鐔津文集 9.5

9.5

月日沙門某謹北嚮伏揖。獻書于集賢相公閣下。某聞古之聖人立極以統天下。天下謂之至公。夫至公者惟善者與之。惟惡者拒之。與善無彼此治而已矣。拒惡無親疎亂而已矣。是蓋聖人之心也。及其親親尊尊。國有君臣家有父子。必親必疎必近必遠。三綱五常不可奪其序。此乃聖人之教也。夫教貴乎修也。而心貴乎通也。教也者聖人之經制也。心也者聖人之達道也。天下必知達道。始可以論至公。苟不達道（或無達道二字）見聖人之心。雖修教必束教而失乎天下之善道也。某雖固陋其學平生自謂得聖人之心。長欲推此以資乎王公大人之所為道德者。今乃老弊于山谷。白首躘蹱而卒無所遇。慨然太息惟恐其虛與草木偕生偕死而不得稍發之也。方今竊聽。閣下以寬博仁厚之德而宰輔天下。天下論至公之道者。謂適得之於閣下也。某喜且大幸。故不遠數千里進其說發明其所謂平生所得聖人之心者。然非齷齪自喜慕名而榮身耳。誠欲推其教道以導天下之為善也。願幸閣下無忽某佛氏者也。竊患其教於今甚衰其徒不能偕修以振其道。士大夫乃不知其所以然。或議而譏之者紛然。使君子卑之小人疑之。然其法播於諸夏垂千載矣。所更君臣之聖賢者不可勝數。皆尊奉之使與儒並化天下。蓋用大公之道而取之。以其善世有益於生靈毘政治廣教化者也。猶書曰。會其有極歸其有極。又曰為善不同同歸于治。彼非有大合乎。聖人立極之道者。自古聖賢豈存而敬之迄于今日也。不惟聖賢之不存而天下亦厭之久矣。若今天下興起學校。用聖人之所由道德之說習乎諸生。蓋欲其宣傳國家之教化也。雖然其仁義蔚然以敷于天下。而天下之男女夫婦。豈人人盡預乎五常之訓邪。及其聞佛所謂為善有福為惡有罪。損爾身累爾神。閭里胥化而慕善者幾遍四海。苟家至戶到而按之。恐其十有七八焉。前所謂助政治廣教化。此其是也。其法又能與人正心窮神而極化。內益乎聖賢之為道德者。又其至矣。而世之學者奈何不求古之聖賢興善之心。不以至公之道裁而取之者耶。第見其徒混漶不軌其道而遂斥其法。然其徒由在國家正其源流擇其綱紀旌其善者而勸之耳。其法何忝乎。孔子曰。不以人而廢言。此之謂也。伏冀閣下俯為政治教化者主而張之。則天下生靈之幸甚也。抑又聞屋危者不扶則顛。水壅者不疏則潰。聖人之道既微且昧。苟不推而明之亦幾其息矣。某方憂其師法之衰。山中嘗竊著書曰輔教編者。僅三萬餘言。以推原本教白其聖人為教之意。萬一以救其將墜之勢始欲奏之天子。而幽陋疎遠不克上達。又欲進諸閣下。亦又不能通之。既而因人輒嘗布之京國。其意亦欲傳聞於閣下之聽覽。今復一歲而其浮沈不決。而所憂之心如蹈水火。急欲其援。故不避其僭越之誅。乃冐進其所謂輔教編者印本一部三策。幸閣下論道經邦之暇略賜覽之。苟不甚謬可以資閣下留神于吾聖人之道。則某平生之志不為忝也。如閣下之大賢至公拒而委之。則佛氏之法漠然無復有所賴也已矣。今又以嘗著皇極論一篇。寫者一策隨此貢之。是乃少時行道餘暇所為。粗明乎治世聖賢之道也。謹因關主簿投諸下執事。塵浼台明不勝悚懼之至不宣。沙門某謹白。

On the [—] day of the [—] month, the monk So-and-so, bowing respectfully toward the north, presents this letter before the Pavilion of the Chief Councilor of the Academy of Scholarly Worthies. I have heard that when the ancient sages established the ultimate standard to unify the realm, the realm called it perfect impartiality. Now, perfect impartiality consists solely in approving the good and rejecting the bad. In approving the good, there is no distinction of this or that—only order; in rejecting the bad, there is no distinction of close or distant—only the prevention of chaos. This is indeed the heart of the sage. When it comes to treating relatives as relatives and honoring the honorable—having ruler and subject in the state, father and son in the family, with inevitable closeness and distance, intimacy and separation—the three bonds and five constants cannot have their order disrupted. This is the teaching of the sage. Teaching values cultivation, while the mind values free comprehension. Teaching is the sage's institutional regulation; the mind is the sage's pervasive Way. Only when the realm knows the pervasive Way can it begin to discuss perfect impartiality. If one does not comprehend the Way (some texts lack the two characters 'pervasive Way') and see the heart of the sage, then even if one cultivates the teaching, one will inevitably be constrained by it and lose the good Way of the realm. Although crude and narrow, I have throughout my life considered myself to have attained the heart of the sage, and have long wished to extend this to assist in the moral virtue practiced by princes and great men. Yet now I have grown old and infirm in mountain valleys, white-haired and faltering, having in the end met with no opportunity. Sighing deeply in lamentation, I only fear that I shall be born and die in vain alongside the grass and trees without ever giving expression to it. Just now I secretly hear that you, My Lord, govern and assist the realm with broad, benevolent, and generous virtue; those in the realm who discuss the Way of perfect impartiality say that it has found its match in you. I rejoice and count myself exceedingly fortunate; therefore, not considering several thousand miles too far, I advance my arguments to illuminate what I have attained throughout my life regarding the heart of the sage. Yet this is not petty self-satisfaction, seeking fame to glorify oneself; it is truly a desire to extend the Way of his teaching in order to guide the realm toward goodness. I hope that you, My Lord, will not disregard me because I belong to the Buddhists. I secretly lament that his teaching is now severely in decline: its disciples cannot cultivate themselves together to revive its Way, and literati do not understand the reason for this, with some arguing and mocking it in confusion, causing gentlemen to disparage it and petty men to doubt it. Yet this Dharma has been disseminated across China for nearly a thousand years. The sagely and worthy rulers and ministers through whom it has passed are beyond count; all honored and upheld it, allowing it to transform the realm alongside Confucianism. This was because they adopted it with the Way of great impartiality, recognizing that it brings goodness to the world, benefits living beings, assists government, and broadens education. As the *Book of Documents* says: 'Converging on the ultimate standard, returning to the ultimate standard.' And it says: 'Actions of goodness differ, but they agree in leading to good order.' If it did not have a great conformity with the Way by which the sages established the ultimate standard, would the sages and worthies of old have preserved and revered it down to the present day? Not only would the sages and worthies not have preserved it, but the realm would also have long grown weary of it. If schools are now established throughout the realm, and the doctrines of moral virtue originating from the sages are used to instruct students, it is because the state desires to disseminate its education and moral transformation. Nevertheless, although benevolence and righteousness flourish and spread throughout the realm, do the men, women, husbands, and wives of the realm all participate fully in the admonitions of the five constants? Yet when they hear the Buddha's words that doing good brings blessing and doing evil brings retribution—that it harms your body and encumbers your spirit—the neighborhoods are mutually transformed and yearn for goodness almost throughout the four seas. If one were to examine them house to house and door to door, I fear seven or eight out of ten would be thus. This is what was referred to earlier as assisting government and broadening moral education. Furthermore, this Dharma can rectify people's minds, exhaust the spiritual, and consummate transformation; internally, it benefits the moral virtue practiced by sages and worthies, reaching the ultimate. Why then do scholars of this age not seek the heart of ancient sages and worthies in promoting goodness, nor evaluate and adopt it through the Way of perfect impartiality? They merely see that its disciples are disorderly and do not conform to its Way, and thereupon reject its Dharma. Yet as for its disciples, it simply depends on the state rectifying their origins and streams, selecting their leaders, and commending and encouraging the good among them. What disgrace does its Dharma bear? Confucius said: 'Do not discard words because of the person.' This is what it means. I prostratingly hope that you, My Lord, will deign to lead and champion it for the sake of government and moral education; then it will be the great fortune of the living beings of the realm. Furthermore, I have heard that when a house is in danger, if not supported it collapses; when water is dammed up, if not dredged it bursts through. Since the Way of the sages is already faint and obscure, if it is not advanced and illuminated, it will almost cease to exist. Just as I was grieving over the decline of our master's Dharma, while in the mountains I ventured to compose a book called the *Compendium in Support of the Teaching* (*Fujiao bian*), in barely thirty-odd thousand words, to trace the origins of our teaching and make clear the intention of the sage in establishing it, hoping by one chance in ten thousand to rescue it from its impending fall. At first, I wished to present it to the Son of Heaven, but being obscure, crude, and far removed, I was unable to reach the throne. I also wished to present it to you, My Lord, but likewise could not gain access. Subsequently, relying on others, I once distributed it in the capital, with the intention that word of it might reach your ears and sight. Now another year has passed, its fate remains unsettled, and my anxious heart feels as though treading on water and fire, urgently desiring rescue. Therefore, not shrinking from punishment for presumption, I venture to present one set in three volumes of the printed edition of the *Compendium in Support of the Teaching*. I hope that in the leisure of discussing the Way and administering the state, you will deign to cast a glance upon it. If it is not gravely mistaken and can aid you in turning your attention to the Way of our sages, then my lifelong aspiration will not have been in vain. If a great worthy of perfect impartiality such as you, My Lord, rejects and abandons it, then the Dharma of the Buddha will be forlorn, with nothing left to rely upon. Now, I also present alongside this a handwritten volume containing an essay I once wrote, the *Treatise on the Imperial Ultimate* (*Huangji lun*), which was composed in the spare time of practicing the Way during my youth, roughly clarifying the Way of the sages and worthies who governed the world. Respectfully, through the Good Clerk Guan, I present this to your attendants. Having defiled your bright presence, I am overwhelmed with the utmost awe and fear; I do not elaborate. The monk So-and-so respectfully speaks.