。巋道左之望。都邑所知。見其飢寒延居私宅。巋通人也。待以上賓。三數日間。遂通其婦入堂宴語。曾不避人。巋有兄子為僧。寺近巋宅。因往見之。奕大瞋怒。僧便告巋。巋初不信曰。傅奕貧士。我將接在宅。豈為不軌耶。僧曰。叔若有疑。可一往視。相將至宅。果如所言。巋掩氣而旋。巋有女婿為果毅。常以為言。奕既竊妻而傳妖不可算矣。如唐吏部唐臨冥報所傳。神為泥人。固其宜哉。如別所顯。

First, introducing the purification of the monastic assembly: Indeed, that weeds foul the green field and that the decline of youthful bloom leads to white hair are phenomena that certainly have their causes. Thus the faults of the Group of Six arose in Śrāvastī, and the corruption of the ten improprieties originated in Vaiśālī. The Great Sage thereupon established articles and rules, whereby the non-learners corrected offenses. Consequently, there were the seven expulsions to measure minor faults and the four rules to uproot major evils. Setting forth the mesh of the net, he revealed the three thousand [rules]; displaying the vinaya etiquette, he laid out the eighty thousand. Thus both the True and Semblance [Ages] were acclaimed as having the Way, and both inner and outer regarded them as stainless. Ever since the Dharma entered the royal courts, the punishment of the golden codes has not lapsed. Monks spread across seas and mountains, and the cracks that harbored corruption grew ever more apparent. Upholding governance to restrain them by law, the decorum of 'cooking a small fish' could be witnessed. Admonishing them according to capacity and time, the simile of grasping mud was closely matched. Who among humans is without fault? Admonitions of hanging pearls provide a crossing. Ugly traces are easily observed, yet those who cover their ears are hard to make see. Therefore, the two emperors of the Song and Tang, as well as worthies like Wang and Yan, observed the dullness and brightness of beings' nature and understood the simplicity and decadence of their karmic conditions. If they indulged the chaos and dissolution of the Buddhist school, the waters of the Zi and Mian would mingle in confusion; if they reprimanded the merits and demerits of the monastic followers, the Jing and Wei rivers would flow distinctly. They cast out greedy and rivalrous knaves and eliminated the monastic dregs who hoarded possessions; they preserved high moral character and extended profound kindness to gather people in. As for the governance of the Han, Wei, Qi, and Liang, the vast net of heaven was wide enough to let boat-swallowing fish slip through, whereas the overly inquisitive royal administration combined harshness and excess. Therefore, they broadly propagated the Buddhist Dharma to bring universal salvation across the Five Vehicles; thoroughly permeating their enlightened eras, they gradually transformed both the pure and the turbid, causing the turbid to recognize their refuge and renew themselves under great creation, and accommodating the pure so they realized the many ways of adapting to transformation. This was just like a general amnesty under heaven, by which fugitives changed their ways, or overlooking flaws to embrace the multitude, through which the common crowd turned toward good. Were Yao and Shun not sage rulers? Yet their transformation did not reach Danzhu. How could the founder of the Han have delighted in the steps of disorder? Yet he pardoned the rebellion of Guan Gao. In the gate of Confucius, although Jilu was eccentric, he nevertheless ascended the hall; among the Śākya clan, Devadatta was heterodox, yet he took part in the pure assembly. From this we know that the skillful path involves suppressing and elevating, its spiritual mechanism depending on expedient use: sometimes restraining, sometimes releasing, actions arise according to the times. Next, introducing the intention behind abolishing the Three Jewels: Preserving the body and keeping life is what living beings value; prizing wealth and cherishing food are what the vulgar crowd cherishes. Therefore, although the throne is called the Great Treasure, it cannot defeat the King of Death; and though one's strength may uproot green mountains, none can escape old age and sickness. This is the teaching of the Buddha. Thus the four mountains constantly press in, the royal throne is impermanent, the three marks continuously shift, and a lifespan has its fixed measure. This is the true record. Among the common people, there are prophetic omens transmitted, though it is unknown whence they came. Some say they were orally conferred; others recount talismans and charts. Falsely displayed and secretly spread, they were publicized among scholars and commoners. In my humble view, the Five Phases succeed one another, and of emperors there is only one; who would look upon or heed the rest of the ordinary folk? Before the Zhou founder, there were those who feared the color black, saying that a 'black person' would succeed to the heavenly throne. Therefore, Emperor Xuan of Northern Qi was panicked and wished to execute Dhyāna Master Chou. Chou inquired about the reason, and the emperor said that a black person would ascend the heavenly throne. Chou said, 'These are wild words! Nothing is blacker than lacquer—can lacquer do it?' Emperor Xuan misunderstood and personally killed his seventh brother, Huan; this is truly laughable. When Emperor Taizu of Northern Zhou first received the popular omen, [he thought], 'My name is Heitai, which can correspond to it.' After entering Guanzhong, he changed [his attire] to black, and court insignia and common clothing alike conformed to it. He ordered the monks to wear yellow to accord with the prophetic apocrypha. Emperor Wu had heroic vision and initially paid no heed to it. But when Zhang Bin established hegemony and Wei Yuansong composed his poem, valuing Daoism and doubting Buddhism, the emperor was on the verge of abolishing [Buddhism] and elevating [Daoism]. There was a Dhyāna Master Shi, who was the hope of the Buddhist school and was also respected by the emperor. The emperor secretly asked him who would receive the future turn of fortune. Shi said, 'This is not something a monk knows.' The emperor said, 'According to the omens transmitted, they say a black person should obtain it. Monks mostly wear black, so I harbor some suspicions.' Shi said, 'A monk is but a single individual; who would support him? It is definitely not a monk.' The emperor said, 'If a monk will not obtain it, who is the black one?' Shi said, 'Your Majesty, as a great man, how can you rely on and believe wild rumors? If outsiders hear this, how can they call you a supreme sage? There are many black things: old crows are black, and black soybeans are black. Such things are not few; can they obtain it too?' When the emperor heard of people with the surname Wu ('Crow') or Dou ('Bean'), he used trumped-up charges to execute them. In his original disposition, his suspicions lay with the Buddhists, so he promptly eradicated them. Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei was originally from the northern tribal lands and had no literary learning. Ascending the throne at the age of eight, he placed absolute trust in Cui Hao. Thus both emperors favored their own persons and believed in slander and prophetic omens; they trampled upon the Buddhist teaching and brought calamity upon themselves. Yet shortly after, it was revived again. Its revival came from the opportune time and was not dependent on human power. Therefore, the scriptures and commentaries say: 'The Buddha's teaching will endure far into the future, ending only at the age of sixty thousand years; the small sages who preserve it have their merit in the nine hundred million non-learners.' It cannot be eliminated! Those worthies from Cai Mo down who submitted memorials all harbored private grievances and had rifts with monks. Giving vent to their rage, they disregarded themselves, so how much more would they disregard the Buddhist Dharma? They exhausted their brushes in writing down accusations and stretched the law to ensnare them in penal nets, using 'bald thieves' to alarm ears and eyes and 'sorcerous barbarians' to sway kings and ministers. Furthermore, statutory articles and codes are not as tight as congealed fat; in the vast heavenly net, there are bound to be those who fall through the mesh. To call them thieves places them under the statutes for robbery; to describe them as sorcerous subjects them to the death penalty. Their memorials abundantly speak of 'sorcerous thieves,' yet one knows not who these 'sorcerous thieves' are. These may be termed anonymous letters, fit only to be thrown into the fire! If investigated, their groundless traces would expose themselves. Although there were ten worthies who submitted memorials across the eras, Xun Ji was the only one who had some talent and utility; as for the rest who followed in writing, they are not worth being heard by others. Fu Yi came later and considered himself outstanding, yet his words had no classical authority and his talent was empty and deficient. Calling rubble a treasure, he is despised by both the worthy and the foolish. Moreover, having no family background in Daoism, he arose from poverty and turned to monks to beg for loans. Not getting what he desired, he harbored resentment and grudge—this was indeed his original motive. At the beginning of the Wude era, he came west to enter the capital and turned to the Daoist Wang Kui. Kui was the hope of the Daoist community and known throughout the metropolis. Seeing that he was cold and hungry, Kui invited him to reside in his private residence. Kui was a cultured man and treated him as an honored guest. Within a few days, [Fu Yi] seduced his wife, entering the hall to feast and converse, without even avoiding others. Kui had an elder brother's son who was a monk, whose temple was near Kui's residence. When he went to visit, he saw this. Fu Yi became furious. The monk then informed Kui. Kui initially did not believe it, saying, 'Fu Yi is a poor scholar; I took him into my house. How could he do anything improper?' The monk said, 'If uncle has doubts, you can go and take a look.' Going together to the house, it was indeed as he had said. Kui held his breath and turned back. Kui had a son-in-law who was a garrison commander, who often spoke of this. Having stolen another's wife, the sorceries transmitted by Fu Yi are countless. Just as recorded in the Mingbao ji by Tang Lin, Vice Minister of Personnel of the Tang, [Fu Yi's] spirit became a mud person—and how appropriate that was! It is revealed elsewhere.