北山錄 6.4.1

6.4.1

建德之賢。 蔽志若偷（建立也。 蔽藏也。 立德之士。 所蘊含弘。 長掩之而如不足也）作偽之家。 哿言如流（哿可也。 作偽之士。 所舉便佞。 故巧言流美也）執虛為有。 飾邪撓正。 舉其所同。 訾其所不同。 憑陵紛紜。 如日之升。 為雲之翳。 如水之澄。 為風作濤。 難乎其極也（巧說亂正也）經云。 昔有二弟子。 各護師之一足。 各非所不護者（賢愚經說。 昔有令二弟子。 各護一足。 護左者不在被護右者擊之。 護右者不在被護左者擊之。 師足不逾月二俱爛矣。 喻今大小乘各相非也）忿則相擊之。 其忿不已。 其足亡矣。 今異說之。 夫各忮貨譽（忮妬害也）於聖師則無所顧矣。 哀哉焉。 甞試論之曰。 夫貌異於心。 性成乎習。 下俚巴歌。 和者必眾（昔楚人巴歌。 俚人和者眾。 作白雪之篇。 和者寡矣）燕石魚目。 鑒者必寡（燕石似玉。 魚目類珠）故使逐塊之流邪妄同群（朋其邪說如狗逐由）各保其主。 吠堯為桀。 今以言不及義則為異說。 折之有當是曰譏者。 伐本塞淵。 或冀乎得（今之所陳。 冀在伐其本塞其原者也）但爝火光微資燭。 龍以輔照。 蒲牢響邇。 仰雷霆而佐震（爝火螢火也。 蒲牢海獸也。 鯨魚擊之。 則聲震川谷。 今於鐘上鑄之。 以魚形杵擊之。 取其聲也。 今北山和尚謙云。 雖欲伐本塞源止其邪說。 所恨己才智同於爝火。 等微爰仗。 群賢聲援以助之。 用光像運矣）斯實鄙抱之所蓄也。 甞有戚施喔咿者（戚施面柔也。 喔吚強顏也）私余曰。 彼黨斯盛（謂異說之徒）將不得於君奈何（恐為時所忌民之多僻無自立辟侫人多黨矣）余曰。 獸顧濡尾。 則不濟也（狐將渡河。 若懼濕尾則不濟）得義而傷亦何忌耶。 夫漁父剸蛟。 獵夫搏虎。 皆其志也（懼則不為也。 所謂論至德者不和於俗。 成人功者不謀於眾矣）異說曰。 封戒學者。 實則小智。 隘情不夷（封滯也。 隘窄也。 夷平也。 言持戒者局小乘也）觸物忌過。 亡身猶糞土。 厚意於草木（昔有持戒比丘。 行遇賊劫其衣鉢。 仍以草繫之。 日中比丘不能斷草而去。 慮破戒也）大士觀之。 如險惡逕。 不若資吾大道落吾節放吾心不踵武不俛眉。 不飢腸不病蔬。 逍遙乎飲饌之間。 坦蕩乎貨植之上。 何莫為吾適也。 孰能捐膏粱純纊之美厚。 與夫後世魂靈作殘刻卑隸者歟（今世不飡鮮美服華麗。 死後終作卑賤之鬼何哉）譏者曰。 夫何然哉。 不愧于人。 不畏于天。 允意勃善。 罪莫甚矣。 戒者威儀也（威者有威可畏。 儀者有儀可則）威儀者德之表也。 詩曰。 淑慎爾止。 不愆于儀。 又曰。 抑抑威儀。 惟德之隅（皆重威儀之道也）故若即修途。 用之作符印（脩長也。 往長途以戒能涉也。 符印若今之公憑也）若涉大水。 用之作浮囊（律云。 如人欲過大海。 藉浮囊以得渡。 喻如持戒。 破一小戒。 亦不能濟也）若制佚馬。 用之作銜策。 若穡千畝。 用之作平地。 羊車唯五犯（一波羅夷。 二僧伽婆尸沙。 三波逸提。 四提舍尼。 五突吉羅。 唯防身口二業也）牛駕通三聚（身口意三聚也）虧之首末沈于龍鬼（破戒者多沈龍鬼）全之始卒超在人天。 其照如日月。 其好如瓔珞。 是以草繫護鵝（草繫如上。 護鵝者。 昔有比丘入王宮。 見鵝吞一珠。 王後尋珠不獲。 疑比丘取問之。 比丘懼殺鵝不言。 王將殺比丘。 比丘亦不言。 鵝即吐珠。 王知非問。 何以不言。 比丘曰。 言恐殺鵝也）有死無貳。 驅龍墮雁。 精誠一貫（如有比丘。 於龍住處現通驅之終不失。 持戒者往彈指三下。 龍即便去也。 智論云。 有比丘持戒。 食時至念食感。 雁王知之。 令雁投地欲供其食。 比丘知已不食也）且吾與君俱緇也。 在首無冠。 在身唯褐。

The worthy who establishes virtue conceals his purpose as if stealing away. (To establish means to erect. To conceal means to hide. The gentleman who establishes virtue harbors broad and magnanimous qualities within, constantly cloaking them as if they were insufficient.) The family that practices deceit makes fine words flow like water. (Fine means pleasing. The deceitful gentleman promotes glib flattery, hence his artful words flow with beauty.) Clinging to the empty as real, adorning the crooked to warp the upright, they extol what accords with them and revile what differs from them, aggressive and disorderly. Like the sun rising only to be veiled by clouds, like clear waters stirred into waves by the wind, it is hard indeed to see the end of it. (Artful speech throwing rectitude into chaos.) A sūtra says: In antiquity there were two disciples, each guarding one of their master’s legs, each disparaging the one they did not guard. (The *Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish* says: In the past there were two disciples told to each guard one leg. When the one guarding the left leg was away, the one guarding the right leg struck it. When the one guarding the right leg was away, the one guarding the left leg struck it. Within a month, both of the master’s legs had rotted away. This is a metaphor for the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna today disparaging each other.) In anger they struck at each other; their anger never ceasing, the legs were lost. Nowadays, men of deviant doctrines each jealously hoard fame; (Jealousy means enviously harming others.) they have no regard whatsoever for their holy master. How lamentable! I once ventured to discuss this, saying: Outward appearance differs from the heart, and nature is formed by habit. When the rustic songs of Ba are sung, those who join in harmony are inevitably many. (In the past, when the people of Chu sang the songs of Ba, the rustic folk who joined in were many; but when the piece “White Snow” was composed, those who joined in were few.) As with the stones of Yan and fish eyes, those who can truly appraise them are inevitably few. (Stones of Yan resemble jade; fish eyes resemble pearls.) Therefore, those who chase clods flock together in heterodoxy and delusion, (Ganging up in their deviant doctrines like dogs chasing after clods of earth.) each preserving their own master, barking at Yao on behalf of Jie. Now, when words do not attain righteousness, they are deemed deviant doctrines; to refute them with propriety is termed ‘critique’. Striking at the root and blocking the deep pool, one may perhaps hope for success. (What is set forth today hopes to strike at their root and block up their source.) Yet the light of a tiny flame depends on the Torch Dragon to assist its illumination, and the close ring of a *pulao* relies on thunder and lightning to aid its resonance. (A tiny flame is like the fire of a glowworm. The *pulao* is a sea beast; when a whale strikes it, its roar shakes the rivers and valleys. Nowadays, it is cast atop bells, and a whale-shaped pestle is used to strike it to obtain its roar. Now the Venerable of Beishan speaks with humility, saying that although he wishes to strike at the root, block the source, and halt their deviant doctrines, he regrets that his own talent and wisdom are like a tiny flame; being equally insignificant, he relies on the voices of the multitude of worthies to aid him, so as to glorify the age of the Semblance Dharma.) This is truly what is harbored in my humble bosom. Once, a fawning and subservient person (Fawning means compliant in appearance; subservient means forcing a pleasant countenance.) privately said to me, “Their faction is flourishing; (Referring to the followers of deviant doctrines.) if you are not accepted by your contemporaries, what will you do? (Fearing that he will be resented by the times. When the people are full of deviance, they lack self-reliance, and flatterers have many factions.)” I replied, “If a beast looks back fearing to wet its tail, it will never cross over. (When a fox is about to cross a river, if it fears wetting its tail, it will not cross over.) If one attains righteousness, what resentment is there to fear even if one is harmed? The fisherman slaying a river dragon, the hunter grappling with a tiger—both follow their resolve. (If one is afraid, one will not act. As it is said, those who discuss supreme virtue do not conform to the vulgar; those who accomplish great deeds do not consult the multitude.)” The deviant doctrines say: “Those who bind themselves to the study of the precepts are in truth of petty wisdom, with narrow sentiments that are not serene. (Bound means stuck; narrow means confined; serene means tranquil. It means that those who uphold the precepts are confined to the Hīnayāna.) Meeting objects, they fear faults; discarding their own bodies as if dung and soil, they place profound care on grass and trees. (In antiquity there was a precept-holding monk who was robbed of his robes and bowl on the road by bandits, who then bound him with grass. In the heat of the day, the monk could not break the grass and leave, fearing he would break a precept.) Great beings view this as a perilous and treacherous path. Is it not better to rely on our Great Way, cast off our constraints, and unleash our minds? Neither following in others’ footsteps nor lowering our brows, neither suffering from hunger nor sickening on greens, roaming free amidst food and drink, magnanimous atop goods and wealth—what is there that does not suit our pleasure? Who could abandon the rich savor of rich meats and fine silks, only to become a ruined, cruel, and lowly thrall among the spirits of the future world? (If in this life one does not partake of delicacies and wear splendors, only to end up as a lowly and degraded ghost after death, why do it?)” The critic says: How can it be so? Unashamed before men, unfearing before Heaven, indulging desire and outraging goodness—no sin is greater than this. Precepts are dignified deportment. (Dignified means possessing authority to be revered; deportment means possessing conduct to be modeled.) Dignified deportment is the outward manifestation of virtue. *The Classic of Odes* says: “Be prudent and cautious in your deportment; do not err in your manners.” And again: “A majestic and dignified deportment is the cornerstone of virtue.” (Both emphasize the way of dignified deportment.) Thus, if one sets out on a long journey, they serve as tallies and seals; (Long means distant; when traveling a long road, one can journey by means of the precepts. Tallies and seals are like official travel permits today.) if one wades across great waters, they serve as a floating buoy; (The Vinaya says: Just as a person wishing to cross the great sea relies on a floating buoy to make the crossing—this is a metaphor for upholding the precepts. If one breaks even a minor precept, one cannot cross over.) if one restrains a runaway horse, they serve as bit and whip; if one cultivates a thousand acres, they serve as level ground. The goat cart contains only the five classes of offenses; (First, pārājika; second, saṃghāvaśeṣa; third, prāyaścittika; fourth, pratideśanīya; fifth, duṣkṛta. These only guard the two karmas of body and speech.) the ox carriage encompasses the three collections of precepts. (The three collections of body, speech, and mind.) Falling short from beginning to end, one sinks among dragons and ghosts; (Those who break the precepts mostly sink among dragons and ghosts.) keeping them whole from start to finish, one transcends to become human or deva. Their radiance is like the sun and moon; their beauty is like a necklace of jewels. Thus, with the binding of grass and the protection of the goose, (The binding of grass is as above. As for protecting the goose: in antiquity, a monk entered the royal palace and saw a goose swallow a pearl. Later, the king searched for the pearl and did not find it; suspecting the monk, he questioned him. Fearing that the goose would be killed, the monk said nothing. When the king was about to execute the monk, the monk still said nothing. Just then, the goose regurgitated the pearl. The king knew he was innocent and asked why he had not spoken. The monk said: “Had I spoken, I feared the goose would be killed.”) they chose death without double-mindedness; driving away the dragon and causing the wild goose to drop, their sincere dedication was consistent throughout. (For instance, there was a monk who manifested supernatural powers at the dragon’s dwelling to drive it away, yet failed; but when a precept-holder went there and snapped his fingers three times, the dragon immediately departed. The *Dazhidulun* says: There was a monk who upheld the precepts; when mealtime arrived, he thought of food, which moved the king of wild geese. Knowing this, the king of geese made a goose throw itself to the ground wishing to offer itself as food. When the monk realized this, he did not eat it.) Moreover, you and I are both in black robes: on our heads we wear no caps, and on our bodies we wear only coarse cloth.