集沙門不應拜俗等事 2.46

2.46

The host said: "What I maintain belongs to the internal; what you raise as difficulties belongs to the external. The internal penetrates the principles of the Dharma, whereas the external is confined to human affairs. Since they differ by an immense gulf, how could they be compared in the same breath? This means your learning is not comprehensive and what you have heard is not thorough. I shall now clarify your doubts. Let me test this by summarizing seven essential points: first, that no virtue goes unrequited; second, that no goodness fails to be gathered in; third, that skillful means are unimpeded; fourth, that quiescent cessation knows no worldly honor; fifth, that decorum must not be violated; sixth, that attire must not be confused; and seventh, that causes must not be forgotten. The first four points respond to the objections you raised; the latter three cite and produce established models. I have heard that Heaven speaks not, yet the four seasons proceed; a king speaks not, yet the myriad realms are governed. What power does an emperor display, yet the people cannot name it? Accomplishing works without abiding in them, acting without presuming upon them—this is the utmost goodness of former kings, the supreme virtue of great persons. All alike partake of its favor, and all are included among those led as guests; fortunate to differ from plants and trees, and indeed unlike insects and birds, wearing round heaven above and treading square earth below, looking down and up they cherish benevolence; eating grain and drinking water, fully nourished they bear gratitude. How much more so when he indulgently permits their renunciation, and compassionately allows them to enter the Way, cutting off coarse karma from the past and praying for wondrous fruits in the future? Having received such heavy grace, they in turn contemplate a bountiful recompense. Relying on the benefit of myriad good deeds, how could it reside in the mere physical homage of a single body? If they repay with goodness, the requital is profound; if they pay slight bodily respect, the harvest of benefit is shallow indeed. It is truly because if the saṃgha loses its standard of decorum, the mundane world decreases in surplus blessings. That śramaṇas do not bow to laypeople is what the Buddha has already stated clearly. If you know this can be trusted, in principle it ought to be upheld and established. If you say it is hard to follow, as a matter of policy it should be abolished. How can one revere them seeking their merit, yet debase them by demanding their rites? If one makes them conform to the rites, they become the same as the mundane, yet to speak of entreating blessings without seeing any enrichment would mean keeping them as if abandoning them, treating monks like commoners—neither white nor black, lacking any distinct name. This is called the first: no virtue goes unrequited. The Dharma has gradually waned and humans are also in the degenerate age; there are rarely any sages, truly as you say. Yet though dwelling in the stream of ordinary beings, they still hold to the armor of forbearance; though deficient in the training of the precepts, they still discourse upon the scriptures of wisdom. They are as precious as a stūpa and as venerable as a buddha: taking refuge in them gives rise to goodness, while slandering them accumulates sin. When their fierce resolve is first aroused, they are able to abandon the difficult-to-sever bonds of love; when their vast vows reach final fulfillment, they can proceed toward far-off perfect awakening. Therefore, on the day the hair is shorn, the heavenly Māra trembles from afar; on the day the robe is dyed, Śakra rejoices from afar. A courtesan momentarily donned it, and the outflow-free was ultimately fulfilled; a drunkard temporarily trimmed his hair, and the karmic condition was at once formed. The dragon’s child relied upon it to still his terror; the elephant king saw it and ceased his fear. Their spiritual presence resides here, with the attire and robes serving as the cause. Even if young and not yet fully ordained, they proclaim the Buddha's purport; the small must not be disdained, for they glorify the power of the saṃgha. Once Upāli was ordained, the Śākya princes humbled their minds; when Nidhi also took refuge, King Prasenajit bent his intention. Thus we know that whether old or young, what serves as teacher is the Dharma; whether lowly or noble, what is preserved is the Way. However, between the worthy and the foolish, within silence and speech, the green and the ripe resemble one another, and selection is no easy task. Discerning with the physical eye, one fears failing to meet the real; but with equanimity of faith, one may encounter the true. As soon as four persons are assembled, they constitute a saṃgha. Since the saṃgha broadly gathers them in, the Buddha is also fully present. Only upon seeing the marvel of the boiling water was food sent as an offering to the saṃgha; only upon seeing the wonder of the gold-woven robe was it ordered to be offered to the assembly. Is not the majestic power and virtue of the saṃgha great indeed? It fully deserves to be called the foremost of fertile fields and the cornerstone of the holy teaching. This is called the second: no goodness fails to be gathered in. If we discuss Vimalakīrti's merits, he had long ago ascended to the cloud grounds; his intention in lying ill fundamentally transcended the worldly realm. Having long cultivated the base of spiritual power, all marveled at his eloquence; when new learners touched their heads to his feet, it was in sincere gratitude for his gift of the Dharma. This was a temporary expedient, not a constant rule; temporary adaptations according to the occasion are indeed numerous. Furthermore, when Ākāśagarbha did not pay homage, the Tathāgata did not reprimand him; when the novice formed his aspiration, the preceptor offered reverence. Viewed casually at first glance, these are all astonishing and strange; but examining the Buddhist scriptures again, none fails to be an open thoroughfare. The Bodhisattva Sadāparibhūta alone displayed exalted conduct: to startle those of overweening pride, he performed prostrations of a humble mind. Walking exclusively on one single path, he made use only of utmost sincerity; since this was not the three wisdoms, how could it be a constant standard? Devising methods in accord with capacities is rare enough; if used broadly in teaching and transforming, it is difficult to codify as disciplinary decorum. The Great Sage brought forth the brightness of the two wisdoms and established the restrictions of the five sections [of the Vinaya], setting aside worldly rank and age, and preserving only the precept ordination years; this general instruction applied from beginning to end, revered equally by the sharp and the dull. The elderly and the young have their order, and preceding and following are not confused. Never has the distinctive practice of a single person been made a universal practice for the sevenfold assembly. The principle of its impossibility can be seen clearly. In the past, someone sang and drummed on a basin when his wife died, or buried his own body on an island by heaping earth; these were the personal integrity of ordinary men, so how could they be equated with the institutions of enlightened kings? How much more so since the scriptures of the awakened are deep and profound, and the words of the sage are subtle and secret; obstinately clinging to one side severely violates the four unhindered knowledges. This is called the third: skillful means are unimpeded. Moreover, the archivist of Zhou was long entangled in the king's service, and the minister of crime of Lu once served as a state minister. When finding their ancestral refuge in the Dao and virtue, it was first called 'nameless'; when giving instruction in the Book of Odes and Book of Documents, it was ultimately said that 'I transmit and do not create.' Transmitting the ways of Yao and Shun, and taking King Wen and King Wu as models, who else would bow and pay homage if not they? The style of Chaofu and Xu You, viewed from antiquity, was still transcendent; the conduct of Bo Yi and Shu Qi, compared to the present, was still unbending. How could they resemble climbing high toward the Ten Powers and crossing far over the four floods, weary of the suffering of the conditioned and rejoicing in that extinction without remainder? They do not attach their thoughts to public halls, nor do they turn their affections toward royal affairs. Naturally liberated, they are certainly different from the company of Confucians and Daoists. This is called the fourth: quiescent cessation knows no worldly honor. As for sacrificing to ghosts and spirits and performing distant rites to rivers and mountains, these are grand state ceremonies and praiseworthy topics in records and contracts. Spirits are revered by kings, yet monks still offer them no rites; the saṃgha is reverenced by spirits, so would the king conversely receive their homage? If high and low are inverted, it turns contrary to the True Dharma; reversing robes and skirts, how can they be compared? When spirits are moved to extend protection, it depends on the monks' fervent invocations; since it pertains entirely to the power of mantras, there is ultimately no reason for monks to bow. This is called the fifth: decorum must not be violated. Originally, when sovereigns and kings arose, they had to be true beings taking rebirth. Though their superior virtue was kept secret in a pure mind, their outward appearance was still marked with mundane forms. Therefore, when the Way is made manifest in black robes, feelings of diligence should be fierce; when practice is concealed within the profound gate, bodily homage should be cut off. Seeking precedents for this, they are fully recorded in what has been heard before. King Bimbisāra of the state and King Śuddhodana the father—in the past all such as these had attained sagehood. Dedicated to cultivating faith and compliance, they took refuge in every matter. Even on seeing an ordinary monk, they still conceived the thought of venerating the Buddha. Not kneeling to one's parents was allowed as filial piety, not blamed as an unfilial crime; not bowing to the ruler was regarded as reverence, so how could it be the fault of disrespect? What they model themselves upon is inherently distinct; what they hold firmly to has already differed. In substance there is no confusion; the regulations follow from this. This is called the sixth: attire must not be confused. Respectfully investigating the wondrous Tāla scriptures and the true words of Śākyamuni, they say that one who dwells as a kṣatriya is honored, and relies on prajñā for protection; having the four confidences unfailing and the ten good deeds unblemished, serving the Buddha and honoring the saṃgha, they accumulate merit and pile up virtue. Thereafter, with the descents of the sun essence and moon image, and the portents of red light and white mist, the golden wheel having turned, the jewel is again suspended; responding to Heaven and according with the people, they manage the charts and hold the mirror, first initiating the methods of the five constants and ultimately promoting the path of the eight administrative policies. It is also fitting that they re-examine past lives and recall the original causes: revering the Buddha's teachings and venerating the saṃgha jewel, increasing the fragrance of precepts and augmenting the power of wisdom. Naturally, the heavenly foundation will turn loftier, comparable to the vastness of the Brahmā palace, and the holy longevity will be eternally solid, matching the permanence of the kalpa stone. However, when the force of thunder and lightning reaches its peak, the dragon and tiger's awe is profound; when favor is granted, it embraces all, but when fierce fury comes, wrath strikes. Uttering words and issuing decrees, the grass bends as the wind blows. Once the rites of the monks are suppressed, who would dare raise his scales? Yet one fears it will diminish hidden merit and offer no support to the grand enterprise. Exhausting sincerity and offering one's life—it is merely this. This is called the seventh: causes must not be forgotten. I have briefly declared my intentions to roughly clear away your doubts. If you wish to acquire broad learning, you ought to investigate the great scriptures."