代宗朝贈司空大辨正廣智三藏和上表制集 5.176

5.176

臣憲誠言。誠惶誠恐死罪死罪。伏惟　陛下孝理天下。岳瀆所以降祥。信及昆蟲。鱗羽所以呈瑞。今釋經具載。怖鴿避鷹。至身子影戰慄未除。至如來影怖畏都盡。其人與骨皆已朽矣。唯鴿餘毳今尚存焉。其體也輕。其色也紺。入火不化。遇風輒飛。臣憲誠久事軒墀。親自觀試焚毛不燼者。知佛教之未衰。自周傳唐者。表皇劫之更遠。犬馬之志。比以獻芹。烏鳥之情。方諸奉愧。事雖至小不敢不進。臣憲誠誠惶誠恐死罪死罪謹言。

Your servant Xiancheng says: With sincere fear, sincere trepidation, and facing punishment by death, I humbly reflect that Your Majesty governs All-under-Heaven with filial piety, so the sacred peaks and rivers send down auspicious omens; your sincerity reaches even to insects, so fish and fowl present their wonders. Now, the Buddhist scriptures record in full that when a frightened dove fled a hawk, its trembling did not cease when entering the shadow of Śāriputra, but when entering the shadow of the Tathāgata, its fear vanished completely. Both that person and his bones have already decayed; only the remnant down of the dove still survives today. Its body is light, its colour is deep blue-black; it does not burn when placed in fire, and it flutters whenever it meets the wind. Your servant Xiancheng has long served at court, and having tested it personally by burning the feather without it turning to ash, I know that the Buddhist teaching has not declined. That it has been transmitted from the Zhou to the Tang signifies that the imperial kalpas will endure even further. The loyalty of a dog or horse is compared to offering humble watercress; the filial sentiment of a crow or bird is likened to serving with gratitude. Although this matter is exceedingly trivial, I dare not fail to present it. Your servant Xiancheng speaks with sincere fear, sincere trepidation, and facing punishment by death.