鐔津文集 8.15.2

8.15.2

第見其徒不事事在家逃脫外形骸不躬衣食。 以為詭異與俗相遠而切深譏之。 徒惡黑黧為患。 而不見脈患之深也。 黑黧不過變其皮膚矣。 脈患至深則絕人性命也。 今聖人導之剸情愛委身世表。 欲其全性命之至本。 以治生死之大病。 所謂治其出世者也。 猶老氏曰。 吾所以有大患者為吾有身。 及吾無身吾有何患矣。 今人不稍謝其能與天下療其大病。 乃輒比世教而譏。 是亦其所見之未達也。 抑又聞凡事造形者則易見。 在理者則難覩。 蓋形之者灼然。 而理之者幽微也。 若今之佛教弘益天下之事甚多。 但其為理幽奧而學者寡能見之。 某雖不足與知今試推其大概者歟。 端以進之　陛下。 冀　陛下垂之以諭天下學者。 則其死生之大幸也。 某聞佛法者大要在人正其心。 其心果正。 則其為道也至為德也盛。 蓋其所說情性辨而真妄審也。 若今　陛下以太和養誠。 以仁恩禮義懷天下。 雖其盛美已効。 苟以佛法正心。 則其為道德益充益茂矣。 經曰。 妙淨明心性一切心。 此之謂也。 昔唐明皇。 初引釋老之徒以無為見性。 遂自清淨從事於熏修。 故開元之間天下大治三十年。 蔚有貞觀之風而天子之壽七十八歲。 享國四十五載。 是庸知非因佛法助其道德如此也歟。 梁武帝。 齋戒修潔過於高僧。 亦享垂五十年。 而江表小康其壽特出於長壽。 此亦佛法助治之驗也。 使唐不溢情梁不過卑。 知人任人。 其為德皆慎始終也。 豈不盡善盡美乎。 然此　陛下素所留意。 其密資　陛下之睿聖者。 乃　陛下自知而自得也。 豈藉芻蕘之言耳。 然此必陳之云云者蓋欲幸　陛下詔以示學者。 使其知佛之法有益於帝王之道德者如此也。 某又聞。 佛之法以興善止惡為其大端。 此又最益　陛下之教化者也。 請試校之。 若今天下國家。 州置庠序邑置學校。 以興起教化者也。 詩書禮義之說習民。 欲其為善日益。 而冀其姦惡不萌於心。 官師者又資以宣政化。 而文儒之昌盛雖三代兩漢無以過也。 然而里巷鄉墅之家其人猶有耳。 未始聞詩書之音。 口不道禮義之詞。 如此者何限。 蓋又習聞佛說為善致福為惡致罪。 罪則通於鬼神。 福則通於生死。 其人下自男女夫婦之愚。 上抵賢哲之倫。 鮮不以此而相化。 克己齋戒縱生而止殺。 或日月年或修其身者。 稱頌佛經。 天下四海之內。 幾徧乎閭里營戍也。 然其間悛心改行。 為仁為慈為孝為廉為恭為順為真為誠。 其意亦不少也。 乃今古耳目之所常接耳脫。 若家至戶到而接之如此者。 恐不啻半天下也。 雖其趨習之端與儒不同至於入善成治。 則與夫詩書禮義所致者何異乎。 所謂最益　陛下之教化者。 此其是也。 唐書曰。 雖其異方之教無損理原。 蓋此之謂也。 抑又聞佛氏之法。 以五戒十善為教導世俗者。 謂五戒修也。 所以成人。 十善修也所以生天。 二端皆不治之而縱心乎。 十惡者不唯不至乎天人。 而後陷其神於負處也。 今天下之人以五戒十善而自修者。 固以多矣。 大凡循善則無惡。 無惡則不煩刑罰。 今以戒善而不煩　陛下之刑法者。 天下豈謂無有益也。 蓋不按而自覺矣。 而天下郡邑其刑有時而省。 其獄有時而空。 庸知其非因陰助而然也。 宋之何尚之謂其君曰。 能行一善則去一惡。 去一惡則息一刑。 一刑息於家萬刑息於國。 則　陛下之言坐致太平是也。 然佛法能與　陛下省其刑獄。 又如此也。 抑又聞佛者其人神靈睿知。 古云大不測人也。 死生變化自若。 而死生不能變化。 蓋其所得之道大妙。 妙乎天地鬼神。 而天地鬼神嘉之。 其為聖人也。 亦與世之所謂聖人異也。 范曄西域論曰。 靈聖之所降集。 賢懿之所挺生。 裵休亦曰。 知佛為大聖人。 其教有不可思議之事。

They merely see that his followers do not engage in worldly affairs, leave their families and flee, cast off their physical bodies, and do not personally produce their clothing and food; regarding this as bizarre and far removed from common custom, they criticize it deeply and sharply. They merely hate freckles and dark spots as an affliction, but do not see that the sickness of the pulse is profound. Dark spots do nothing more than alter the skin; when the sickness of the pulse is extremely profound, it cuts off a person's life. Now, the Sage leads them to sever affection and love, and to entrust their bodies beyond the mundane world, wishing that they preserve the ultimate root of nature and life in order to cure the great disease of birth and death; this is what is called treating that which transcends the world. It is as Laozi said: 'The reason I have great calamity is that I have a body; when I have no body, what calamity do I have?' Nowadays, people do not express the slightest gratitude for its ability to cure this great affliction for the realm; instead, they invariably compare it to worldly teachings and criticize it. This is also because their insight has not penetrated. Moreover, I have heard that in all things, that which takes form is easy to see, while that which lies in principle is difficult to perceive. For what takes form is conspicuous, while what pertains to principle is subtle and obscure. Although the present teachings of the Buddha bring vast benefits to worldly affairs in great abundance, because their principles are profound and mysterious, few scholars are able to see them. Although I am unworthy of understanding them, let me now venture to deduce their broad outlines, presenting them straightforwardly to Your Majesty, in the hope that Your Majesty will deign to impart them to instruct the scholars of the world; that would be the greatest good fortune for life and death. I have heard that the essence of the Buddha's Dharma lies in people rectifying their minds. If one's mind is truly rectified, then its Way is supreme and its virtue is abundant. For in what it expounds, passions and nature are distinguished, and the true and the false are examined. Today, if Your Majesty nurtures sincerity through Great Harmony and embraces the realm with benevolence, grace, ritual, and righteousness, then although Your glorious excellence has already proven efficacious, if You rectify Your mind through the Buddha's Dharma, Your Way and virtue will become ever more full and flourishing. The sutra says: 'The wondrous, pure, and luminous mind natures all minds.' This is what it means. In the past, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang initially enlisted the followers of the Buddha and Laozi to perceive the nature through non-action, and thereupon became pure of himself, engaging in cultivation and perfume; thus, during the Kaiyuan era, the realm was well ordered for thirty years, richly possessed of the style of the Zhenguan reign, and the Son of Heaven lived to the age of seventy-eight, enjoying the state for forty-five years. How could one know that this was not due to the Buddha's Dharma assisting his Way and virtue in this way? Emperor Wu of the Liang kept the fasts and maintained purity surpassing that of eminent monks, and he also enjoyed the throne for nearly fifty years; the Jiangbiao region enjoyed modest prosperity, and his lifespan was exceptionally long. This is also proof of the Buddha's Dharma assisting government. If the Tang emperor had not indulged his passions and the Liang emperor had not become excessively humble, if both had known men and employed them, and had been cautious in their virtue from beginning to end, would they not have been completely good and completely beautiful? Yet these are matters upon which Your Majesty has long set Your mind; that which secretly assists Your Majesty's sagacious wisdom is what Your Majesty knows and attains of Yourself. How could it rely on the words of a mere wood-gatherer? Nevertheless, the reason I must set this forth at length is in the hope that Your Majesty will issue an edict to show it to scholars, so that they may know that the Buddha's Dharma benefits the Way and virtue of sovereigns in this manner. Furthermore, I have heard that the Buddha's Dharma takes the promotion of good and the cessation of evil as its primary principle. This is also what benefits Your Majesty's transformative teachings the most. Please allow me to test and compare them. Today, in our realm and state, prefectures establish schools and districts set up academies in order to arouse transformative teachings. The discourses of the Odes, Documents, ritual, and righteousness are practiced among the people, wishing that their good deeds will increase day by day and hoping that villainy and evil will not sprout in their hearts. Officials and teachers are further relied upon to proclaim government and transformation, and the flourishing of literary scholars cannot be surpassed even by the Three Dynasties or the Two Han Dynasties. Yet in the homes of the village lanes and rural hamlets, there are still people with ears who have never heard the sounds of the Odes and Documents, and with mouths that do not speak the words of ritual and righteousness; how could there be a limit to such people? Furthermore, they are accustomed to hearing what the Buddha taught—that doing good brings about fortune, and doing evil brings about guilt; guilt extends to the ghosts and spirits, while fortune extends through birth and death. From the foolishness of men and women, husbands and wives below, up to the ranks of the worthy and wise above, there are few who are not transformed by this. Restraining themselves, observing the fasts, releasing life, and stopping killing, whether for days, months, or years, or cultivating their bodies, chanting Buddhist sutras—within the four seas of the realm, it pervades almost all the neighborhoods and garrisons. Meanwhile, there are not a few whose hearts have repented and whose conduct has changed, who practice benevolence, compassion, filial piety, incorruptibility, deference, obedience, truthfulness, and sincerity. These are matters that the ears and eyes of both past and present constantly encounter. If one were to visit house to house and door to door and observe them in this way, I fear they would constitute no less than half the realm. Although the starting point of their practice differs from that of the Ruists, as for entering goodness and achieving good order, how does it differ from what is brought about by the Odes, Documents, ritual, and righteousness? What is meant by 'benefiting Your Majesty's transformative teachings the most' is precisely this. The Book of Tang says: 'Although it is a teaching from a foreign land, it does not harm the source of principle.' This is what it means. Moreover, I have heard that the Dharma of the Buddha uses the five precepts and ten good deeds to teach and guide the worldly, meaning that the cultivation of the five precepts is that by which one becomes a human, and the cultivation of the ten good deeds is that by which one is born in heaven. If one does not regulate either of these two and gives free rein to one's mind in the ten evils, not only will one fail to reach the realms of devas and humans, but one's spirit will subsequently sink into fallen places. Today, the people of the realm who cultivate themselves through the five precepts and ten good deeds are already numerous. In general, following good leaves no room for evil; when there is no evil, punishments need not be troubled. Today, because people follow the precepts and virtues so that Your Majesty's penal laws need not be troubled, how could the realm claim there is no benefit? This is realized of itself without investigation. And in the commanderies and districts throughout the realm, punishments are sometimes curtailed and prisons are sometimes emptied; how could one know that this is not due to hidden assistance? He Shangzhi of the Song said to his ruler: 'If one can practice one good deed, then one evil is eliminated; when one evil is eliminated, one punishment is halted. When one punishment is halted in a family, ten thousand punishments are halted in the state. Thus Your Majesty's words about sitting back and bringing about Great Peace are true.' Indeed, that the Buddha's Dharma can reduce punishments and prisons for Your Majesty is also like this. Furthermore, I have heard that the Buddha is a person of spiritual, divine, and sagacious wisdom, whom the ancients called a 'great and fathomless person.' Birth, death, and transformations left him unperturbed, and birth and death could not transform him. This is because the Way he attained was supremely wondrous; it was more wondrous than heaven, earth, ghosts, and spirits, and heaven, earth, ghosts, and spirits praised it. As a sage, he was also different from what the world calls a sage. Fan Ye's Treatise on the Western Regions states: 'The place where the divine and sagacious descend and gather, the place where the worthy and noble are born.' Pei Xiu also said: 'We know that the Buddha is a great sage, and his teaching has inconceivable matters.'