三教平心論 2.4

2.4

[Han] Yu also said: "Although your subject is utterly foolish, he certainly knows that Your Majesty is not deluded by the Buddha." He also said: "Have it guarded and escorted out of the border, so as not to allow it to delude the masses." This meant that Emperor Xianzong was deluded by the Buddha and thereby went on to delude the masses. How exceedingly thoughtless Han Yu was! Confucius said: "The wise are not deluded." This means that in the world, those who can be deluded are all fools. The wise are both enlightened and discerning, clearly seeing right from wrong; in whatever they do, they must truly see that its principle is tenable before they act. They are resolutely not deluded by external things. Therefore, when a foolish person reveres the Buddha, it may be said to be delusion; when an enlightened sovereign reveres the Buddha, it cannot be called delusion. As for Xianzong, his intelligence and decisiveness were endowed by his nature; was he a fool? Was he someone easily deluded? It was not Xianzong alone who was like this. Among sovereigns of the Tang dynasty, none since the Han had the brilliance and martial valor of Taizong. Yet his devout faith in Buddhism was consistent from beginning to end. Look at his founding of Hongfu Monastery: he said, "It is solely to pursue blessings for Empress Dowager Chongmu"; as he spoke, tears fell, and he composed the prayer with his own hand, referring to himself as "the Emperor, a disciple of the bodhisattva precepts." When Master Xuanzang translated the sūtras, he wrote a preface for him, titling it *Imperial Preface to the Tripiṭaka Holy Teaching*. Reading the *Bodhisattvapiṭaka Sūtra* and delighting in its subtle and profound purport, he decreed that the Crown Prince write a preface to the *Bodhisattvapiṭaka Sūtra*. When Yu Shinan died, and Taizong dreamed that he presented straightforward advice as he had in life, he at once held a vegetarian feast for monks and made images at his home to aid his posthumous blessings. Mindful that since the raising of the righteous troops those who had fallen in the ranks were beyond count, he founded monasteries everywhere for the righteous soldiers and violent rebels alike. After enjoying peace, mindful of the more than one thousand men executed by his own hand who did not live to see it, he donated imperial robes to monks to seek their salvation. Taizong's intelligence far surpassed that of Xianzong, and Taizong's devotion to the Buddha went far beyond Xianzong's mere reception of the bone. Could he have been deluded by the Buddha? If Taizong were truly foolish and deluded, why did the ministers of that time—Fang, Du, Wang, and Wei, who spoke straightforwardly without concealment—fail to remonstrate against his reverence for the Buddha? Not only did they not remonstrate against his reverence for the Buddha, but Duke Liang, Fang Xuanling, joined in commanding Xuanzang to translate sūtras, and Duke Lai, Du Ruhui, revered Xuanwan of Jingzhao for the Dharma. In their reverence and devotion, sovereign and ministers shared a single virtue. Nor was it only the two dukes Fang and Du. Song Jing was the foremost in unyielding integrity in the Tang dynasty, yet he took Tanyi as his master in the Buddha-Dharma. Duke Jin, Pei [Du], on whose person rested the safety of the empire, paid the respects of a disciple to Fachan of Jingshan. Among those who embraced great integrity and loyalty to the state, unswerving unto death, who was like Duke Lu, Yan [Zhenqing]? Yet as a recipient of the precepts he called himself a disciple before Huiming of Huzhou, and inquired into the Way with Yanjun of Jiangxi. Among those who made light of fame and gain, cared little for worldly trappings, and were purely filial and upright, who was like Yuan Lushan? For his mother's death, he pricked his blood to write several thousand words of Buddhist sūtras. As for Zhang Yue writing a preface to the *Heart Sūtra*, Meng Jian forging friendships beyond the mundane dust, Du Hongjian practicing the Chan of Wuzhu, and Quan Deyu composing the record of Caoyi—all those worthies and sages were preeminent figures of an era. If Buddhism could truly delude people, how could it delude such sages and worthies? From this we know that the sovereigns and ministers of the Tang were not deluded; rather, Han Yu's own delusion was extreme! Even so, Han Yu's delusion is not worth discussing; yet his deluding of the world and later generations is no trifling matter. Han Yu prided himself on being a Confucian, and scriptural scholars looked upon him as Mount Tai and the Northern Dipper; whatever Yu deemed right, they followed and deemed right; whatever Yu deemed wrong, they followed and deemed wrong. Who among them ever examined closely and scrutinized what his conduct actually was? I once examined his conduct through his extant writings, and only then did I know of his three letters to Guangfan seeking to sell himself to the prime ministers of the time—how impatient he was for wealth and status! Confucius said: "The Confucian has treasures upon his mat waiting to be engaged; he studies diligently day and night waiting to be questioned; he harbors loyalty and trustworthiness waiting to be promoted; he strives to practice benevolence waiting to be selected." Such is his waiting without seeking; it is because he respects himself through Dao and righteousness. Mencius said: "When received with utmost respect and polite words, if [the ruler] is going to practice his words, he approaches him; when courteous manners decline, he leaves." Such is his difficulty in advancing and ease in retreating; it is because he holds himself high through Dao and righteousness. That Han Yu's craving to advance went this far means that his Dao and righteousness were swept into the dust! Yu's letters wished the court to use his own ranks and emoluments to entice the neglected talents of the empire. Little did he realize that among the scholars of the empire there were indeed those who were not dejected by poverty and lowliness, not puffed up by wealth and status, and grandly able to preserve the Dao and embrace righteousness like Yi [Yin] and Fu [Yue], who would not make light of themselves to be used by the world unless invited with gifts of silk or sought out by portrait. The ancients never disliked taking office, yet they hated not doing so by the proper way; to go forward not by the proper way is of the same kind as boring holes through walls. Thus Yu's conduct can well be known.