廣弘明集 12.5

12.5

The monk Minggai states: Gai has heard that the Three Sovereigns ruled heaven and the Five Emperors governed the world. Their Way embraced greatness and reached far and wide; their virtue covered all equally and evenly. They spread benevolent teachings to guide the people, and extended compassionate hearts to nurture living things. Down to the Middle Antiquity, their Way did not diminish. Therefore Emperor Wu of the Han, reverent and perceptive, saw goodness yet felt he had not attained it; Emperor Xianzong, sagely and wise, embodied the Way yet made no claim to it. Thus he was able to bend his honored bearing, paying reverence at Ganquan to the auspicious golden figure, and yearning in dream at the Deyang Palace, which called down the portent of the bronze statue. Thereupon Qin Jing traveled westward, crossing shifting sands to seek the Way, and Kāśyapa Mātanga entered eastward, traversing the Onion Ranges to transmit the truth. Thus the transformation gradually took root in the Han court, with temples rising under the name of White Horse; the Way spread through the Jin era, with monasteries established under the title of Qinglong. In the intervening ages, people copied the revered forms in abundance and vied in exalting temples and stupas, raising clouds of benevolence above falling blades and releasing waters of Dharma from dried springs, driving sentient beings into forests of blessings and lifting the populace onto grounds of goodness, initiating and elucidating the Buddha's teachings to illumine and transform the foolish and benighted. Hence in the final years of Yongping, auspicious omens gathered: felicitous clouds shed moisture, sweet dews condensed in nectar, marsh horses galloped forward, divine sparrows flocked in flight, scarlet blossoms burst into outstanding ears of grain, and purple flowers grew upon entwined branches. These may be called extraordinary signs seldom seen in an age, remarkable and auspicious portents! Thereupon the Western Regions came to pay court, the Southern Yue submitted to benevolence, armor was laid aside and troops were stood down, metals were melted down and weapons ceased. How could this not be because the responsiveness of the sages brought down spiritual grace, and the upholding of precepts and practice of goodness showed a sincere dedication that reached throughout the seen and unseen realms? Therefore the Book says: 'Heaven produces spiritual things to assist the sage. Where there is no virtue they remain hidden; where there is the Way they appear.' Recorded in trustworthy histories, this may be known in detail. Only our Great Tang has responded to the age and opened the dynastic destiny, holding the pivot and steering the calendar, receiving the mandate and establishing the imperial house. When it first raised righteousness, its way harmonized with the hundred spirits; when it first mounted the chart of rule, its majesty extended over the ten thousand states. Thus Shichong and Huaji offered their heads in the Eastern Capital; Jiande and Wuzhou gave up their bodies in the northern wastes. Jing and Wu were subdued; Qin and Long were cleared. Now it is fitting to mount the seven treasures and fly aloft, to guide the thousand wheels and soar lightly. So lofty, none could equal it; so vast, who could name it? Its merit already accomplished, its affairs are likewise complete. Furthermore, your Majesty pays heed to the Buddha's teachings and turns your thoughts toward shielding and protecting them. Hence at Zhuangyan and Zongchi, the nine-tiered stupas were raised anew; among the śramaṇas and sons of the Śākya, another thousand were ordained. The religion of images flourished beyond the previous dynasties; temples and stupas rose anew in this sagely reign. Truly you crown the triratna on your head and widely protect the four refuges, clasping your hands and bowing your head, forgetting the nobility of emperors and kings, collecting your mind and bending your knees, fully exhausting the sincerity of supreme reverence. Gai rejoices in encountering this auspicious era, wishing only to rest his mind in pure monasteries and devote his purpose entirely to the profound gate, vigilantly exerting himself in the six periods to repay the virtue of this sagely age, and bowing fervently with the five limbs to requite boundless grace. Yet Fu Yi has suddenly unleashed mad words, making them heard at court, with frivolous phrases despising the sage and a glib tongue slandering the worthy. The words he utters are uglier than the owl's cry; the sounds he emits are more venomous than the screech of a zhen-bird. He wishes solely to destroy the Buddha's teachings, eliminate the community of monks, sever their robes and grain, and reduce their temples and stupas. What is the reason for this? Yi was once a Daoist priest; evil jealousy lodged in his breast. Thus he defames the sage to exalt the base, and praises the foolish over the wise, using the inferior to slander the superior, and employing shortcomings to overcome strengths. His violation of principle and outrage against human feelings have gone to such an extreme! Yet slanderous words harm virtue, and biased listening injures the worthy. Thus Song listened to the words of Zihan and imprisoned Mo Di; Lu believed the talk of the Jisun and drove away the Sage of Niqiu. Even the worthiness of those two gentlemen could not save them; the slanders of the eight articles may likewise implicate others. However,