北山錄 10.2.6

10.2.6

Although taking and rejecting differ, each has what is appropriate to it. If anyone disparages my engaging with Ruism and Daoism (disparage means to ruin), I consider who that person is and wonder at them! Now, the customs of Yue make light of caps (because they have much water, their custom is to cut their hair and tattoo their bodies), and the markets of Qi hold shoes cheap (shoes are a category of footwear; Duke Jing of Qi was fond of amputating people's feet; Yanzi's residence was near the market, and the Duke offered to move him, but he was unwilling; the Duke said, "Living near the market, do you know what is expensive and what is cheap?" Yanzi said, "Artificial legs are expensive and shoes are cheap"; Duke Jing thereupon reduced punishments). How could one abandon the elegance of the noble person merely because it is not profitable to oneself (learning is to refine oneself; how could one cast aside the noble person's way of refining oneself just because it brings no benefit to oneself)? In ancient times, Confucius's horse broke loose and trampled a peasant's crops; the peasant rejected the eloquence of Zigong, but accepted the words of the groom (Zigong was a man of rhetoric; the groom was a man who tended horses; yet the peasant cast aside Zigong's words and would not give back the horse, but accepted the groom's words and returned it—this was simply because each resonated with his own kind). Indeed, it has long been that vulgar people take no delight in the talk of the worthy. Confucius said: "Formerly, when the Jisun clan gifted me a thousand zhong of grain, my associations became ever closer; when Nangong Jingshu presented me with a carriage and four horses, my Way was ever more widely practiced. Therefore, though the Way is noble, it must await the proper time to be valued, and await worldly influence to be put into practice. Were it not for the gifts of those two men, the Way of Qiu would have been nearly abandoned!" (When the Master was first about to leave Lu to visit Zhou to inquire about the rites, the Ji clan gifted him a thousand zhong of grain, and Meng Xizi gifted him a carriage, and furthermore ordered Yizi and Nangong Jingshu to follow and serve Zhongni as their teacher, and the disciples who requested instruction numbered three thousand). In antiquity, when the Great Sage was about to enter extinction, he entrusted his testament to the kings and great ministers of the various realms (when the Tathāgata was about to enter extinction, he entrusted the teachings and the internal protection of the bhikṣus to the powerful rulers and ministers), just as was done with the Way of Zhongni. In the Western Regions, regardless of noble or base, old or young, their elders of wisdom and worthies (Wei Zhao says: "Those who are old and virtuous are called elders; those whose wisdom surpasses three hundred men are called worthies") are all called upāsakas, and their venerable mothers and excellent wives are all called upāsikās; these denote laymen and laywomen. Cultivating their spirits with the five precepts, being neighbours to goodness and revering the sages, they live in the world and are regarded with admiration. The former Sage also entrusted them with the Dharma-teachings, causing them to apply their strength to assist the Way, as was the case with Sudatta and Viśākhā, who were regarded as second only to princes and nobles. Formerly, Sun Quan did not yet comprehend the origins of the teachings, and questioned Kan Ze (the Grand Astrologer of Wu). Ze replied: "Your servant knows with certainty that the Buddha is the unsurpassed Dharma King, the refuge of all sages. His teaching extends over everything (extends over means covers and aids), his compassion encompasses the myriad phenomena, profound as the great ocean that does not reject the trickle of small streams, illuminating alongside the sun and moon without disdaining the light of stars and candles (disdaining means obstructing). Whatsoever it encounters, it transforms; meeting things, it conveys them across (encountering means facing; conveys means operating—like a great bell awaiting to be struck, or like a vast vessel carrying beings widely). In heaven and among humans, he is sovereign and revered. Even if heaven possesses the virtue of covering all, and earth possesses the power of bearing all, these are entirely established and caused to be so by the Buddhas." Emperor Wen of Song asked He Shangzhi and Yang Xuanbao (Shangzhi was a Palace Attendant of Song; Xuanbao was a Director of the Bureau of Civil Appointments): "Since our youth, we have not read many scriptures, and lately we have had even less leisure (lately means recently). As for the karmic causality of the three time periods, we have not yet discerned how to settle our mind; yet we dare not establish contrary views, precisely because outstanding figures of our times such as you lords all revere and believe in it. Fan Tai (General of Chariots and Cavalry) and Xie Lingyun both declared that although the canonical texts of the Six Classics are fundamentally for aiding the mundane and conducting government, if one must seek the true mystery of nature and spirit, how can one not take the Buddhist scriptures as one's compass? Recently, we saw Yan Yanzhi's refutation of the Discourse on Penetrating Nature, and Zong Bing's critique of the Discourse on Black and White; they illuminate the vastness of the Buddhadharma, which is pre-eminently an illustrious principle, and both open and stimulate people's minds. If all the subjects within the whole land were moved by this transformation, then we could sit with robes folded and arms crossed, bringing about great peace! What more would there be to do?" Shangzhi said: "The drifting multitudes mostly do not believe in the Dharma. That your servant, inept and unaccomplished, should receive your praise and encouragement is more than I dare accept. Yet as for the host of talents of previous generations, they surely do not disappoint Your Majesty's brilliant decree. The Central Court is already far off (the Western Jin) and difficult to know fully. Since the crossing of the Yangtze River (the Eastern Jin), Wang Dao, Zhou Yi, Yu Liang, Wang Meng, Xie Shang, Xi Chao, Wang Tan, Wang Gong, Wang Mi, Guo Wenju, Xie Fu, Dai Kui, Xu Xun, Fan Wang, Sun Chuo, Zhang Xuan, Yin Yi, and others (all were worthy scholars of the Eastern Jin) were either the foremost among prime ministers and chancellors, models of human relations, or set their hearts between heaven and humanity, or raised their tracks beyond the mist and clouds—yet all received the intention to take refuge and set their minds on reverent faith. In comparison alongside them, there were Lan, Hu, Kai, Qian, Shen, Dun, Chong, and Sui (these eight gentlemen were all eminent monks); all of them were second only to the Sage with the virtues of the Central Yellow, and were men of unfathomable depth (Central Yellow means the Sage). Dharma Master Huiyuan said: 'The transformation wrought by the Śākya clan is applicable anywhere. Aligning with the Way is naturally the source of the teaching, but aiding the mundane is also its true essential.' In my humble estimation, this saying accords with the profound principles. Why is this? In a township of a hundred families, if ten people uphold the five precepts, then ten people will be pure and cautious; in a city of a thousand households, if a hundred people cultivate the ten virtues, then a hundred people will be in harmony. If this ethos and teaching are carried across the entire realm, among hundreds of millions of registered households, there will be millions of benevolent people. For being able to practice one good means removing one evil; removing one evil means putting an end to one punishment; putting an end to one punishment in a household means putting an end to ten thousand punishments in the state—this is precisely what Your Majesty called sitting and bringing about great peace. Thus, when Fotudeng entered Ye, Shi Hu's slaughter was reduced by half; at Mianchi, the precious stūpa emitted light, and Fu Jian's mallets and saws were put to rest (Shi Hu belonged to the Later Zhao; Fu Jian to the Former Qin). Mengxun bit the hand that fed him, having no regard for kin, and was as cruel as a jackal or tiger (Juqu Mengxun of the Northern Liang was originally a Hu barbarian; he read widely among all books and understood astrology; he killed Duan Ye, styled himself Shepherd of Liangzhou, later entered Guzang, ascended the throne, and took the title King of Xihe); yet in his later years, he had a change of heart and awoke, ultimately becoming a good man (he reigned for thirty years and translated the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra). The monk Fajian had strength surpassing ten thousand men, and nearly threw the Yellow and Wei river regions into chaos; yet with his hands tied behind his back, he willingly accepted death to rescue his master from peril. Were these not the effects of the influence of the inner teaching?" At that time, Yang Xuanbao came forward and said: "I humbly fear that Qin and Zhao debated the art of strengthening the army, and Sun Wu exhausted the strategies of annexation, and would have found nothing of value in this." The Emperor said: