法苑珠林 55.37

55.37

故史錄。太宰嚭問孔子曰。夫子聖人與。對曰。博識強記非聖人也。又問。三王聖人與。對曰。三王善用智勇。聖非丘所知。又問。五帝聖人與。對曰。五帝善用仁義。聖非丘所知。又問。三皇聖人與。對曰。三皇善用時政。聖非丘所知。太宰大駭曰。然則孰為聖人乎。夫子動容而答曰。丘聞西方有聖者焉。不治而不亂。不言而自信。不化而自行。蕩蕩乎人無能名焉。據斯以言。孔子深知佛為大聖也。時緣未昇故默而識之。有機故舉。然未得昌言其致矣。又後漢時。通人傅毅開顯佛化。造法本內傳云。漢明帝永平三年。上夢神人。金身丈六項有日光。寤已問諸臣等。傅毅對詔。有佛出於天竺。乃遣使往求。備獲經像及僧二人。帝乃為立佛寺畫壁。千乘萬騎繞塔三匝。又於南宮清涼臺及高陽門上顯節陵所圖佛立像。并四十二章經緘於蘭臺石室。廣如前敬三寶篇述。傳云。時有沙門迦攝摩騰竺法蘭。位行難測志存開化。蔡愔使達請騰東行。不守區域隨至雒陽。曉喻物情崇明信本。帝問騰曰。法王出世何以化不及此。答曰。迦毘羅衛者。三千大千世界百億日月之中心也。三世諸佛皆在彼生。乃至天龍鬼神有願行者皆生於彼。受佛正化咸得寤道。餘處眾生無緣感佛佛不往也。佛雖不往光明及處。或五百年。或一千年。或一千年外。皆有聖人傳佛聲教而化導之。

Thus, historical records state: The Grand Chancellor Pi asked Confucius, 'Is the Master a sage?' He replied, 'I am broadly learned and have a strong memory; I am no sage.' He asked again, 'Were the Three Kings sages?' He replied, 'The Three Kings were good at using wisdom and courage; whether they were sages is not known to Qiu.' He asked again, 'Were the Five Thearchs sages?' He replied, 'The Five Thearchs were good at using benevolence and righteousness; whether they were sages is not known to Qiu.' He asked again, 'Were the Three Sovereigns sages?' He replied, 'The Three Sovereigns were good at using seasonal governance; whether they were sages is not known to Qiu.' The Grand Chancellor, greatly astonished, said, 'Then who is a sage?' The Master's expression changed, and he replied, 'Qiu has heard that in the western regions there is a sage. Without ruling, there is no disorder; without speaking, he is naturally trusted; without transforming, [the teaching] is naturally practiced. So vast is he that the people cannot find a name for him!' Judging from this, Confucius well knew that the Buddha was the Great Sage. Because the conditions of the times had not yet matured, he silently kept it in mind; when there was an opportune occasion, he raised it, yet he could not openly proclaim its full purport. Furthermore, in the Later Han, the discerning scholar Fu Yi opened up and manifested the Buddha's conversion. The Neizhuan on the Origin of the Dharma says: In the third year of the Yongping reign of Emperor Ming of the Han, the Sovereign dreamt of a divine person, sixteen feet in golden body, with a halo of sunlight behind his neck. Upon awakening, he questioned his ministers. Fu Yi responded to the imperial query: 'There is a Buddha who appeared in India.' Thereupon messengers were dispatched to seek him, and they obtained scriptures, images, and two monks. The Emperor then established a Buddhist monastery for them and painted murals. A thousand chariots and ten thousand cavalry circled the stūpa three times. In addition, standing images of the Buddha were painted on the Qingliang Terrace of the Southern Palace and above the Gaoyang Gate at the Xianjie Tomb, and the Scripture in Forty-Two Sections was stored in the stone chamber of the Orchid Terrace, as detailed fully in the previous chapter on 'Revering the Three Jewels'. The biography says: At that time, there were the śramaṇas Kāśyapa Mātaṅga and Dharmaratna, whose spiritual stages and practices were difficult to fathom, and whose aim was to enlighten and convert. When Cai Yin's mission arrived, he invited Mātaṅga to travel east. Not confined to one region, they accompanied him to Luoyang, making clear the sentiments of beings and honouring the basis of faith. The Emperor asked Mātaṅga, 'When the Dharma King appeared in the world, why did his conversion not reach this place?' He replied, 'Kapilavastu is the centre of the three thousand great thousand worlds, of a hundred million suns and moons. All Buddhas of the three periods are born there. Even heavenly dragons, ghosts, and spirits who possess vows and practices are all born there, receive the Buddha's correct conversion, and all attain awakening to the Way. Sentient beings in other places have not the karmic conditions to move the Buddha; thus the Buddha does not go there. Although the Buddha does not go there, wherever his radiant light reaches—whether in five hundred years, or one thousand years, or beyond one thousand years—there are always sages who transmit the Buddha's voice and teachings to convert and guide them.'