辯正論 3.63

3.63

魏高祖孝文皇帝（諱宏）神光照室。和氣充庭。仁孝綽然。岐嶷顯著。聽覽政事。從善如流。哀矜百姓。恒思濟益。以太后忌日哭於陵左。絕膳二日。哭不輟聲。仍於鄴都造安養寺。碩德高僧四方雲集。六宮侍女皆持年三月六。其精進誦經者並度出家。事無大小務於賙給。常謂史官無諱國惡。手不釋卷。覽之便講。愛奇好士情如饑渴。善談莊老。尤敦釋義。才藻富贍。文章百篇。悠然遠邁。不以世務妨道。而幼承洪緒。早著叡聖之風。時以文明攝事優遊。拱已玄覽。獨得著自不言神契。所標固以符於冥化。及躬總大政一日萬機。十許年間曾不暇給。欽明稽古。叶御天人。帝王製作。朝野軌度。斟酌用捨。煥乎文章。然而盡聖窮神繼天紹曆。奉為先皇。於大覺寺修葺堂宇。䞋施隆厚供給豐華。影塔經臺粲然備舉。上標金剎下列銀楹。雁翼臨雲。龍首承日。名僧繼踵法侶排肩。朝步蓮池暮栖香閣。風流慧苑。梵響禪林。召三百許僧六時不墜。所度僧尼一萬四千人。

Emperor Xiaowen, the High Ancestor of the Wei (taboo name Hong): Spiritual radiance illuminated his chamber, and harmonious breath filled his hall. His benevolence and filial devotion were spacious, his early brilliance strikingly apparent. When listening to and reviewing affairs of state, he followed the good as flowing water. Pitying the common people, he constantly thought of giving relief and benefit. On the death anniversary of the Empress Dowager, he wept at the side of the tomb, fasting for two days without stopping his wailing. Thereupon, he constructed Anyang Temple in the capital Ye, where eminent monks of great virtue gathered like clouds from the four quarters. The court attendants of the six imperial palaces all observed the three long months and the six fasting days. Those who were diligent in chanting sūtras were all permitted to leave household life. In matters large and small, he was devoted to providing relief. He frequently instructed the court historians never to conceal the faults of the state. He never laid aside books, lecturing on whatever he read. Loving the rare and cherishing men of talent, his desire was like hunger and thirst. He was skilled in discussing Zhuangzi and Laozi, and especially devoted to the meanings of Śākya's teachings. His literary talent was rich and abundant, composing hundreds of essays. Distant and transcendent, he did not allow worldly affairs to obstruct the Dao. Having inherited the grand lineage in youth, he manifested the demeanor of sagacious wisdom early on. At the time when Empress Dowager Wenming took charge of affairs, he relaxed at ease, folding his hands and contemplating the obscure, attaining insight independently without speaking, harmonizing with the spirits; what he manifested certainly accorded with hidden transformation. When he personally took over all state affairs, with myriad duties in a single day, for some ten years he never had a moment's leisure. Illustrious in examining antiquity, he harmonized and governed gods and men. Imperial enactments and court-and-country regulations were weighed and adopted with brilliant literary flourish. Yet, exhausting sagacity and plumbing the divine, continuing Heaven and upholding the calendar, for the sake of the late Emperor he renovated halls and buildings at Dajue Temple, offering lavish donations and rich, magnificent provisions. Shadow-pagodas and scripture-platforms were brilliantly prepared in full. Above, golden steeples were raised; below, silver pillars were lined. Goose wings met the clouds, and dragon heads caught the sun. Renowned monks arrived in succession, and companions of the Dharma rubbed shoulders. In the morning they strolled by the lotus ponds, and at dusk they lodged in the fragrant pavilions. Elegant grace swept through the gardens of wisdom, and Sanskrit chants echoed in the meditation groves. He summoned some three hundred monks to maintain their practice through the six periods of day and night without interruption. Those monks and nuns ordained by him numbered fourteen thousand.