法苑珠林 55.65

55.65

方外對曰。道教浮疏詎明三報。儒宗齷齪但敘一生。故仲尼答季路曰。生與人事汝尚未知。死與鬼神爾焉能事。袁宏後漢書曰。道家者流出於老子。以清虛淡泊為主。祐善嫉惡為教。畜妻子用符書。禍福報應在一生之內。此並區中之近唱。非象外之遐談。所以荀悅碩疑。史遷深惑。至如唐虞上聖乃育朱均。瞽叟下愚是生有舜。顏回大賢而夭絕。商臣極惡而胤昌。盜跖縱暴而福終。夷叔至仁而餓死。張湯酷吏七世垂瓔。比干正臣一身屠戮。如此流例胡可勝言。渠或致疑故常情耳。所以我之種覺獨號遍知。遐唱二生廣敷三報。欲使繫疑霧卷夙滯雲披玉諜周陳金言備顯。故經云。有業現苦有苦報。有業現苦有樂報。有業現樂有樂報。有業現樂有苦報。或餘福未盡惡不即加。或宿殃尚在善緣便發。如灰覆火。豈得稱無。若闇尋聲當知必有。且夫善惡無爽。狀麟鬪以日虧。報應有歸。等鯨亡而星現。但察感通之分。足明善惡之徵也。

The Beyond-the-Worldly One replied: "The Daoist teaching is shallow and lax, how could it comprehend the three kinds of retribution? The Confucian school is narrow and rigid, discoursing only upon a single lifetime. Thus Confucius answered Zilu: 'You do not yet understand life and human affairs; how can you serve death and the spirits?' Yuan Hong’s Hou Han shu states: 'The school of the Daoists originated from Laozi; it takes purity, emptiness, and detached tranquility as its foundation, and holding up the good and abhorring the evil as its teaching. They keep wives and children and employ talismans and registers; the retribution of fortune and misfortune occurs within a single lifetime.' These are all short-sighted proclamations of this mundane realm, not transcendent discourses reaching beyond phenomena. That is why Xun Yue had serious doubts, and Sima Qian was deeply perplexed. As for the supreme sages Yao and Shun, they fathered Danzhu and Shangjun; while Gu Sou, who was exceedingly foolish, gave birth to Shun. Yan Hui was greatly virtuous yet died young; Shangchen was exceedingly evil yet his lineage flourished. Robber Zhi indulged in violence yet died in prosperous old age; Boyi and Shuqi were supremely benevolent yet starved to death. Zhang Tang was a cruel official whose descendants wore official tassels for seven generations; Bigan was an upright minister whose own body was slaughtered. How could such examples ever be fully recounted? If ordinary people harbor doubts about this, it is merely common sentiment. Therefore our Seed of Awakening is uniquely called the Omniscient One: far-reachingly proclaiming the two lives, and broadly explaining the three retributions. Wishing to disperse the mist of persistent doubts and part the clouds of longstanding obstructions, the jade tablets are fully displayed, and the golden words are made completely manifest. Thus the sūtra says: 'There is karma that is painful at present and yields painful retribution; there is karma that is painful at present and yields pleasant retribution; there is karma that is pleasant at present and yields pleasant retribution; there is karma that is pleasant at present and yields painful retribution.' In some cases, because residual blessings are not yet exhausted, evil retribution does not immediately fall; in other cases, because past calamities still persist, virtuous conditions do not immediately sprout. Just like fire covered by ashes, how can one say it does not exist? If one tracks the sound in the dark, one must know it is certainly there. Moreover, good and evil never fail, just as a solar eclipse follows the fighting of qilin; retributions have their convergence, just as stars appear when a whale dies. One need only observe the degree of sympathetic resonance to clearly understand the signs of good and evil."