廣弘明集 10.56

10.56

Your subject Guang further replied: Loyal subjects and filial sons have many paths of duty; why must personal plowing and paying taxes and corvée be deemed supreme? The Book of Rites says: "Minor filial piety uses strength; middling filial piety uses labor; great filial piety is never exhausted." As for the filial piety of a śramaṇa: above, he accords with the Buddhas; in the middle, he repays the four kindnesses; below, he benefits sentient beings. These three being inexhaustible constitutes the greatest filial piety. Therefore the Book of Songs says: "The genial and gracious lord seeks blessings without perversity." If the Six Classics are necessarily cast aside while frivolous slanders are instead believed, so that the true path is abolished and impaired, I privately would not desire it. If serving parents is done only by bodily labor, it can merely be called minor filial piety; paying taxes and corvée to serve the sovereign is merely the duty of common folk. Almsgiving to monks and venerating statues are both completely in accord with principle. Wei Song's assertions contradict and undermine themselves: previously he said that slighting people while revering stone is called being an 'ignorant monk,' but that venerating images also turns out to be 'foolish vulgarity.' Lusting after a wife and cherishing children is understood even by animals; to chant of one's feelings and indulge one's desires—how base that is! The Classic of Filial Piety says: "Our bodies, hair, and skin are received from our parents; not daring to damage them is the beginning of filial piety. Establishing oneself and practicing the Way, spreading one's fame to later generations to glorify one's parents, is the end of filial piety." If one says that a śramaṇa's leaving home incurs the charge of abandoning parents, one might as well say that Zeng Shen serving Confucius made him an unfilial son. To inspire one another through the Way is heard of in the sacred scriptures; when bringing tuition gifts accords with propriety, what offense does the monk commit? Laozi said: "If the four symbols do not operate, the Great Symbol cannot be made patent; if the five tones do not sound, the Great Sound cannot arrive." If one desires to annihilate the Two Vehicles forever, it may likewise be that the Great Vehicle cannot be made patent. As for Song: if his resolve had been clear, he would have left home without regret; if his resolve was not clear, why must his regretting it be right? In the past, Duke Ding went over to the Han and was the first to suffer the penalty of extreme execution; Lady Ma rebelled against Jiang Ziya and brought upon herself the fate of spilled water. This proves that an army that ruins its state cannot serve the use of loyal subjects; a woman who escapes her husband ultimately loses a chaste and virtuous name. Song originally took refuge in Śākyamuni, which may be called a good beginning; loathing the Way and returning to the laity was not a good end. Compared to that treacherous woman and rebellious minister, what difference is there? Heaven does not endure evil for long—how could he preserve his person? Turning his back on truth and heading for the vulgar: how is that return any different? Regarding the request to select monks and establish temples: I have heard that gold and jade are diverse treasures cherished together by everyone; the distinct principles of the Dark Learning and Confucianism are respected alike far and near. Why must Confucius be followed as a master merely because he was born in one's own country, while the Buddha is abandoned in one's mind simply because he dwelt in a distant realm? Overwhelmed by the urgency of the matter, I venture to present my humble understanding; on the principles of right and wrong, I dare not act presumptuously on my own. In the past, Confucius passed away, and his shrines provided a model for a thousand years; Śākyamuni departed, and his temples established spiritual stupas for ten thousand generations. This was meant to cause those who see the forms to restrain their thoughts, and those who face the images to submit their hearts. Revering a teacher and being loyal to a master share the same principle. Take Ding Lan binding his belt and filially serving the wooden image of his mother, or Akṣayamati removing his necklace to offer it to the stupa of Prabhūtaratna Buddha: seeking back into remote antiquity and meditating on their pure traces, once planted they form a forest, never transgressing principle. Furthermore, examining the ritual scriptures: the Son of Heaven has seven ancestral shrines, feudal lords have five shrines, and grand masters and ministers each have their graded ranks. Thus heaven is called shen, and heaven is sacrificed to at the Round Altar; earth is called qi, and earth is sacrificed to at the Square Pool; humans are called gui, and they are sacrificed to in the ancestral temple. For the labor of dragons and spirits in bringing down rain, and the merit of cattle in pulling plows, forms are still erected in villages and statues set up at city gates. How much more so for the Great Master of the Three Realms above heaven and below heaven, the Compassionate Father of the four forms of birth in this realm and other realms! His majesty and virtue are revered by hundreds of billions; his transforming influence serves as the model for myriad spirits. Therefore good people dedicate merit to him like the many streams returning to the ocean depths; his great light gathers them in like the two luminaries accompanying the host of stars. From the Yuezhi preserving his shadow to Nagarahāra reducing his body to ashes, relics have spread everywhere and Jetavana was subsequently built. Sages and worthies rely on these magnificent blessings; the honored and noble hope through this to attain peace. How can the seven stories and nine bays suddenly have their niches collapsed and structures brought down, or the four doorways and eight windows be abolished on the grounds of losing the Way? Governing without issuing orders; the teaching of forms increases and decreases with the times. The ultimate principle is attained without words, and the scriptures and images should naturally be permitted to circulate. Men of comprehensive understanding and prominent scholars manifest their use according to circumstances; supporting the true and illuminating the secular, sages respond to the times. If one must wait for Taigong to be a chief minister, in a thousand years there will be no Taigong; if one must obtain Kumārajīva to be a master's guide, in ten thousand generations there will be no Kumārajīva. The Dharma does not manifest itself; its propagation depends entirely on people. How could the Wheel of the Dharma of our Great Zhou be extinguished forever? Your Holy Majesty governs things with the six regulations and shines forth spontaneously with the nine virtues; crooked arguments are not implemented, and straightforward speech is sure to be employed. In the past, the First Emperor of Qin excavated the tomb of Confucius, and calamity struck within three days; Emperor Taiwu of Wei wiped out the saṅghārāmas, and disaster arose for seven years. The counsel of Cui Hao is plain to see; the words of Wei Song are hard to adopt. The benevolent do not harm others to benefit themselves; the wise do not rejoice in calamity to solicit fame. Yuan Song was abandoned by Heaven without divine assistance; once he loses this human body, where will he be reborn? My understanding falls far short of a compass; my words are unworthy of complete truthfulness. Yet if I do not reply here, I fear it will harm the multitude of goods. Forgiving the shortcomings of others is the conduct of generous virtue; bearing in mind the virtues of creatures is the wisdom of benevolence. Even supposing the monks today were half good and half bad, how could it be right to expel them completely and retain none? The whole realm would lose hope, and all within the borders would lament. I consider that this path does not glorify the virtue of Zhou. Why revere Confucian scholars to manifest respect, yet despise the disciples of Śākya to satisfy personal desires? How does this differ from despising gold while treasuring stones? Considering that the Kingly Way is vast and broad, could such a principle be fitting? Soil becomes level by holding water; wood becomes straight by receiving the plumbline. An enlightened sovereign accepts remonstrance without taboo; a broad-minded scholar likes to hear of his faults. If wisdom does not rashly anger, the views of the lowly and foolish may be expressed. If benevolence does not rashly sever, the field of the Triratna will immediately be established. Heaven covers nothing without impartiality; Earth bears all with vast excellence, containing mountains and receiving seas—what does it not embrace? Within a hamlet of ten households there are surely the loyal and trustworthy; within a single realm, how could there be no worthy monks? I humbly prostrate myself before the Tianyuan Emperor: promote virtue and receive the worthy, invite the brilliant and select the outstanding. Eliminate complexity and strive for brevity, preserving one temple per prefecture; allow monks to dwell anywhere in mountain forests and rock caves. Where there are relics, order stupas to be rebuilt. Let the temple be named 'Zhou Zhongxing Temple' (so that scholars who delight in wisdom may be encouraged and guided, while those who aspire to solitude may cease speaking to seek realization). This will bring benefit both within and without, causing no loss to public or private interests. This would be a great fortune for both the religious and the secular, and a delight to both the Dark Learning and Confucianism. The imperial enterprise of the flourishing Zhou will surpass the hundred kings; the sovereign of the Daxiang era will shine over the Four Seas. Heaven is high and its hearing far off; I rashly put forward my humble words. With trembling breath and fluttering soul, as a living person I risk death. I beg you to lower the awe of thunder and lightning, and spread the virtue of wind and rain. Respectfully submitted. On the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the Nayan Han Changluan received the document. Grand Master of the Palace Writers Duke of Guichang Yuwen Ze, Grand Master of the Palace Writers Tuoba Xinggong, and others questioned Guang, saying: "Fotudeng was a man of three hundred years ago. Seeing that you are no more than thirty, claiming from afar to be the disciple of a supreme sage—is this not an error?" Guang answered: "Regarding those who succeed the Zhou, even after a hundred generations they may still be known. Though my previous master lived some three hundred years ago, in terms of time it is no more than ten generations. Why should this be perplexing?" Ze said: "Yuan Song's memorial presented a distorted view that saṅghārāmas harm the people and damage the state. What opinion do you have in now advising that they be established?" Guang answered: "When Jie and Zhou lost their states, the men of Yin turned to Zhou. The ruin of states and the destruction of families did not arise from the Buddhadharma. Clear passages in texts sacred and secular, religious and mundane, have existed from antiquity to the present and cannot be abandoned. Therefore I request their establishment."