廣弘明集 22.83

22.83

The reply states: Recently, looking upon the exterior, I was favored to read the words of homage. How radiant and grandly beautiful is its prose! Examining its reach, it is sincere indeed; how could it be otherwise? Alas, the sea of craving reaches to heaven, and the mountain of falsity scrapes the sun. For those who cling to self and other, when will their falling ever end? For those who rely on the fetter of pride, their drifting is boundless. As for the sixty-two views, they vie to dwell in dense thickets; the ninety-five paths scramble on hands and knees without a place to return. The Tathāgata, by virtue of his original vow and great compassion, forgets conditions and leans down to respond. Internally, he perfects the four wisdoms; externally, he manifests the six superknowledges. He employs the ten powers to subdue the deva-māras, and unfolds the seven eloquences to shatter non-Buddhists. He dries up this sea of craving, rescuing those endowed with consciousness into the three kinds of emptiness; he destroys that mountain of falsity, driving those with forms onto the Eightfold Noble Path. Pointing out causes and revealing results, he brings them back to the root and source. Great indeed! The wondrous function of compassion and wisdom is beyond all virtue that can be praised.