北山錄 4.2.5

4.2.5

知其優勝劣弱也）今奚獨不若於憑乎其象（奚何也。 臧氏以蔡龜之象而知優劣。 何不以淳華而知其師訓也）文章之家屈宋楊馬遞相祖迷（屈平。 宋玉。 楊子雲。 馬長鄉。 皆祖述文章之士）雖欲速鞭難其齊足。 故道德言行古今殊世。 厥若坡陀矣（不齊貌）浸微矣（漸次貌）夫琢奇璞為美器。 良工之能也。 構貞材為廣廈。 哲匠之力也。 授專門以成德。 仁師之訓也。 故鳥可以擇木。 魚可以擇泉。 臣可以擇君。 弟子可以擇師。 夫不能為臣而求能為君。 不能為子而求能為父。 不能為弟子而求能為師者難矣（忖己度事可矣）故為人在恕己也。 然父子天屬也。 其有不象者（父子之道天性也。 若禹鮌不象者也）君臣國體也。 故有象不象者（澆之元凱為象也。 四兇為不象也）師資義會也。 安得有不象者乎。 如舜生均。 文王生武王。 父子象不象也（舜大聖。 生商均不肖。 為父子不象也。 文王聖。 生武王亦聖。 為父子之象也）庭堅為虞臣。 飛廉為紂臣。 驩兜為堯臣。 龍逢為桀臣。 君臣象不象也（庭堅皐陶也。 與虞舜為象。 飛廉與紂為象也。 驩兜與堯。 龍逢與桀。 為君臣不象者也）仲尼之門。 顏閔尚於仁義。 鬼谷之門。 蘇張尚於譎詐。 克象也（蘇秦張儀並師鬼谷子。 學縱橫[椑-(白-日)]闔之術也）故仲尼之門。 三尺童子猶恥言其霸。 昔釋公道行乎關右。 廬山化被於江左。 法汏亮直於晉世（法汏與道安同行。 道安往襄陽。 汏至荊州。 桓溫迎之。 身長八尺。 風恣可觀。 與道恒法師論議而破之。 興瓦官寺。 王珣謝安常禮焉）道生果斷於宋年（謂定言一切眾生皆得成佛於宋代）夫何象也歷觀前往。 孰能不由道德之室而至於大名乎（楊雄云。 師者人之摸範也。 不摸不範。 不可以為師也）禮云。 善歌者使人繼其聲。 善教者使人繼其志也。 故不能繼釋氏聖人而能繼釋氏之君子。 何莫由師之道焉。 夫澄至安。 安至遠。 遠至曇順。 順至僧慧。 凡五世。 價重帝王。 風動四方。 事標史冊（書曰四方風動唯乃之休）其或立德也（謂禪觀之行者）立功也（翻譯流傳）立言也（講說著述）為天下之人也。 僧會支遁為天下之人。 而一會一遁其後篾聞也。 然有至乎累世者。 或青出於藍。 或氷出於水。 但為一方之賢。 未果為天下之賢者也。 故為弟子者患師不得於安遠。 為師者亦患弟子不至於安遠。 夫鼓鍾于宮。 聲聞于外。 懸象在天。 光流于下。 琴瑟在御。 知音難閟。 氷雪載駕。 遺躅寧隱（此上喻好事匿于內光華彰干外必有跡也）如彼德行秉躬語默信時（既蘊德行不言。 人自信。 若桃李之自蹊也）雖高岸已谷。 松柏已朽。 而徽華弗蔽。 洋洋乎盈耳哉（洋洋美譽也）曹馬之年（魏晉之代也）經論權輿。 源流混淆（教法初來。 若混淆之濁水流泛未廣）宣唱者但包括大義翫味玄旨。 至於剖析名相罔有攸據（罔無。 攸所也。 教文多闕）豈非聲教所覃未備者歟。 安公初見譯諸部小論。 蹈詠稱慶。 以為幸覩三藏全矣。 而未知但滄溟畎澮耳（畎澮田畔。 溝渠喻所覩者也。 滄溟喻未覩者也）雖上士假微詮以悟旨。 而中則實未多也。 北涼浮陀跋摩譯阿毘曇毘婆沙（此云覺鎧。 西國人。 蒙遜子茂處請譯於姑臧。 凡一百卷）學者挹其波瀾浩若無涯涘矣。 後秦佛陀耶舍善大毘婆沙。 時號赤髭也（此云覺明。 罽賔國人。 婆羅門族。 年十三隨師日誦三萬言。 誦大小乘經數百萬。 性度簡慠。 不為諸僧所遇。 羅什於沙勒甚相隆厚。 自龜茲至長安。 譯十住經大毘婆沙等。 姚爽疑其所誦。 令誦於羌籍藥方可五萬言。 二日誦。 就覆之不誤一字）卑摩羅叉善十誦。 時號青眼也（此云無垢眼。 罽賔國人。 苦節律藏。 與羅什相遇。 什禮為師。

[how can one] know their superiority or inferiority, their strength or weakness?) Now why do [people] alone not rely upon their likeness? (Note: "Xi" means "why." The Zang clan knew superiority and inferiority from the omens of the Cai tortoise; why not know their teacher's instruction by their simplicity or brilliance?) The masters of literary compositions—Qu [Yuan], Song [Yu], Yang [Xiong], and [Sima Xiang]ma—successively took one another as their ancestral models, yet strayed into confusion (Note: Qu Ping, Song Yu, Yang Ziyun, and [Sima] Changqing were all scholars who followed ancestral models in writing compositions); though wishing to whip [their horses] fast, it was difficult to match their pace. Therefore, virtue, conduct, words, and deeds differ across ancient and modern ages; they are indeed uneven (Note: "uneven appearance") and have gradually declined (Note: "appearance of gradual succession"). Now, carving an extraordinary unworked gem into a fine vessel is the skill of a good artisan; constructing resilient timber into a great hall is the strength of a wise builder; transmitting a specialized lineage to perfect virtue is the instruction of a benevolent teacher. Hence, birds may select their trees, fish may select their springs, ministers may select their lords, and disciples may select their teachers. Now, one who cannot be a minister yet seeks to be able to be a lord, who cannot be a son yet seeks to be able to be a father, or who cannot be a disciple yet seeks to be able to be a teacher—this is difficult indeed! (Note: It is fine to gauge oneself and evaluate affairs.) Thus, conducting oneself lies in applying reciprocity to oneself. Yet father and son are a natural kinship; there are those who do not resemble each other (Note: The way of father and son is innate nature; like Yu and Gun, they did not resemble each other); ruler and minister are the constitution of the state, hence there are those who resemble and those who do not (Note: Shun's Eight Prudent Ones and Eight Harmonious Ones were resembling; the Four Calamities were non-resembling); teacher and pupil are an association based on principle—how could there be any who do not resemble each other? For instance, Shun fathered Jun, and King Wen fathered King Wu: father and son resembling or not resembling (Note: Shun was a great sage, yet he fathered Shangjun who was unworthy; this was father and son not resembling. King Wen was a sage, and he fathered King Wu who was also a sage; this was father and son resembling). Tingjian was a minister to Yu [Shun], Feilian was a minister to Zhou, Huandou was a minister to Yao, and Longfeng was a minister to Jie: ruler and minister resembling or not resembling (Note: Tingjian was Gaoyao; he resembled Yu Shun. Feilian resembled Zhou. Huandou and Yao, and Longfeng and Jie, were cases of ruler and minister not resembling). In the school of Zhongni [Confucius], Yan [Hui] and Min [Ziqian] esteemed benevolence and righteousness; at the gate of Guigu, Su [Qin] and Zhang [Yi] esteemed cunning and deception; they fully resembled [their masters]! (Note: Su Qin and Zhang Yi both studied under Guiguzi, learning the arts of the vertical and horizontal alliances and opening and closing.) Hence, in the school of Zhongni, even a three-foot-tall boy would be ashamed to speak of hegemony. In the past, Master Shi's [Dao'an's] practice of the Way prevailed to the right of the pass (Guanxi); Lushan's transformation covered the left of the river (Jiangzuo). Fatai was upright and straightforward in the Jin dynasty (Note: Fatai traveled together with Dao'an. Dao'an went to Xiangyang; Fatai went to Jingzhou, where Huan Wen welcomed him. He was eight feet tall, with an impressive bearing. He debated with Dharma Master Daoheng and defeated him. He revitalized Waguan Monastery; Wang Xun and Xie An frequently paid him homage); Daosheng was resolute in the Song years (Note: Refers to his definitive assertion during the Song dynasty that all sentient beings can attain Buddhahood). How they resembled [their predecessors]! Looking throughout the past, who could ever reach great renown without proceeding from the chamber of morality and virtue? (Note: Yang Xiong said: "A teacher is a person's model and pattern. Without modeling and patterning, one cannot be a teacher.") The *Book of Rites* says: "A good singer makes others continue his song; a good teacher makes others continue his aspiration." Therefore, one who cannot succeed the sages of the Śākya clan, but can succeed the noble men of the Śākya clan—how could this not be due to the way of the teacher? Now, from [Fotudeng]cheng to [Dao]an, from [Dao]an to [Hui]yuan, from [Hui]yuan to Tanshun, and from [Tan]shun to Senghui, there were five generations in all; their worth was valued above emperors and kings, their influence moved the four quarters, and their deeds are recorded in the historical annals (Note: The *Book of Documents* says: "The four quarters are moved by your wind; this is solely your excellence"). In some cases, they established virtue (Note: Refers to practitioners of dhyāna contemplation); in some cases, they established merit (Note: Translating and propagating); in some cases, they established words (Note: Lecturing and writing)—they were men of the world! [Kang] Senghui and Zhi Dun were men of the world, but after the single Hui and the single Dun, scarcely anything was heard. Yet among those whose lineages lasted for successive generations, some were like green emerging from blue, or ice coming from water; they were merely the worthies of a single region, and did not become worthies of the entire world. Therefore, one who is a disciple worries that his teacher will not equal Dao'an or Huiyuan; one who is a teacher also worries that his disciples will not reach the level of Dao'an or Huiyuan. Now, when the bells and drums are struck in the palace, their sound is heard outside; when the celestial bodies hang in the heavens, their light flows down below; when the zither and lute are played, it is hard to conceal them from those who understand the tone; when ice and snow carry the carriage, can the remaining tracks be hidden? (Note: The above are metaphors for good deeds hidden within, whose luster manifests outside, inevitably leaving traces.) Like those virtuous deeds held within one's person, their speech and silence were trusted by the era (Note: Having stored virtue within, even without speaking people naturally place trust, like peaches and plums that naturally form a path below them). Though high cliffs have already turned into valleys and the pines and cypresses have rotted away, their illustrious splendor cannot be obscured; how melodiously it fills the ears! (Note: "Melodiously" refers to fine reputation.) In the years of Cao and Ma (Note: The Wei and Jin dynasties), scriptures and treatises were at their inception, and their origins and currents were mingled and turbid (Note: When the teachings first arrived, like turbid water mingling and flowing, they were not yet widespread). Those who proclaimed them merely embraced the general meaning and savored the mysterious import; as for analyzing technical terms and characteristics, they had nothing to rely upon (Note: "Wang" means none; "you" means place/basis. The doctrinal texts had many omissions). Was this not because the propagation of the voice of teaching was not yet complete? When Master [Dao]an first saw the translations of the various minor treatises, he danced and chanted in celebration, thinking he was fortunate to have seen the complete Tripiṭaka, yet unaware that it was merely field ditches compared to the vast ocean (Note: Field ditches and canals are metaphors for what was seen; the vast ocean is a metaphor for what had not yet been seen). Although persons of superior capacity may utilize subtle words to awaken to the import, those of middling capacity in truth did not gain much. When Buddhavarman of the Northern Liang translated the *Abhidharma-vibhāṣā* (Note: Translated here as Juekai [Armor of Awakening]. A Westerner. Commissioned by Mengxun's son Maochu to translate it in Guzang, in one hundred fascicles), scholars drew from its waves, which were as boundless as if without shores. Buddhayasas of the Later Qin was skilled in the *Mahāvibhāṣā*; at that time he was called the "Red Beard" (Note: Translated here as Jueming [Clarity of Awakening]. A native of Jibin, of the Brahmin caste. At age thirteen he followed his teacher and daily recited thirty thousand words, memorizing millions of words of Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna scriptures. His disposition was austere and aloof, so he was not well received by the assembly of monks. Kumārajīva treated him with great esteem in Kashgar. From Kucha he went to Chang'an, translating the *Daśabhūmika-sūtra*, *Mahāvibhāṣā*, etc. Yao Shuang doubted his memorization and had him recite a Qiang register of medicinal prescriptions consisting of about fifty thousand words; after two days of recitation, when tested against the text, not a single word was mistaken). Vimalākṣa was skilled in the *Daśabhāṇavāra-vinaya*; at that time he was called the "Blue-Eyed" (Note: Translated here as Wugouyan [Stainless Eye]. A native of Jibin, who maintained strict discipline in the Vinaya Piṭaka. He met Kumārajīva, who honored him as his teacher).