鐔津文集 2.19

2.19

教謂布施何謂也。布施吾原教雖論而未盡。此盡之也。布施也者聖人之欲人為福也。夫福豈有象邪。在其為心之善不善耳。貪婪慳悋者心之不善者也。濟人惠物者心之善者也。善心感之則為福。不善心感之則為極。福極之理存乎儒氏之皇極矣。皇極者蓋論而不議者也。夫布施之云為者聖人欲人發其感福之心也。其發之者有優劣。則應之者有厚薄。以佛事而發其施心者優也。以世事而發其施心者劣也。聖人欲人之福必厚。故先優而後劣。劣者謂之卑。優者謂之勝。儒曰。福者備也。備者百順之名也。無所不順之謂備。此道其緣而不道其因。非因則天下不知其所以為福也。所種之地薄則所成之物不茂。所種之地嘉則所成之物必碩也矣。是故聖人示人之勝劣。豈有所苟乎。如以財而施人者。其福可量也。以法而施人者。其福不可量也。可量者并世而言之也。不可量者以出世而言之也。

What is meant by the teaching speaking of giving (dāna)? Although I discussed giving in 'An Inquiry into the Teaching' (Yuanjiao), I did not exhaust it; here I exhaust it. Giving is the sage's wish for people to generate good fortune. Does good fortune have any physical form? It resides merely in whether the mind is good or not good. Greed and stinginess are the mind's non-goodness; helping people and benefiting creatures are the mind's goodness. When a good mind evokes a response, it becomes good fortune; when an un-good mind evokes a response, it becomes the ultimate ill. The principle of good fortune and ultimate ill is found in the 'Grand Norm' (Huangji) of the Confucians; the Grand Norm sets it forth without debating it. What is spoken of as giving is the sage's wish for people to bring forth the mind that evokes good fortune. When bringing it forth, there are superior and inferior qualities; hence in the response, there are greater and lesser magnitudes. Bringing forth one's mind of giving for Buddhist matters is superior; bringing forth one's mind of giving for worldly affairs is inferior. The sage wishes people's good fortune to be bountiful, so he places the superior first and the inferior second. The inferior is called base; the superior is called excellent. The Confucians say: 'Good fortune means complete preparedness. Complete preparedness is the name for a hundred accords.' Having nothing that is not in accord is called complete preparedness. This describes its conditions, but does not describe its cause; without the cause, the world will not know that by which it becomes good fortune. If the ground one plants in is barren, the things produced will not be luxuriant; if the ground one plants in is fertile, the things produced will surely be bountiful. Therefore, when the sage reveals the excellent and the inferior to people, how could there be any carelessness? If one gives to people with material wealth, the good fortune can be measured; if one gives to people with the Dharma, the good fortune cannot be measured. That which can be measured is spoken of in terms of the worldly; that which cannot be measured is spoken of in terms of the world-transcending.