辯正論 6.121

6.121

猶春鳥囀哢或似於歌。鳥無能歌之實。秋蟲蠧木或近於字。蟲闕解字之真。名實斯濫。蓋此之謂也。又疑菩薩不翻茲謬益甚。書云。上聖達於鷦螟。皆有蟲稱。經言。多足二足如來最尊。然蜫蟄通於含靈。眾生豈越凡聖。大心之稱。非為下劣。子雖洗垢求疵。無損南威之麗。捧心斆疾。未變西施之妍。當更為爾陳其指掌。釋迦是佛顯名。菩提是法尊稱。菩薩為僧導首。三寶勝號譯人存其本名。非如朱門玉柱之讖。陽父陰母之淫。黃書云。開命門抱真人。嬰迴龍彪載三五七九。天羅地網開朱門進玉柱。陽思陰母白如玉。陰思陽父手摩捉也。號馬屎為靈薪。呼口唾為玉液。扣齒為天鼓。咽唾為醴泉。馬屎為靈薪。老鼠為玉璞。出上清經。事鄙而怯彰。辭穢而難顯。猶靈鳳以容德希覩。鼢鼠以醜懼潛形。雖隱質事同蚩妍異矣。冥焉不知。爾盲七也。

It is like the chirping of spring birds, which may resemble singing, yet birds possess no actual ability to sing; or autumn insects gnawing wood, which may approach writing, yet insects lack the genuine understanding of written characters. Name and reality are confounded in this manner—this is precisely what it means. Furthermore, to suspect why bodhisattva is not translated is an even greater absurdity. The secular classics say: 'The supreme sages extend down to midges and gnats'—all have the name of 'insect'; the sūtras state: 'Among the many-footed and two-footed, the Tathāgata is supreme.' Thus tiny insects are all included among sentient beings; how could 'sentient beings' exclude the ordinary and the sage? The designation of 'great mind' is not inferior. Even if you wash away dirt to look for flaws, you cannot diminish the beauty of Nanwei; though one holds one's chest to imitate illness, it does not change the loveliness of Xi Shi. I shall explain this clearly on my palm for you once more: Śākya is the manifest name of the Buddha; bodhi is the venerable designation of the Dharma; bodhisattvas are the leaders of the Saṅgha. For the exalted titles of the Three Jewels, the translators preserved their original names. It is not like the prophecies of 'the vermilion gate and jade pillar', or the licentiousness of 'yang father and yin mother'—the Yellow Book says: 'Open the gate of destiny and embrace the true person; the infant coils like a dragon and strides like a tiger through three, five, seven, and nine; heaven's net and earth's snare open the vermilion gate and advance the jade pillar; yang contemplates the yin mother as white as jade; yin contemplates the yang father, stroking with hands.' They call horse dung 'numinous firewood', call saliva 'jade liquid', tap their teeth as 'heavenly drums', and swallow saliva as 'sweet springs'. 'Horse dung is numinous firewood, and old rats are unpolished jade' comes from the Shangqing Sūtra. Such matters are base and shy away from exposure; the phrasing is filthy and difficult to display. Just as the numinous phoenix is rarely seen because of its glorious virtue, while the mole conceals its form out of fear of its ugliness, so although both conceal their substance, they differ in ugliness and beauty. Obscured in ignorance—this is your seventh blindness.