鐔津文集 3.24

3.24

善天下道為大。顯其親德為優。告則不得其道德。不告則得道而成德。是故聖人輒遁于山林。逮其以道而返也。德被乎上下。而天下稱之曰有子若此。尊其父母曰。大聖人之父母也。聖人可謂略始而圖終善行權也。古之君子有所為而如此者。吳泰伯其人也。必大志可以張大義。必大潔可以持大正。聖人推勝德於人天。顯至正於九嚮。故聖人之法不顧乎世嗣。古之君子有所為而如此者。伯夷叔齊其人也。道固尊於人。故道雖在子而父母可以拜之。冠義近之矣禮曰。已冠而字之。成人之道也。見於母。母拜之。俗固本於真。其真已修。則雖僧可以與王侯抗禮也。而武事近之矣。禮曰。介者不拜。為其拜而蓌拜也。不拜重節也。母拜重禮也。禮節而先王猶重之。大道烏可不重乎。俗曰。聖人無父。固哉小人之好毀也。彼𥆨然而豈見聖人為孝之深渺也哉。

To bring goodness to the world, the Way is greatest; to bring glory to one's parents, virtue is superior. If [the Buddha] had announced [his departure to his parents], he would not have attained the Way and its virtue; by not announcing it, he attained the Way and perfected virtue. Therefore the Sage slipped away to the mountain forests. When he returned with the Way, his virtue cloaked those above and below, and the world praised him, saying, 'Having a son like this!' and honoured his parents, saying, 'The parents of the Great Sage!' The Sage can be said to have omitted the beginning to achieve the end, being skilful at exercising expedient adaptation. Among the noble persons of antiquity who acted like this, Taibo of Wu was such a man. One must have great resolve to unfold great righteousness; one must have great purity to maintain great rectitude. The Sage extended supreme virtue to humans and devas, and made manifest ultimate rectitude throughout the nine directions; therefore the Sage's Dharma does not look back to worldly heirs. Among the noble persons of antiquity who acted like this, Boyi and Shuqi were such men. The Way is inherently more venerable than the person; therefore, even though the Way resides in a son, the parents may bow to him. The 'Meaning of the Capping Ceremony' comes close to this; the Book of Rites says: 'Once capped, he is given an adult courtesy name; this is the way of adulthood. When presented to his mother, the mother bows to him.' The conventional is originally rooted in the true. Once the true has been cultivated, then even a monk may treat kings and marquises as equals. Military practice comes close to this; the Book of Rites says: 'An armoured warrior does not bow,' because if he bowed, it would be an awkward bow. Not bowing accords weight to discipline; a mother bowing accords weight to propriety. When the former kings still accorded weight to ritual discipline, how could one not accord weight to the Great Way? The worldly say, 'The Sage had no father'—how obstinate are petty men in their love of slander! In their blindness, how could they ever see how deep and profound the Sage's practice of filial piety was?