廣弘明集 4.7

4.7

On the seventeenth day of the fourth month, the Palace Attendant, General Pacifying the Front, and Governor of Danyang, Prince of Shaoling, submitted a memorial saying: 'Your subject Lun has heard: The majestic marks of the Tathāgata tower high, mounting the pinnacle of existence; his subtle and wondrous form-body spreads broadly, manifesting beyond all limits. Taking the golden wheel as a pretext, he enlightens beings; relying on the silver grains, he responds to ordinary mortals. Whetstone to the sharp blade of prajñā, he gathers the wondrous fruit of nirvāṇa; floating upon the bitter ocean of birth and death, he ferries across to the other shore of eternal bliss. Thus he can lower clouds of compassion and drop rains of amṛta. Across the seven places and eight assemblies, the meanings of his teaching and conversion are inexhaustible; in the four truths and five periods, the methods of his benefit know no bounds. All is clear as ice and glorious as the sun; the fog clears away and the clouds disperse; torch-fires obscure their glow, and dust and heat naturally calm. It can be said that entering the world, he transforms those at the bottom of ignorance; leaving the world, he merges into this suchness. He causes those in the dense forests of heterodox paths to gaze upon the Dharma-gate without weariness; he leads those of thirsting desire, blind and deaf, to admire the profound depths and know to return. The Bodhi-tree began in Kapilavastu; the virtuous sound flourished in the capital of Luoyang. The fixed stars were invisible when the Zhou observed the sign of pregnancy; the full-moon circular form appeared when the Han was moved by the night dream. The five dharmas were transmitted accordingly, and the myriad virtues began to dawn; the Chinese customs were imperceptibly illuminated, vying to fan the lofty wind. Relying on these three vidyās, he illuminates the errors of the lost paths; trusting in these seven factors of awakening, he uproots the suffering of the long night. It is our fortune to encounter the Bodhisattva Emperor, who responds to Heaven to rule creation, facing south from the imperial screen to oversee the populace. Harboring light throughout the universe, he clears and illumines beyond the seas; bestowing unhindered eloquence to receive the common people, he gathers and protects sentient beings through the power of his fundamental vow. Thus, according to the situation he administers medicine, showing the expedient and revealing the causal, exalting the purport of the One Vehicle and broadening the foundation of the ten grounds. Consequently, the myriad states turn toward it, all receiving the true knowledge; spiritual deities, both hidden and manifest, all receive his guidance and salvation. People give rise to the vow of equal awakening; beings produce the bodhicitta. There are none who do not yearn and labor toward the realm of the fundamental lineage, or rejoice in the path of returning to the source. Together they maintain compassion; together they cultivate patience. He is what may be called a protector, a benefactor, a bridge, and a ferryman. Since the Way is so gloriously shed, the people are likewise transformed by it. Thereupon the true arhats fly their staves, soaring into the air and casting their shadows, shattering the heterodox; those of outer paths firmly uphold the true state. Saṅghārāmas and pure retreats, jeweled temples face one another; lecture assemblies transmit the scriptures, and the sounds of virtue fill the ears. In the past, your subject had not arrived at the source of principle and adhered to heterodox paths, just as if wishing for sweet fruit, one should conversely plant bitter sprouts, or wishing to dispel thirst, one should instead run to salt water. Now I have uncovered the deluded directions and roughly know where to turn. Receiving the great bodhisattva precepts, I restrain body and mind; renouncing the false wind of Laozi, I enter the true teaching of the Dharma stream. Prostrate I pray that the heavenly compassion may bend down to grant permission. Respectfully memorialized.'