北山錄 10.2.3

10.2.3

"I always feared that change would arise unexpectedly and ruin would be upon us (ruin: gradually being submerged). I have observed that the teaching of purifying and purging the various followers of the Way truly accords with the original intent. When the Jing is distinguished by the Wei, the clear and the muddy are differentiated in their tendencies. When the crooked is corrected by the straight, unbenevolence naturally recedes. Once this order is carried out, then both principles will be realized. Thereafter, let those who feign and dissemble have their path of false pretense cut off, and let those who cherish truth have no suspicion of turning their backs on the world. The religious and the secular will interact, and the Three Jewels will flourish once more." (In ancient times, siftings and purgings generally had two intentions: The first was to revere and honour the teaching, hating its deterioration and excess, hence purifying and eliminating treacherous and superfluous individuals, striving to bring about purity. Emperor Shizu of the Song, Wang Du, Yan Yanzhi, Xiao Mozhi, Zhou Lang, Yu Yuan, Zhang Puhui, Li Yang, Wei Yuansong, Gu Guan, Xing Zicai, Gao Daorang, Lu Sidao, and Emperor Gaozu of the Tang—these fourteen men were of this kind. The second was to loathe and envy its prosperity and prominence, endangering oneself to nurse grudges, hence seeking eradication to vent their spleen: Emperor Taiwu of the Northern Wei, Emperor Gaozu of the Northern Zhou, Cai Mu, Liu Zhou, Yang Xuanzhi, Xun Ji, Zhangchou Yutuo, Liu Huilin, Fan Zhen, Fu Yi, and Wang Wentong—these eleven men truly had the intention to destroy it.) Thereupon, the mysterious teaching did not extend [its purge] to Mount Lu. Now, among those born of blood and wombs who feed on grain, how can there be two sorts regarding faith and disbelief? It is simply that those humans who receive the correct qi of the Five Elements surely protect their upright nature and upright destiny (worthy individuals receive the clear qi of the Five Elements), and are able to make manifest diligent practice (able to illuminate efforts in cultivation); they rely on the field of merit, and thus they believe. Those who receive cold and turbid qi are surely perverse, unrestrained, lascivious, and obstinate (obstinate: refractory), obliterating heavenly principles; they avail themselves of calamity and perish, and thus they do not believe. If Tang [Yao], Yu [Shun], the Yuankai, Yu of Xia, Tang of Yin, Yi [Yin], and Fu [Yue] (Tang and Yu are Yao and Shun; the Yuankai are the sixteen ministers; Xia and Yin are Yu and Tang; Yi and Fu are Yi Yin and Fu Yue), the ten capable ministers of Zhou (to bring order is to govern: the Grand Duke, the Duke of Zhou, the Duke of Shao, the Duke of Bi, the Duke of Rong, Nangong Kuo, Sanyi Sheng, Tai Dian, Hong Yao, and the Mother of King Wen—these ten people), and the Three Heroes of the Han (Zhang Liang, Xiao He, and Han Xin) were to look up at the golden countenance and bend down to listen to the jade scrolls, they would never have failed to believe. When their innermost feelings were aroused to speak and act for all beings, why was it so? It is because in doing good, they only felt the days were not enough (though these people did not happen upon the flourishing of the teaching, had they encountered it, their hearts would have deeply revered and believed it). If Jie, Zhou, Zhuang Qiao, Bandit Zhi, Yang Huo, and Zicang were to look at it, they would be as though blind; if they were to listen to it, they would be as though deaf (Jie of the Xia; Zhou of the Yin; Zhuang Qiao was an evil bandit of Chu and Shu; Bandit Zhi was a violent bandit of Lu; Yang Huo was a household retainer of Ji Huanzi who was violent and oppressive in Lu; Zicang was Zicang of Zheng; being blind, hearing good is insufficient to transform them). Why was it so for them? It is because when evil people do unwholesomeness, they too only feel the days are not enough. Indeed, life has its limits; the body is not made of metal and stone. Before one's joy fulfills one's aspirations, grief follows upon it. The ancient sage [Laozi] called the physical body a great calamity; Confucius sighed that brushing arms [with passing time] was like losing it (a floating life passes so swiftly, how is it worth prizing?). What grudge does one have against the Buddhist teaching, to sincerely devote oneself to harming it, not initiating good fortune but putting oneself first in calamity? This is truly what is called the failing of being able to do evil but unable to do good. If that [doctrine of karmic] fruition really exists, even if one wishes to cut oneself off from it, how could it harm the sun and the moon? (If that which is taught in the doctrinal school—that cause and effect truly exist intrinsically—even if you slander it, how could you harm its Way? Zigong said: "Though a man wishes to cut himself off, how could he harm the sun and the moon?") Even if that [karmic] fruition did not exist, aspiring to establish nominal goodness would still suffice to keep away harm (even if the matter of cause and effect taught by Buddhism originally did not exist, merely pursuing the empty reputation of goodness would still suffice to keep away harm). Ceasing to kill in vain is still better than slaughtering and angling; relinquishing wealth in vain is still better than thieving; purifying oneself in vain is still better than corruption, excess, and unseemly conduct behind inner curtains (referring to not regulating the household). How much more so since who knows that it is definitely not vain? In the Buddhist teaching: stealing wealth incurs debt in wealth; eating meat incurs debt in meat; harming a person incurs debt in one's vital organs, eyes, and neck (debt means commercial exchange: stealing another's wealth now, one must repay wealth; eating another's meat now, one must be eaten by others; harming another's vital organs, eyes, and neck now, one will in turn suffer harm; this is the way of exchange; neck means the throat). If one does not incur debt, goodness is then real (if one can truly refrain from stealing, killing, etc., and claim to do good, its reality is genuine). Since its words are real, how could its persons be vain? Fotudeng and the Great Master [Hui]si of Mount Heng could look far into their many past lives (both attained earlier visions); Zhi Daolin and Dao'an were vastly learned and possessed formidable scholarship; Liu Yimin and Liu Qiu paid no heed to summons by bow and banner (all were lofty scholars of the Jin who declined worldly glory; in antiquity, scholars were summoned with bow and banner); Xu Xun and Zong Bing wore tattered rags to the end of their years. If the Buddhadharma had no reality, how could it make them establish their determination so immovably? (These were all worthy and bright scholars; how could their sentiments have been mistaken?) Formerly, in the beginning of the Wude era, great ministers did not plan, while close ministers flattered the imperial will (during the time of Emperor Gaozu, Fu Yi, because the Tang royal house bore the surname Li, took Laozi as their ancestor, and thereupon slandered it, ordering a purification and purge). Because the imperial lineage originated from Xuanyuan, and its brilliant culture was vast and unified with all under heaven, they intended to harm our teaching; the bees and scorpions were venomous, and the woven brocade had its patterns (woven brocade means embellishing words). Yet the emperor's intelligence and sagacity at the time were never obscured (never: without; obscured: darkened; though Fu Yi and others stirred and misled the sage, the emperor's intelligence was not darkened in any way). Those who were greedy and envious could not overcome the virtuous and sagacious men (greedy: covetous; envious: harmful; overcome: surpass; the virtuous and sagacious were Falin, Daoxuan, and others; though Fu Yi's intentions were covetous and harmful, he ultimately could not surpass them). In vain their evil virtues fell, and the soaking slander found nowhere to seep (fell: collapsed; in vain their malicious virtues collapsed, so that soaking slander and skin-deep grievances could not be enacted). The bright, cherished sun was about to set, but rose again; the thick, dense clouds, having dispersed, gathered once more (the Buddha-sun sank and then shone again; the clouds of wisdom dispersed and then re-gathered). This was truly due to the spiritual efficacy of the ancestral temples and altars of soil and grain of the Tang, which preserved the blessings of their descendants and the common people. Now, the domains of heaven and earth are governed by the supreme shepherd (Heaven gives birth to the multitudes and establishes shepherds to govern them), and pacified by the ghosts and spirits (pacified: calmed; spirits are bright, upright, blessing the good and bringing calamity upon the licentious). If the ruler of men loses the proper principle, the numinous spirits will abandon him (In the Biographies of Divine Nuns, when the Yuwen family destroyed the Buddhadharma, a divine nun saw the benevolent deities all departing to the west; afterwards, the state was indeed destroyed. Recently, the Chai clan destroyed the bronze Great Compassionate One in Zhenzhou...)