辯正論 6.109

6.109

內箴曰。夫澄神反性。入道之要門。絕情棄欲。登聖之遐本。故云。道高者尚。德弘者賞。以道傳神以德授聖。神聖相傳。是謂良嗣。塞道之源伐德之根。此謂無後。非云棄欲為無後也。子不聞乎。昔何尚之言釋氏之化。無所不可。諒入道之教源。誠濟俗之稱首。夫行一善則去一惡。去一惡則息一刑。一刑息於家則萬刑息於國。故知五戒十善為正治之本矣。又五戒修而惡趣減。十善暢而人天滋。人天滋則正化隆。惡趣衰而災害殄。注正法念經云。人不持戒。諸天減少阿修羅盛。善龍無力。惡龍有力。有力則降霜雹。非時暴風疾雨。五穀不登。疾疫競起。人民飢饉。互相殘害。若人持戒多。諸天增足威光。修羅減少。惡龍無力。善龍有力。善龍有力。風雨順時。四氣和暢。甘雨時降。百穀稔豐人民安樂。兵戈戢息。疫疾不行者猶屏薪去草益重而難彰。絕焰息煨績微而易顯。且強骨弱氣。李叟之至談。保髓愛精。仙家之奧旨。今反謂淫欲為妙訓。妻子為化源。宗老而毀其言。斆仙而棄其術。且愛犬馬者。貴其識思。嫉梟鏡者。惡其反噬。爾則警夜代勞。功劣於犬馬。逆麟反舌。釁深於梟鏡。雄虺九首。不其然乎。載鬼一車。吁可畏矣。且運祚脩短雖曰天命。興替延促抑亦人符。故堯舜禹湯咸享嘉壽。桀紂幽厲無終永年。姬發履道而齡長羸政淫刑而祚短。陳思論云。昔堯舜禹湯文武周邵大公。並享百年之壽。七聖三賢並行道。修政治天下。不足損神。賢宰一國不足勞思。是以各盡其天年。桀放鳴條。紂死牧野。犬戎殺幽。厲王不終。周祚八百。秦滅於二世。此時本無佛僧。謨誥在目非曰虛談。豈敢無佛而祚延。有僧而運局。談何容易。談何容易。惜哉吾子自貽伊慼。良足歎矣。昏若夜遊。爾盲五也。

The internal admonition says: Purifying the spirit and returning to one's original nature is the essential gateway for entering the Way; severing passions and abandoning desires is the distant root for ascending to sagehood. Therefore it is said: 'Those whose Way is high are esteemed; those whose virtue is broad are rewarded.' Transmitting the spirit through the Way and conferring sagehood through virtue—when spirit and sagehood are passed on to one another, this is called good succession. Blocking the source of the Way and felling the root of virtue—this is what is called having no posterity; it does not say that abandoning desires is having no posterity. Have you not heard? In the past, He Shangzhi said that the conversion taught by the Śākya clan has nothing in it that is inadmissible; it is truly the source of teaching for entering the Way and genuinely the foremost among methods for saving the world. Performing one good act removes one evil; removing one evil stops one penalty; when one penalty stops in a family, ten thousand penalties stop in the state. Therefore, know that the five precepts and ten virtuous deeds are the root of correct governance. Moreover, when the five precepts are cultivated, the evil destinies decrease; when the ten virtuous deeds expand, humans and devas multiply. When humans and devas multiply, the correct teaching prospers; when evil destinies decline, disasters and harms are extinguished. The commentary on the *Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna Sūtra* says: 'When humans do not observe the precepts, the devas decrease and the asuras flourish. The good nāgas are powerless, while the evil nāgas have power. When they have power, they send down frost and hail, untimely violent winds, and fierce rains; the five grains do not ripen, epidemics arise together, the people suffer famine, and they harm one another. If people observe the precepts abundantly, the devas increase in majesty and light, the asuras decrease, the evil nāgas become powerless, and the good nāgas gain power. When the good nāgas have power, wind and rain come at their proper seasons, the four qi are harmonious and smooth, sweet rain falls in due time, the hundred grains ripen abundantly, the people are peaceful and happy, weapons of war are laid to rest, and epidemics do not spread.' This is like removing firewood and clearing weeds—the benefit is weighty yet difficult to make apparent; extinguishing flames and quenching embers—the result is subtle yet easy to manifest. Furthermore, 'strengthening the bones and weakening the ambition' was the ultimate discourse of Old Lao; preserving the marrow and cherishing the semen is the profound purport of the immortals. Now, on the contrary, you call sexual desire a wonderful instruction, and wives and children the source of transformation! You venerate Laozi while slandering his words; you imitate the immortals while abandoning their arts. Furthermore, those who love dogs and horses value their intelligence and loyalty; those who detest owls and jing beasts hate their turning to devour [their mothers]. You, then, in warning against night prowlers and taking on toil, show merit inferior to dogs and horses; in touching the reverse scales and holding a contrary tongue, your transgression is deeper than that of owls and jing beasts. Like a male serpent with nine heads—is it not so? Loading a wagon full of ghosts—ah, how fearsome! Moreover, although the length of a dynastic reign is said to be the mandate of heaven, rise and fall, prolongation and brevity, also correspond to human deeds. Therefore, Yao, Shun, Yu, and Tang all enjoyed fine longevity; Jie, Zhou, You, and Li never completed long years. Ji Fa trod the Way and lived long; Ying Zheng used excessive punishments and his dynastic fortune was short. The Prince of Chensi's treatise says: 'In ancient times, Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, Zhou, Shao, and the Grand Duke all enjoyed a lifespan of a hundred years. The seven sages and three worthies all practiced the Way, cultivated governance, and ruled the world, yet it was not enough to diminish their spirits; being worthy ministers of a single state was not enough to exhaust their minds. Thus each fulfilled his natural lifespan. Jie was exiled to Mingtiao, Zhou died at Muye, the Quanrong killed You, and King Li did not reach his end. The Zhou dynasty lasted eight hundred years, while the Qin was extinguished in the second generation.' At that time, there were originally no Buddhas or monks. The canons and proclamations are before our eyes; this is no empty talk. How could one claim that without Buddha dynastic fortunes are prolonged, and with monks dynastic reigns are shortened? How easily such words are spoken! How easily such words are spoken! Alas, my friend, you bring this sorrow upon yourself; truly it is lamentable. Confused as walking in the night—that is your fifth blindness.