北山錄 5.2.10

5.2.10

day and night without cease. His mother, fearing he would overwork himself, often diminished his lamp-oil and put out his fire. When he assisted Emperor Wu of the Liang in his dynastic rise, he was repeatedly promoted to Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, and long occupied the position of Prime Minister. He had ambitions for ministerial office, but the Emperor never employed him. He sent a letter to Xu Mian, who spoke on his behalf to the Emperor, but the Emperor only granted him drum-and-wind musicians. Shen Yue by nature did not drink wine and had few desires. His left eye had double pupils, and his waist bore a purple birthmark. He gathered twenty thousand fascicles of books. He served as Governor of Danyang and Palace Attendant. He died in office, having authored the histories of the Jin, Song, Qi, and other dynasties.) Although [such authors] wished to broadly manifest their unique views, the intention of the sages was perhaps not so. Indeed, precepts are instituted on account of faults, abandoning harm to approach benefit. The fault of eating meat is pernicious and unthinking (The Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'Living beings keep distant from one who eats meat.' The Śūraṅgama Sūtra says: 'This is the enemy of all buddhas; it severs the seed of great compassion. All ghosts and spirits lick their lips by night as they lie asleep; their merit and virtue dwindle daily'), which even the benevolent and wise look down upon, so how much more so the sages! (Mencius said: 'This is how a gentleman regards animals: having seen them alive, he cannot bear to see them die; having heard their cries, he cannot bear to eat their flesh. Therefore, he keeps far from the kitchen.') As for using silk and leather to sustain the body and making one's vestments neat and clean, worldly people have never criticized this (hence the bhikṣu Assaji captivated the multitude with his dignified demeanor), and the sages likewise praised it. Thus the sūtras say: 'Hang silk banners and canopies,' and also say: 'Using soft silk and floss as mats and cushions.' (Lotus Sūtra) If one judges according to what was not yet prohibited then because the [Mahāyāna] sūtras had not yet arrived, yet the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] permitted the kauśeya garment (meaning fine reddish clothing, also called supreme garments, worth tens of thousands, offered to the Buddha and the Saṃgha)—why should one not be fully equipped? Yet during the Xiao-Liang and Chen periods, people were excessive in their faith, and the Dharma teachings grew ever more prominent. I once read the writings of the Qi crown prince and of the Liang and Chen; they repeatedly renounced their ceremonial robes and crowns, carriages and jewels, composed repentances for various scriptures, and wielding the brush let their words flow, taking the bodhisattva vows and deeds as child's play! Compared to the Northern Zhou and Northern Wei, it was far better, but measured against moral education, it was deficient. The guest said: 'Fayun hastened to condolences and congratulations, and his detractors called him a flatterer. Lingyu was frugal and simple in coarse cloth, and contemporary opinion termed it an affectation. (As for Fayun, he was a descendant of Zhou Chu. When he suffered the loss of his mother, his emaciation exceeded ritual bounds; he went days without eating, nearly failing to survive the mourning. Monk Min admonished him, saying: 'The sages instituted the rituals so that the worthy might bend down to reach them, and the unworthy might strive to attain them; that emaciation must not destroy one's life is something stated even in the Ruist books. How much more so the Buddha's decree! Near at hand, serve one's parents with filial care; far off, give rise to bodhi. Furthermore, the bandit of affectionate attachment must not be indulged.' Only then did he curtail his grief and take a little gruel. As for Lingyu, when the Northern Zhou suppressed the Dharma, he concealed his presence in the mundane world, wearing mourning clothes of the coarsest unhemmed sackcloth, a three-sheng cloth headband, and a hemp sash, as if mourning his parents, vowing to adopt his former vestments only when the Buddha's Dharma began anew.) With such conduct, how could it not be superficial?' (Shallow and thin.) The host said: 'The Documents say: "In dealing with others, do not demand perfection." The Rites say: "If you measure others by the standard of complete righteousness, it is difficult to be a person." (One cannot demand perfection.) "If you evaluate people using human standards, then the worthy can be known." (Evaluating the unworthy against the worthy, one knows who is superior and who is inferior.) Now, to hesitate and waver in Dharma robes—if done for the Dharma, it disgraces oneself; if not for the Dharma, it also disgraces the Dharma. (If running into the dust is for the sake of the teaching or for the multitude, it may still be acceptable; otherwise, it is a disgrace.) Yet great beings sometimes take reaching comprehension through principle as beauty (going against the teaching to conform with principle is also viable, but teachings have both provisional and ultimate aspects). Thus: "A yellow lower garment brings prime good fortune," for sincerity resides within. (The line for the six in the fifth place of the Kun hexagram. Yellow is the color of the central and correct; the lower garment is the adornment of what is below. Kun represents the minister's way, fully manifesting beauty beneath and trusting to the pattern of principle, wearing a yellow lower garment to obtain prime good fortune. Like Fayun and others, running into the dust was for the sake of the Dharma.) Duke Wen of Jin was devious and not upright, yet he did not fail to become hegemon. (Duke Wen was Chong'er. After returning to Jin, he became a great hegemon over the feudal lords. When he was about to pay court to Zhou, he disliked appearing too powerful, so he summoned the king to come forth and perform the audience ritual. Confucius said: 'For a subject to summon his lord cannot serve as an example.' Hence the Spring and Autumn Annals revised it to say, 'The Heavenly King went hunting at Heyang.' This was being devious and not upright.) How could one like Fayun fail to be an eminent monk? He was naturally brilliant and sharp, exceptionally endowed at birth. Responsive to spiritual omens, his words stood firm after his death; he was truly an auspicious portent for the Dharma! (On the day Fayun's mother, Lady Wu, gave birth to him, auspicious clouds filled the sky; hence he was named Fayun. He resided at Zhuangyan Monastery in Yixing, lecturing on sūtras such as the Lotus and Vimalakīrti like a swift wind adapting to circumstances. Contemporaries called him the Magical Dharma Master.) Yet compared to Master Huiyuan, whose shadow never left the mountain, whose footsteps never entered the worldly dust, and who never saw guests off past Tiger Creek; or to Huixi, along whose mossy path for over thirty years he sat erect on the couch, while at both ends dust gathered—Fayun certainly falls short. (The monk Huixi of Konghui Monastery in Shu was a native of Chengdu. In his youth he was fond of composing poetry. Because he exchanged verses with the śrāmaṇera Daocheng of Dashi Monastery, a dispute arose. Thereupon he turned his mind away and set his heart on dhyāna contemplation. When he received full ordination, he studied the sūtras and vinaya thoroughly and investigated the Three Treatises. At night he lodged in his own room, only sitting on his bed, so that dust gathered at both ends of it. On the floor of the rest of his room, there was only a single footprint, and the rest was all overgrown with moss.) Lingyu said: 'Even if I affect virtue to correct the world, it is still better than doing evil with a straightforward mind.' This saying originated with the ancients, and Lingyu was the one to continue it. Now Guan Zhong and Yanzi were both worthy grandees. Guan was extravagant, and Yan was frugal; yet later ritualists criticized them both. (Guan Zhong was the Qi grandee Yiwu. He married nine women from three states. In official duties he did not double up responsibilities; he set up a screen to block his gate and erected a cup-stand—all of which were extravagant. Yet he served Duke Huan as chancellor, assembled the feudal lords nine times, honored the royal house, and reproached Chu for its tribute of wrapped thatch; hence he was praised as worthy. Yan Ying was a grandee of Qi, frugal by nature, such that a pig's shoulder did not cover his platter, and the like. Yet he served Duke Jing as chancellor, and with a single word reduced punishments; he likewise was praised as worthy, but criticized for his frugality.) Zengzi said: 'When the state is extravagant, show the people frugality; when the state is frugal, show the people ritual.' This was true of Master Yan. (Duke Jing of Qi possessed a thousand teams of four horses, yet on the day he died, the people found no virtue in him to praise; hence Master Yan showed them frugality.) But those submerged in deep water do not fully fathom the transformations of fish and dragons, and those dwelling on dry land do not fully grasp the capabilities of flying and running beasts. (The nature of things and phenomena cannot be completely exhausted.) How could wearing wide-sleeved robes mean one has exhausted the learning of Confucius's school? (Wide sleeves denote large sleeves. Though called Ruist scholars, they are in fact ignorant of the classical canons.)