[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [三教平心論](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2117) › 1.25 # 三教平心論 1.25 三教平心論 1.25 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2117.1.25) 愈又曰。古之教者處其一。今之教者處其三。彼時見上古以來惟有儒教。而今之釋教似為贅疣耳。殊不知。釋氏設教非與儒教相背馳。故釋氏化人。亦與儒者無差等。儒者闡詩書禮義之教。而輔之以刑政威福之權。不過欲天下遷善而遠罪耳。然固有賞之而不勸。罰之而不懲。耳提面命而終不率教者。及聞佛說為善有福為惡有罪。則莫不捨惡而趨於善。是佛者之教。亦何殊於儒者之教哉。宋文帝謂何尚之曰。適見顏延之宗炳著論發明佛法。甚為有理。若使率土之濱皆感此化。朕則垂拱坐致太平矣。尚之曰。百家之鄉十人持五戒。則十人淳謹。千室之邑百人修十善。則百人和睦。持此風教以周寰宇。編戶億千則善人百萬。夫能行一善則去一惡。去一惡則息一刑。一刑息于家。萬刑息於國則陛下所謂坐致太平者。是也。唐李節送沙門疏言序曰。釋氏之教。以清淨恬虛為禪定。以柔謙退讓為忍辱。故怨爭可得而息也。以菲薄勤苦為修行。以窮達壽夭為因果。故淺陋可得而安矣。世降俗偷。不有釋氏以化其心。則勇者將奮而思鬪。智者將靜而思謀。阡陌之人將紛然而群起矣。呂夏卿得入師經曰。小人不畏刑獄而畏地獄。若使天下之人事無大小以有因果。不敢自欺其心。無侵陵爭奪之風。則豈不刑措而為極治之世乎。由是觀之。則釋教之有裨於世教也大矣。又何惡於教之三乎。 > Yu further said: 'Ancient teachers occupied one; modern teachers occupy three.' He merely saw that from high antiquity onward there was only Confucianism, and modern Buddhism seemed to be an extraneous wart. Little did he know that the Buddha's establishment of teaching does not run contrary to Confucianism; thus the Buddha's transformation of people is also without difference from that of Confucians. Confucians expound the teaching of the Odes, Documents, rites, and righteousness, supplementing it with the authority of punishments, governance, awe, and blessings; they seek nothing more than for all under heaven to move toward goodness and keep far from crime. Yet there are certainly those who are rewarded without being encouraged, punished without being deterred, and who, though instructed face-to-face and taken by the ear, ultimately do not follow the teaching. When they hear the Buddha teach that doing good brings blessings and doing evil brings retribution, none fail to abandon evil and hasten toward goodness. How is this teaching of the Buddha different from the teaching of the Confucians? Emperor Wen of the Song said to He Shangzhi: 'I have just seen Yan Yanzhi and Zong Bing write treatises explaining the Buddha-Dharma, which are very reasonable. If all within our borders were influenced by this transformation, I could sit with folded hands and effortlessly bring about supreme peace.' Shangzhi said: 'In a township of a hundred households, if ten people uphold the five precepts, then ten people will be pure and cautious; in a city of a thousand households, if a hundred people cultivate the ten wholesome deeds, then a hundred people will be harmonious. If this custom and teaching are spread throughout the realm, among millions of registered households there will be millions of good people. If one can practice one good deed, one eliminates one evil deed; eliminating one evil deed puts an end to one criminal punishment. One punishment ceasing in a household means ten thousand punishments ceasing in the state; this is precisely what Your Majesty calls effortlessly bringing about supreme peace.' Li Jie of the Tang, in his preface to the farewell for the monk Shuyan, said: 'The teaching of the Buddha takes purity, tranquility, and emptiness as meditation, and gentle humility and yielding as patience; therefore grudges and disputes can be put to rest. It takes austerity and diligence as spiritual practice, and poverty, success, longevity, and early death as cause and effect; therefore the lowly can find contentment. When the world declines and customs become degraded, if there were no Buddhism to transform their minds, the brave would fiercely think of fighting, the wise would calmly think of plotting, and the people of the paths and fields would rise up in turmoil in droves.' Lü Xiaqing said in his 'Sūtra on Entering the Teacher': 'Petty men do not fear the criminal prisons, but they fear the hells. If all people under heaven, in matters great and small, believed in cause and effect, dared not deceive their own hearts, and were free from the winds of encroachment, usurpation, and contention, would punishments not be laid aside, creating an era of ultimate good governance?' Viewed from this perspective, Buddhism's contribution to the worldly teaching is grand indeed! Why then harbor resentment against the teachings being three? > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 1.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2117.1.24) - [Next: 1.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2117.1.26) - [Up: 1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2117.1) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2117~en-mt.1.25) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2117.1.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2117.1.25) · Pramāṇa