廣弘明集 11.8

11.8

The śramaṇa Falin and others present this memorial: Lin has heard that when feelings are intense, the voice must be mournful; when principles are correct, words must be straightforward. Therefore, an impoverished son longs to convey his words, and a toiling laborer desires to sing of his affairs. Why is this? I have observed that in the final years of the Daye era, all under heaven fell into ruin and chaos; heaven and earth were gloomy and dark, and the four seas were boiling over. Waves surged, dust flew, hills burned, and the plains blazed. The five horses severed the route of crossing the river; the seven youths sang the song of leveling fortresses. Beacon fires sounded alarms from time to time, feathered dispatches raced competitively, border passes were full of anxiety, and the night-watch kettles never ceased. The Way declined and virtue was disordered; fortune was exhausted and numbers reached their limit. Transport logistics were truly burdensome; heads were counted and grain baskets collected. Piles of corpses lay like wild grass; shed blood flowed into rivers. The people could barely survive, and living things were deeply weary, having nowhere to plead and no place to cast their bones. The common folk suffered under inverted hanging, and the myriad states were distressed without a master. How could one foresee that the sound of the Dharma wheel would fall silent, and the true teaching would decline? His Sagely Majesty raised the mind of condolence for the customs of the world, and complied with the mandate of August Heaven; thereupon he raised the righteous banner and unified the realm. At that time, religious and secular relied on his grace; Chinese and foreigners were universally pleased. Thereupon he harmonized heaven and earth, brought communication to the eight winds, fathomed yin and yang, and balanced the four seasons. He harmonized the states and set human relations in order; his merits surpassed mending the heavens, and his spirit equaled establishing the cosmic order. He sent down clouds and rain to nurture life; he unveiled the sun and moon to shine down. He manifested it through sounds and lights, and recorded it with cultural artifacts; his grace moistened the reeds on the path, and his transformation reached the insects and fish. Just as he was about to restate the Nine Categories and once again spread the Five Teachings, resurrecting the learning of the Stone Canal and disseminating the custom of the schools, inheriting from Xuanyuan and Fuxi from afar and matching Wen and Jing in the recent past—with his meritorious work ever-flourishing, so that people danced with their hands and stamped with their feet without realizing it—I have observed the matters submitted by Fu Yi. Before finishing reading it, my five viscera tore apart; when I had just completed reading it, my six emotions fractured. Alas! Perverse words bewilder what is correct, and māra's eloquence encroaches upon the true. It should not even be heard by the most foolish, let alone offend the Heavenly Hearing above! However, Yi occupies an important post of the time and enjoys the renown of public regard; how can he act contrary to human feelings and stir up evil without cause? Furthermore, his written words are shallow and crude, and the principles of the matters are unexplained, disgracing the canons and models of the former kings and injuring the manners and norms of human relations. Why is this? When a person speaks, the words must hit the mark. The Master said: 'If a single word is reasonable, all under heaven will submit to him; if a single deed runs contrary to the regular order, his wife and children will turn against him.' Looking at what Yi has submitted, surveying its general outline and probing it from beginning to end, it deceives the imperial court in many points and defames the sages most acutely. Yi's intention here was originally to promote himself through this means, shamelessly seeking advancement. He is truly incapable of benefiting the state and profiting the people; in the end, he is merely deluding and trifling with the court and the realm. Yet,