三教平心論 1.29

1.29

愈又曰。何有去聖人之道捨先王之法。而從夷狄之教以求福利也。觀愈此言。則愈之不識佛也亦甚矣。蓋佛之教人與人之學。佛豈徒在於區區之福利哉。佛以一大事因緣故而出現於世。吾儕亦以一大事因緣故而歸向於佛。佛所讚者依而行之。佛所戒者遵而守之。由權而實由漸而頓。蓋期以識心見性超脫生死而至於佛也。福利云乎哉。故自佛之五乘論之。人乘者謂能持五戒。則其福報可以為人。天乘者謂能修十善則其福報可以生天。斯二乘者以福利言可也。若夫後之三乘。則當以理觀。不可以福言矣。三乘之理固未易言。姑自其粗迹言之。則聲聞圓覺猶不過為止息之地。必至於佛菩薩之地。而後為理之極也。前輩曰。佛者極也。謂天下萬善萬理。至佛而極也。今之學佛者。蓋求以詣其極也。福利云乎哉。朱晦菴之論佛也曰。以其有空寂之說。而不累於物欲也。則世之賢者好之。以其有玄妙之說。而不滯於形器也。則世之智者悅之。以其有生死輪迴之說。而自謂可以不淪於罪苦也。則世之傭奴爨婢黥髠盜賊亦匍匐而歸之。若愈之所謂福利者。正晦菴所謂傭奴爨婢黥髠盜賊亦歸之者也。愈之不識佛也如此而乃果於謗佛。正猶越犬不識雪而吠。蜀犬不識日而吠也哉。

[Han] Yu also said: 'Why cast aside the Way of the sages and abandon the laws of the ancient kings, following the teaching of the barbarians to seek blessings and profit?' Observing these words of [Han] Yu, Yu's failure to understand the Buddha was extreme indeed! When the Buddha teaches people and when people study the Buddha, how could it merely consist in petty blessings and profit? It was on account of the one great causal matter that the Buddha appeared in the world; we too, on account of the one great causal matter, take refuge in the Buddha. What the Buddha praised we rely on and practice; what the Buddha prohibited we honor and uphold. From provisional to real, from gradual to sudden, our goal is to realize the mind and see the nature, transcend birth and death, and attain Buddhahood! How could it be called mere blessings and profit? Thus, discussing it in terms of the Buddha's Five Vehicles: the human vehicle means that if one can uphold the five precepts, their blessed reward allows them to become a human; the heavenly vehicle means that if one can cultivate the ten wholesome deeds, their blessed reward allows them to be born in heaven. For these two vehicles, it is acceptable to speak in terms of blessings and profit. But as for the subsequent three vehicles, they must be viewed through principle and cannot be spoken of in terms of blessings. The principle of the three vehicles is certainly not easy to explain; speaking tentatively from their coarse traces, the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha are still no more than resting places. One must reach the stage of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas before it becomes the ultimate of principle. The elders said: 'The Buddha is the ultimate,' meaning that the myriad goodnesses and myriad principles under heaven reach their ultimate in the Buddha. Those today who study the Buddha seek to arrive at this ultimate! How could it be called mere blessings and profit? When Zhu Huian discussed the Buddha, he said: 'Because it has the doctrine of emptiness and stillness, freeing one from entanglement in material desires, the worthy of the world are fond of it. Because it has the doctrine of the profound and mysterious, not getting bogged down in physical vessels, the wise of the world delight in it. Because it has the doctrine of saṃsāra, leading people to believe they can avoid falling into sin and suffering, the hired servants, kitchen maids, convicts, and bandits of the world also crawl and take refuge in it.' The 'blessings and profit' spoken of by [Han] Yu are precisely what Huian described as that to which 'hired servants, kitchen maids, convicts, and bandits also take refuge.' That Yu's lack of understanding of the Buddha went this far, and yet he was determined to slander the Buddha, is just like the dogs of Yue barking at the snow they do not know, or the dogs of Shu barking at the sun they do not know!