法苑珠林 88.6

88.6

夫世俗所尚。仁義禮智信也。含識所資。不殺盜婬妄酒也。雖道俗相乖。漸教通也。故發於仁者則不殺。奉於義者則不盜。敬於禮者則不婬。說於信者則不妄。師於智者則不酒。斯蓋接化於一時。非即修本之教。修本教者是謂正法。內訓弘道必始于因。因者殺盜婬妄酒也。此則在於實法。指事直言。故不假飾詞託名現意。如斯而修因。不期果而果證。不羨樂而樂彰。若略近而望遠。棄小而保大。則無所歸趣矣。故知受持不殺之因。自證乎仁義之果。所以知其然。今見奉戒不殺。不求仁而仁著。持戒不盜。不欣義而義敷。守戒不婬。不祈禮而禮立。遵戒不妄。不慕信而信揚。受戒捨酒。不行智而智明。如斯之實。可謂振網持綱萬目開張。振機馭㝢以離寒暑。復何功可以加之。何德可以背之。若不是修昧於所欲。徒役慮於形名。勞心乎百氏。倦形神於宵夜。喪耳目於良晨。何乖道之遠。逝而不及者乎。得其本則無欲而不辯矣。始知吞舟之魚。不產溝洫之水。鵬鵾之鳥。豈翔尺鷃之林也。

Now, what is esteemed in worldly society is benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. What sentient beings rely upon is refraining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and drinking alcohol. Although the sacred and the secular run contrary to each other, the gradual teachings communicate between them. Therefore, what arises from benevolence is non-killing; what upholds righteousness is non-stealing; what reveres propriety is non-licentiousness; what expresses trustworthiness is non-lying; what models wisdom is non-intoxication. These are merely temporary means to receive and transform, not the teaching of cultivating the root itself. Cultivating the fundamental teaching is what is called the true Dharma. Internal instruction to propagate the Way must begin with causes; the causes are non-killing, non-stealing, non-licentiousness, non-lying, and non-intoxication. These reside in actual reality, pointing directly to matters with straightforward speech; thus, they do not borrow ornate phrasing or rely on metaphors to reveal their meaning. Cultivating causes in this manner, one does not anticipate the fruition yet the fruition is verified; one does not covet joy yet joy becomes manifest. If one neglects what is near and gazes at the distant, or discards the small to preserve the great, then one will have no refuge or direction. Therefore, we know that receiving and maintaining the cause of non-killing naturally verifies the fruition of benevolence and righteousness. How do we know this is so? Now we see that when upholding the precept of non-killing, benevolence becomes prominent without seeking benevolence; when observing the precept of non-stealing, righteousness expands without rejoicing in righteousness; when guarding the precept of non-licentiousness, propriety is established without praying for propriety; when complying with the precept of non-lying, trustworthiness is extolled without yearning for trustworthiness; when receiving the precept and renouncing alcohol, wisdom shines forth without practicing worldly wisdom. Such realities may indeed be called shaking the net and grasping the headline so that ten thousand meshes open wide, or activating the loom and driving the universe to leave behind cold and heat! What merit could be added to it? What virtue could turn against it? If one does not cultivate this and is blind to one's desires, one will vainly expend thought on external forms and names, exhausting one's mind over the hundred philosophical schools, fatiguing one's body and spirit throughout the night, and losing one's ears and eyes in bright mornings. How far would that stray from the Way, rushing away never to reach it? If one attains the root, then there is no desire that is not resolved. One comes to know that a fish capable of swallowing a boat does not spawn in the waters of a ditch, and how could the Peng or Kun bird soar within the thicket of a quail?