廣弘明集 14.6

14.6

Our Emperor has gloriously received Heaven's mandate and vastly aided the realm. His canopy matches the blue heavens, and his support equals the thick earth. He has swept away baleful vapors, purified the eight bounds, rescued people from the mud and coals, and brought peace to millions of subjects. The five teachings are respectfully disseminated; the nine achievements are brought into order. He gathers the splendid guidelines of all antiquity, and remedies the lingering defects of the hundred kings. Encompassing all goodness, he venerates the triratna as a ford and a bridge; mowing down all evils, he clears away the weeds among the four assemblies. Following the entrusted final behests, he broadens the essential methods of succession. His merits and virtues are lofty; the vast heavens cannot be compared [to them]. Yet among the gentry and scholars, their ancestral traditions pursue multiple paths; each follows what he has learned, and diverse arguments bristle like lance-points. Some say that under the Three Kings there was no Buddha yet their reigns were long, while the two Shi rulers had monks yet their government was tyrannical; that the decline of good rule stems from revering the Buddha, and the benefit of the state lies in abolishing monks. Merely airing one-sided views, they have not put forward comprehensive principles. A broad examination of rise and fall is sufficient to prove their falsehood. Why so? The one who destroyed the Qin was Huhai, when there was no Buddha, yet the empire crumbled; the one who promoted Buddhism was Emperor Ming of the Han, when the era had monks, yet the state was well-governed. The Northern Zhou eliminated Buddhist monasteries, yet the reign of Tianyuan was not prolonged; the Sui promoted the teaching of Śākya, yet the decrees of Kaihuang were not tyrannical. Prosperity and decline depend on the dissemination of government; order and chaos rest with the officials. To cast the blame onto the Buddha and monks is truly not a valid argument. Furthermore, the Buddha solely promotes good and does not foster evil; for ministers and subjects, the precepts guard against wrongdoing. How could this harm the governing of family and state? If every person keeps the good and every family observes the precepts, how could punishments ever be applied, and on what grounds could disaster and chaos arise? Though a steed be swift, without riding it one cannot reach afar; though medicines be abundant, without ingesting them how can they cure illness? Xiang Yu's loss of his army was not due to Fan Zeng's lack of strategy; the Shi family's tyranny, was that the fault of Fotudeng's lack of benevolence? It is only that they violated him and became violent and chaotic; there has never been one who followed him and became ferocious or cruel. Viewed in this light, it is abundantly clear. Furthermore, there are those who call the Perfectly Enlightened One a demonic spirit, and liken pure generosity to illicit sacrifices, heaping slander and calumny without end. The Sagely Court encourages goodness, erecting saṅghārāmas to exalt blessings; yet deluded people raise slander, conversely taking merit and virtue as faults. This deeply disparages the sovereign, not merely defaming the Buddha. I foolishly stroke my chest and sigh deeply; this is why I am stirred with indignation and take up my brush. Having humbly relied on imperial grace and shared in the rain of Dharma, I have polished away my doubts over accumulated years. Faith arose with hearing, and doubts dissolved through understanding. In the past, I once heedlessly criticized and did not believe; today, I believe wholeheartedly without slander. Deducing from myself and evaluating others widely, whenever the common crowd lightly disparages and does not revere, it is entirely because their investigation has not been exhaustive. If they were made to probe the subtle and seek the hidden, matching their efforts to Fotudeng and Kumārajīva, they would surely all have deep faith and devout respect, matching their aspirations to the famous monks. My learning does not penetrate the deep, and my knowledge does not attain the wondrous; but having heard a little, I have slightly removed doubts. I have respectfully exerted my modest ability to compose a treatise in three essays: 'Dispelling Doubts' is the first, clarifying the accessibility and obstruction of heterodoxy and orthodoxy; 'Understanding Destiny' is the second, distinguishing the reliance and latency of calamity and blessing; 'Emptiness and Existence' is the third, shattering the rigid views of annihilation and permanence. I have checked them against the words of many, and verified them with all kinds of good deeds. Above, they make manifest the pure blessings of the Sagely Court; below, they crush the empty slanders of illicit sacrifices. I merely harbor this intent, but truly lack the talent; my wording is vulgar and base, and my citations superficial. Though exhausting my humble diligence, how can it proclaim the Sagely Virtue? I hope that those who share the same illness and have not yet recovered, upon hearing shallow analogies, will deeply awaken. Just as a plant from the hedge might cure a disease of the heart, or a meal of coarse greens might save someone from starving in the gutters—if the golden elixir were before one's eyes, and jade delicacies filled the table, looking back on such meager things would indeed be contemptible."