法苑珠林 55.44

55.44

方外對曰。察斯濫濁非忠孝之道也。夫忠臣奉國。願受福之無疆。孝子安親。務防災於未兆。聞多福之因緣。求之如不及。覩速禍之萌抵。避之若探湯。國重天地之祈。祈於福也。家避陰陽之忌。忌於禍也。福疑從取禍疑從去。人之情也。忠之道焉。子乃去人之所謂福。取人之所謂禍。豈是忠臣益國之計。非孝子安親之方也。若夫廢宗廟之粢盛。加子孫之魚肉。毀蒸甞之𮋟冕。充僕妾之衣服。苟求惠下之恩。不崇安上之福。恨養親之費饍。思廢養之潤屋。如此可謂忠孝之道乎。

The One Beyond the World replied: “Examining this corrupt argument, it is not the path of loyalty and filial piety. A loyal subject serves the state, desiring its reception of boundless blessings. A filial child brings peace to parents, striving to avert calamity before it shows a sign. Hearing of the causes and conditions of abundant blessings, one pursues them as if one might not catch up; seeing the sprouts and beginnings of sudden disaster, one flees them as if testing boiling water. The state values prayers to Heaven and Earth, praying for blessings; the family avoids the taboos of yin and yang, guarding against calamities. When blessings seem likely, one pursues them; when calamities seem likely, one shuns them. Such is human nature, and such is the path of loyalty. You, however, would discard what people call blessings and embrace what people call calamity; how could this be a loyal subject’s plan to benefit the state, or a filial child’s method to bring peace to parents? If one were to abolish the grain offerings in the ancestral shrine and bestow the fish and meat upon sons and grandsons, or destroy the ceremonial robes and caps of the seasonal sacrifices to supply clothing for servants and concubines, merely seeking the kindness of benevolence toward inferiors without honoring the blessings that bring peace to superiors, begrudging the cost of meals to nourish parents and contemplating abolishing their care to enrich one’s household—could this be called the path of loyalty and filial piety?