廣弘明集 29.53

29.53

Proclamation to the sentient beings endowed with consciousness throughout the three realms and five courses of rebirth: When Xihe drives the sun across the heavens in succession, the blind are still confused about its light; when thunder rumbles and resounds, the deaf are still bewildered as to hearing it. Although the illumination and resonance belong equally to principle, the ways of reception differ. This causes the dharma-sound to be blocked from extraordinary hearing, and the compassionate light to be obscured by divergent views. Habitual stupor follows upon itself, enduring in long confusion throughout the perpetual night; the kalpa-stone may wear away, yet these conditions are inexhaustible. Therefore, our High Ancestor took pity on this overflowing flood, harboring in his mind the intention to rescue the drowning. His body harbored extraordinary brilliance, and his mouth held miraculous utterances. He founded a grand foundation before there had ever been one; he constructed profound awakening at the primal origin. Hence, once he expounded the great plan, the immense bullocks vied to gallop; when he again sifted the teachings of the Way, the sheep and deer accepted yoke and harness. He verified non-arising within his own breast and bowed to quietude and cessation in his own heart. But as years and virtue advanced, his mind dwelt in quiet contemplation. Thereupon he commanded the Imperial Heir to succeed and exalt the great undertaking. The Late Emperor, relying on these vast resources, took up our previous lineage. He accumulated virtue over three great [asaṃkhyeyas] and amassed merit through dust-particle kalpas. With his mind adapting to subtle workings, he dispatched his spirit to attend the gatherings; with his body firm as a boat and flotation bladder, he braved the waves to rescue and receive. His appearance and disappearance were entirely at his discretion; his provisional intentions were wholly self-mastered. Thus he was able to transcend those nine kalpas, descend to these four heavens, straddle one quarter of the realm, and overawe myriad states. For eighty years, penal punishments were laid aside and unused. Yet time does not wait for us; the Sovereign ascended and passed away, and the traces of teaching and paths grew disparate, with men harboring discordant thoughts. You gentlemen are perhaps of the Solar Race, wheel-turning kings straddling the four continents through the generations; or perhaps of the noble Lunar nature, loyal and pure without duplicity, enjoying renowned office in the three realms and securing glorious emoluments for a time. Yet rank and mandate can hardly be permanent; seasons alternate between adversity and prosperity. Some lose their homes through pride and arrogance; others forfeit their states through greed and cruelty. Thus their descendants drift with the waves, suddenly forgetting to return, following those heterodox sources and drifting on this ocean of desires. This causes the deva-māras to take advantage of the opening to wreak havoc in the realms above, while afflictions in turn seep and spread through the domains below. Some are entangled in intermediate existence (antarābhava) before birth; others hasten through the five signs of decay to announce senescence. In the end they are exhausted by ascents and descents, endlessly toiling in passing away and plunging down. The Commander’s Headquarters, rising to the occasion, has stepped forth heroically with extraordinary stratagems surpassing all peers, weaving culture and regulating martial might, embodying the real and mastering the mundane. Inheriting the great regulations of the hundred kings, receiving the handed-down models of the myriad generations, walking the Way and dwelling among those dragons and elephants, they knock upon this gateway. Presently, they shall dispatch radiance above and below, and station scouts throughout the eight dimensions, encompassing all heterodoxies and netting myriad existences, gathering the three realms into one single body and raising a hundred guidelines without limit. They shall uproot Sumeru and overturn the waves of the great sea, turn the universe upside down and transpose the sun and moon, making gods and men hang suspended upside down and scorching and boiling water and land. Yet again they shall block their obstinate minds, and open the road for their arrival like children. They shall fan a pure breeze upon the coals of agony, spread universal love over the Avīci hell, flatten and cleanse the three evil paths, and gather these four existences. They move them with awe and comfort them with blessings. How could such a tiny gang of petty scoundrels be worth speaking of? Since you gentlemen have already been misled by them and have sunk down for a long time, you should seize this timely opportunity to early establish sound plans. Time is difficult to obtain and easy to lose; opportunity demands haste, lest regret ensue. If one grasps the time, blessings and prosperity will arrive together; if one loses the opportunity, defeat and conquest will contend to overtake him. Thus Dou Rong enjoyed noble rank because his actions derived from prior discernment; Gongsun Ying suffered slaughter because he met defeat by lagging behind the moment. These are both lofty mirrors of past events and ruts and tracks of the present day. Moreover, the wise manage danger to scheme for safety, while the foolish bring about defeat on the brink of success. Success and failure, safety and danger lie in seizing the moment; they do not descend from Heaven, but also depend on human design. Now the three carts halt their yokes, and the jewel treasury is first opened; heavy ranks are hung to await merit, and celestial offices are established to appoint the wise. This is truly the season for great beings (mahāsattvas) to act freely and the day for wisdom and courage to present achievements. Originating from the same distant source as you gentlemen, branching off into different lands, when looking back upon the past, affections still linger. When pondering the four māras, one unconsciously strokes the sword. Therefore, I first dispatch this plain letter to briefly state success and failure. Once you reform, straying disciples, follow the light and hasten to the call, riding abreast to the bodhimaṇḍa and shoulder to shoulder beneath the wheel