廣弘明集 18.125

18.125

Your subject says: Having received the returned imperial edict, its instructions and metaphors were thorough and complete. During the days I prostrated to examine it, my joy and leaping were boundless. Your Majesty thereupon uttered virtuous words, brightly expounding the hidden ultimate; You broadened the gate of the Way and righteousness, and expounded the secrets of the Tathāgata. The dark principle was concealed and then revealed again; the abstruse door was shut and opened anew. The meaning beyond the text may truly be called luminous and illuminating the dark! The abstruse principle cannot be praised in words; wondrous matters certainly cannot be lauded with ordinary speech. Although my mind desires to look up and chant, I know not how to exhaust it. Because your subject is foolish and dull, yet improperly received Your Majesty's praise and ornament, I truly rejoice in and uphold Your extraordinary favor, feeling truly ashamed and apprehensive. Looking up and savoring the subtle words, my contemplation and recitation became all the more intense. The awakening I received—how could it be only the benefit of comprehending more than half? But your subject still fills an external posting and has no way to receive Your verbal instructions in person. Every time I gaze at the clouds and sigh from afar, my longing is truly without end. Unable to bear my continuing yearning, I respectfully make this known. Your subject Song speaks.