廣弘明集 10.19

10.19

The edict said: "You say that the sacred and the profane are as far apart as heaven and earth, completely divergent as external and internal. Then the sacred ought to remain sacred by itself without meddling in the profane, and Buddhism ought to remain Buddhism by itself without relying on Confucianism. If the sacred were only the sacred, what benefit would it bring? If the Buddha were solely the Buddha, what efficacy would his transformation have? Therefore the sacred and the profane support one another, and Confucianism and Buddhism make each other more manifest. Had you not relied on Our words, what could you have discussed? Thus the internal and external are suppressed and promoted, abolishing and establishing one another. Now the religious law cannot be practiced; it is cut off by the king's law. Abolition and promotion lie in destined cycles, not conflicting with constant principles. There is no principle of eternal flourishing; what fault is there in abolition?"