集古今佛道論衡 1.33

1.33

'On the eighth day of the fourth month in the third year of Tianjian, Xiao Yan, Emperor of the Liang State, from Lanling, bows his head and makes prostration to the Buddhas of the ten directions, the honored Dharma of the ten directions, and the noble Saṅgha of the ten directions. Humbly I observe that the sūtras say: "To generate the bodhicitta is none other than the Buddha-mind." No other good deeds can be compared to it. It can cause sentient beings to exit the bitter gate of the trailokya and enter the superior path of non-action. Therefore, the Tathāgata, his outflows exhausted and his wisdom concentrated, attained enlightenment; his supreme Way penetrated the responsive faculties, his virtue was perfected as the most sacred. He ignited the torch of wisdom to illuminate the deluded, and mirrored the stream of Dharma to clarify defilements. He manifested auspicious traces in the midst of heaven, and shone forth his numinous presence beyond mere forms. He ferried the deluded across the sea of desire, and guided conscious beings to nirvāṇa; he ascended the high mountain of the permanent and blissful, and emerged from the deep reaches of the river of passion. His words depart from the four alternatives, his speech transcends the hundred negations. Responding with traces in the Sahā world, he manifested his birth in a royal palace; striding across the trailokya he became the Honored One, and universally throughout the great chiliocosm his light streamed forth. Yet because the minds of beings were shallow and given to weariness and indolence, he thereupon expounded the serene and complete permanence, and then concealed his radiance beneath the crane-like twin trees; King Ajātaśatru eliminated his sins, and King Vasu removed his calamities. If one did not encounter the Great Sage Dharmarāja, who could rescue and receive them? Though he is hidden in his traces, his Way suffers no deficit. This disciple formerly passed through delusion and was addicted to serving Laozi; through successive generations inheriting this, he was contaminated by this heterodox teaching. Through habituating causes, goodness has arisen, so that I abandon delusion and know to return. Now I cast aside the old physician and take refuge in the Rightly Enlightened One. I vow that in future lifetimes I may leave home as a boy, broadly propagate the teachings of the scriptures, and transform and liberate conscious beings so that we together achieve Buddhahood. I would rather sink perpetually into the evil destinies within the True Dharma than enjoy being born temporarily in heaven by relying on the teachings of Laozi. Cultivating the Mahāyāna mind, I depart from the thoughts of the two vehicles. I truly pray that the Buddhas bear witness and the bodhisattvas gather and receive me. Disciple Xiao Yan prostrates.'