北山錄 3.2.3

3.2.3

但以勤王鼎峙之憂。 何仁祠之於我克暇耶（魏曹操。 字孟德。 為漢相。 以漢室微弱。 挾天子令諸侯。 而謀分霸。 不暇崇顯吾教也）然雖不能弘贊其風。 而亦終不蔽其道也（亦有康僧顗曇諦等三藏至而飜譯也）三國初。 吳人未甚信。 天竺沙門康僧會始造於吳締搆行道。 孫權（字仲謀都金陵）以為誣矯異俗。 攝會讓曰（攝迫也。 讓責也。 逼沙門而責之也）佛有何靈爾獨改形。 會曰。 佛身雖滅。 遺骨舍利應現無方。 外國先王建八萬四千塔。 表遺化也。 權謂紿已（紿音迨欺言也）俾期舍利嚴憲緩罰至三七日。 會徒將死。 舍利乃降。 鎗然盤中上燭虹霓。 吳之君臣相顧乃悅曰。 至哉奇瑞也。 始立建初寺。 呼其地為佛陀里也。 是歲赤烏四年。 去永平凡一百七十餘年矣（永平十年甲子至吳赤烏四年辛酉。 得一百七十八年矣）吳洛一千吳人知法將無晚歟。 孫皓狂虐不道國將病矣。 初廢毀淫祠延及寺宇。 群臣議曰。 佛之威力不並餘神。 僧會感靈。 太皇創寺。 今若輕廢。 恐貽後悔。 皓意未謂之然。 使張昱至寺詰會。 會才辯奇拔。 昱不能加。 乃復于皓。 皓大集公卿洎庶寮徵會以車馬。 既至。 皓強詞昧理取會不及已（皓問會曰。 佛教所明善惡報應何者是乎。 會曰。 夫明主孝慈訓世。 則赤烏翔老人星現。 仁德及物。 則醴泉湧嘉苗出。 善既有徵。 惡亦可驗。 為惡於隱鬼得而誅之。 為惡於顯人得而誅之。 王曰。 若然周孔已明。 會云佛教廣也）而會酬抗盡典謨之體。 推引叶忠良之議。 皓然知其不可屈。 乃革容而敬焉。 故治國者惟聖賢與君子。 如皓之器識末哉。 安得不為亡國之主乎。 向非會以道義誘掖。 蓋肆惡不知紀極蕭牆之釁朱殷紫闥。 豈獲厚辱於晉乎（皓字宗元和之子。 權之孫也。 初封烏程侯。 張布等立之後威虐無度。 為征南將軍杜預等收之。 皓面縛降晉入洛封歸命侯。 即大康元年）會以赤烏始而來至。 天紀末皓降不臘而終（赤烏四年辛酉。 到吳至天紀四年庚子皓降得三十九年也。 至冬會卒於吳）始與國隆終與國殲（殲滅也）邦人之慕皓曷愈乎慕會也（曷何也愈勝也）土德既微。 鼎遷于晉（魏以土德而應曆數也）惠皇失馭。 天下崩裂（惠皇武帝子。 名衷。 字正度。 立而無智。 朝政不治。 至永康年後。 所在分立為一十六國）前趙起於離石（劉元海。 新興匈奴冒頓之後。 漢高祖以宗女妻之。 冒頓約為兄弟。 遂姓劉焉。 元海猿臂善射。 成都王顙表之為寧朔將軍。 尤國城二旬眾已五萬。 遂僭即帝位。 命子聰寇洛陽。 劉曜後遷長安。 為石勒所殺。 共四主二十六年）後趙興於葛陂（石勒上黨羯人也。 起襄國擒王浚降劉琨。 遂即帝位。 六主四十四年）石勒石虎兵強且眾。 抗暴為德。 其斬刈如草木焉。 沙門遇害者甚眾。 佛圖澄吊之曰。 彼人之何罪而性命不保算。 因勒將郭黑略顯其神異。 資其戎計。 必獲申於勒也。 他日略戰捷遇勒。 賜顏色果。 以澄事啟之。 勒喜而召問。 澄知勒不達玄理。 對言。 至道雖遠亦可近驗。 廼以鉢盛水燒香祝之。 須臾生青蓮華。 勒重其神聖。 稽首下風。 虛心納諫。 仁惻塗炭。 念慮不思（石勒初與王陽支雄為群盜。 多行殺戮。 又石虎字季龍。 即勒之從子。 武勇抗所士女少有遺類）。 胡夏之人應被誅夷者十九而生矣。 真可謂探人命於虎口者也。 是知脩短在聖而不在司命。 司命能司之何能脩短之（以聖人作法而延救之。 非司命之所能也）澄聽鈴聲。 兼觀油掌。 寄聰明於耳目。 而實虛照在心。 所言無不符驗矣（圖澄每知虎之將敗。 假以油塗掌而現光。 又郭景略因以視之。 假以鈴聲。 及念於般若波羅蜜也。 而告之然。 深察在心。 假外事令生信。

"Yet, with the distress of toiling for the royal house and the tripartite division of the realm, how could I have any leisure for the Shrine of Benevolence?" (Cao Cao, styled Mengde, of the Wei, served as chancellor of the Han. Because the Han house was weak and feeble, he held the Son of Heaven hostage to command the feudal lords and plotted to divide hegemony; he had no leisure to exalt and manifest our teaching.) Yet although he was unable to propagate and promote its influence, in the end he did not obscure its way either. (There were also Tripiṭaka masters such as Kang Sengkai and Dharmasatya who arrived and made translations.) At the beginning of the Three Kingdoms, the people of Wu did not yet believe deeply. The Tianzhu śramaṇa Kang Senghui first came to Wu, establishing a foundation and practicing the Way. Sun Quan (styled Zhongmou, who had his capital at Jinling) considered it fraudulent and deviant custom. Summoning Senghui, he rebuked him, saying, (She means to compel; rang means to reprimand. He coerced the śramaṇa and reprimanded him.) "What divine efficacy does the Buddha have, that you alone alter your appearance?" Senghui said, "Although the Buddha's body has perished, his relic-śarīra manifest without limit. The former kings of foreign lands built eighty-four thousand stupas to display his bequeathed transformation." Quan thought he was deceiving him (dai is pronounced dai, meaning deceitful words) and set a term for the relics under threat of severe law and deferred punishment, up to three times seven days. Senghui's disciples were facing death when the relics finally descended: clinking within the dish, their light shone upward to the rainbow. The ruler and ministers of Wu looked at each other and rejoiced, saying, "Supreme indeed is this extraordinary auspicious omen!" They then first established the Jianchu Monastery and named the area Fota Lane. This year was the fourth year of the Chiwu era, altogether more than one hundred and seventy years since the Yongping era. (From the tenth year of the Yongping era, a jiazi year, to the fourth year of the Chiwu era of the Wu, a xinyou year, it was one hundred and seventy-eight years.) The distance between Wu and Luoyang was a thousand [li]; was not the Wu people's knowledge of the Dharma somewhat late? Sun Hao was wildly cruel and unprincipled; the state was about to fall into ruin. At first, he abolished and destroyed illicit shrines, extending this to Buddhist monasteries. His ministers deliberated, saying, "The Buddha's mighty power is not comparable to other gods. Senghui moved the divine realm, and the Great Emperor founded the monastery. If you now lightly abolish it, we fear it will bequeath regrets." Hao's mind did not consider it so, and he sent Zhang Yu to the monastery to interrogate Senghui. Senghui's talent and eloquence were extraordinary; Yu could not get the better of him and reported back to Hao. Hao assembled the dukes, ministers, and lesser officials in great numbers, summoning Senghui with carriage and horses. After he arrived, Hao used forced arguments and ignored reason, seeking to prove that Senghui was inferior to himself. (Hao asked Senghui, saying, "What are the karmic retributions of good and evil explained in the Buddhist teachings?" Senghui said, "When an enlightened ruler instructs the world with filial piety and compassion, the red crow soars and the Old Man Star appears. When his benevolent virtue reaches all things, sweet springs well forth and auspicious grains sprout. As good has its signs, evil can also be verified. For doing evil in secret, ghosts are empowered to punish them; for doing evil in the open, men are empowered to punish them." The king said, "If so, the Duke of Zhou and Confucius have already made this clear." Senghui said, "The Buddhist teachings are vast.") But Senghui's responses were entirely in accord with the style of the Classics and Canons, and his citations harmonized with the counsels of loyal and good men. Hao clearly knew he could not be subdued, so he altered his countenance and treated him with reverence. Therefore, those who govern a state should only be sages, worthies, and gentlemen; as for Hao's capacity and discernment, how petty it was! How could he not become the ruler of a fallen state? Were it not for Senghui's guiding him with morality and righteousness, his wanton evil knowing no bounds, the strife within the household would have stained the purple gates crimson with blood—how could he merely have suffered profound humiliation under the Jin? (Hao, styled Zongyuan, was the son of He and the grandson of Quan. He was originally enfeoffed as the Marquis of Wucheng. After Zhang Bu and others enthroned him, his majesty and cruelty were boundless. He was captured by General Who Subdues the South Du Yu and others. Hao surrendered to the Jin with his hands bound behind his back, entered Luoyang, and was enfeoffed as the Marquis Who Returns to Allegiance; this was the first year of the Taikang era.) Senghui came at the beginning of the Chiwu era; at the end of the Tianji era, when Hao surrendered, he passed away before the winter sacrifice. (From the fourth year of the Chiwu era, a xinyou year, when he arrived in Wu, to the fourth year of the Tianji era, a gengzi year, when Hao surrendered, it was thirty-nine years. In the winter, Senghui passed away in Wu.) He began with the rise of the state and ended with its annihilation. (Jian means extinction.) How could the countrymen's admiration of Hao surpass their admiration of Senghui? (He means 'how'; yu means 'to surpass'.) When the virtue of Earth waned, the cauldrons moved to the Jin. (The Wei had responded to the dynastic cycle through the virtue of Earth.) Emperor Hui lost control of the reins, and all under Heaven fractured and collapsed. (Emperor Hui was the son of Emperor Wu, named Zhong, styled Zhengdu. When enthroned, he was witless, and the court government was not ordered. After the Yongkang era, sixteen kingdoms were established separately in various places.) Former Zhao arose from Lishi. (Liu Yuanhai was a descendant of Modu of the Xiongnu of Xinxing. Gaozu of the Han gave him a daughter of the imperial clan in marriage, and Modu pledged brotherhood with him, whereupon they took the surname Liu. Yuanhai had ape-like arms and was good at archery. The King of Chengdu, Sang, memorialized him as General Who Pacifies the North. Within two ten-day periods at Youguo City, his multitude had reached fifty thousand; he then usurped the imperial title and ordered his son Cong to invade Luoyang. Liu Yao later moved to Chang'an and was killed by Shi Le. In all, there were four rulers over twenty-six years.) Later Zhao flourished at Gebei. (Shi Le was a Jie man from Shangdang. Rising at Xiangguo, he captured Wang Jun and subjugated Liu Kun, then assumed the imperial title. There were six rulers over forty-four years.) The troops of Shi Le and Shi Hu were strong and numerous; defying tyranny, they regarded [it] as virtue, cutting down people as if they were grass and trees. The śramaṇas who met with harm were very numerous. Fotudeng lamented this, saying, "What crime have those people committed that their lives cannot be preserved?" He therefore used Le's general Guo Heilüe to display his supernatural wonders and assist his military strategies, ensuring that he would gain an audience with Le. On another day, after Lüe had won a battle, he met Le, who granted him a pleased countenance; he thereupon presented Deng's affairs to him. Le was delighted and summoned him for questioning. Deng knew that Le did not comprehend profound principles, so he replied, "Although the Supreme Way is far, it can be verified near at hand." He then filled a bowl with water, burned incense, and prayed over it. In an instant, a blue lotus flower grew. Le respected his spiritual sanctity, bowed low in deference, humbly accepted his remonstrances, felt benevolence and pity for those in distress, and ceased pondering [cruelty]. (At first, Shi Le was an outlaw with Wang Yang and Zhi Xiong, committing much slaughter. Also, Shi Hu, styled Jilong, was Le's nephew; he was martial and courageous, yet few men or women were left alive where he fought.) Of the Hu and Chinese who were destined to be slaughtered, nine out of ten were spared. Truly, he may be described as snatching human lives from the tiger's jaws! From this, we know that the length of life depends on the sages, not on the Arbiter of Fate. The Arbiter of Fate can only oversee it; how could he lengthen or shorten it? (Because the sages employ methods to prolong and save them, it is not something the Arbiter of Fate can do.) Deng listened to the sound of bells and also gazed at his oiled palm; he entrusted his perception to ears and eyes, while in truth, the vacant illumination resided in his mind. None of his words failed to come true. (Whenever Tudeng knew that Hu was about to be defeated, he would smear oil on his palm to reveal light; and Guo Jinglüe would look into it accordingly. He also made use of the sound of bells, and of mindful recitation of the Prajñāpāramitā, to inform him of things. Deep discernment resided in his mind, while he made use of external matters to inspire faith.)