辯正論 1.14

1.14

通人曰。五教之職禁其現非。五戒之謨防其來過。五教事彰為罪（言殺盜事露獲賊狀者官始結正而成罪也）五戒口動成辜。書但息其一刑。經乃遮其三報（謂現報生報後報）息一刑免一時之現罪。遮三報斷三世之來殃。亦如六宗七廟之儀。三饔四郊之禮。時月朔望之奠。吉凶慶弔之羞。禮王制云。庶人薦韮以卵。薦麥以魚。薦黍以豚。薦稻以雁。諸侯用牛。大夫用羊。士用犬豕。祭天地以繭栗。饗宗廟角握。皆謂有故而私殺也。是以修其教不易其俗。齊其政不易其宜。教謂禮義。政謂刑禁。縱禮見其生不忍其死。聞其聲不取其肉。抑亦漸斷之談。未為極慈之訓。

The comprehensive scholar said: "The function of the five teachings is to prohibit present wrongs; the design of the Five Precepts is to guard against future faults. Under the five teachings, an act must become manifest to constitute a crime (this means only when the act of killing or stealing is exposed and the thief's evidence is secured do officials first indict and convict it as a crime); under the Five Precepts, a movement of the mouth constitutes guilt. The classical books merely put an end to a single punishment; the sūtras block the three kinds of retribution (namely, retribution in the present life, in the next life, and in subsequent lives). Putting an end to a single punishment relieves a temporary present crime; blocking the three kinds of retribution cuts off future calamities across the three times. This is also like the ceremonies of the Six Venerables and the Seven Temples, the rites of the Three Banquets and the Four Suburbs, the offerings at the new and full moons of each season and month, or the foods presented for auspicious celebrations and mournful condolences. The 'Royal Regulations' of the Liji says: 'The common people offer leeks with eggs, wheat with fish, millet with pork, and rice with wild geese. Feudal lords use oxen, grand masters use sheep, and servicemen use dogs and pigs. In sacrificing to Heaven and Earth, calves with horns like chestnut buds are used; in feasting the ancestral temple, the horns must be graspable.' These all refer to private slaughtering for specific causes. Therefore, 'cultivate their teachings without changing their customs; regularize their governance without altering their fitting ways.' 'Teachings' refers to ritual propriety and righteousness; 'governance' refers to penal prohibitions. Even if the rites say, 'Having seen them alive, one cannot bear to see them die; having heard their cries, one cannot bear to eat their meat,' this is still talk of gradual cessation, not the consummate teaching of ultimate compassion.