集沙門不應拜俗等事 1.3

1.3

Now, when primordial chaos separated into unity, the sagacious dragon inaugurated the triad. Fuxi's trigrams soared, surpassing knotted cords; Xuan Yuan's writing emerged, transcending notched tallies. In solemn majesty before the imperial screen, the ruler was honored within the jade halls; with bustling shoes and fluttering robes, illustrious ministers assisted beside the gemstone avenues. Yet their grand designs went no further than rites and music, and their eminent undertakings stopped at benevolence and righteousness. There were also talents who roosted in moonlight and embraced the rosy clouds, and heroes who mounted giant turtles and reined in river carps. Strangling desires, shedding form, and swallowing cinnabar, they sprouted in secret caves; ceasing grains and casting off shadows, they sipped blue dew on divine mounds. Yet in the end they were startled by the swift passage of time, vainly indulging in gatherings of fleeting joy. How could this compare to the Capable and Benevolent (Śākyamuni), who attuned to cosmic destiny and established the school with the Brahminic texts? He turned the wondrous wheel, setting it into motion; he mounted the jeweled steed and rode far aloft. Birth without birth—he probed ever-renewed birth down to its utmost subtlety; extinction without extinction—he exhausted cessation upon cessation back to its profound source. The great chiliocosm is illumined by the blaze of the torch of wisdom; the myriad realms echo with the sound of the Dharma conch. Densely woven snares were loosed, far surpassing the three charms of King Tang's era; the turbulent waves of suffering were stemmed, outstripping the four conveyances of Yu the Great. Moisture steeped the myriad regions, spreading beneficence; crossing countless eons, spiritual merit coalesced. Those who donned its vestments caused even the Purple Sovereign to bend in reverence; those who entered its Way were marked as revered above the black-haired people. It became an excellent support for transcending habitual attachments, an asylum amid worldly defilements. Then, as the sacrificial rites by the river shone brightly and the dream of the sun shed flying light, the statue of the Prince of Xiutu was conveyed to the east, and the transformation of Jibin gradually spread to the west. Eminent masters answered the call, unfolding wondrous teachings from silver cases; those of flourishing virtue followed shoulder to shoulder, expressing true words upon palm leaves. Feudal lords revered and upheld it, and successive dynasties admired and honored it. Thus Fu Jian of the Qin calmed his thoughts and shared the imperial palanquin in mutual delight; Liu of the Han showed sincere reverence, descending from his carriage to pay respect. It was only in the late destiny of the House of Jin that the light of wisdom grew dim and then brightened again; in the declining era of the Imperial Line, the waters of virtue froze and then flowed once more.