廣弘明集 7.45

7.45

昔漢武壽陵秦皇終隴。財寶充牣畢被侵開。何若捨貪積而興上福。以崇景仰之至。割形骸而從道化。以襲全正之極者可也。不然藏積空勞自他。形神校計晨夕無暇身死名滅卒從他手。今昔如此。習俗相仍。略舉近代。齊代之行福也。寺塔崇盛僧眾雜聚。不能節之以道。縱其淆亂。斬斛律明月虛聽讖詞。周軍聞便解甲。齊后斯闇主也。權守國資不能周給。宇文既破。帑藏充盈不解。身用銜紲而詣軍門。財寶並為周有。周祖既廢二教。自以為萬代之上策也。西平東討無往不剋。以為滅法之廟略也。固天宥之。統收齊餘泉貨鳩拾。素是貧國縑纊全希。一旦獲之。填胸滿目連手運帛。接軫長途。斯為大盜之滅國。乃以為興師之盛業也。生滅得失曾不籌之。惟擬目前快意莫慮於後。我既破他他亦破我。自古恒爾。無得不思。周祖謂以萬代常存與天地而齊壽也。窮討巖穴務存藏積。守儉保素剋己勵俗。亦萬代之一人也。當年崩背而其子用之。大張文物高陳聲勢。即開佛法。以從百姓之歡心。又顯勝相。用呈大國之威雄也。立四皇后表八柱國。前後鹵簿隊仗倍常。各二十四。自古皇王莫之比擬。立元宣政禪位小兒。時在繈褓王位斯及。自號天元皇帝也。春秋方富未許喪身。不盈一載又從萬古。兒小不立后父控衡。曆移運從隋高受禪。位及國財並為隋有。斯可師也。而不師之。隋雖重法廣陳寺塔。至於財事無足稱言。故使蓄積穀帛遍於國中。倉庫殷實不能散施。故福門雖開示存而已。及煬帝之末。天下沸騰郊壘風驚。畿甸霧結。初登位也。哥帝德而曰萬年。後陵遲也。咸面罵而揚諸咎。倉廩資於群盜縻爛者無窮。形骸執於賊臣。百辟困於黔首。舉斯以統無得守株。佛之誠言信而可驗。何以知其然耶。自古登臨無不高稱萬歲。歲之有萬斯即有期。況減於萬。何代不有。既前王不守於萬。固知後帝義不逾之。各取萬歲今何所在。五運相襲可不鏡諸。是以明后英賢。知五家之必散。上智高識。鑒三堅之可修。已用之財如影之相逐。未用之物不可賜及怨親。所以於國於家遺之如脫屣。若財若命棄之若遊塵。莊嚴性識。使早備法身。成就善權。務津梁諸有。斯至教也。餘諸幻有知何所論。故經云。劫燒終訖。乾坤洞燃。須彌巨海。都為灰揚。天龍人鬼。於中凋喪。二儀尚殞。國有何常。如斯法句可以尋真。自外凡鄙固非其務。

In antiquity, Emperor Wu of Han had his tomb at Shouling, and the First Emperor of Qin had his mound at Zhonglong. Their tombs were filled to overflowing with wealth and jewels, yet in the end they were plundered and broken open. How could that compare to renouncing greed and hoarding to cultivate supreme blessings, so as to venerate the utmost devotion, and cutting off bodily ties to follow the conversion of the Way, so as to inherit the summit of total rectitude? Otherwise, hoarding and accumulating wealth merely wears out oneself and others in vain; calculating and scheming in body and mind leaves no leisure morning or evening, until at death one’s name perishes and the treasures suddenly pass into the hands of others. This has been so both past and present, customs perpetuating one another. To cite a modern example briefly: consider the pursuit of blessings in the Qi dynasty. Temples and pagodas flourished in grand display, and the saṅgha gathered in mixed multitude. Yet they could not regulate it with the Way, allowing it to fall into disorder. They executed Hulü Mingyue based on empty prophetic verses; as soon as the Zhou troops heard of it, they unbuckled their armor [in relief]. The ruler of Qi was indeed a benighted lord! Powerfully guarding the state's resources, he was unable to distribute them. Once Yuwen [Tai's descendants] crushed him, though his storehouses were packed to the brim, he had no way to use them. Leading an ox by the halter with a bit in his mouth, he went to the military camp gate, and his treasures were completely seized by Zhou. After Zhou Zu (Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou) abolished the two teachings, he considered it to be the supreme strategy for myriad generations. Subjugating the west and campaigning in the east, nowhere did he fail to conquer; he took this to be the dynastic design achieved by eradicating the Dharma. Heaven surely indulged him. He brought together and collected all the remaining coin and currency of Qi; originally a impoverished country where fine silk and floss were utterly scarce, once they obtained them, their hearts and eyes were filled, passing along silks by linked hands and lining the long roads wheel hub to wheel hub. This was in truth a great plunderer's destruction of a state, yet he took it to be the glorious undertaking of mobilizing troops. Arising and ceasing, gain and loss, he never considered them; he only sought instant pleasure before his eyes, paying no heed to what came after. Once I break others, others will also break me; since antiquity it has always been so—how could one not reflect upon this? Zhou Zu thought he would endure eternally for myriad generations, possessing a lifespan equal to heaven and earth. Exerting his search into crags and caves, his priority was accumulation and storage; keeping frugality, preserving simplicity, mastering himself, and urging the common people, he was truly one man among myriad generations. Yet in the very year he died, his son squandered it: displaying cultural artifacts and pomp on a vast scale, raising grand fame and prestige, he immediately reopened the Buddhist Dharma to satisfy the people’s joy, and also displayed magnificent forms to manifest the martial majesty of a great state. He established four empresses and honored the Eight Pillar Generals; his vanguard and rearguard escorts and guards doubled the usual number, each totaling twenty-four. Since antiquity, no emperor or king could compare. Establishing the era Xuanzheng, he abdicated the throne to an infant; while still swaddled in cloth, the imperial position reached him, and he styled himself Emperor Tianyuan. In the prime of his youth, death was hardly expected; yet before a single year had passed, he too joined the ancients. The child being too small to establish himself, his maternal grandfather took control of the reins. As the calendar shifted and destiny followed, Emperor Gao of the Sui accepted the abdication. The throne and the state’s wealth all fell into the hands of Sui. This could have served as a lesson, yet it was not taken as a lesson. Although the Sui honored the Dharma and widely erected temples and pagodas, in matters of material wealth there was nothing worthy of praise. Thus they caused accumulated grain and silk to fill the entire realm, and their storehouses were densely packed, unable to be given away in charity. Hence, although the gates of merit were opened, it was merely an empty outward show. When it reached the end of Emperor Yang's reign, the world was in turmoil; the border fortresses trembled in the wind, and mists gathered over the imperial domain. When he first ascended the throne, they sang of the Emperor's virtue, shouting 'Ten Thousand Years!' But when he later declined, they all cursed him to his face, proclaiming his myriad crimes. The granaries and storehouses were supplied to packs of bandits, rotting and wasting without end; his physical body was seized by traitorous ministers, and the hundred officials were stranded by the common people. Taking this as an overarching principle, one must not stubbornly guard the stump. The Buddha’s truthful words are trustworthy and verifiable! How do we know this to be so? Since antiquity, whoever ascended the throne never failed to be loudly acclaimed 'Ten Thousand Years!' But if the years number ten thousand, they inherently have a limit; how much more so when they fall short of ten thousand, as happens in every era? Since former kings could not keep their ten thousand [years], one surely knows that later emperors, by principle, cannot exceed it. Each took ten thousand years, yet where are they today? How can one not take mirror of the successive transitions of the Five Phases? Therefore, enlightened rulers and heroic sages know that the [wealth of the] five houses must disperse; those of supreme wisdom and elevated understanding perceive that the three durables can be cultivated. Wealth already used follows one like a shadow; unused goods cannot even be bestowed upon enemies or kin. Therefore, concerning state and family, they abandon them like casting off worn sandals; concerning wealth and life, they discard them like floating dust. Adorning the nature and consciousness, they cause the Dharma-body to be swiftly perfected; accomplishing skillful means, their endeavor is to ferry all existing beings across. This is the ultimate teaching. As for the rest of illusory existences, what is there to discuss? Therefore a sūtra says: 'When the kalpa-fire burns to its close, heaven and earth burn through. Mount Sumeru and the vast oceans are all reduced to blowing ash. Heavenly dragons, humans, and ghosts all perish within it.' When even the two cosmic polarities collapse, what constancy is there in a state? Such Dharmic verses can be used to seek the truth; as for vulgar and mundane matters beyond this, they are surely not our concern.