鐔津文集 9.15

9.15

月日沙門某謹撰書。寄獻于省主端明侍郎閣下。某以幽鄙無狀。幸閣下憫念其來久矣。昔者嘗以弊文因故侍郎郎公。輒塵聽覽而辱之褒曰。不惟空宗通。亦乃文格高。故忝此大賜。感之懷之。迨今八載矣。自謂委于深山窮谷。雖欲一接大君子之威儀。固不可得也。然而每欲建一善事推一善言。報閣下恤念之盛德。以廣閣下興善之勝緣充然。故嘗存之于心。近者竊著其廣原教。次為三帙曰輔教編。吳人模印務欲傳之。敢以幸於閣下執事者。以畢其區區之志。然其書大抵世儒不知佛為大聖人。其道大濟天下生靈。其法陰資國家教化。特欲諭其疑者。解其譏者而所以作也。然吾佛常以其法付諸國王大臣。而聖君賢臣者。蓋吾教損益之所繫也。今欲救其法之衰微扶其教之不振。乃以其說而求于閣下。又其宜矣。伏惟閣下以高才大學冠首賢科。以重德能名為朝純臣。藹藹然負天下台輔之望。而益有深知遠識不局世教。超然特留意佛教妙理。探索其聖人性命之真奧。此又宜佛氏者以其道而倚賴也。閣下仁明儻念其憂道不憂身。為法不為名。寬其僭越之誅。以其書稱於聖賢傳於君子。得天下不沮其為善之心。國家不失其教化之助。不直某之幸也。亦吾佛之法得其所傳也（傳或寄字）輔教編一部三冊。謹因崔太博。輒通呈於左右。干黷台慈。不任皇恐之至。不宣。某謹白。

On [such] a month and [such] a day, the śramaṇa [Qisong] respectfully composes this letter, sent and offered to the Head of the Department, Academician and Vice Minister, His Excellency. As I am an obscure and uncouth person of no account, it is fortunate that Your Excellency has pitied and cared for me for a long time. In the past, through the late Vice Minister Lord Lang, I once rashly brought my poor writings to your attention, and you condescended to praise them, saying: 'Not only is he versed in the Emptiness school, but his literary style is also lofty.' Having presumed to receive this great boon, I have felt grateful and cherished it for eight years now. I thought to myself that since I am sequestered in deep mountains and desolate valleys, even if I wished to meet the imposing presence of a great gentleman, it would certainly be impossible. However, whenever I wished to establish a good deed or promote a good word to repay Your Excellency’s abundant virtue of compassion, so as to amplify Your Excellency’s auspicious conditions for promoting good to the fullest, I have constantly harbored this in my heart. Recently, I composed the Guang yuanjiao, which was arranged in three fascicles entitled the Compilation Assisting the Teaching (Fujiao bian). People of Wu carved the printing blocks, striving to propagate it. I dare to take this opportunity to approach Your Excellency’s attendants to fulfill my modest wish. In general, this book was written specifically because worldly Confucians do not realize that the Buddha is a great sage whose Way greatly aids living beings throughout the realm and whose teachings secretly assist the moral instruction of the state; thus it was made to instruct those in doubt and resolve their derision. Furthermore, our Buddha constantly entrusted his Dharma to kings and great ministers; and sage rulers and worthy officials are indeed that on which the loss or gain of our teaching depends. Now, wishing to rescue this Dharma from its decline and uphold this teaching from its stagnation, I have sought Your Excellency with this discourse, which is indeed fitting. I humbly reflect that Your Excellency, with lofty talent and great learning, placed first in the worthy examinations; with weighty virtue and renowned ability, you serve as a pure minister of the court. Resplendent, you bear the hopes of the realm for a grand chancellor, and moreover possess profound understanding and far-reaching vision without being confined by worldly teachings. Loftily transcendent, you have paid special attention to the wondrous principles of Buddhism, probing the true mysteries of the sages' nature and destiny. It is fitting that Buddhists should rely upon you with their Way. If Your Excellency in your benevolence and discernment considers that my worry is for the Way and not for my person, and that I act for the Dharma and not for fame, and pardons the penalty for my presumption, using this book to praise it before sages and worthies and propagate it among gentlemen, so that throughout the realm the mind to do good is not thwarted and the state does not lose the assistance to its moral education, then this will not merely be my good fortune, but our Buddha’s Dharma will also find that to which it is transmitted (or, 'entrusted'). Respectfully, through Senior Erudite Cui, I present one set of three fascicles of the Compilation Assisting the Teaching to your attendants. Having presumptuously disturbed Your Excellency’s compassion, I am overwhelmed with fear and trepidation. I say no more. [I], so-and-so, respectfully state [this].