廣弘明集 24.50

24.50

[Huijiao] bows and states: The other day I presented the Biographies of Eminent Monks that I compiled for your inspection, hoping for your medicinal needles and moxa. Yet your letter covered multiple sheets with continuous polishing and praise. Reflecting that the Way relies on humans to be propagated and truth is revealed through the teaching, and in propagating the Way and explaining the teaching none surpass eminent monks, therefore since its gradual influence, the bequeathed Dharma has been clearly illuminated, and extraordinary achievements and marvelous deeds have arisen across successive dynasties to urge and inspire later generations—in principle, they ought to be collated and stitched together. In my youth, I lacked the diligence to study with books and tallies under my arm, yet I long admired the beauty of brush and ink, writing on bamboo slips to propagate good. Thus, in the leisure moments between hearing lectures and reading, I set my mind to collecting biographies. Whenever I saw a single commendable act, I reflected on it repeatedly. However, examining the various records, their verbosity and brevity vary; some are arranged unevenly, while the deeds in others appear and vanish. I have already detailed this in the separate preface, and your letter also noted it fully. Thus, without taking measure of my humble brush, I rashly established ten categories, examining and clarifying the streams, briefly presenting my thoughts and words. But the path of my brush was vast and unguided, and my diction crude and unpolished; it was originally intended merely to guard against my own omissions, so how could it be worthy of rashly entering your lofty ears? You, Danapati, have mastered both Confucianism and Buddhism, and your comprehension penetrates the Mysterious and the Literati. Crafting literature and weaving adornments, you are steeped and eminent both internally and externally. In your leisure from reading, you might perhaps help examine it closely, so forgetting my own vulgarity, I submitted it to the Dragon Gate. Yet the matter is elevated while the wording is rustic; for a long time I have harbored much shame. Your letter's inflated praise only adds to my embarrassment. Now, I again present for your inspection the appraisals, treatises, and ten categories that I have composed. If there are errors, I beg you to make corrections. Shi [Hui]jiao bows and states.