鐔津文集 9

English (machine translation) 9

Language: English

9.1

Composed by the Śramaṇa Qisong of Dongshan, Tanjin, Tengzhou

9.2

Second Memorial Submitted to Emperor Renzong

On the [—] day of the twelfth month. The monk So-and-so, subject recipient of the purple robe, of the Yong'an Hermitage at Lingyin Temple in Hangzhou, sincerely risking death, presents this memorial to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. Your subject has heard that those who serve Heaven must base themselves on mountains, and those who serve Earth must base themselves on marshes. When that which one bases oneself upon is high and deep, that which one serves is easily reached. As for Your Majesty's lofty eminence and profound vastness, it surpasses those mountains and marshes ten thousandfold! If someone undertakes their path yet abandons Your Majesty and does not seek it through you, even if they strive diligently for their entire life away from the world, how could they attain their aim? Furthermore, your subject has heard that the Buddhist sūtras say: 'My Dharma has all been entrusted to kings and great ministers.' This precisely means that the flourishing and waning, loosening and tightening of the Buddhist teaching depends upon Your Majesty's luminous sagacity. Such being the case, if disciples of the Buddha wish to accomplish something through their Dharma, how could it be right not to rely on Your Majesty and instead abandon themselves to the weeds? Your subject, though unworthy to be a disciple of the Buddha, truly desires to uphold his Dharma. Now, emerging from mountain caverns, not considering a thousand miles too far, I hold his books in my arms and hasten to the steps of the imperial palace, hoping to be fortunate enough to receive Your Majesty's great bestowal in order to bring my aspiration to fruition. Your subject has always maintained that the teachings bequeathed by the Capable and Benevolent One must take Chan as their core lineage and the Buddha as its ancestor. The ancestor is the great exemplar of his teaching; the lineage is the great continuum of his teaching. If the great continuum is not made clear, then students of the Buddha throughout the realm cannot be united in what they attain. If the great exemplar is not made correct, they cannot verify what they realize. That throughout antiquity and today those of the three trainings compete to surpass one another with what they study is entirely due to the calamity of the core lineage not being made clear and the ancestors not being made correct. Yet it is not that the ancestors and core lineage were originally unclear or incorrect; it is merely that those of later generations who composed texts transmitted them erroneously. Furthermore, later students of the Buddha have been unable to examine thoroughly all the sūtras and treatises to collate and correct them. Thus there are those constrained by the doctrinal teachings who do not know that the Buddha's subtle intent is wonderfully situated beyond words; while those who talk of Chan do not appreciate that what the Buddha expounded is generally visible within the doctrinal teachings. Although belonging to the single class of shaved heads and square robes, they contentiously dispute right and wrong among themselves. How has such a thing ever ceased, from antiquity to the present? Your subject, not knowing his own limitations, has throughout his life secretly wished to deduce and unify this core lineage and its ancestors, so as to quell disputes, resolve doubts for students of the Buddha throughout the realm, and make a hundred generations know that their learning has a unified continuum. While in the mountains, I once made every effort to search the great canon—whether sūtras or records—to collate and verify what is called the Chan lineage and to deduce and rectify who are called the Buddhist ancestors. If a text I examined was indeed erroneous, even if an ancient work, I rejected it without fail; if a text I examined was indeed detailed and accurate, even if an ancient work, I accepted it without fail. Furthermore, where there were errors in the dates and events of the lives of the Buddhist ancestors—such as in works like the Jingde Record of the Transmission of the Lamp—I collated and amended them using the biographies of various authors and continuous chronological tables across successive dynasties. Compiling them into a book of nearly more than one hundred thousand words, I named it the *Record of the True Lineage of the Dharma Transmission* (*Chuanfa zhengzong ji*). In arranging and drawing the portraits of the mutual succession of the Buddhist ancestors, it is called the *Chart Establishing the Ancestors of the True Lineage of the Dharma Transmission* (*Chuanfa zhengzong dingzu tu*). In inferring and reconciling the roots and branches of the core lineage and ancestors, it is called the *Treatise on the True Lineage of the Dharma Transmission* (*Chuanfa zhengzong lun*). In all, there are twelve fascicles. In addition, I painted on Wu silk what is called the *Chart Establishing the Ancestors*, one scroll. In your subject's foolish shallowness, I tell myself that our Buddha bequeathed his teachings barely two thousand years ago; his teachings have covered the central realm for nearly a thousand years; and the Chan lineage has been transmitted in China for barely five hundred years. Yet the events, origins, and ends of these ancestors and this lineage are here made somewhat clear, and may be handed down to supplement one ten-thousandth of the previous sagely teachings and Dharma. It happens that Your Majesty governs the realm with the ultimate Way and compassionate virtue: heaven, earth, and the ten thousand things are peaceful, harmonious, and abundant, and the teachings of Buddhism and Daoism are able to assist and praise the great transformation. Your Majesty has also turned your attention to the joy of Chan, penetrating ever deeper into its subtle Way. Even among ancient emperors through a hundred generations, none has ever fathomed principle and completely realized nature as Your Majesty has. This is also an encounter of a lifetime for disciples of the Buddhist teaching with Your Majesty. It is for this reason that your subject, earnest and sincere, not shrinking from punishment for presumption and transgression, has ventured to present these texts and chart, wishing that by Your Majesty's grace they might be bestowed upon the great canon to be transmitted alongside the sūtras and vinaya. Your subject's ant-like life has already reached its dusk; in the world, I certainly have nothing to await. My humble wish is merely that this teaching and Dharma not dwindle or be obscured, but spread without end, so that people may draw upon it to devote themselves to the Way and do good; then the day of your subject's death will be as a year of life. I do not dare seek by chance to be favored by the rich moisture of Your Majesty's rain and dew. The textual proofs cited therein all stem from the great sūtras and great treatises with the utmost detail. As for the *Treatise on the True Lineage of the Dharma Transmission* and the *Chart Establishing the Ancestors*, if Your Majesty in heavenly and earthly consideration should deign to examine them and grant them a great bestowal, I pray that following the precedent of the *Record of the Transmission of the Lamp of the Jingde Era* and the *Yuying ji*, an imperial decree be handed down to the Institute for the Translation of Sutras to incorporate them into the great canon. That would be the greatest fortune of your subject in life or death; not only your subject's greatest fortune, but also the greatest fortune of the gates of the teaching throughout the realm. If Your Majesty in your sagacious judgment should grant your subject's request, I beg that these twelve fascicles of texts be specially handed down to the Secretariat to be put into effect—the *Record of the True Lineage of the Dharma Transmission* and the *Chart Establishing the Ancestors*, along with one set in three volumes of the printed edition of the *Compendium in Support of the Teaching* (*Fujiao bian*) previously composed by your subject. That book also infers and reconciles the ways of the sages of both teachings, showing that they agree in bringing goodness to the world and benefiting mankind. With reverence I present this writing, presumptuously troubling the imperial crown. Your subject is overwhelmed by the utmost trepidation and anxiety. Your subject, truly fearful and truly terrified, respectfully speaks.

9.4

Letters Presented to Chief Councilor Han (Four letters in total, early and late)

9.5

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.

9.6

Second Letter Presented to Chief Councilor Han

9.7

On the [blank] day of the [blank] month, the śramaṇa [Qisong] respectfully bows with hands clasped, offering this letter to the Chancellor of Zhaowen Pavilion, beneath his seat. I am a recluse of the woods and mountain retreats who has heard that your Excellency administers the realm with supreme impartiality, promoting goodness in others, vast and encompassing all without exception. For this reason, in a past year I once sent my book, titled *Fujiao pian*, through Registrar Guan Jingren to your subordinates. Now I have come hastening westward in person, carrying my writings, wishing to present them to the Son of Heaven. Having arrived at the capital more than a month ago, I truly wished first to see you, great gentleman, hoping you would instruct me on the propriety of whether to proceed or withdraw, whether it was permissible or not. Furthermore, I wondered whether Registrar Guan’s letter had floated [away] or sunk [without trace], and whether it had ever truly reached your hearing and sight. Depressed, I remained unable to decide for a long time. Had I abruptly advanced, I feared your Excellency would not know the intention behind my coming and would think I had some personal request; yet had I not advanced, the matter would have lingered in delay. Therefore I write of my intentions again, hoping that by one chance in ten thousand your Excellency might examine them in some detail. In emerging from the mountains, my wish was merely to offer up the more than one hundred thousand words I have written; this book rectifies the deficiencies in the Dharma teachings and rectifies [the lineage of] the patriarchs and ancestors of our Buddhist tradition, relying on the Son of Heaven to bestow it among the canon of scriptures, so as to quiet the doubts and contentions of those who study Buddhism and let a hundred generations know its legitimate line. My intention went no further than this. It was not to imitate those others who seek their own selfish fortune of personal fame and pursue private ends. If your Excellency does not deem it wrong and deigns to summon and converse with me, then the purpose of my coming will be fulfilled. Not only will my aspiration be fulfilled, but I also expect it may offer some aid to your Excellency's ultimate grasp of the true depths of nature and destiny. How could it merely aid your discourse on nature and destiny? It might also somewhat supplement the methods of sagely governance and imperial sovereignty wielded by your Excellency. Having encroached upon the majesty of the Grand Chancellor, my guilt has nowhere to hide. Not elaborating further, [Qisong] respectfully states.

9.8

Letter Presented Again to Chancellor Han

9.9

On the [blank] day of the [blank] month, the śramaṇa [Qisong] respectfully bows with hands clasped, once again offering this letter to the Chancellor of Zhaowen Pavilion, beneath his seat. Recently, I came westward carrying my writings to present them to the Son of Heaven, truly because your Excellency directs the state with supreme impartiality and complete goodness of mind. In the days when I was hastening westward, I was anxious only that I might arrive too late. When I was fortunate enough to see you, your Excellency received me warmly with courtesy. Afterward, the memorial and writings were submitted to the government, and your Excellency praised them face-to-face, comparing them specifically to the brush of historians. At such great fortune, I thought the diligence of my lifelong practice of goodness had indeed encountered its moment and found its manifestation! Furthermore, I subsequently heard that your Excellency praised the writings even more among the dignitaries in the Institutes and Academies, so that among the scholar-officials who heard it, some said, 'The Grand Chancellor is truly impartial and promotes goodness in others! A person such as [Qisong] is merely someone of an outside teaching from beyond the realm; his way is only slightly worth looking at, yet the Chancellor specially praises him to the court dignitaries. In this way, scholars of the empire ought to worry only that their devotion to the Way is not single-minded; why should they worry that the court will fail to honour the worthy?' Yet, in addition to studying Buddhism, I have only roughly engaged in brush and ink, wishing to express my original teaching. How could I have lofty writing or far-reaching insight that would be worthy of the praise of an eminent chancellor and great worthy? This may be called a great fortune and a great shame. Nevertheless, the grace I received from your Excellency was not small, and my humble wish was not unfulfilled. I certainly ought to have turned back promptly to the mountain forests. That I still linger in the capital and have not departed immediately is because the purpose of my coming has not yet been fully accomplished and brought to fruition, and having received your Excellency's honourable command to stay, I dare not avoid the punishment for presumption, but instead present further words to your Excellency's attendants. I hope your Excellency will consider this with forbearance. In writing and investigating books in the mountain forests, I have examined no fewer than several thousand fascicles of internal and external scriptures and texts. Accumulating several decades of work, I have also considerably exhausted my spirit and body. And my carrying them from a thousand miles away to submit them in a memorial was not done, like others, to seek selfish profit or pursue personal gain. In truth, I was troubled that the ancestral lineage of the fundamental teaching was unclear, and that students of Buddhism past and present, failing to see the great lineage, vied with one another in vain, drastically departing from the intention of our ancient sages. Therefore, with earnest and sincere devotion, I devoted myself to rectifying it, relying upon the imperial court to place it into the canon, establishing a magnificent event for Buddhism for a hundred generations, so that students might follow it as a definitive standard, and also wishing to dedicate my humble self, as a disciple of the Buddha, to doing this small good. When I departed from the mountains, the elders of my Dharma companions all regarded my understanding of the mind as serving the Dharma, and every one of them prayed, wishing that I would accomplish this matter and return. Now that the book has been memorialised, I have awaited the imperial command for more than sixty days without hearing anything. In my heart, I am quite doubtful: could it be that the book still contains errors and is not worthy of being adopted by the great worthy? Or is your Excellency occupied with the weighty affairs of state and has not yet had leisure to assess its rights and wrongs? The metropolis is vast and dusty; a long stay wears one down with its worldly bustle. If I shake my robe and return to the forests while my original aspiration remains unfulfilled, I fear only that I will betray the prayers of my Dharma companions. Not only would I betray their prayers, but I also fear that what I have maintained throughout my life will prove ineffective, and that the ancestral lineage of the Dharma will never be rectified for ten thousand generations. For this reason, I all the more hope for your Excellency’s great kindness, to consider again that I act for the Dharma and not for myself, for the Way and not for fame, for the rectification of the teaching for ten thousand generations and not for my own sake to seek the temporary grace of the state. The divine beings above truly hear these words! Furthermore, I have heard that the Buddhadharma is spiritually wondrous and unfathomable; it inherently connects to Heaven, Earth, and the divine beings, and its supreme conditions are wondrous and boundless. What is now called its lineage is the great foundation of the teaching; what are called its patriarchs are the great models of the Dharma. Now the Son of Heaven is sagely and bright, and your Excellency is worthy, wise, impartial, and just. If the patriarchs and lineage of the Buddhadharma can be judged and settled under your Excellency's administration, so that later generations of Buddhist students look up and believe, saying, 'Under the Great Song, the Son of Heaven and Chancellor Lord Han once judged and settled it,' then the followers of the three learnings will not dare cause mutual disorder, and the Buddhadharma will shine even brighter. If Heaven, Earth, and the divine beings truly offer secret aid, would not the great blessings and supreme conditions return to the Son of Heaven and your Excellency? I have been favoured with your Excellency’s kind affection and praise as mentioned above. Therefore, I hope your Excellency will carry through your great favour from beginning to end, causing it to be implemented swiftly so that jealous and envious people cannot give rise to perverse debate at will, thereby fulfilling my humble lifelong aspiration and allowing me to return east to the mountain forests by the spring waters—this would be my greatest fortune! I will surely steel my sincere dedication and exhaust my thoughts in practicing the Way to repay your Excellency's virtuous favour, respectfully awaiting the auspicious command day and night. Not elaborating further, [Qisong] nervously and respectfully states.

9.10

Another Letter Presented to Chancellor Han (This was sent after returning east)

9.11

On the [blank] day of the [blank] month, the śramaṇa [Qisong] respectfully gazes north and bows with hands clasped, offering this letter to the Chancellor of Zhaowen Pavilion, beneath his seat. In the past, through the good fortune of the imperial court, my Chan writings were bestowed into the secret canon to serve as the teaching of the Buddhadharma, shining brightly for ten thousand generations; its followers throughout the empire all rejoiced and celebrated. This was entirely shaped and brought to completion by your Excellency, who moreover praised its writing and spread it among worthy scholar-officials, so that today there is no one in the empire who does not know the depth to which I was favoured by your recognition, the abundance of the benefits I received from you, and how greatly you added lustre to the mountain forests! In ordinary days I wished to present a word to repay your Excellency's virtue, but could not do so; now, presenting my writings through your subordinates merely fulfills that longstanding aspiration. Your Excellency's meritorious achievements in assisting the ruler surpass those of all past and present, precisely because your Excellency skillfully employs the Way of Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, King Wen, King Wu, the Duke of Zhou, Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi. Now someone has written a book that is incisive, profound, and clear, explicating the Way of those ten sages and worthies to rectify order and disorder in the world; fathoming the depths and investigating the subtle, he considers himself not inferior to the writings of Jia Yi and Dong Zhongshu. This might assist your Excellency’s grand talent and far-reaching vision by one or two parts in ten thousand. I humbly reflect that I wander freely beyond the world, and my traces are different from the ordinary; whenever I wrote books, I feared that worldly people in their ignorance would become jealous and neglect them, and therefore I kept them secret, calling myself Qianzi, not daring to make my name known. Now your Excellency is supremely impartial and promotes goodness in the people of the empire, drawing no boundaries between the refined and the rustic, the prominent and the hidden, so that the empire submits to you. Therefore, not considering a thousand miles too far, I sent my book to present it to you. If there is something worthy of notice and its arguments are not false, should it by one chance in ten thousand truly provide assistance, then I would slightly repay your Excellency's fine virtue and be able to demonstrate my slight efficacy. Drifting along the rivers and lakes, reserved and upright, standing alone, I do not fit with the worldly; those who pity me and those who blame me are half and half. If your Excellency should bestow a single word to praise and promote it, this would further console what I have preserved throughout my life and be a great favour adding lustre to my solitary seclusion. Looking up, I sully your exalted command and presume upon your ministerial brilliance. My guilt has nowhere to hide. Not elaborating further, [Qisong] respectfully states.

9.12

Letter Presented to Chancellor Fu

9.13

On [such] a month and [such] a day, the śramaṇa [Qisong] respectfully bows prostrate facing north, offering this letter to the Chancellor of the Zhaowen [Hall], His Excellency. I have heard that in antiquity there was a rustic peasant who offered water-celery as a fine delicacy, and another who offered the multiplication table to his ruler. Now, eating celery and the multiplication table are lowly matters; how could they be sufficient to benefit lords and princes? Yet their intentions were devoted to doing good for their ruler. It happens that I have come from a thousand li away to present my discourse before our Lord Chancellor; truly, it is no different from the eating of celery and the multiplication table. May Your Excellency also examine my intention and resolve without overlooking them. I belong to the Buddhist school. The endeavor of its Dharma can rectify the mind for people, wash away their troubles and disorders, uphold the root, and tranquilize the interior. I now wish to offer this in the leisure of Your Excellency’s discussing the Way and governing the state, so that in cleanliness and quietude you may nourish the wellspring of your perspicacity and bring peace to your ultimate nature. What is called 'rectifying the mind' is not what the world calls upright; rather, it is what is transcendent, pure, and supremely upright outside worldly affairs. When the mind is supremely upright, the spirit is luminous; when the spirit is luminous, the qi is harmonious; when the qi is harmonious, the bodily form is tranquil and compliant. When one regulates the person with these four, the mind is even more well-governed. The Grand Historian said: 'If one does not first settle one’s spirit, yet claims, "I have the means to govern the realm," whence could that arise?' These words come close to it. Furthermore, its Way can trace the origins and anticipate the ends for living beings, show the coming and going of their spiritual awareness, root what causes the myriad phenomena, and determine what results from karmic retribution. Yet this is even more profound and far-reaching. Your Excellency is a great worthy of eminent discernment; could you say that this is indeed worthy of your focused attention? If contemporary Confucians say, 'As for the teachings on nature and destiny, our Doctrine of the Mean possesses them,' and Daoists say, 'Our Daodejing possesses them; why must one speak of the Buddha?' they cling petty-mindedly to their own views. Yet the Buddha is also what is called a sage. It is natural that there are degrees of gradual and deep, near and far; how can they be spoken of uniformly? I beg to explain it in detail for Your Excellency. The Doctrine of the Mean marks the beginning of the sage’s work with nature and destiny. The Daodejing indicates the sage’s profundity regarding nature and destiny. Our Way is the sage’s complete and consummate exhaustion of nature and destiny. In marking the beginning, the sage wished people to know nature and destiny. In indicating the profundity, the sage wished people to reach nature and destiny. In the consummate perfection, the sage wished people to exhaust their nature and destiny, converging with heaven, earth, the myriad things, and the transformations of past and present, wherein none is not wondrously joined to nature and destiny. However, in making people behold the truth of the Way, exhaust the root of transformation, awaken to external objects as illusory, and rest their weary and exhausted spirits, the Buddhist Way is especially efficacious. Its Way is vast, and its discourses are boundless; therefore, scholars of the world follow along with them superficially and dismiss them, failing to probe its essentials. Alas, those who study the Way are not discerning! In the past, Minister of Education Yang Wan of the Tang was celebrated as a worthy chancellor; he once composed the Biography of Master Wang Kai using this [teaching] to propagate it throughout the empire, because he understood the essential unity of its Way. Today, Your Excellency’s virtue, character, and capacity as a assisting minister far exceed Lord Yang’s. If you do not deem the Buddha meaningless but slightly draw upon him, it will indeed be the good fortune of the empire. Furthermore, this Way can cause people to discard evil and perform good. Today the empire harmoniously encourages this alongside Confucianism. This not only inwardly benefits the morality of sages and worthies, but will also outwardly assist the state’s moral transformation. This again deserves Your Excellency’s attention. At present, this teaching is greatly in decline; its followers are indiscriminate, and those who revile and disparage it are numerous. I privately worry that its Way will henceforth dwindle and cease. If a lamp’s wick is not maintained, its flame and light will immediately be extinguished. If mountain streams, brooks, rivers, and streams are not dredged, their source and flow will immediately be cut off. The teaching and Way of the sages are also like this: if not supported and rescued, they will perish. Thus I have privately composed a book called the Compilation Assisting the Teaching (Fujiao bian) to elucidate and uphold this Way, totaling more than thirty thousand characters. At first, I wished to memorialize it to the Son of Heaven, but my meager sincerity could not reach the throne. I also wished to present it to Your Excellency, but was unable to gain access. Afterward, relying on others, I temporarily circulated it in the capital, also intending that word of it might reach Your Excellency’s ears and view. More than a year passed, drifting and unsettled; the anxiety in my heart was like being in fire and water, suddenly longing for rescue to fulfill my lifelong aspiration. Thus, not shrinking from the punishment for presumption, I have rashly defiled the august presence of the Grand Chancellor with this book. If, by some fortune, Your Excellency takes pity on my diligent labor for the teaching and the Way—it is not that I would dare, like the common run of men, to fussily seek glory for my own person and reputation. I respectfully present one set of three printed fascicles of the Compilation Assisting the Teaching that I composed, as well as one handwritten copy of the Treatise on the Imperial Ultimate (Huangji lun). This treatise was drafted during leisure hours when practicing the Way in my youth; though its wording is shallow and vulgar, it roughly clarifies the methods of sages and worthies for governing the world. I humbly entrust it to Director Guan to present to the attendants. Unable to bear my extreme trepidation and reverence as I look up toward Your Excellency’s compassion, I say no more. [I], so-and-so, respectfully state [this].

9.14

Letter Presented to Academician Zhang

9.15

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].

9.16

Letter Presented to Bureau Director Tian

9.17

On [such] a month and [such] a day, the śramaṇa [Qisong] respectfully composes this letter, sent and offered to the Vice Minister of the Bureau of Military Affairs, His Excellency. I am a recluse beyond the world; how could it be fitting that I dare to make requests of the sages and worthies of the court with my book? Yet, worrying that our Way is about to be destroyed, one must protect one's original teaching; how could I rigidly cling to what I keep without understanding changing circumstances? Sages and worthies of the court are those upon whom the loss or gain of our Way depends. If I do not go to explain it, our Sage’s Dharma will almost be discarded and extinguished. This is also the intention of what the sutra calls entrusting the Buddha Dharma to kings and great ministers. Fortunately, Your Excellency in your benevolence and discernment may pity that my concern lies in the Way and Dharma rather than personal fame, pardon the crime of my presumption, and adopt my discourse slightly; this will not only be my good fortune, but also the glory of this teaching and Way. Not only the glory of this teaching and Way, but also the great fortune of living beings throughout the realm! I have seen that contemporary men of letters reject Buddhism with particular severity. This is also because gentlemen of the world do not look into its profound principles, do not investigate its far-reaching essence, and do not examine its proven efficacy in benefiting the empire and bringing vast aid; merely observing with their own eyes its superficial matters that differ from Confucianism, they immediately criticize it. The Buddhist teachings have spread throughout the Huaxia lands for nearly a thousand years. Transforming the whole realm, it has indeed flourished! It must possess great unseen merit and hidden virtue, matching heaven and earth, communicating with the spiritual powers, benefiting moral transformation, and improving customs; otherwise, heaven would have detested it and people hated it long ago. I deeply fear that critics will not cease, and the younger generation, failing to understand, will increasingly study and imitate them. This will not only impair the great Way of the sages, but also thwart the intention to do good throughout the world, diminishing the assistance to the state’s moral transformation. Therefore, exerting myself in my ignorance, I have composed a book to elucidate what our Buddha taught, wishing to instruct and encourage worthy gentlemen of the world. Yet looking at myself, I feel deficient; my power is insufficient and my words carry no credit. If I do not rely on the sages and worthies of the court, who possess lofty and luminous influence, who have heaven-reaching insight and capacity, and who thoroughly penetrate the profound principles and far-reaching essence of the sages, how could this book be propagated? It happens that the people of Wu have just completed printing the book I composed, entitled Compilation Assisting the Teaching (Fujiao bian). Across a thousand li, I dare to look from afar and cast myself at Your Excellency’s gate. I humbly reflect that Your Excellency, with lofty talent and broad learning, ascended to the highest imperial examinations; with fine virtue and renowned ability, you gloriously hold office in the Western Bureau. Splendidly, you bear the hopes of the empire for a chancellor; moreover, you possess profound understanding and far-reaching vision, penetrating the true mysteries of the sages' nature and destiny. It is indeed fitting that Buddhists rely on you with their Dharma. If, in spite of my meager writings, you deign to bestow a great favor by propagating them among the worthy gentlemen of the court, it would be my greatest fortune through ten million lives and deaths; and moreover, our Buddha's entrustment of the Dharma will appropriately find its reliance. The presented books, ten sets totaling thirty sealed volumes, are respectfully submitted to your attendants through Senior Erudite Cui. Having defiled Your Excellency’s august presence, I am overwhelmed with fear and trepidation. I say no more. [I], so-and-so, respectfully state [this].

9.18

Letter Presented to Participant in Determining Governmental Matters Zeng

9.19

On [such] month and day, the śramaṇa [Qisong] respectfully composes this letter and sends it as an offering to Your Excellency, the Vice Grand Councillor and Supervising Secretary. I have heard that Buddhism has always been tied to statecraft and concerned with moral transformation. If someone wishes to adjust what should be reduced or augmented in its teachings, or to rescue its doctrine from decline and erosion, yet does not appeal to those who oversee moral transformation and direct governance, then even if that person exhausts heart and mind, earnestly toiling away among mountain crags until old age and death, they will surely never achieve their aim. Today, those who oversee moral transformation and direct governance in the realm are only the Son of Heaven, the Chief Councilors, and Your Excellency who participates in the great affairs of state—sagely rulers and worthy ministers. Therefore, not considering a thousand li too far, I have made use of an intermediary to present my book to Your Excellency, for indeed my intent lies in the Way of the teachings. I humbly reflect that Your Excellency takes great public interest to heart and draws upon manifold virtues to govern; you do not overlook someone obscure and lowly, nor dismiss words that might seem wild and unfounded, but deign to lend an ear and listen. This is not merely the good fortune of this humble person, but it will also increase the brilliance of the Western Sage's Way. I have often held that Buddhism's benefit to the world is truly vast, all-encompassing, and complete. When applied to good people, it makes them even better; when applied to bad people, it turns them toward good. Where the exhortations of our worldly teachings throughout history have failed to reach, and where the prohibitions of penal laws could not restrain—such as hidden schemes and inner deceit—even the simplest folk, upon hearing what I describe as 'good brings blessings and evil brings guilt', will seldom fail to diminish evil and move toward good. If one were to verify this from household to household, I fear that eight or nine out of ten would be thus throughout the realm. In later generations, as customs grew increasingly flimsy, turmoil nevertheless lessened; who can say this was not due to Buddhism's unseen assistance? Thus the Tang History says: 'Though it is termed a foreign teaching, it does not harm the source of good governance.' This is precisely what was earlier meant by being concerned with moral transformation. Moreover, those throughout antiquity and the present who have brought peace to their inborn nature through its Way, understood the operations of the spirits, and cultivated themselves and governed their minds so as to penetrate the sage's supreme virtue and supreme Way are exceedingly many! Nowadays, polemicists use their writings to attack Buddhism, asserting that it is of no benefit to governing the world. This is merely because the gentlemen of our age do not perceive its profound principles, do not reach its far-ranging substance, and fail to see why Buddhism is as it is. In my foolishness, I worry about this, fearing that if the polemicists do not stop, youths and latecomers will emulate them. Not only will this undermine the assistance rendered to the realm's moral transformation, but it will also harm the protection afforded by unseen virtue. Living in the mountains, I have privately composed a book to elucidate the essential purport of the Buddha's Dharma, intending to admonish and encourage students. Yet considering that I am hidden, solitary, and lack worldly influence, I would ultimately be unable to carry through this undertaking and circulate the book across the realm. Without a gentleman of lofty brilliance, exceptional insight, and grand elegance who rises above the ordinary, this aspiration cannot be brought to fruition. Hence I ventured to hope that Your Excellency, sharing an appreciation for this Way, might commend it to sagely and worthy figures and disseminate it among noble men. Furthermore, I consider that Buddhism's presence in the world—the relaxing or tightening of its rules, the increase or decrease of its followers—depends entirely on the measures enacted by the imperial court; this is precisely what I previously referred to as being tied to statecraft. Now, presenting arguments to balance what should be augmented or decreased directly to Your Excellency's gate is indeed most appropriate. Your Excellency possesses lofty talent and weighty virtue, looked up to by the entire realm; your broad benevolence and great clarity are revered by all at court. If you would recognize that I worry for the Way rather than for myself, that I act for the Dharma and not for personal fame, and thus pity my intent, accept my book, and promote and spread it so that the world may understand the purpose of the Buddha's teachings—allowing gentlemen to draw upon it to expand their goodness, and petty men to draw upon it to reform their wrongdoing—this would not only be my great fortune, but the supreme good fortune of all living beings under Heaven! My book, titled Fujiao bian, is wrapped in one set comprising three volumes. I respectfully submit it through Erudite Cui to be delivered to your attendants. Having defiled your august kindness, I am overwhelmed with shame and fear beyond measure. Respectfully submitted.

9.20

Letter Submitted to Hanlin Academician Zhao

9.21

On [such] month and day, the śramaṇa [Qisong] respectfully composes this letter and sends it as an offering to Your Excellency, the Hanlin Academician of the Hundred Offices. I have heard that when our Buddha in ancient times entrusted his Dharma to kings and ministers, his true intent was to rely on the power of rulers and ministers to correct what should be decreased or augmented. Therefore, sagely rulers and worthy ministers are what our Way has relied upon for myriad generations. If latter-day followers, worrying for its Dharma and seeking to rescue it from decay, wish to take action, they cannot forgo the sagely and worthy figures of the imperial court. The reason that I, without regarding a thousand li as too far, have brought my book to petition at Your Excellency's gate is precisely because of my concern for the Dharma. I humbly reflect that Your Excellency possesses far-reaching magnanimity in your virtue and great integrity in serving the court; through your literary skill you stand as the exemplar among court officials, while your proximate position and distinguished rank allow you daily communion with the Son of Heaven's glorious favor. Furthermore, you pay special heed to Buddhist principles and diligently explore the subtle marvels of the sage's nature and destiny. Thus, it is all the more fitting that followers of the Buddha turn to you for their Way. I have often observed that today's Confucians do not realize the Buddha was a great sage whose Way and virtue greatly benefit all living beings in the realm, and whose teachings provide immense assistance to the state's moral transformation. Nowadays, the realm follows the prevailing fashion of vying to write books criticizing it. I have therefore secretly worried that such critics not only discourage people from doing good, but also damage their own unseen virtue. Hence I ventured to compose a book titled Fujiao bian to illuminate the Buddha's Way, desiring to admonish and encourage the world's gentlemen. Yet reflecting that I am deeply secluded and cast far away, lacking the strength to single-handedly revive it, I could only sigh through the night. Thus braving the punishment for presumption, I dare rely on Your Excellency's lofty brilliance to make this book known and transmitted among sagely, worthy gentlemen. If even one in ten thousand should have a change of heart, recognize the Buddha, understand the underlying reasons for his teachings, expand their goodness, and avoid harming their unseen virtue, this would indeed be an avenue for a benevolent and worthy man to exert his mind. For this auspicious affinity, I shall through lifetime after lifetime accompany Your Excellency; the spirits of heaven and earth truly bear witness to these words. If Your Excellency does not overlook this and deigns to give it a little of your esteemed attention, it will be my boundless good fortune. A printed copy of Fujiao bian, in one set of three volumes, together with this letter, is presented through Erudite Cui to your attendants. Having presumptuously disturbed your august kindness, I cannot bear my profound trepidation. Respectfully submitted.

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鐔津文集 — Classical Chinese