集沙門不應拜俗等事 4.7

4.7

We have observed that when the transformation was unfolded on Vulture Peak, oars were moved through the dark ford; when instructions were handed down from the azure heavens, words were raised directing toward the true realm. Their virtue encompasses the four heavens, their teachings stand unique beyond worldly constraints; their significance is equal to a single finger, and the respect they receive differs from common norms. Therefore, in offering homage at the Grove of Sāla Trees, the supreme principle and ordinary sentiments are distinct traditions; when bending the body by the riverbank, the mysterious achievement and immediate worldly affairs have already diverged. From this one knows that black robes and yellow caps are not ornaments for the imperial palace; meditation forests and cavern residences are not the glory of ministers and sons. As for their deep merit and benefit, their Way is fully equipped to magnify guidance: setting forth the purport of the three vehicles, their principle reaches the utmost of the four modes of birth; demonstrating the text of the five thousand words, their words encompass the ten thousand phenomena. Wielding the sword of wisdom, they sever defilements; abandoning desire, they practice non-action. The living and the deceased look up to them as boats and rafts; moving and growing things rely on them for nourishment. Nature and characteristics cannot be fully probed by intellectual examination; the indistinct and silent cannot be exhausted by delving into mysteries. What is more, turning the wheel of the Dharma to assist the imperial achievements, their merit saves through dusty kalpas; floating the true pneumas to lay the foundation of the sagely Way, their Way surpasses the primordial chaos. Vast and great, they truly cannot be named! Now it is desired to equate them with the Teaching of Names and have them conform to worldly etiquette; once the imperial words have been issued, who would not say it is proper? Yet we fear that the lofty custom would thereby be lost forever, and the profound and marvelous principle would wander away and forget to return. We humbly consider that Your Majesty's love and respect excel a hundred kings, and Your virtuous teaching spreads throughout the four seas; concentrating Your spirit to embody all things, Your mind is set on magnifying the Way. Why must You restrict these two gates and conflate the paths of the ultimate and the mundane? Why limit these two teachings and throw into disorder their paths of silence and speech? Since their vinaya and precepts are already different from ordinary rules, how could kneeling and prostrating be shared with common etiquette? For ancestral practices, we request to follow the constant regulations. Respectfully submitted.