鐔津文集 3.14

3.14

聖人之道以善為用。聖人之善以孝為端。為善而不先其端。無善也。為道而不在其用。無道也。用所以驗道也。端所以行善也。行善而其善未行乎父母。能溥善乎。驗道而不見其道之溥善。能為道乎。是故聖人之為道也無所不善。聖人之為善也。未始遺親。親也者形生之大本也。人道之大恩也。唯大聖人為能重其大本也。報其大恩也。今夫天下之為道者孰與於聖人。夫聖人之道大臻。巍巍乎獨尊於人天。不可得而生也。不可得而死也。及其應物示同乎天人。尚必順乎人道。而不敢忘其母之既死。不敢拒其父之見命故方其成道之初。而登天先以其道諭其母氏。三月復歸乎世。應命還其故國。示父於道而其國皆化。逮其喪父也。而聖人躬與諸釋負其棺以趨葬。聖人可謂與人道而大順也。今夫方為其徒。於聖人則晚路末學耳。乃欲不務為。孝謂我出家專道。則吾豈敢也。是豈見出家之心乎。夫出家者將以道而溥善也。溥善而不善其父母。豈曰道邪。不唯不見其心。抑亦孤於聖人之法也。經謂父母與一生補處菩薩等。故當承事供養。故律教其弟子得減衣鉢之資而養其父母。父母之正信者可恣與之。其無信者可稍與之。有所訓也矣。

The Way of the sage takes goodness as its function; the goodness of the sage takes filial piety as its inception. To practice goodness without giving priority to its inception is to have no goodness; to practice the Way without dwelling in its function is to have no Way. Function is that by which the Way is verified; inception is that by which goodness is practiced. If one practices goodness but that goodness has not yet reached one’s parents, can it be universal goodness? If one verifies the Way but does not see that its Way is universal goodness, can it be the Way? For this reason, when the sage practices the Way, there is nothing that is not good; when the sage practices goodness, he has never abandoned his parents. Parents are the great root of bodily birth and the great debt of kindness in human relations. Only the Great Sage is able to venerate this great root and repay this great debt of kindness. Now, among those in the world who practice the Way, who can compare with the sage? The sage's Way is supremely great: towering lofty and uniquely venerated among humans and devas, neither capable of being born nor capable of dying. Yet when responding to things and demonstrating identity with humans and devas, he still necessarily conformed to the human way, not daring to forget his mother after her death, nor daring to disobey his father's summons. Thus, at the very beginning of his attainment of the Way, he ascended to heaven to first instruct his mother in his Way; after three months he returned to the world, and in response to the command returned to his native kingdom, instructing his father in the Way so that the entire kingdom was transformed. When his father died, the Sage personally carried the coffin together with the Śākyas to hasten to the burial. The Sage can indeed be said to have accorded greatly with the human way! Now, those who have just become his followers are merely latecomers and elementary students compared to the Sage. Yet they wish not to dedicate themselves to filial piety, claiming, 'I have left the household to concentrate on the Way.' How could I dare [to accept this]? How could this be understanding the mind of leaving the household? Leaving the household is meant to universalize goodness through the Way; if one universalizes goodness while failing to treat one's parents with goodness, how can that be called the Way? Not only does this fail to understand that mind, but it also isolates one from the Dharma of the Sage. The sutras state that parents are equal to a bodhisattva bound to one last birth, and therefore ought to be served and provided for. Hence the Vinaya instructs his disciples that they may reduce the provisions of their robes and bowls to sustain their parents; if the parents have correct faith, one may give to them freely, and if they lack faith, one may give to them in small measure. There is indeed an instruction for this!