北山錄 3.2.3

3.2.3

"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.)