集沙門不應拜俗等事 1.45

1.45

三難　比獲來示。并諸人所論。並未有以釋其所疑。就而為難。殆以流遷。今復重申前意而委曲之想。足有以頓白馬之轡。知辯制之有耳。夫佛教之所重。全以神為貴。是故師徒相宗莫二其倫。凡神之明暗各有本分。分之所資稟之有本。師之為功在於發悟。譬猶荊璞而瑩拂之耳。若質非美玉琢磨何益。是為美惡存乎自然。深德在於資始拂瑩之功。寔以未焉。既懷玉自中又匠以成器。非君道則無以申遂此生而通其為道者也。是為在三之重而師為之末。何以言之。君道兼師。而師不兼君。教以弘之。法以齊之。君之道也。豈不然乎。豈可以在理之輕而奪宜尊之敬。三復其理愈所疑駭。制作之旨。將在彼而不在此。錯而用之其弊彌甚。想復領其趣而遺其事。得之濠上耳。

Third Challenge: Recently I received your letter, as well as the treatises of others, none of which has succeeded in resolving my doubts. Approaching them with challenges, they only drift away. Now I restate my previous meaning with detailed care, which I trust will suffice to rein in the galloping horse of debate and show that the regulations are grounded in principle. What the Buddhist teaching values takes spirit alone as most noble. For this reason, master and disciple venerate each other without peer. In general, the brightness or dimness of spirit each has its inherent endowment; what the endowment receives is rooted in its origin. The master's merit lies merely in awakening it, like polishing an uncarved jade from Jing. If the substance is not fine jade, what is the benefit of grinding and polishing? Thus excellence and defect reside in nature; profound virtue lies in the original endowment, whereas the work of polishing is truly secondary. Having embraced the jade within and having been shaped into a vessel by the artisan, without the way of the ruler there would be no means to bring this life to fruition and to realize the Way. Thus among the 'Three Reverences,' the master is the least. Why is this? The way of the ruler encompasses the master, but the master does not encompass the ruler. Teaching to broaden them, law to regulate them—such is the way of the ruler. Is it not so? How could one, based on what is lesser in principle, usurp the reverence due to the honored? Pondering this principle repeatedly, my doubts and astonishment only grow. The intention behind the institutions lies there and not here; applying them erroneously will only cause greater harm. I trust you will grasp the spirit and forget the details, finding insight by the River Hao.