北山錄 1.11.2

1.11.2

闇鈍耳目泊其道性（姑且也。 泊淡也）而歲始芳（謂二月八日也）感應時來。 鬼神合謀（謂淨居天子至也）夜未艾（艾正也又中也）哀含膽肺厭極嬪嬙。 策素馬以凌虛。 詣青山而斷髮（太子於是逾城矣。 爰祈作佛也）體常樂而化成天下者也。 嗚呼人謀蔽於鬼謀。 鬼謀蔽於天謀（蔽猶暗也。 人謀況議於眾也。 人雖有謀。 暗思神之謀而不得用也）人謀從欲。 天謀從道。 鬼猶非人之敵。 而況資於天乎。 是故抱關士虛謹其戶（抱關謂閽者）挈壺氏虛謹於時（周禮有挈壺氏掌箭漏者）宮衛偃甲（禁兵之屬也）軒懸失舉（樂奏之士也）彼昏迷之不暇。 豈能致勤於其職也。 故應生之質。 雖曰天性。 功存被物。 而不得行乎天性矣（父子之道天性也。 佛雖以應現化生之身而本在濟物。 濟物之行必假道成。 道成不可在於愛欲。 是以不得不行乎本意之事也）父王遲其不歸宮室曖而無輝（曖暗也）顧彼山林悠然長往。 涕泣漣洏。 詔族父洎伯舅氏五人而往求之（即俱倫五人等皆太子族也。 令入山求而伴之也）令候其暄涼遂其行藏無咈太子之欲（咈違戾也）過六載載省載悟。 枯餒之行不為功德。 乃以腴腸實腹為至道之器（大載日餐麻麥。 為降外道。 乃云吾有一法世莫能知。 一切眾生皆依食住。 遂受乳糜六斗四升而餐之。 乃成道也）以是月以是日以是夜夜何其銀漢已轉。 群動已息。 據金剛座。 如龍蟠結。 戡剪大難。 萬德來朝。 巍巍乎浩劫鴻勳。 爰𨍐于箭漏之間耳（以十二月八日食乳糜已。 尼連沐浴。 於金剛座入定。 示將三界九地諸惑斷之。 以三十四心而成正覺也）夫天期昭昭之多。 地一撮土之多。 山一拳石之多。 海一勺水之多（昭昭耿光也。 天以積小明而成。 地以積撮土而成。 山以積石而成。 海以積勺水而成也。 並中庸篇文也）故積而為大能致大用。 大士往修大行舉善無遺。 以普賢願普入一切（普賢行願如華嚴經）故於茲辰。 其身遍坐一切道場。 而小智觀之以丈六。 大士觀之以遠大。 遠大則該乎報體。 丈六則專乎化軀。 其猶自牖而窺於天道。 隨隟而見乎多少爾（雖以丈六之身於伽耶畔金剛座上成等正覺而。 實量無齊等。 非屬三界）悲夫。 苦海混淪。 瀑流洄澓。 疇先觸涯俟濟。 吾必津之以道焉（疇誰也。 涯岸也。 俟待也。 濟度也。 津濟也。 誰先觸涯岸求渡苦海者。 吾當濟之）由是。 四顧躊躇。 經三七日。 乃朝步造乎施鹿林。 施鹿林者古佛前化（林在波羅奈國。 昔王有千鹿將盡殺之。 如來提婆達多俱為鹿王。 各領五百。 遂告王曰。 許日供一鹿。 供次者身有孕。 鹿王乃代往。 王感其仁慈。 遂盡免其鹿。 即以此園施鹿。 遂號施鹿園也）今獲五人於此地（即五俱倫也。 一者憍陳如。 二者十力迦葉。 三頞鞞即馬勝也四者跋提。 五者摩訶男也）符其往事矣。 殆微言三轉（所謂見道。 脩道。 無學道。 三轉法輪。 唯大器前悟也）餘則末吾知也（殆及也。 末莫也。 雖云初談四諦。 而其間悟入不同）是時地祇興聲。 百神咸和。 上暢于九天（云天初禪三天共九天有耳識也）下遍于黃輿（黃輿地也。 淮南子云。 地形如車輿）旁流于八方。 人天交慶。 日月貞照。 莫不踊躍。 莫不抃呼。 群靈熙熙于胥樂乎（熙熙和也。 胥相也）萬聖樂推以大覺為法王者也。 穆王時。 西極之國有化人來。 入水火。 貫金石。 返山川。 移城邑。 乘虛不墜。 觸實不礙。 千變萬化不可窮極（當周穆王時。 已有化人來至。 但群生感應未興故也）既以變物之形。 又且易人之慮（既能現神通。 又能化人心慮也）穆王敬之若神。 事之若君。 化人無何。 謁王同遊。 王執化人之袪。 騰而上者中天乃止（謁請也。 袪衣袖）乃暨化人之宮。 搆以金銀。 絡以珠玉。

Dulling his ears and eyes, he quieted his nature of the Way (['dulling' means] temporarily; 'quieted' means serene and calm). When the year began to blossom (meaning the eighth day of the second month), the time for sympathetic resonance arrived, and ghosts and spirits conspired together (meaning the arrival of the devaputras of the Śuddhāvāsa heaven). The night had not yet ended ('ended' [ai] means properly upright, or also midnight). Filled with sorrow from the bottom of his heart, and utterly weary of concubines and palace women, he spurred his white horse to soar through the void, going to the green mountains and cutting off his hair (the prince thereupon vaulted the city wall, praying to become a Buddha). He embodied constant bliss and transformed all under heaven. Alas! Human contrivances are obscured by the contrivances of spirits; the contrivances of spirits are obscured by the contrivances of Heaven (obscured means darkened. Human contrivances refers to the deliberations of mortals. Although humans have schemes, being dark to the schemes of spirits, they cannot effect them). Human contrivances follow desire; Heaven's contrivances follow the Way. Spirits are no match for Heaven—how much less can mortals stand against it? For this reason, the gatekeeper took care of his portal in vain (the gatekeeper refers to the door attendant); the clepsydra keeper took care of the time in vain (in the *Rites of Zhou* there is a clepsydra keeper who managed the water clock's arrows); the palace guards dropped their armor (referring to the imperial guard); the bells and chimes suspended in the court failed to play (referring to the musicians). Dazed and bewildered, how could they have had leisure to attend diligently to their duties? Therefore, as for this body manifested in response to the world, though we speak of natural affection, its purpose was to benefit all beings, and it could not be bound by natural affection (the affection between father and son is natural affection. Although the Buddha's body was a manifest response born of transformation, its root was in rescuing beings. The conduct of rescuing beings must rely on the Way to be accomplished. The accomplishment of the Way cannot reside in passionate desire. Thus he could not but act according to his original intent). The royal father lamented his failure to return; the palace chambers became gloomy and lost their luster ('gloomy' [ai] means dark). Looking upon those distant mountain forests where he had departed for so long, tears fell in torrents. He decreed that five clan uncles and maternal uncles should go and seek him (namely, the five including Kula, all of whom belonged to the prince's clan; he commanded them to enter the mountains to seek and accompany him). He ordered them to attend to his warmth and cool, adapt to his staying or going, and never oppose the prince's wishes ('oppose' [fu] means contradict or disobey). Six years passed, of repeated reflections and awakenings. The austerities of emaciation and starvation did not constitute merit; only by nourishing the intestines and filling the belly could one become a vessel for the ultimate Way (the great carrier ate only hemp and wheat daily to subdue the non-Buddhists; then he said: 'I have a Dharma that no one in the world can know: all sentient beings abide relying on food.' Thereupon he accepted six pecks and four pints of milk rice and consumed it, and only then attained the Way). On this month, on this day, on this night—how advanced was the night? The Silver River had already turned, and all creatures had fallen silent. He took his seat upon the vajrāsana, coiled like a dragon; overcoming and eradicating the great difficulties, myriad virtues came to pay homage. How majestic was this vast kalpa's immense achievement, accomplished within the span of a single dripping clepsydra! (Having eaten the milk rice on the eighth day of the twelfth month, he bathed in the Nairañjanā River. Entering absorption upon the vajrāsana, he showed the severing of all defilements of the three realms and nine stages, and with thirty-four minds attained correct awakening). Now, Heaven has its accumulation of countless bright specks of light; the Earth has its accumulation of handfuls of soil; the mountains have their accumulation of fist-sized rocks; the seas have their accumulation of ladlefuls of water ('bright specks' [zhaozhao] means glittering light. Heaven is formed by accumulating tiny luminaries; the Earth is formed by accumulating handfuls of soil; mountains are formed by accumulating rocks; seas are formed by accumulating ladlefuls of water. All are passages from the *Doctrine of the Mean*). Therefore, by accumulating to become great, great utility is brought forth. In the past, the Great Being cultivated vast practices, omitting no good deed; by the vows of Samantabhadra, he entered universally into everything (Samantabhadra's practices and vows are as explained in the *Avataṃsaka Sūtra*). Thus at this very moment, his body sat everywhere across all sites of enlightenment. Small minds beheld him as sixteen feet tall, while great beings beheld him as vast and immense. Vast and immense, it encompasses the reward body; sixteen feet tall, it pertains exclusively to the transformation body. It is just like peeping at the heavenly way through a window: one sees much or little depending on the size of the fissure (though with a sixteen-foot body he attained equal and correct awakening upon the vajrāsana by the bank of Gayā, in true measure he has no equal, and does not belong to the three realms). How sorrowful! The ocean of suffering is roiling and chaotic; its torrential currents surge and recoil. Who will be the first to reach the shore and wait to be crossed over? I shall surely ferry them across by means of the Way ('who' [chou] means who; 'shore' [ya] means bank; 'wait' [si] means await; 'cross over' [ji] means deliver; 'ferry' [jin] means deliver. Who is the first to reach the shore and seek to cross the ocean of suffering? I shall ferry them across). Thereupon, he looked in all four directions, hesitating, and spent three weeks. Then in the morning he walked to the Deer Park. The Deer Park was a site of ancient Buddhas' prior conversion (the park was in the country of Vārāṇasī. Long ago, the king intended to slaughter a thousand deer. The Tathāgata and Devadatta were both deer kings, each leading five hundred deer. Thereupon they told the king: 'We promise to offer one deer each day.' One whose turn came was pregnant, so the deer king went in her place. The king was moved by his benevolence and spared all the deer. He then donated this park to the deer, and so it was named the Deer Park). Here he now gained the five men (namely the five companions: first, Kauṇḍinya; second, Daśabala-Kāśyapa; third, Aśvajit, who is Ma-sheng; fourth, Bhadrika; fifth, Mahānāman), tallying with those past events. He nearly finished turning the subtle words thrice (the so-called path of seeing, path of cultivation, and path of no-learning—turning the wheel of Dharma thrice; only those of great capacity awakened first). As for the rest, nothing is known of them ('nearly' [dai] means reaching; 'nothing' [mo] means not. Although it is said he initially spoke on the Four Truths, their awakenings differed). At that time, the earthly spirits raised their voices, and the hundred gods harmonized in unison. Above, it resonated throughout the nine heavens (saying that the three heavens of the first dhyāna make nine heavens that possess auditory consciousness); below, it permeated the yellow carriage (the yellow carriage is the earth; the *Huainanzi* states that the shape of the earth is like a carriage); laterally, it flowed across the eight quarters. Humans and gods congratulated one another, and the sun and moon shone with steadfast radiance. None failed to leap with joy, none failed to clap and cheer; the multitude of spirits rejoiced in harmony ('rejoiced' [xixi] means peaceful harmony; 'together' [xu] means mutually). The myriad sages joyfully acclaimed the Great Awakened One as the King of the Dharma. In the time of King Mu, an illusionist came from the western extremity. He could enter water and fire, pierce metal and stone, overturn mountains and rivers, and relocate walled cities; he mounted the void without falling and touched solid matter without obstruction, his myriad transformations beyond exhaustion (in the time of King Mu of Zhou, an illusionist had already arrived; but the sympathetic resonance of sentient beings had not yet arisen). He could not only change the shapes of physical things, but could also alter the thoughts of human minds (he could both manifest supernatural powers and transform the minds and thoughts of people). King Mu revered him like a spirit and served him like a monarch. Before long, the illusionist invited the king to journey with him. The king took hold of the illusionist's sleeve, and ascending upward, they halted only in the middle of heaven (invite [ye] means request; sleeve [qu] means robe sleeve). They then arrived at the illusionist's palace, constructed of gold and silver, and intertwined with pearls and gems.