辯正論 7.6

7.6

儒生問曰。聖人制法皆有所因。請為詳之。願聞厥趣。開士喻曰。昔有無名野老。不知何許人。未詳其姓字。住青溪千仞之南。紫臺七盤之北。地居形勝山號膏腴。門枕危峰簷臨碧㵎。忘憂長樂。既靃靡於閑庭。荷蓋蓮衣。亦紛披於曲沼。雲樓暫起影麗朝川。霞錦纔舒光含近日。布濩掃壇之竹。爭列翠於中園。葳蕤覆井之桐。競垂陰於野院。階繁倒柳戶掛懸蘿。臥石似床久橫林下。飛泉若雨每灑牕前。松風將鶴唳俱哀。春鳥共藮歌並韻。實棲心之福地。遯世之桃源者矣。余久承靈異始遂經過。以已未之年仲夏之月。擔簦策杖自遠造焉。野老乃撫汲郡之鳴琴。動蘇門之鼓吹。因歌白雪之曲。乍詠青山之篇。其辭曰。元淑世位卑。長卿宦情寡。二頃且營田。三錢聊飲馬。懸峯白雲上。挂月青山下。中心欲有言。未得忘言者。余因讓曰。夫象以表意。得意則象忘。言以顯理。入理則言息。故知以言得理。不待請而自談。假象會意。必藉機而後動。彼以無言言之。此亦無聽聽之。言其不言理自玄會。聽無所聽歸乎大通。所以口無擇言。故天下則之。言不虛運。故世界仰之。於是野老放琴避席。執手而喜曰。僕得人矣。僕得人矣。便引余臨風亭遊月館。開文苑肆書厨。閱孔壁之遺經。覩汲塚之餘記。尋東觀南宮之典。討玉凾丹枕之方。寓目久之。因而問曰。貧道受身不利。恒抱沈痾。且病入膏肓。醫藥無効。累年將餌未覺有瘳。至於照雪聚螢筋力已倦。九流七略難甚攀天。萬卷百家杳猶行海。先生既明白四達世號通人。請問。人間之書凡有幾許。窺讀利己何者最益。野老聞之愴然改容。良久而言曰。昔習郁屈彌天之對。闞澤推登地之言。匠者之前難為斤斧。雖然。禮云。無言不詶。豈應結舌。今粗揚礭奉報德音。觀夫遂古無書刊符著信。既龜負文來鳥行字出。聖人命而作記。蒼頡採以成書。而無書不要無智不覽。余乃又詰之曰。未見佳人不讀書。讀書未必令人佳。奚斯言之異耶。野老重答余曰。本資識敏事兼木鴈琢玉成器。豈虛言哉。昔牛首蛇身之君。結網茹毛之后。淳朴自然曾無典則。及離連紀號栗陸肇興。而夫子所知七十餘代。此外綿遠聖不能憶。庖炎既降軒頊遞興。封建驟啟因存簡冊。及乎文質相貿道躓詞華。於是虞置上庠夏開西序。殷稱右學周設東郊。洎亡秦坑爇篇籍泯棄。鴻漢聿修尊儒重業。有濟南伏生口以傳授。或逢漆書開於汲塚。或值殘經出于孔壁。尋火祚鳩聚墳素稍多。藝文志云。六書七籍百氏九流。凡一萬三千二百六十九卷。五百九十六家。部異區分三十六種。其內七經并樂章。自有三千三十八卷。今之世俗不行樂章。然而訓世之風唯禮與孝。孝是立身之本。禮固為政之先。援神契云。孝經一部。自有五十九卷。非直時變質文。而亦學成優劣。至後漢敬於祭酒。天子行巾卷之儀。故桓榮拜封匪曰。武力所以闕里聚徒華陰立市。屬其將季史籍轉殷。充車兼兩架藏屋溢。董卓遷徙長安載二千餘乘。值雨損棄百無一存。于時簡參絹素人又取為縢幞。比歸洛邑所收蓋寡。首尾空殘或非部帙。考夫論語之記善言。毛詩以開諷諫。尚書以明詔策。周易以陳吉凶。三禮別于尊卑。三傳詳乎七地。戰國敘於權正。山經辯於丘陵。三史之錄古今。三蒼之談文字。次則韓非老子墨翟莊周管仲孟軻不害平仲。大戴小戴共姓殊名。大冠小冠同字異氏。統其前後著述而編軸彌盛。或二馬兩班玄晏抱朴蔡雍劉向孫盛王充。逮防氏七錄王家四部。案梁武皇帝。使阮孝緒等。於文德政御殿撰文德政御書。四萬四千五百餘卷。于時帝修內法多參佛道。又使劉杳顧協等一十八人。於華林苑中纂要語。七百二十卷。名之遍略。悉抄撮眾書以類相聚。於是文筆之士須便檢用。致令懸髮握錐緣仍懈怠。又有壽光苑二百卷。要錄六十卷。類苑一百二十卷。終是周因殷禮損益可知。名目雖殊還廣前致。亦猶床上鋪床屋下架屋也。庾信哀江南賦云。渚宮陷夕。元帝手自燒書十四萬卷。乃當兼本竊欲疑多而校彼洪流。復非膚淺所測。恐火布斯臻沈於典論。法師欲讀想難備有。且應隨急不可遍該。但絃韋莫偶闡約不類。至若史書所述全關俶儻。春秋之言彌在斫射。儒風亡於攻戰。老莊過於遣蕩。國語尚虛左丘譏詐。假令五經百氏莫非翰林體骨。爾雅離騷足為緣情根本源其人倫詳備者。豈過禮與孝經乎。孝經者自庶達帝不易之典。從生暨死終始具焉。有孝有忠有信有義。於理習易周。於事審難忘。孝略十八章。孝治居其一。揆吏任所奉民胥是賴。貫通神明釐導風俗。縱五行俱下一閱兼誦。論質乃表於精神。語才實歸於伎倆。唯孝包括允仁允恕。非家自至若斯而已。余又讓曰。夫五經浩汗百氏扶疎。義極知微理包盡性。譬北辰之臨萬象。猶東溟之導百川。功不相推德無升降。何為止歎孝經一卷耶。野老答云。三德之基人倫為主。百行之首要道為源。是以太昊炎皇謂之務本。武發周旦稱為大哉。至如訓子夏於色難。示子游以知敬。先王奉法則乾象著明。哲后尊親則山川表瑞。遂有青鷹合節白雉馴飛。墳柏春枯潛魚冬躍。行之邦國。政令形于四海。用之鄉人。德教加於百姓。故云。孝者始於事親。中於事君。終於立身也。至如履霜露而興感。懷荼蓼而纏悲。寒林之慟既增。風樹之心逾切。足以俯[廷-壬+(同-(一/口)+己)]上聖跂及下愚者矣。案禮記云。孝者畜也。鉤命決云。孝者就也。度也譽也。究也畜也。爾雅云。善父母曰孝。孝之為義繼於奉親。雜記云。畜者為孝之道。養德順理不逆於時。是名為畜。就者成也。言天子之孝。謂禹之德能盡力溝洫以成大功。菲食卑宮。故仲尼云。吾無間然。度者諸侯之孝。上奉天子下率一國。守其法度義無違犯。譽者卿大夫之孝。勤德內省一心事上。苟利社稷無法不為。隣國傳芳清猷自遠。究者盡也。士者事也。能辯然否以効一官。審德正務忠順不失。竭誠盡事厥志匪移。周禮師氏職云。以德教國子。一曰至德。以為道本。二曰愍德。以為行本。三曰孝德。以防惡逆。言其覆載之功。則謂之至德也。語其裁成之用。則謂之愍德也。譽其仁愛之心。則謂之孝德也。仲尼敘孝。先述愛親揚名。然後天經地義。周公論孝。先稱覆燾宰割。後陳好於父母。夫子生乎季周。長於末俗。覩孝悌之云絕。慨禮樂之已崩。曾參篤行謹於事親。因其侍側。為明孝道。弟子存錄。名曰孝經。鉤命決云。百王聿修萬古不易者。孝之謂歟。秦懸呂論一字翻成可責。蜀挂楊言千金更招深怪孝經德也。川阜無貲孝感神明功侔造化。比重則五岳山輕。方深則四瀆流淺。風雨不能亂其波濤。虛空未足棲其令譽。言約指弘盡美盡善。法師佛教可得聞乎。請試言之。以開未悟。余對之曰。內將外反真與俗乖。雖迹異九流理難一致。唯達觀之士方能會通。若欲統其指歸詳其始末者。則性相無以涉其門。色心不能到其境。忘言絕慮。既杜口於毘耶。盡照窮神。爰掩室於摩竭。冲邃幽簡。羲和之職詎知。微密希夷。上林之書不載。尋夫真土應土皆沐慈風。上方下方咸霑聖教。創於鹿野終彼鶴林。則有三藏三輪之文。四乘四階之說。半字滿字之弘旨。貫花散花之別談。滔滔焉涌難竭之泉。湛湛焉垂長生之露。其言巧妙其義深遠。譬八河之歸海。猶萬象之趨空。難解難入。稱諸佛任理之經。隨類隨宜。號至人權化之典。自雒水紆璽書之頌。芳園立華蓋之祠。朱士行之。高流飲耨池之八味。郄嘉賓之。世族佩伽陀之一丸。莫不同悟己身等有佛性。體茲煩惱即是菩提。假令疎通知遠之書。玉洞金章之字。子房授履之術。文喜問道之篇。語未涉於空空。事終淪於有有。並挂八魔之網。還縈四倒之籠。先生向談孰為盡善。野老謝曰。謂老將智耄又及之。略聽法音恍焉如失。敬聞命矣。當具奉行。

A Confucian scholar asked: "When sages establish laws, they always base them on something. Please elaborate on this; I wish to hear their purport." The bodhisattva explained by analogy: In the past, there was an unnamed rustic old man. It is not known who he was, and his surname and personal name are unrecorded. He dwelt to the south of the thousand-fathom Qingxi and to the north of the seven-coiled Zitai. The place possessed an advantageous terrain, and the mountain was renowned for its fertility. His gate rested against precarious crags, and his eaves overlooked clear blue torrents. Daylilies for forgetting sorrow and joy-prolonging plants waved softly in his tranquil court; parasols of lotus leaves and garments of blossoms floated abundantly upon the winding ponds. Cloud-sculpted pavilions arose fleetingly, their reflections gracing the morning stream; rosy mist-brocades had just spread out, their luster catching the approaching sun. Bamboo planted to sweep the terrace competed in lining up their emerald green within the inner garden; luxuriant pawlownia shading the well vied to cast their shades across the rustic courtyard. Over the steps tumbled dense weeping willows, and down the door hung suspended vines. Resting rocks resembling beds had long lain beneath the groves; flying springs like rain continually showered before the windows. The pine wind wailed together with the cry of cranes; spring birds harmonized in cadence with the woodcutters' songs. It was truly a blessed land for lodging the mind, a Peach Blossom Spring for secluding oneself from the world. Having long heard of its marvelous wonder, I was finally able to pay a visit. In the midsummer month of the jiwei year, carrying an umbrella and leaning on a staff, I arrived from afar. The rustic old man thereupon caressed the resonant zither of Jijun and stirred the pipe-and-drum music of Sumen; he then sang the tune of 'White Snow' and chanted the ode of 'Blue Mountains'. His verses ran: 'Yuan-shu held a lowly worldly station; / Changqing felt little desire for officialdom. / Two qing of land suffice to till for food; / Three coins casually water the horse. / Above the hanging peaks float white clouds; / Below the green mountains hangs the moon. / In my heart I wish to speak, / Yet I have not attained to forgetting words.' I thereupon demurred: 'Images serve to express meaning; once meaning is grasped, images are forgotten. Words serve to reveal principle; once principle is entered, words cease. Therefore, one knows that when principle is obtained through words, one discourses spontaneously without awaiting a request; when one relies on images to comprehend meaning, one must wait upon an opportunity before acting. He speaks with non-speaking, and here too one hears with non-hearing. Speaking without speech, principle accords with mystery of itself; hearing where there is nothing heard, all resolves into the Great Penetration. Because his mouth utters no unconsidered words, the whole world models itself on him; because his words are not set forth in vain, the cosmos looks up to him.' At this, the rustic old man put aside his zither, rose from his mat, grasped my hand in delight, and said: 'I have found my man! I have found my man!' He then led me to the Wind-facing Pavilion and guided me through the Moon-touring Lodge; he opened his garden of literature and displayed his bookcases. I inspected the remaining scriptures from Confucius's wall and beheld the surviving records from the Ji tomb. I searched through the canons of the Dongguan and Nangong archives, and examined the prescriptions of the Jade Casket and Cinnabar Pillow. Having surveyed them for a long time, I inquired: 'This poor monk's physical constitution is unfavorable; I constantly suffer from chronic ailments. Furthermore, the disease has entered the vitals, and medicines have proven ineffective. Though I have taken decoctions for successive years, I have not sensed any recovery. As for reflecting snow and gathering fireflies to study, my strength is already exhausted; the nine philosophical schools and the Seven Summaries are harder [to master] than climbing the heavens; ten thousand scrolls and the hundred schools are as fathomless as navigating the sea. Since you, Sir, are comprehensively discerning and renowned in the world as a man of universal learning, may I ask: how many books are there in the human world altogether, and when looking into them to benefit oneself, which is of the greatest profit?' Hearing this, the rustic old man looked sorrowful and changed his expression. After a long while, he spoke: 'In the past, Xi Yu yielded to the response of “Vast as the Sky” [Dao'an], and Kan Ze deferred to the words of Dengdi [Huize]. It is difficult to wield an axe before a master carpenter. Nevertheless, the Rites say: “There is no statement without a response.” How could I tie my tongue? Now I shall roughly set forth [an outline] to repay your virtuous words. Observing remote antiquity, there were no books; carved tallies served as pledges of faith. Once the tortoise came bearing patterns and bird tracks appeared as characters, the sages commanded that records be made, and Cangjie collected them to compile writings. There is no book that is not essential, and no wisdom that is not perused.' I then questioned him further: 'One never sees a fine person who does not read books, yet reading books does not necessarily make a person fine. Why is your statement contrary to this?' The rustic old man replied to me again: 'If one inherently possesses sharp intelligence and pairs it with the adaptability of the tree and the goose, carves jade to make an implement, how could it be empty words? In the past, under the lords with oxen heads and snake bodies, and the sovereigns who knotted nets and ate raw flesh, all was simple, pure, and spontaneous, devoid of canons and models. By the time of the Lilian era and the rise of Lilu, there were over seventy generations known to the Master; beyond this, it is so distant that even sages cannot recall it. After Paoxi and the Blazing Emperor [Shennong] passed, the Yellow Emperor and Zhuanxu arose in succession. Enfeoffments and appointments abruptly began, and bamboo slips and silk rolls were preserved. But when form and substance replaced one another and the Way stumbled into ornate rhetoric, Yu established the Upper School, Xia opened the Western Wing, Yin designated the Right Academy, and Zhou founded the Eastern Suburb. Coming down to the fall of Qin, with the pits and burning, classical texts were destroyed and discarded. When the great Han restored culture, it honored Confucianism and esteemed the classics. Master Fu of Jinan transmitted them orally, or lacquered scripts were opened from the Ji tomb, or damaged scriptures emerged from Confucius's wall. Seeking out the Han dynastic lineage, collections of ancient texts gradually increased. The Treatises on Literature [in the Book of Han] state: The six scripts, the seven classes of classics, the hundred philosophers, and the nine schools total 13,269 rolls across 596 authors, divided into thirty-six categories. Among them, the Seven Classics along with music pieces account for 3,038 rolls. In the mundane world today, the music pieces are no longer performed. Yet the customs that instruct the world consist solely of propriety and filial piety. Filial piety is the foundation for establishing oneself, and propriety is surely the foremost priority of governance. The Yuanshen qi states: The Classic of Filial Piety itself comprises fifty-nine rolls. This is not merely due to the shift between substance and refinement across epochs; it also reflects the varying competence of scholarship. Down to the Later Han, honor was paid to libationers, and the Son of Heaven performed the ritual of holding the scrolls in cloth. Thus Huan Rong was enfeoffed, and not by military might; for this reason, disciples gathered in the Que Quarter and a market was formed at Huayin. Approaching the end of the dynasty, historical records grew increasingly abundant, filling carriages and spilling over bookcases and storage rooms. When Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an, over two thousand carriages were loaded; encountering rain, they were spoiled and discarded, with not one in a hundred surviving. At that time, bamboo slips were mingled with plain silk, and people further tore them for wrappings; by the time they returned to Luoyi, what was recovered was exceedingly meager. Beginnings and ends were missing and damaged, and often ceased to form coherent scrolls. Consider how the Analects records good words, the Mao Odes opens the way for indirect admonition, the Book of Documents clarifies royal decrees and policies, the Zhou Changes expounds good and bad fortune, the Three Rituals distinguish noble and base, the Three Commentaries detail the seven states, the Strategies of the Warring States narrates expediency and orthodoxy, the Classic of Mountains analyzes hills and mounds, the Three Histories record antiquity and modern times, and the Three Cang treatises discuss the scripts and characters. Next come Han Fei, Laozi, Mo Di, Zhuang Zhou, Guan Zhong, Meng Ke, Shen Buhai, and Yan Pingtong. The Elder Dai and the Younger Dai share the same surname yet have different personal names; the Great Guan and the Small Guan share the same style name yet come from different clans. Surveying their works across past and present, the scrolls become ever more numerous—such as the two Sima, the two Ban, Xianyan [Huangfu Mi], Baopu [Ge Hong], Cai Yong, Liu Xiang, Sun Sheng, and Wang Chong. Coming down to Master Wang's Seven Records and the Wang clan's Four Sections: We find that Emperor Wu of the Liang ordered Ruan Xiaoxu and others to compile the Books of the Wende and Zhengyu Halls in the Wende and Zhengyu Halls, totaling over 44,500 rolls. At that time, the Emperor practiced the inner teachings and frequently consulted Buddhist and Daoist scriptures. He also commanded eighteen men, including Liu Yao and Gu Xie, to compile essential statements in the Hualin Garden in 720 rolls, entitling it the Comprehensive Summary, which culled from all books and grouped them by category. Thereupon, men of letters could readily consult it whenever needed, which led them to hang their hair from the rafters or hold awls against their thighs only to fall into indolence. Furthermore, there were the two hundred rolls of the Shouguang Garden, sixty rolls of the Essential Records, and one hundred and twenty rolls of the Categorized Garden. In the end, just as Zhou relied on Yin rites, the additions and subtractions can be known; although their titles differ, they merely expand upon preceding themes, like placing a bed atop a bed or erecting a roof beneath a roof. Yu Xin's 'Lament for the South' says: 'On the evening Zhugong fell, Emperor Yuan burned 140,000 rolls with his own hand.' These surely included duplicate copies, which I suspect inflated the number, yet assessing that vast deluge of texts is not something superficial minds can measure. I fear that once fire descended, they were lost beneath the 'Discourse on the Standards'. If the Dharma Master wishes to read them, I imagine it would be difficult to have them all at hand; you should simply follow urgent needs and not seek to cover everything. However, the bowstring and soft leather do not match, and expansiveness and brevity are dissimilar. As for what is narrated in the history books, it concerns entirely extraordinary and bold undertakings; the words of the Spring and Autumn Annals are predominantly about assassination and shooting; Confucian refinement was lost to warfare and contention; Laozi and Zhuangzi went too far in letting go and wandering free; the Discourses of the States esteems emptiness, while Zuo Qiuming satirizes deceit. Even if none among the Five Classics and the hundred schools fail to form the bone and marrow of literature, and the Erya and Lisao suffice as the roots of emotional expression, when tracing what provides a fully comprehensive model for human relations, how could anything surpass the Rites and the Classic of Filial Piety? The Classic of Filial Piety is an unalterable canon from the commoner to the emperor; from birth to death, beginning and end are completely provided for within it. It contains filial piety, loyalty, trustworthiness, and righteousness. In principle, studying it is easy and comprehensive; in practice, examining it makes it hard to forget. The summary of filial piety consists of eighteen chapters, among which the governance by filial piety is one. Gauged by the duties of officials, it is what is revered; the people all rely on it. It penetrates through to the spiritual and divine, and properly guides customs. Even if one reads five lines at a single glance and can recite upon a single perusal, when discussing essence, it reveals itself in spirit; when speaking of talent, it really boils down to clever skills. Only filial piety encompasses true benevolence and true forbearance; it does not come merely from one's own family, but reaches this extent.' I demurred again: 'The Five Classics are vast and boundless, and the hundred schools are luxuriant and sprawling; their principles reach the extremity of knowing subtleties and encompass the complete realization of one's nature. They are like the Northern Pole Star overlooking the myriad phenomena, or the Eastern Sea guiding the hundred rivers. Their merits do not defer to one another, and their virtues have no superior or inferior. Why do you merely extol this single roll of the Classic of Filial Piety?' The rustic old man replied: 'The foundation of the three virtues takes human relations as primary; the head of the hundred conducts takes the essential Dao as its source. Therefore, Taihao and the Blazing Thearch called it attending to the root; King Wu and the Duke of Zhou praised it as truly great! As for instructing Zixia on the difficulty of maintaining a pleasant countenance, or showing Ziyou how to understand respect: when former kings honored the law, the heavenly signs shone brightly; when wise sovereigns venerated their parents, mountains and rivers displayed auspicious portents. Thus green falcons kept to the rhythm and white pheasants flew tamely; cypresses on the grave withered in spring, and submerged fish leaped in winter. Practiced in the state, ordinances take effect across the four seas; applied to the village folk, virtuous instruction reaches the common people. Therefore it is said: filial piety begins with serving one's parents, continues with serving one's lord, and ends with establishing oneself. When one treads on frost and dew, deep feelings arise; when one thinks of bitter herbs, grief entangles the heart. While the lament at the cold grove deepens, the yearning over the wind-blown tree grows even more poignant. This is sufficient to bow down the highest sages and reach up to the most foolish. According to the Record of Rites, “filial piety means to nurture.” The Gouming jue says: “Filial piety means to accomplish (jiu), to measure (du), to praise (yu), to investigate (jiu), and to nurture (xu).” The Erya says: “Serving parents well is called filial piety.” The meaning of filial piety continues from attending to one's parents. The Miscellaneous Records says: “Nurturing is the way of filial piety; cultivating virtue and according with principle without going against the seasons is called nurturing.” “To accomplish” means completion: speaking of the filial piety of the Son of Heaven, it refers to Yu's virtue in exerting his strength on ditches and water channels to achieve great success, eating coarse food and dwelling in a humble palace; thus Zhongni said: “I find no flaw in him.” “To measure” is the filial piety of the feudal lords: serving the Son of Heaven above and leading the state below, observing their measures and laws with no breach of righteousness. “To praise” is the filial piety of the ministers and grandees: diligently cultivating virtue, engaging in inner examination, serving the sovereign single-mindedly; if it benefits the state altars, there is no law they will not enact; their fragrance is transmitted to neighboring states and their pure repute extends far. “To investigate” means to exhaust: the gentleman (shi) attends to service (shi); he can distinguish the right from the wrong to discharge the duty of an office; carefully examining virtue and rectifying tasks, he does not lose loyalty and obedience; exhausting his sincerity in serving, his resolve does not falter. The “Master of Instruction” in the Rites of Zhou says: “He instructs the sons of the state with virtue: first, Supreme Virtue, taken as the root of the Dao; second, Compassionate Virtue, taken as the root of practice; third, Filial Virtue, to guard against wickedness and rebellion.” Speaking of its merit in covering and carrying all things, it is called Supreme Virtue; speaking of its function in fashioning and completing, it is called Compassionate Virtue; praising its mind of benevolence and love, it is called Filial Virtue. When Zhongni expounded filial piety, he first recounted loving parents and making one's name known, and only afterward mentioned the constant norms of Heaven and Earth. When the Duke of Zhou discussed filial piety, he first praised covering and sustaining, presiding and dividing, and afterward set forth affection toward parents. The Master was born in the decline of Zhou and grew up amid decaying customs; seeing that filial piety and fraternal love were cut off, and lamenting that rites and music had collapsed, Zeng Shen was devoted in practice and scrupulous in serving his parents. Taking advantage of his attendance at his side, [Confucius] illuminated the filial way for him. His disciples recorded it, naming it the Classic of Filial Piety. The Gouming jue says: “That which the hundred kings have cultivated and which remains unchanged through ten thousand ages—is it not filial piety?” In Qin, the treatise of Lü was displayed, yet a single character turned out to invite reproach; in Shu, the words of Yang were hung up, yet a thousand pieces of gold incurred deep suspicion. But the virtue of the Classic of Filial Piety is boundless as rivers and hills; its filial piety moves the spirits and gods, and its merit equals creation itself. Compared with its weight, the Five Peaks are light; compared with its depth, the four great rivers are shallow. Wind and rain cannot disturb its surges; empty space is not vast enough to lodge its fine reputation. Its words are concise yet their import is grand; it is completely beautiful and completely good. Dharma Master, may I hear the Buddhist teachings? Please try to speak of them to enlighten my lack of understanding.' I answered him: 'The internal and the external oppose each other; the ultimate and the conventional are contrary. Though their traces differ from the nine schools and their principles are difficult to align, only a person of penetrating vision can synthesize and harmonize them. If you wish to grasp their ultimate aim and scrutinize their beginning and end: nature and characteristics offer no gate to enter; form and mind cannot reach their domain. Forgetting words and cutting off thoughts, [Vimalakīrti] held his tongue in Vaiśālī; illuminating everything and plumbing the spirit, [the Buddha] concealed his chamber in Magadha. How could the office of Xi and He know of what is profound, subtle, secluded, and simple? The books of the Shanglin Park do not record what is minute, secret, imperceptible, and tranquil. Inquiring into them, the true lands and response lands are all bathed in the wind of compassion; the upper regions and lower regions are all moistened by the sage teachings. Beginning at the Deer Park and concluding at that Crane Forest, there are the texts of the Three Baskets and the three wheels [of Dharma], the teachings of the four vehicles and the four stages, the grand purports of the half-letter and the full-letter teachings, and the distinctive expositions of strung flowers and scattered flowers. Surging forth like an inexhaustible fountain, serenely distilling the dew of longevity; its words are wondrous and its meanings are profound and far-reaching. They are like the eight rivers returning to the sea, or the myriad phenomena tending toward empty space. Difficult to understand and difficult to enter, they are called the scriptures wherein all Buddhas accord with principle; adapting to types and according with suitability, they are termed the canons of expedient transformations of the consummate person. Ever since the imperial decree of praise was conveyed from the Luo River, and the shrine with the flower canopy was erected in the Fragrant Garden, high-minded figures like Zhu Shixing drank the eight savors of Lake Anavatapta, and illustrious lineages like Xi Jiabin wore the single pellet of the agada medicine. None failed to awaken together to the fact that their own bodies equally possess the Buddha-nature, realizing that these afflictions are themselves bodhi. Even with books of broad understanding and far-reaching wisdom, writings of jade caverns and golden seals, the art of Zhang Zifang presenting the shoe, or Wenxi's chapter on inquiring about the Dao—if words do not touch upon the emptiness of emptiness, matters ultimately sink into the existence of existences; they are all caught in the nets of the eight māras, and still entangled in the cage of the four inversions. Of what you spoke earlier, Sir, which can be deemed completely good?' The rustic old man apologized: 'I thought that with age would come wisdom, but decrepitude has overtaken me. Having briefly heard the Dharma sound, I feel dazed as though having lost my senses. I respectfully accept your instruction, and shall fully practice it.'"