廣弘明集 22.84

22.84

In the past, beneath the Bodhi tree [the Buddha] ascended to prominence, spreading his voice and teachings over ten billion [worlds]; in the forest of hard [śāla trees] he withdrew his traces, stirring his remaining prowess throughout the three-thousand [great chiliocosm]. Since the sun of the Buddha inclined to the west and its lingering rays shone to the east, the Zhou felt the auspicious omen of the meteor shower at night, and the Han perceived the sign of the nocturnal dream. She Moteng and Zhu Falan blazed the torch of wisdom in the past, and Zhu Fotudeng and Kumārajīva continued the transmission of the lamp in later times. In translating sūtras and propagating the Dharma, their divine wonders saved the times; in their lofty discourses they subdued heterodoxy, and in serene meditation they solemnised beings. Those who repaired the sagging net followed upon each other's heels, and those who linked the severed threads walked shoulder to shoulder. None among barbarians and Chinese failed to admire their style, and both the unseen and the seen supported their transformation, their blossomings linked without cease—a matter that can be set forth in brief. Now, only the Tripiṭaka Master harbors a spiritual excellence that surpasses others; he embodies grace and fully realizes the single taste, pouring forth like an overflowing vase to supply the five vehicles. Grieved that the era of the sages is ever more distant, and lamenting that incoming teachings suffer many omissions, he reflected deeply on the perfect meaning and committed his person to the Way. Deliberating within his mind and speech, with his form and shadow consoling each other, he shook out his robes, raised his staff, and sought out the waves to explore their source. Stepping forth from Yumen Pass on a distant journey, he paused only on pointing toward the Golden River (Nirañjanā/Hiranyavatī). Inquiring into doubts at Indian monasteries, he plumbed the profound and penetrated the subtle; turning back to transform the Divine Land, he raised the truth and eradicated error. The missing nets and lacking texts were abundantly furnished on this day; the round doctrine of the Vaipulya vastly expanded upon former achievements. The ultimate truth he clarified is subtle beyond the center of the circle; true nature and true emptiness surpass the very exterior beyond this world. If one seeks by grasping existence, grasping existence destroys its truth; if one holds wholly to non-seeking, non-seeking blights its reality. Sweeping away the traces of the two extremes, one forgets the mark of the Middle Way. When multiple dispensations are not easily discarded, how can one reach the utmost of profound double emptiness? It is essential and subtle! It is supreme and vast! Once harmonized in the mind, it is thereafter taken as the Dharma. Within the mind it is the Dharma; manifested in speech, it is the teaching. The Dharma has own-marks (svalakṣaṇa) and common-marks (sāmānyalakṣaṇa); the teaching consists in apophatic definition (apoha) and cataphatic expression (vidhi). Its pure purport and profound doctrine—how could they be detailed in haste? The Master of the Law concentrated his spirit and employed his intellect to examine and rectify the beginning and end, illuminating the arcane scriptures and throwing wide open the dark barrier. His hidden subtle voice responded to the scale of every strike; his expansive ocean of meaning accommodated both the vast and tiny tributaries. Thereupon eminent worthies from distant regions and lofty monks from foreign lands bowed their chests to ask of the Way, harboring doubts and requesting further instruction. Having drunk from his harmony, they filled their bellies without ever plumbing its shallows or depths; hearing his voice, their ears were startled, none knowing its limits. As for the minor path of pramāṇa (logic), direct perception and inference are but elementary. This is merely pointing out the initial corner for beginners, raising the banner of establishing a thesis. When it comes to the spiritual axis and secret key, the subtle origin achieving success, these are all contained in the esoteric volumes and are not what is spoken of here. Director of the Imperial Chariots Lü, with his sharp and spirited demeanor, early took pride in his multifaceted talents. His capacity was all-embracing and penetrating, early manifesting extensive learning. He ranged across the classics from the open mounds and hooked the depths of the books from the broken walls; expanding on principles by analogy, he responded to all occult arts. He raised a tempest in the garden of debate and cast forth brilliance in the forest of letters. Raising his head amid the clouds, he crowed first under the sun. The Five Elements relied on his brush to trim and edit, and the six lines awaited his lofty discourse. With a single glance at the Taixuan, he explained it as soon as questioned; examining xiangxi (elephant chess) once again, he mastered it on immediate trial. Truly he was a Zhang Hua of the Jin dynasty or a Dongfang Shuo of the Han; present times have no match for him. Soon, having soared through the various treatises, his surplus energy was more than ample; he was also able to revere and admire the Great Vehicle, early solidifying sincerity and faith. Recently, due to a jest with friends, he suddenly turned his thoughts back [to this]. Without relying on a master's transmission, he casually forged his own far-fetched interpretations of logic (pramāṇa), collating various commentaries to point out faults and hunt for errors, debating loudly at court and manifesting haste. Examining his intention, it was indeed hard to surpass; yet verifying his knowledge, it was truly bewildering. This treatise forms an entire work in one roll, consisting of five sheets of paper. In studying the three commentaries, one cycle has already been completed. He pointed out forty errors, yet none of his own assertions was right. While he himself was devoid of correctness, he claimed to speak what was correct; while the commentaries originally had no errors, he claimed to speak of errors. What he called erroneous was not erroneous; what he called correct was not correct. When what is called correct is not correct, the correct is constantly made erroneous; when what is called erroneous is not erroneous, the non-erroneous is constantly correct. If the non-erroneous is constantly correct, it cannot be made erroneous by his error; if the correct is constantly made erroneous, it cannot be made correct by his correctness. Because of this disparagement and loss, bewilderment and sickness were caused. Moreover, regarding the cause of production (janaka-hetu) and the cause of illumination (jñāpaka-hetu), he clung to a single substance and lost the two meanings; regarding the illuminating and the illuminated, he clung to one name and was confused about the two substances. Furthermore, with the subject/thesis locus (pakṣa-āśraya) and the thesis substance (pakṣa-svabhāva), he retained the locus and discarded the substance to take it as the thesis; with the example substance (dṛṣṭānta-svabhāva) and the example locus (dṛṣṭānta-āśraya), he discarded the substance and retained the locus to make the example. Because of these two lineages, he falsely gave rise to multiple doubts; confused about a single established extreme, he erroneously generated seven objections. Merely by probing into the two treatises, he relied solely on his own mind, stumbling over the phrasing above and below, mistaking the level and departing tones of character sounds. Furthermore, he took the Sāṃkhya as the Śabda school, and cited production-establishment as cessation-establishment. Not only did he confuse the thesis and reason in separation and conjunction, but he also reversed the sequence of inversion and conformity. He also gathered vulgar and corrupt rhymes to imitate Sanskrit texts; although the grammatical cases (vibhakti) are broad, in citing the seven kinds he only hit upon a single inflection. Yet it was not what those seven designated, but rather the eighth, the vocative case. Whence did such tangled confusions and errors arrive? Moreover, examining the Vaiśeṣika, they establish eternal ultimate atoms (paramāṇu), whose number is infinite and whose substance is supremely small; these gradually combine to produce various secondary atoms, whose number is reduced by half compared to the eternal, while their substance is doubled compared to their parents; until at the final end, their substance pervades the great chiliocosm, yet when traced to its limit, their number becomes only one. That which Master Lü cited from the Xici of the Yijing, 'The Great Ultimate generates the Two Modes; the Two Modes generate the Four Images; the Four Images generate the Eight Trigrams; the Eight Trigrams generate the ten thousand things,' he said had different words but identical meaning with that [Vaiśeṣika doctrine]. Now we observe that the Great Ultimate has no form and initially generates that which has images; originally relying on one primal qi, it ultimately accomplishes the ten thousand things. How could generating one from many be used to analogize generating many from one? In drawing analogies to display broad learning, his meaning went astray—what then could it rely upon? Even supposing he cited a broad precedent whose meaning of generation seemed similar, if he explained it as identical to heterodox views, how could he absolve himself of deep fault? How could he merely seek temporary acclaim, confounding the orthodox with the heterodox? If it were not an enmity toward his own person, why would it come to this? As for all his errors and confusions, how could they be fully recounted? They were specifically caused by following his own notions, leading to this disarray. When the root is not upright, the branches and leaves naturally tilt; pursuing errors he gave rise to doubts, and following doubts he framed objections. How could a crooked shape yield a straight shadow? I venture to raise two or three points, hoping to elucidate the broad sense; detailed replies to his deep flaws and tangled threads are provided separately. Considering Master Lü's penetrating discernment, how could he have rashly reached this point? It was to show and reveal that the true and the conventional are as cloud and mud, as different in difficulty as Chu and Yue, thereby making manifest that the Buddha's teaching is vast and far-reaching, and the true Dharma is profound and solid. Just as a great furnace cannot be quenched by a handful of snow, can the vast sea ever be crossed by a glued boat? Grand Astrologer Lord Li possesses a spirit profound and secretive, and his aspirations are distant. He has devoted his essence to the nine arts of calculation and synthesized the six lines of the Yijing. He has widely examined diagrams and canonical texts, observing the clouds and atmospheric signs. He disdains the inaccuracies of Wei Hong and looks down on the deficiencies of Pi Zao. His spirit operates without stagnation; his renown and substance both abide. After reading Master Lü's remaining arguments, he further voiced interjections, considering the limit of reality (bhūtakoṭi) to be the Great Awakening, and the dark body of non-action (asaṃskṛta) to be the Dharma-body of the Regulating Hero. If one believes in perfuming and cultivation, there may be partial realization; if one relies on spontaneous nature, it can never be accomplished. I truly fear the words appear similar but the intent is contrary; the phrasing is near, but the purport is far. However, the wondrous Way of the Heavenly Master fortunately appeared here once more; yet Heavenly Master Kou and Lord Cui Tezhi both brought disaster upon themselves. What more is there to say? Though it was claimed they would not blend like the waters of the Zi and the Sheng, they have already confused gold with brass. Only you, my lord, have a spacious and open mind, having exhausted the study of ancient texts. You protect yourself with humaneness and righteousness, and respond to things with pivotal acumen. Solemn and vast, you raise your firm integrity to touch the clouds, and discourse on clear waters to stabilize the earth. Spreading fragrance in the literary garden, you occupy a station in the grove of scholars. Gathering the principles of the Nine Categories, you have studied and clarified the teachings of the two eras. As for the three hundred rules of classical rites and the three thousand曲 rites, not a single one fails to tally with the palm of your hand or proceed as effortlessly as picking up objects from the ground. In banquets and feasts, all take you as the standard; whenever laws and degrees are adjusted, they necessarily await your yellowing brush. Thus the song of 'Look at the Rat' ceased to be heard in the wilderness, and the chants of 'Fish in the Trap' filled the ears at court. In both name and substance, you are completely good and completely beautiful! Your profound sincerity and reverence were endowed from an early age; your mind of propagating and protecting has indeed long been harbored. Encountering these clamorous debates, you shared our shame and distress; hence you sent your card and provided adhesive, truly illuminating the great meaning. Were it not for one possessing talents both inner and outer, who illuminates reality and borders on the subtle, how could one stimulate the clear and turbid, saving the worldly and rectifying the true? In the past, among Kumārajīva's disciples, those who practiced the Way numbered three thousand; today in this assembly, those listening together are like a marketplace. This poor monk, unworthy and rustic, has presumpuously taken a seat at the end of the mat. Although I rejoice at hearing [the Dharma] in the morning, I remain ashamed and vigilant in the evening. Examining the three worthies who composed the commentaries, all have penetrated the five vehicles; their walls can rarely be peeked over, their peak of phrasing is hard to look up to. Having encountered the dance of the Shangyang bird, the abundant moisture must certainly drench; when the thunder of words swiftly breaks forth, I fear there is no time to cover one's ears. The consensus says: the ancients stated, 'A single branch is enough to perch feathers; why bother with the Deng Forest? A yellow mud puddle is sufficient to submerge a fish; why wait for the vast ocean?' Therefore, not taking my foolishness into account, you urged me to supply an empty discourse. Unable to decline, I have roughly presented an outline. Though the writing is not worth preserving, the meaning may perhaps be observed. Looking upon my own vulgarity and slackness, my trepidation only increases. Submitting this in reply, I have nothing further to offer. Śramaṇa Mingjun states with respect.