法苑珠林 47.46

47.46

Now, when good and evil run contrary and words and actions conflict with one another, misfortunes and disasters arise therefrom, and enmity and malice grow ever heavier. Therefore, to speak of it is easy, but to practice it is difficult. For this reason, when firmness and gentleness attain the middle, opposition and compliance attain their proper nature. For example, when casting a sword, if it is too hard it will snap, and if it is too soft it will bend. If one wishes the sword not to snap, tin must be added to it; if one wishes the sword not to bend, metal (copper/bronze) must be added to it. Why? The nature of metal is hard, while the substance of tin is soft. When hardness and softness are balanced and equal, it is good. When one’s endowed nature is harmonious and peaceful, it is praiseworthy. Thus Rāhula’s hidden practice was used to regulate himself, wherefore the Sage praised him with fine acclaim; Devadatta’s coarse conduct was harsh and wicked, wherefore the multitude condemned him with evident faults. Secular books state: Ximen Bao was impatient by nature, so he wore a leather strip to moderate himself; Dong Anyu was sluggish by nature, so he wore a bowstring to urge himself on. Therefore, the tuning of yin and yang constitutes the harmony of heaven and earth; the balancing of hardness and softness constitutes the nature of humans and things.