廣弘明集 7.12

7.12

Ji said: 'The Hu teaching is stingy and greedy, caring only for wealth. It directly practices the three poisons and harms myriad quarters; we have never seen it cultivate the six perfections to elevate the triratna. This is the fourth unprincipled thing.'

[Daoxuan's rebuttal:] Now, wealth and food sustain life, and in them greedy men are submerged; but to accumulate and be able to disperse them is the constant disposition of a pure and honest gentleman. Among the six perfections, the giving of dāna comes first; it is only by relying on the Buddha that its status is established. As for the triratna, the Buddha is the master of the teaching, the flowing compassion of the Correctly Enlightened One. Without the Buddhadharma, how could one know the efficacy of the six perfections? Cut off from the breeze of compassion, how could one recognize the triratna as the correct transformation? Because Ji did not attain his ambition, to the end of his days he sought to entrap it; he merely increased his greed and rivalry to blame others, without ever revealing any weariness of the body to cast off clinging. Even ordinary gentlemen among the vulgar do not speak empty words, yet Ji was truly a vulgar fellow who let his talented brush run recklessly. Has he alone not heard that when Gu Yong was enfeoffed with ten thousand households his family did not even know, that when Zhuge Liang received the reward of three commanderies his storehouse contained not a foot of silk, that when Xie An pacified a million rebels he was somber with a solemn expression, and that the Capable and Benevolent One renounced the four truths of conditioned existence, casting them away like spit and phlegm? These are true records. How much more so for those who relinquish the body and receive no body, contemplating the triple world as a prison, regarding wealth and food truly as poisonous serpents of the eight phenomena, carrying their robes and bowls along with them like birds wandering through the empty sky, without hindrance in leaving or staying like mallards floating upon a long river! Those of this sort are called śramaṇas. Thus the scripture says: "Among the Saṅgha, there are none who break the precepts or are unpurified. If one acts contrary to this, he is not called a monk." How can one equate treacherous ministers and cruel rulers with Houji, Xie, Tang, and Yu, or compare weeds and briers with fine sprouts and splendid trees? In formulating words and establishing admonitions, the clear and the turbid must be bifurcated; to obscure everything with darkness and wickedness and completely cover over all eminent talents is contrary to principle. At that time, when Liang governed, benevolent nurturing was paramount: the Emperor himself severed desires and ate vegetarian food, while the monks formed forests of literary talent and caves of doctrinal meaning. Even if there were transgressions like fly specks, they could well be thrown to the jackals and tigers! For universal scholars, their discussions are governed by principle; to remove blemishes and veil faults is the constant duty of a gentleman. Thus among the Confucian conduct of Lu, only Confucius was the sole person; playing the reed pipe improperly and stealing the robes brought down the state at the time. The authenticity and falsity, the expedient and the real among monks are difficult to discern; only the Buddha can know it, while others merely rely on what they see and hear. Therefore, because Ji lacked understanding, he is unworthy of burdensome debate. What is regrettable is that he was so soon covered in fire and ashes to present his memorial in person—how could he not know how to turn back?