廣弘明集 27
English (machine translation) 27
- Language
- English
27.1
Compiled by the Śramaṇa Shi Daoxuan of Ximing Temple of the Great Tang
27.2
The reason why living beings have long transmigrated in the ocean of birth and death is truly because they lack the boat and oars of the virtue of the precepts. If one boards the boat of the precepts and rows with the oar of compassion, yet cannot cut straight across the winds and waves to mount the far shore, there is no such principle. Therefore, although the orthodox teachings are manifold, they take the single precept as the foundation of practice. Just as going out must be through the door, how could anyone not go by these precepts? For this reason, when first conceiving the aspiration for the Way, one must first recognise this gate, weighing and maintaining practice in relation to all mental objects. What is its manner? Thus a treatise says: 'Those who receive the precepts make loving-kindness and compassion their primary duty. Toward all classes of living beings within the three thousand worlds, with their myriad koṭis of suns and moons, ascending to the peak of the [realm of] neither-perception-nor-non-perception and descending to the Avīci Hell, they arouse a compassionate mind and do not commit slaughter or injury, either to the end of their physical life or until they attain buddhahood. For a long period and universally extending throughout the Dharma-realm, this single thought of goodness has merit filling empty space; its virtue is difficult to measure, and only a Buddha knows its limit.' If it is so with non-killing, the other actions are likewise. Because of this virtue of the precepts, they can become vast and far-reaching. Hence, above in heaven and below on earth, the hidden and the manifest, sages and worthies, none fail to rely on and inherit this condition, using it as their foundation. Does not the sūtra say: 'The precepts are like the great earth, producing, completing, abiding, and sustaining'? Emanating from the arousing of the mind is called 'producing'; serving as good provisions for the noble path is called 'completing'; prolonging the Dharma for sixty thousand [years] is called 'abiding'; and securing the three karmas is called 'sustaining'. All other wholesome dharmas lack this efficacy. One who enters this gate is immediately named of the noble lineage; those who depart from it and set up [practices] falsely are called the common stream, forever submerged in the ocean of suffering with no day of deliverance. Since the transmission of the Dharma to the Eastern Xia more than half a millennium ago, it was only during the Jiaping reign of the Wei that the precept methods were first heard of; from then until now, they have spread among both monastics and laity. Yet the Great Sage, in bequeathing his teachings, knew the capacities beforehand, and therefore made the regulations for secular persons complete in some cases and lacking in others, while the Vinaya deportment for monastics has lesser and greater forms. Thus the five precepts and eight precepts are established or opened according to capacity, confronting objects without error; the sections of precepts are conditionally divided according to one's capability. This is called the teaching for receiving the laity, whose temporal conditions cannot be fixed. Leaving home is based on the Way and differs from the worldly stream; it is fully complete in its temporal conditions, with no opening of stages. Although their ranks are divided into Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna, in putting both learnings into practice the upper and lower are equal. Although the five assemblies are differentiated in grade and class according to faults, in concluding and determining they equally preserve the single precept. 'Precept' means vigilance; it is constantly held in mind. The preservation by the pure and faithful is heard through all that is heard and seen. Therefore, I briefly cite several examples, so that it may be known that there are those who uphold the Dharma.
27.3
Catalogue of the Section on Exhortation to Merit of the Hongming ji of the Liang Dynasty
27.4
Catalogue of the Section on Exhortation to Merit of the Guang hongming ji of the Tang Dynasty (Fascicle 27)
Letter from Śramaṇa Shi Huiyuan of the Jin to Liu Yimin
Letter from Emperor Yuan of the Liang to Consultation Officer Xiao and Others
Letter from Emperor Jianwen of the Liang to the King of Xiangdong
Letter from Vinaya Master Tanyuan of the Chen to Court Officials
Letter from Śramaṇa Shi Huijin of the Chen to Vinaya Master Yuan (with reply)
Letter from Emperor Yang of the Sui to Dhyāna Master Zhiyi
Text of Emperor Yang of the Sui Receiving the Great Bodhisattva Precepts
Letter from Master Zhiyi of the Sui to Emperor Yang
Outline by the Śākya Clan of Mount Zhongnan in the Tang of the Pure Practice Dharma-gate of Emperor Wenxuan of the Qi
27.5
Letter to the Recluse Liu Yimin and Others
27.6
Shi Huiyuan of Mount Lu in the Jin
27.7
Liu Yimin of Pengcheng was appointed Magistrate of Yichang and Chaisang during the Taiyuan era of the Jin. Encountering the spiritual seclusion of Mount Lu, he found it sufficient to make him go without returning; meeting Śramaṇa Shi Huiyuan, he found someone he could venerate with his whole heart. Facing bereavement for his mother, he left office and entered the mountain, having the resolve to end his days there. North of the mountain torrent of Xilin, he built a separate meditation lodge, nourishing his aspiration in leisure, content with poverty and not pursuing goods or profit. At that time, gentlemen of leisure and retirement who gathered unencumbered included Zong Bing, Zhang Ye, Zhou Xuzhi, Lei Cizong, and their fellows, who were all present at the assembly. Yimin spent his days roaming and residing with these worthies, investigating subtle principles to lengthen the day. Yuan then sent him a letter, saying: 'Whenever I recall how in former times my mind roamed through worldly classics, I thought them the splendours of those years. When I saw Laozi and Zhuangzi, I realized that the teaching of names was merely empty talk for responding to changes. Looking at it now, I know that for the ultimate destination of the profound and obscure, how can one not place Buddhist principles foremost? If there is an underlying source to harmonize them, then the hundred schools arrive at the same destination. You gentlemen are all worthy disciples of the Tathāgata. You have long been enrolled in the spiritual register; but accumulating only the mood of cherishing what is distant while lacking the capital of causes and conditions—is this the way to pass the years and encourage your longstanding resolve? My thought is that on the six fasting days, one ought to leave off ordinary duties and concentrate the mind on the gate of emptiness. Thereafter, the sentiment of relying on the ferry will be sincere, and plans for the next life will be profound. If you take up the brush to compose texts, you can lodge your inspiration in this. Although words arise from insufficiency, yet without words there is no way to express a supreme realization. As for the metaphor of relying on a fine steed, why must one locate it distantly in the ancients?' Thereupon, the monastics and laity dwelling on the mountain redoubled their encouragement day by day. Yimin's diligence was singularly thorough; his complete upholding of the prohibitions and precepts was something Zong, Zhang, and the others could not equal. Concentrating on meditation for only half a year, he saw the Buddha in absorption. While walking on the road, he encountered an image: the Buddha appeared in the sky, his light shining upon heaven and earth, turning everything into a golden colour. He also donned the kāṣāya and bathed in a jewelled pool. Coming out of absorption, he asked the monks to recite the sūtras, wishing to relinquish his life quickly. Having resided in the mountain for fifteen years, he knew in advance the day of his death; after bidding farewell to the assembly, he had no illness or suffering. When the time arrived, he sat upright facing west, folded his hands, and ceased breathing. He was fifty-seven years of age. He had previously composed an admonition on his impending end, saying: 'Huangfu Mi's posthumous treatise spoke of carrying the Classic of Filial Piety to show not forgetting the filial way; this seems like an intentional, childlike gesture. Now make a grave directly in the earth, and do not use an inner or outer coffin.' His son Yong followed this. Zhou Xuzhi and others built dwellings in succession, and each had fragrant achievements, as recorded elsewhere.
27.8
Letter to Consultation Officer Xiao and Others
27.9
Emperor Yuan of the Liang
27.10
I have heard that the seven-foot round halo shines upward upon clouds of genuine pearls, and the five-coloured facial gateway overlooks the coral ground beside it. It transforms into a golden table, eclipsing the treasures of the Lishui River; its alteration is like jade-shell snow, surpassing the radiance of the mysterious frost. How could it be that where there is a capacity, there is no response? When there is a response, there is penetration. Where there is spirit, there is wisdom; when there is wisdom, there is decisive judgment. Therefore, for the jade pavilion, ascending the hall is not easy; for the violet-purple hall, entering the chamber is difficult. One must take the faith among the five faculties as the head, and the giving among the six pāramitās as supreme. Thus one is able to relinquish wealth to follow faith, leaving being to approach emptiness. Speaking in this manner, it can truly be known. Humbly, since the auspicious image emitted light, nearly ten days have passed in a flash; the depth of my dancing with joy is manifested in waking and dreaming, and the sincerity of my leaping for joy is tied to rising and sleeping. Gradually I notice the steamed meats of the ten-character feast, mocking the delicacies of He Ceng; with the flavours of the five cauldrons, I laugh at the words of Zhu Yan. The turtle broth and unicorn jerky are only heard of in talk; as for sheep's curd and ape's lips, how are they worth mentioning? Being burdened by wine and food is not as good as not eating past noon; what snails and ant eggs are offered on the sacrificial vessel, how could they compare with the purity of spring vegetables? I wish for you, my friend, to observe a three-day pure fast, from the hour of the Tiger to the hour of the Dog, with only one midday meal. There will naturally be rice sharp as jade and salt resembling a tiger's shape, celery from Yunmeng and water-weed from Liaodong, ten-pound pears and thousand-tree oranges, green bamboo shoots and purple ginger, solid chestnuts and frosty dates, pleasing to the mouth and filling to the belly, nothing sought that is not obtained. The eight-virtue water entirely enters the Dharma-stream; the Four Heavenly Kings all arrive to jointly defer to the propagation of the Way. To have like-minded companions as friends—is this not magnificent? Written by Xiao Yi.
27.11
Reply to the King of Xiangdong
27.12
Emperor Jianwen of the Liang
27.13
On the evening of the eighteenth, in the outer bureau of the Hualin Gate, I received my younger brother's letter of the first day of the ninth month; it greatly comforted my anxious longing. The autumn weather is chilly and pure, just as usual. The affairs of the province, whether many or few, are not enough to exhaust you; the atmosphere of Hao and Liang is no different from ordinary days. All is reasonably pleasant, with occasional joyful occasions. Gentlemen-errant and literary guests have recently been engaged in conversation and appreciation; how does attending and following one another to the end of banquets compare with these recent days? Your work on annotating the Han history is progressing in good order; my longing to see this book is worse than hunger and distress. Having been favoured with receiving the Bodhisattva precepts and being numbered among the Great Beings, on this twelfth day I made a private confession in the Eastern City. At dawn on the seventeenth, I entered Baoyun early. The jade gates shone in the sun, and the bronze dragons exhaled mist; the red spring held reflections, and the blue lotuses exhaled fragrance. Dharma companions formed crowds, and golden mountains filled the seats. Body and mind were joyful, having attained what was never before had. Yesterday morning there was a Dharma gathering at Pingdeng Temple; after midday, I held it without hindrance. The imperial countenance graced the seat, his venerable appearance personally bearing witness; though there were many bowings and prostrations, my fatigue was suddenly dismissed. When my crown was shaved, this mind was exceptionally earnest. My mind and mouth schemed of themselves, wishing to cut it all away. There was no doubting Ma Yuan's talk of dispatching lice, nor shrinking from Ying's satirical verse on the red jar. Sengjin presided over discussions no differently from the past; questioning Jin throughout the day was quite equal to [Confucius questioning] Zilu. Drawing lots to select a name, the name was called Yinli ('According with Principle'). The imperial sentiment granted approval, and it is now respectfully practiced. Yesterday after late afternoon, I returned to where I reside. Xu Chi, Yu Wu, and Qiang are constantly here day and night. Jingyuan is on duty and occasionally comes to my side, but does not act in an unconstrained or unusual manner; in times of leisure, he gradually practices rules and manners, wishing to avoid the post of Jiuquan. Since Yin and Wang have departed, our sincere talks have been all the more extended. The Marquis of Linru has recently been indisposed with illnesses, and his visits to the palace are rather rare. In between, messengers have kept us from being out of touch. Jian, concurrently Director of the Household, when serving as Groom, occasionally uttered a few words of conversation, engaging in debate. The Marquis going east to govern has once again brought about separation; Mount Heng and Mount Jiuyi will soon receive your passage. Standing at the fork in the road there are sighs, and gazing at the waters there are laments. Yet ever since I arrived at the capital, my mind and will have been dazed and bewildered; although I open my mouth and laugh, I do not attain true joy. I have not drunk wine for nearly twenty periods of ten days; Zigong's sober madness naturally has no reason. I know from several letters from the elders that they described my travels. I just recalled following the route through Jiangxia, setting out westward on the flow; the days and months easily come and go, and it is already late autumn. But Wei Shu has the distress of Changju and the disaster of being laughed at; his arts differ from Ge Xian, while his form equals Xun Xu. Brother, please provide him with provisions and food, and specifically manage things for him, turning misfortune into fortune like the old man of the northern border. Ever since we parted, my sorrowful memories have redoubled; sighs accumulate with the months, and thoughts whirl with the seasons. Whenever there is a westward wind, it is like stroking my thighs. The date of our meeting is not yet known. Looking toward the Jade Ridge, I quietly face the Golden Gate; the depth of my anxious yearning never ceases. Take good care of yourself. This reply is brief. Written by Gang.
27.14
Letter to the Court Officials of the Liang
27.15
Vinaya Master Tanyuan
27.16
Tanyuan of Guangzhai Temple respectfully states: I humbly reflect that when the Ultimate Person bequeathed his instructions, he adapted to each capacity and expedient. Therefore, externally he set out three thousand conventional matters, and internally he displayed eighty thousand Vinaya deportments. Truly, although the model instructions belong to different gates, none fail to punish evil. Confucius established penal laws to interrogate treachery and villainy; the Śākya [Sage] unfolded the karmavācanā to banish infractions of the Dharma. The two sages divided their teachings, each having their respective office. Recently, I have seen monks and nuns, whenever there is an incident, often overstepping to litigate in the public offices. Moreover, internal and external regulations follow different measures and their articles of law are not the same: sometimes what is light in the internal Vinaya becomes heavy in external statutes; sometimes what is heavy in the internal Dharma is even lighter in the external net. Common worldly feelings are prone to flattery and follow their own convenience. If they merely wish to benefit themselves, they abandon the internal heavy penalties and adhere to the external light ones; if their aim is to ensnare another, they cast aside the internal light ones and rely on the external heavy ones. Not only does this defile the contemporary ministers, but it also completely violates rational regulation. Fortunately, we have the brilliant Lord Chancellor to assist the altars of state, harmonize yin and yang, act as a boat and oars for the Mahāyāna, and serve as a pillar and foundation for the Triratna; those far and near turn toward his influence, and monastics and laity alike celebrate. This impoverished monk unworthily occupies a place in the monastic ranks and has somewhat studied and practiced the Vinaya. Having repeatedly received matters forwarded from the monastic bureau inquiring about the Vinaya, I examined and determined them, seeking out the Buddha's fully severe admonitions. The state has its penal codes; as for disputes concerning the monastic order, I do not know on what basis they should be judged. I respectfully present this memorandum and await your reply, hoping to establish an agreed regulation to be observed as a model forever. Presented by Shi Tanyuan.
27.17
Letter to Vinaya Master Yuan (with reply)
27.18
Shi Huijin
27.19
Huijin bows with folded hands. I have quietly heard that one may seek a master for ten thousand days before being recognised through courtesy; yet before I, Huijin, had served you for any length of time, I was favoured with an exceptionally generous reception. In antiquity, when Zou Yang submitted his memorial, he could indeed be engaged as an honoured guest; when Song Yu presented his rhapsody, he was rewarded with fertile lands. Furthermore, when Kang Senghui came to Wu, his talent was fit to be an exemplar; and when Kāśyapa Mātaṅga entered Han, his conduct accorded with the vinaya rules. Thus we know that the Dharma depends on individuals to be propagated, and virtue does not stand alone. Comparing present to past, my case is quite without precedent. How could I fruitlessly bear your gracious favour and sit idly enjoying such abundant generosity? This truly means my fame exceeds my measure, and my renown surpasses my person. Yet as the wheel of the Dharma begins its turning, those requesting instruction gather like clouds. Not only do the four seas share one style and the whole realm long for righteousness, but students bearing their book-boxes shoulder to shoulder have come from afar, and men devoted to benevolence arrive in continuous procession. How would the market of Huayin even be worth mentioning? Raising sleeves like curtains—how could former generations alone be extolled? What is more, you elucidate the primary gateway of meditative concentration and kindle the torch of wisdom; truly, pouring out rivers and overturning the sea, your expounding is inexhaustible. Seniors fall before your golden fortress, and juniors have their sharp teeth broken. You may be hailed as perfuming and cultivating precepts and virtue, able to cause the necklaces of the ten grounds to safeguard bodily conduct, thereby adorning the eightfold noble [path], harmonising the sage and the common, and uniting the unseen and the manifest. Added to this is your love of holding the lead and grasping the awl, and your diligence in gathering fireflies and scattering wheat. Some split shells to seek pearls, or open riverbeds to bring forth treasures. Yet I, Huijin, have no merit to show, unheard of within or without. My learning falls short of the hanging bell; my speech is shamed by the scattered powder. Like a curved piece of wood vainly placed beside upright orchids, or like reeds errantly mingled among gem-trees, I now realise that the vast ocean does not wait for a drop from a hair, and the towering Mount Hua does not rely on a speck of wandering dust. Compare this to the autumn phoenix and the spring grove: a single falling leaf does not affect a hundred branches; a single shed feather has no bearing on the six pinions. Truly, as my life and reputation look up to you, I have relied on and burdened you at every turn; my petty sincerity is clear as the bright sun. Unexpectedly, affairs have arisen along the three borders, and ramparts multiply in the four suburbs, causing the lecture platform to decline and requests for instruction to be abandoned. When I speak of this grief and sorrow, how could I express it fully? What I hope is that the turmoil may settle, obstacles be removed, and that we may once more apply ourselves to consultation and study. Unable to bear my longing, as I depart I respectfully attend to this. Huijin bows with folded hands.
27.20
Reply by Vinaya Master Yuan
27.21
Your letter arriving to honour me with its news truly left me disheartened. In my learning, I am ashamed of being eager to display my meagre skill, and as a person, I am no model. Although I once gave lectures, it was no different from peeking at the sky through a tube. How could it suffice to serve as a pattern for later generations or to follow in the footsteps of the former wise? My bodily illness has not healed, and my disciples have led each other away; the flourishing work of a single master has fallen into disuse without transmission. The age of fifty is suddenly upon me; through long nights of endless contemplation, how could my dejection ever end? Had enthusiastic people not pressed me daily with requests, I would merely have been an old and tired man once more urging himself on. You, Dharma Master, and several others originally hail from renowned families, being rare talents of Luoyang and the sharpest minds of today. If you resolve to investigate the treatises thoroughly and uphold the vinaya pitaka, you will become fine vessels and daily be seen outstripping the mundane world. There are also extraordinary monks from across the seas and bodhisattvas from among the assemblies, none of whom had fixed teachers, who have come from afar to seek the Way and resolve their doubts; this was indeed enough to be called the joy of an era. Unexpectedly, barbarian troops have offended the imperial retinue, and enemy horses drink from the Yangtze; stupas and shrines are burned down, and doctrinal followers lie starved by the roadside. Today, the venerable elders of the capital sit by their mats in silence; yet you once again turn to inquire of a recluse with an ailment, asking him to guide and instruct. Having long abandoned it without order, how could I teach others? Thus thorns grow in my mouth, and realgar errors slip from the tip of my tongue. Boiling water to seek ice is insufficient as an analogy. Looking forward to your visit nearby, I shall then present my petty sincerity. Yuan speaks.
27.22
Text of the Reception of the Bodhisattva Precepts by Emperor Yang of the Sui from Dhyāna Master Yi of Mount Tiantai
27.23
Your disciple's foundation inherits accumulated goodness; I was born and raised in the imperial household. Early on, I hastened to my family training, and was imbued with inherited teachings from youth. Blessed with good fortune, I suddenly awakened to the wonderful truth. Shamed by the ruggedness of the small path, I aspire to wander at ease in the Great Vehicle. Laughing at resting in the illusory city, I vow to boat and sail to the other shore. Among the ten thousand practices of a bodhisattva, precepts and goodness come first; the ten receptions of a bodhisattva are uniquely held as supreme. Just as when erecting a palace one must first lay the foundation, for merely framing it in empty space will never see it completed. Confucius, Laozi, and the Buddhist gateway all rely on moulding and casting; without rules and models, to whom would one look up? Truly, although Śākyamuni is honoured as the upādhyāya and Mañjuśrī unseen serves as the ācārya, one must still rely on a human master to visibly transmit the holy conferral. Moving from the near to the far, feeling resonance, it then penetrates: Sadāprarudita exhausted his marrow for Dharmodgata, and Sudhana gave up his life throughout the dharma-realm. The scriptures contain clear passages; these are not mere subjective words. Firmly believing the Buddha's words, I am fortunate to follow the timely guide.
27.24
The Dhyāna Master is a dragon and elephant of the Buddha-Dharma; the pearl of his precepts is round and pure, and the water of his concentration is clear and still. From tranquility he gives rise to wisdom, securely possessing unhindered eloquence. Placing others first and himself second, modesty has become his standard; his renown is heard from afar, known to all. Therefore, your disciple turned his sincere devotion from a distance and sent oars afar to welcome you. I was always worried that conditions might go awry and encounter delays and difficulties. But now that you have arrived, the pathways of my mind are opened wide; as clouds and mist part, my defilements dissolve away. On this [year, month, day], at the golden fortress of Yangzhou, having established a gathering of a thousand monks, I reverently receive the bodhisattva precepts. The precepts are named filial piety, and also named restraint. Using the wisdom of expedient means, returning to the lineage and venerating the ultimate, they create great adornment; identical to the Tathāgata's compassion, extending the love of all Buddhas, viewing the four forms of birth equally as if a single child—and so forth. Having received the precepts, the master then gave an initiatory Dharma-name, naming the Emperor the 'Dhāraṇī Bodhisattva'. The Emperor received it atop his head, and then stated: 'The Great Master's meditation and wisdom are fused within, and he guides through the moisture of the Dharma. He may be reverently named "the Wise One" (Zhizhe).' This accords with the Liang Emperor Wu conferring the auspicious title upon Dharma Master Yue.
27.25
Letter from Dhyāna Master Zhizhe of Tiantai to Emperor Yang
27.26
The text is extensive and is not recorded here; it is fully contained in my compilation, the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks.
27.27
Preface to the Summarised Dharma Gate of Pure Practices of the Jingzhuzi
27.28
By the Śramaṇa of Mount Zhongnan Taiyi
27.29
The origin of 'Pure Abiding' (Jingzhu) has an ancient lineage. It transmits the methods of opening, transforming, leading, and guiding of the Dharma King, and undertakes the task of bringing the multitude of living beings to cross over through faith. Thus the preservation or decline of the true Dharma depends entirely on the efficacy of faith or slander, and the dimness or brilliance of spiritual functioning ultimately relies on the effort of indolence or diligence. I have quietly heard that the turn of a wheel-turning king's fortune begins at the outset of a cosmic aeon, while the Dharma Lord's response to the era opens at the inception of the defiled realm. Why is this? There is truly good reason. Assuredly, because purity and shallowness are bound up in ancient hearts, resonant capacity flourishes through sight and hearing. Since the teaching flowed into the land of Cīnasthāna for more than six hundred years, monastics and laypeople have revered it, and its traces may all be known. As for discerning the capacity, having clear strategies, broadly propagating and covering the times, bequeathing pure standards to the remaining people, and guiding established models for those who gain faith—such writings reside here, and can be taken as an ancestral mirror. In the past, the Minister over the Masses, Prince of Jingling, Duke Wenxuan Xiao Ziliang of the Southern Qi, revered the Buddhist tradition and deeply penetrated the ultimate teaching. He annotated sutras and treatises, summarised their phrasing and principles, blocked deviant paths and opened the correct crossing, propagated the One Vehicle, and elevated the seven assemblies. In his time, he was called an ocean of writings, and termed a mountain of wisdom. He was either understood in dreams by the Solitary Honoured One, being given the fine posthumous title of Heavenly King, or was unseen imparted sutra chanting, transmitting the heroic regulations of spiritual deliverance. His virtues are difficult to recount in detail, so I pass over them briefly here. In the eighth year of the Yongming era of the Qi, moved by a dream of the Heavenly King Tathāgata of the Pure Radiance World in the east establishing the dharma gate of pure abiding and pure practice, he opened and expounded it on that basis. As for 'pure abiding' (jingzhu), it is the translation of the term poṣadha. Poṣadha is heavenly speech, while pure abiding is human speech. It is also called 'increasing and advancing', and likewise called 'nourishing'. It is open to both monastics and laypeople, who together receive and practice it. That is to say: purifying body, speech, and mind, and abiding according to the precepts; hence it is called 'pure abiding'. 'Zi' (child/master) carries the meaning of succession. Because through the three refuges the seven assemblies control emotional defilements, their roots of goodness increase, and they succeed to the lineage of the Buddha seeds; therefore it is called 'Jingzhuzi' (Master of Pure Abiding). As for the 'dharma gate of pure practice', because all actions are purified, transformation spreads through the world; and understanding all dharma gates, there are distinctions in nature and characteristics. Beginning with holding the lead and ending with laying down the brush, through altogether seventy days the two wrappers were completed. Thereupon he opened a lecture at his grand mansion, gathering eminent talents in great numbers. He personally occupied the primal seat to discourse on its essential tenets. The ten assemblies gathered like clouds, as if flocking to the hills of Huayin; the four assemblies were inspired, as though attending the gathering at Vulture Peak. All said: 'We hear what we have never heard before,' purifying their minds and inclining their ears. Therefore the virtuous men south of the Yangtze who embodied the Way and rode upon expedients synthesised and practiced it to open their spiritual palaces. From Chen and Ping onwards, the unified influence reached the passes and rivers; transmitted without impairment, it was fully preserved in the canon. Later students, deficient in learning and dim in understanding, never opened and investigated what former practitioners had done; following their own inclinations, they suppressed and condemned it, declaring it an apocryphal scripture, and following one another, discarded it. Such people are numerous! How lamentable! In my leisure time, I tried examining and inspecting it: its text is truly refined, and its principles preserve the root of faith. Thus we know that current study and teaching entirely rely on one's own mind. How could the mind be taken as master to such an extent? Therefore, the Da zhidu lun states: 'After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, all compositions that propagate and praise the Buddhist sutras are termed Abhidharma, which is subsumed under the twelve divisions of scriptures.' The sage's teaching is clear and decisive; its principles transcend ordinary contrivance. Yet because beginners may be confused and unable to view it fully, I have once again summarised and condensed it into one roll, gathering the essential brilliance and plucking the lush beauty. This suffices to initiate the first steps of beginners and mark the foremost traces for later zeal. Furthermore, I have illustrated and praised it widely on temple walls, hoping that the foolish and wise may understand alike, and their discernment and faith become firm and strong; that the way of ten thousand years may open afar, and the foundation of the seven assemblies be established. Those who revere and believe it are called people of pure practice; those who take it as ancestral and practice it will not lose the designation of pure abiding. I bequeath this to my friends so that they may know its meaning.
27.30
Pure Practice Dharma of the Jingzhuzi
27.31
By Duke Wenxuan of the Southern Qi
27.32
Section 1: The Sovereign Enlightened One Discerning Virtue
27.33
That among the ninety-six paths the Buddha's path is the most supreme and excellent is not without justification. Establishing a name is that by which virtue is expressed; without virtue, there is no way to manifest a name. Having a name does not necessarily mean possessing virtue, but where there is virtue, the name is not proclaimed in vain. From this we know that names may be true or false, and virtue may be empty or real. How could monastics and laypeople be conflated, misappropriating names and counterfeiting reality, without discerning and distinguishing them? Looking now at the different teachings and disparate codes, with diverging paths and conflicting traces, there is never a case where a name is present while virtue is lacking, nor where a title exists and its efficacy is sought [in vain]. Thus we know that those who have a name but lack virtue are the non-Buddhists; those who possess both virtue and a name are of the Buddha's path. It is like crossing the sea relying on a boat, or walking a road depending on one's feet. Therefore the sutra states: 'The straight mind is the bodhimanda, because it lacks falsity. Arising practice is the bodhimanda, because it can discern affairs.' Thus the four immeasurables and the six perfections are all called bodhimaṇḍas. Depending on such supreme causes, one attains such wonderful fruits. Therefore, liberation removes one's burdens, and prajñā exhausts its illumination. The physical marks express his appearance, and the Dharmakāya manifests his virtue. Speaking of his ultimate benevolence, the three contemplations are equal in thought; referring to his sovereignty, he walks alone without fear. Discussing his accumulated merit, the ten powers serve as his function. Looking up to his wondrous peak, the unshared dharmas, spiritual penetrations, expedient means, and immeasurable dharma gates penetrate the three times and completely illuminate all things. Eminently conspicuous, his heroic sagacity surpasses the multitude. Therefore he is titled the Tathāgata, complete in the ten epithets. Having awakened himself from the dark night of birth and death, he also arouses those who are not yet awakened. This may truly be called having a name with no virtue it does not encompass, and possessing beautiful virtue with nothing lacking. Therefore we know that when the form is upright, the shadow is straight; when the sound is elegant, the echo is harmonious. Never has one seen an ugly face gazing into a mirror produce an eye-pleasing blossom, or a stunted body reflecting in water give rise to an appearance surpassing the throng. The books say: 'Without ascending a mountain, one has no way of knowing the height of heaven; without measuring water, one has no way of knowing the depth of the earth.' All such disparate learnings fall short of the Great Way of the Buddha. Therefore the sutra states: 'The mundane world also has permanence, bliss, self, and purity; the supramundane also has permanence, bliss, self, and purity. That of the mundane world has the name without the reality; that of the supramundane has both the name and the reality.' Therefore, when the Sutra on the Oaths of the Six Masters asks about the Buddha's name and virtue, the Buddha answers:
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"The Most Rightly Awakened One has attained it by himself, / Unstained by all phenomena. / Omniscient and fearless, / Naturally without teacher or guardian. / Utterly solitary, without equal, / He has attained the true path by himself. / The Tathāgata, honoured by devas and humans, / Is complete in all powers of omniscience."
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Now that we each know that supreme virtue has its refuge, that the heterodox and the orthodox lead to different paths, that good and evil part their ways, and that ordinary beings and sages are kept separate on their roads; having fortunately come to have faith in cause and effect, to awaken to impermanence, to follow the flow of wisdom, and to enter the true path—all the worthy ones can lament that which is unrecoverable as it flows upon the river, awaken to the silent passing of time at the turn of an arm, grieve over the endlessness of arising and ceasing, and long for the eternal bliss of the pure Self. All of us have already looked up to [the Buddha's] customs, taken in his transformation, severed attachments, and renounced glory; how could we not be filled with reverent dread and increase our utmost sincerity, competing between our physical bodies and our lifespans? Therefore, one ought to make one's nature pure and harmonious, have pity and compassion for all embodied beings, maintain an equal mind to rescue them, bestow the Dharma as a gift, not violate, not take, never refuse what is sought, constantly set one's intent on the Mahāyāna, and have inner and outer accord with each other. This is called the fully endowed and pure gate of crossing over.
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Verse on the Gate of Distinguishing Virtue
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By Wang Rong, Assistant Editorial Director of the Southern Qi:
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Purple indeed dims the vermilion; / The madman thus counterfeits the wise. / Branching paths lift high their bits; / Divided springs race with their oars. / The lovely sun is at times obscured; / The clear moon is frequently eclipsed. / When waters clash, waves arise; / When smoke is thick, fire is extinguished. / The start of passions is vainly gathered; / Principles are hollowly veiled from within. / If there were not a luminous mind, / Who could steer the sagely carriage?
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Gate Two: Opening Beings to Return to Faith
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The Tathāgata pities and thinks of sentient beings, loving them equally as an only child. How could he ever fail to use skillful means to broadly deliver them at the crossing of benefit? Therefore, he manifested a sixteen-foot form to display his numinous deportment. In accord with the directions he responded to affinities, yet his Dharma-body was not merely one. When his golden countenance assumed physical form, adorned with the major marks and minor characteristics, he caused sentient beings to rejoice and gaze upon him. When he walked, the great chiliocosm shook and all māras were awed into submission; when he stopped, he penetrated all samādhis and non-Buddhists turned to his conversion; when he sat, he expounded the vaipulya teachings and Śakra and Brahmā inquired and looked up to him; when he reclined, he revealed the One True Path and the three vehicles received his virtue. When he spoke, the torments of the three evil paths were stilled; when he smiled, the four forms of birth experienced bliss. Those who heard his voice realized the Path; those who saw his form attained liberation. At that time, was it not magnificent? Now, though endowed with a spirit, our confusion and delusion form heavy obstacles. Going forward, we do not behold the kingdom and cities of his alms-gathering; turning back, we do not hear the explanations of his eightfold voice. This must be because our sinful karma is profound and thick, and our afflictions are entrenched. Not only do we fear not seeing the past and future Buddhas, the coming sages, and the present worthies, but we also deeply dread that there will be no way to cut off the evil paths. Giving rise to such thoughts brings truly piercing grief; harboring such reflections causes an unconscious, heart-rending agony. How could we yield in silence, allowing ourselves to drift and rest in ease upon the ocean of suffering, sinking into the boiling fire without extricating ourselves? One must become resolute and stern, subduing one's feelings and curbing one's desires, giving rise to an elevated mind to repent, extinguish sins, and cast off all defiling encumbrances; only then can one return to faith. If one does not fortify one's resolve, sacrifice body and life, withstand toil and endure bitterness, and harbor sorrow and grief, one fears that the blazing fire of afflictions will have no way to be quenched, and the heavy darkness of ignorance will have no prospect of clearing. It is like a heavily burdened prisoner in a dungeon who suffers all manners of pain, bearing a long cangue and wearing heavy fetters, bound with iron tongs, laden with iron chains, his body beaten and flogged, purulent sores and foul rot covering his limbs, surrounded by stench and filth—yet who desires in this condition to seek an audience with the ruler or noble ministers of the state. Even if he were single-minded without slackening and showed the most genuine, supreme sincerity, if he wished to ascend the high palace and step upon the jade mat, there would still be no way to realize it. Even if [the king] felt pity, wanting to see him would be difficult. Why is this? Because he is burdened with all manner of sins and evils, and has not separated from his instruments of torment. If he removes the cangue, casts off the chains, washes away the dirt, and dresses in fine robes, the king will not bar him, and naturally he will appear. Now, wanting to return to faith is also just like this: if one is to see the major marks, minor characteristics, and radiance of the Tathāgata, one must first purify body, speech, and mind, and wash away the defilements of the mind. Loving attachment to the six sense objects must be eternally quenched without arising, and the heavy obstacles of the ten evils must be completely cleared away without remainder. Once karmic entanglements are removed and both inside and outside are pure, only then can one direct one's clear contemplation toward Kapilavastu and plant a pure mind in the precious lands. Leaving behind all defilements and entering the gate of returning to faith, one will inevitably look up to the unhindered Dharma-body. Just as a prisoner who casts off his cangue and chains naturally sees the king, so if I now eliminate afflictions, I will certainly behold all the Buddhas. If it is not thus, even if one is doubly diligent and earnest, one fears that the obstacles will be hard to pass through. How could one not throw the five limbs to the ground like Mount Tai collapsing, single-mindedly returning to faith without any further doubt? On behalf of the Sovereign, the Crown Prince, the sagely spirits of the Seven Imperial Temples, the dragon gods and the eight classes, and all beings in severe suffering, I pay reverent homage to all the Buddhas of the ten directions and the three times, begging for pity and repenting. After having repented, one should constantly practice a pliable and harmonious mind, an accepting mind, a non-negligent mind, a quiescent mind, a true and correct mind, an unmixed mind, an uncovetous and unstinting mind, a superior mind, a great mind, a compassionate and peaceful mind, a good and joyful mind, a mind that delivers all, a mind that protects sentient beings, a mind free of self-possession, and the mind of the Tathāgata. Giving rise to such vast, superior, and wondrous minds, one should single-mindedly seek broad learning, cultivate samādhi free of desire, maintain the precepts purely, be mindful of repaying kindness and virtue, constantly harbor delight, and never abandon sentient beings.
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Verse on the Gate of Returning to Faith
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Life is fleeting and fate goes awry; / The net of consciousness thwarts our aims. / Clouds of karma cast their shadows; / The sun of wisdom conceals its light. / Winding is the long path; / In the deep night, there is no return. / Ascending the mountain, Lu looks small; / Floating upon the sea, it is hard to cross. / Comparing jade-like stones, one sees the true disc; / Distinguishing gravel, one recognizes the pearl. / For those deluded and not yet attained, / If not upon the orthodox, on what shall they rely?
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Gate Three: Cleansing the Three Karmas
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Body, speech, and mind are the heads of disasters and troubles. Therefore the sūtra says: 'Where there is a body, suffering arises; where there is no body, suffering ceases.' Having known its trouble and suffering, one should curb and extinguish it. The essential means to extinguish suffering is none other than repentance. As for the method of repentance: first, one should purify one's mind, quiet one's thoughts, make one's form upright, arrange one's appearance, make one's body respectful, and solemnize one's countenance. Internally, one harbors shame and remorse; externally, one expresses abasement and shame. A classic says: 'In propriety, there is nothing without respect; arrogance must not be allowed to grow.' It also says: 'To have faults and be able to reform—this is called having no faults.' A sūtra says: 'Regard all sentient beings with respect, thinking of them as one's kin.' Each must examine their own faults, and only then repent. From beginingless realms down to this life, we and the multitude have created all manners of painful karma due to body and mind. All relying on delusion, we have largely violated the supreme teachings. Thus, out of arrogance and indolence, our bodily actions were disrespectful, sleeping and sitting were dissolute, and our movements were frivolous and haughty. Or, entering and leaving monastic quarters and ascending halls and shrines, our prostrations and circumambulations were physically undisciplined and unhumble. Or, before parents, teachers, elders, high, middle, or low seats, good friends, and spiritual mentors, our clothing was improper, and our movements and deportment contravened propriety; observing things unvirtuously, our usage violated decorum. Or stealing the property of the triratna, the belongings of relatives, and all possessions of others; plundering and forcefully seizing; deceiving by increasing or decreasing; arrogating and trespassing beyond our measure. Or behaving in licentious abandon, outside of proper times and places, without distinction from animals, not avoiding kin and relatives. Or committing the five heinous sins; burning with fire and drowning with water; raiding, capturing, and entrapping; administering poison to the innocent. Or tattooing, cutting off noses, amputating feet, cutting off ears; torturing, flogging, hacking, and shooting; wounding, maiming, beheading, dismembering, harming, flaying, and tearing apart; slaughtering, butchering, roasting, burning, boiling, broiling, scalding, and stewing. All such sins were committed either for lust, or for wealth and gain, or for stinginess and greed, or for delusion and selfhood. Feeling no shame before the worthy and the foolish, and no remorse before the sages and masters. Now reflecting that these faults follow us like shadows following forms, with fear, shame, sorrow, and bitter pain, we repent. Having repented, toward those who have inflicted harm on us, from now on they shall be our true good friends; life after life we will face them, showing and instructing them with the Dharma. We pray that the Buddhas of the ten directions will especially embrace and remember us; we repent the karmic obstacles of the body, never to create them again.
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Next, repenting the karma of speech: this is the gate of troubles and suffering, the beginning of disaster and burden. A classic says: 'A single word can make a country flourish; a single word can make a country ruin.' It also says: 'Speech and action are the pivot and spring of the superior person; once the pivot and spring are released, they govern glory and disgrace.' A sūtra says: 'One must not engage in divisive speech, harsh speech, false speech, or frivolous speech; flattering, crooked, florid words, instigating trouble, deceit, and disruption.' Therefore we know that the troubles of speech invite retribution that is truly heavy. It is broadly detailed as in the Zi'ai jing, which reveals the characteristics of this karma. Furthermore, as a sūtra says: 'Even for causes and conditions where one loses one's life, one still does not speak falsely, how much less in jest and ridicule, instigating right and wrong.' One should constantly repent the karma of speech with a straight mind.
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Next, repenting the karma of mind: mind is the root of body and speech, the gate of sins and blessings. A classic says: 'Restrain the seven emotions and attend to the nine thoughts; when thought is without depravity, action is surely correct.' The seven emotions are joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, and desire. The nine thoughts are: in seeing, thinking of clarity; in hearing, thinking of acuity; in countenance, thinking of warmth; in appearance, thinking of respect; in speech, thinking of loyalty; in affairs, thinking of reverence; in doubt, thinking of inquiry; in wrath, thinking of difficulties; in seeing gain, thinking of righteousness. All these serve to cleanse the breast, banish depravity, and pursue correctness. A sūtra says: 'One must not harbor greed and desire, anger and malice, delusion, or wrong views.' Thus we know that the ten thousand evils flow like rivers, with their matters created by the mind. How do we know it is so? If a fleeting condition arises in the mind, the mouth then utters evil words; words being manifested from the mind, one then commits grave sins. Now, if one wishes to seal one's speech and make one's body upright, it is not as good as first curbing one's mind and next subduing one's thoughts. Therefore a sūtra says: 'Control it in one place, and there is nothing that cannot be accomplished.' Once the mind accords with the Path, bodily faults cease without being forcibly checked; when the mind conforms to principle, slips of the tongue vanish without being guarded against. However, the karma of body and speech is coarse and easily suppressed and cut off, whereas the creations of the mind are subtle and difficult to clear away completely. This is broadly explained as in the various sūtras concerning their characteristics.
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- 廣弘明集 — Classical Chinese