鐔津文集 19.23

19.23

吾佛大法。蓋世出世間千聖萬靈道德性命之本源。源深本妙非思議可及。其應緣揚化也。當必資開士因王臣之力啟物信而禦外魔。開士出。蓋視法運之通塞。決與世致益。不苟然也。藤州明教大師嵩和尚其人歟。妙達玄宗博極世解。出皇祐至和間。見外黨有致吾法之瘡疣者。則曰。予竊菩薩權。為如來使。辯而明之。以度彼惑。俾歸正趣。實所任職矣。於是著書聞奏蒙

The Great Dharma of our Buddha is the fundamental source of the virtue, nature, and destiny of the thousand sages and myriad spirits, both mundane and supramundane. The source is deep and the root is wondrous, beyond the reach of conceptual thought. In responding to conditions to promulgate transformation, it must certainly rely on the power of great beings (*bodhisattva*) and royal ministers to inspire beings' faith and defend against external demons. When a great being appears, it depends on whether the fortune of the Dharma is flourishing or obstructed, definitely bringing benefit to the world; it never happens fortuitously. Was not Venerable Song, Master Mingjiao of Tengzhou, such a person? Wondrously penetrating the profound school and vastly mastering worldly learning, he emerged between the Huangyou and Zhihe eras. Seeing that external factions were inflicting sores and warts upon our Dharma, he said: 'I covertly assume the authority of a bodhisattva to serve as an envoy of the Tathāgata, debating and clarifying it to deliver them from delusion and guide them back to the right path—this is truly my assigned office.' Thereupon, he composed books and presented them to the throne, receiving