廣弘明集 12.9

12.9

Gai has heard that the supreme principle transcends words, originally lying outside praise and blame; the profound doctrine is detached from speech, truly going beyond the bounds of talking and silence. Yet living beings' sentiments are not enlightened, so words are employed to express the deep and the shallow; the paths of the world are full of confusion, so designations are made to indicate the fine and the coarse. Hence there are differences between inner and outer paths, divergences between heterodox and orthodox discourses, distinctions between ordinary and holy ranks, and divisions into Great and Lesser Teachings. If they all converge in the One Vehicle, how could one cling to them to slander the Buddha? If they ultimately tend toward the ultimate fruit, one should not bind oneself to misjudge the truth. It is like the thousand streams heading toward the azure main, or the ten thousand currents returning to the great sea. The clear proof inside and out—how could it be empty words? Therefore the Lotus Sutra says: 'Regarding the past Buddhas, present ones, or those who have attained extinction, / if there are any who hear the Dharma, / not one will fail to become a Buddha.' Again, the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'All sentient beings possess the Buddha-nature, and all will ultimately achieve the Buddha Way.' Again, the Daoist Falun jing says: 'If you see a śramaṇa, reflect on the immeasurable: wish soon to renounce worldly life to practice the truth of the Buddha. If you see a stupa, reflect on the immeasurable: you should wish that all people everywhere enter the Dharma gate.' Again, the Lingbao Dongxuan zhenyi jing says: 'The assembly of perfected ones and lofty immortals have already attained the Buddha Way.' Again, the Lingbao taishang miyao jing says: 'Each, in the present, equally attains the Buddha Way.' Therefore we know that into the non-dual marvelous gate all must ultimately enter together; upon the unique ultimate fruit all must necessarily ascend together. If one obstinately clings to heterodoxies, one brings upon oneself confusion and downfall. Recent scholars follow their own petty foolishness, stealing true words to insert into spurious canons. Thus the transmigration through the five realms is falsely presented as scriptures of immortals; the three thousand dignified demeanors are spuriously claimed as Daoist precepts; approaching the Buddha to receive the Dharma is changed into approaching the Celestial Worthy; exerting oneself to become a Buddha is converted into attaining the Golden Court; 'fundamental practice' is changed into 'fundamental sign'; and 'the Buddha said' is inscribed as 'the Dao said.' They imitate and rely upon the dignified demeanors of the Buddha's teachings; they mimic and study the rules and procedures of the monastic assembly. Some take the true to be false, hardly knowing right from wrong; turning the orthodox into the heterodox, how could they realize their inverted view? This is like a foolish thief stealing a fox-fur robe and wearing it inside out, or like a dunce snatching pearl necklaces and putting them on upside down. Such categories are very numerous; I briefly cite two or three, for they cannot be recounted in full. But Fu Yi was once a Daoist priest; he clothed his body in yellow robes, yet did not follow the non-action manner of Laozi, practicing instead exclusively the methods of the military officers of Zhang Ling. Either he himself acted as a 'rice bandit,' amassing goods without limit, or was called a 'demon soldier,' uttering curses without inhibition. In washing, bathing, combing, and styling hair, he was entirely identical to the secular; in indulging in lust and desires, how was he different from the common world? Moreover, harboring jealousy within, he unleashed wild words without, slanders spreading endlessly and abusive insults multiplying. If this can be tolerated, what cannot be borne? Now according to the points of his memorial, I will refute and demolish them in order. I pray that your Sagely Majesty deign to bestow your discerning gaze and examine them briefly.