大宋僧史略 3.58

3.58

佛者號天人師。稱慈悲父。聖中至聖。道超千聖之前。天中之天。德邁諸天之上。所以天尊仰奉。釋梵將迎。一佛化境之中三千界內。莫不尊奉於佛者也。如天子巡幸於諸侯之國。豈有列士之官不朝於萬乘者也。正要分其先後。理當辨白尊卑。苟知凡聖道殊。貴免金鉛同價。道術不逾於萬里。佛心廣化塵沙。當取則於達士通人。勿固執於屋愚管見。而況佛先道後。具載於群籍。佛聖道凡。今古之共悉也。汝宜息妄歸真捨邪投正。迴心學佛。真正修行。消除幻妄之緣。解脫輪迴之苦。佛會中常為善。伴菩提路。共結真修。高超世表而出凡。契證真如而入聖。無以我慢自高。僻執邪妄。而虛生浪死曠劫昇沈。不能自救也。悲哉。

The Buddha is called the Teacher of Gods and Humans (śāstā devamanuṣyāṇām) and proclaimed the Compassionate Father. He is the ultimate sage among sages, whose Way surpasses that of a thousand sages; he is the God among gods, whose virtue transcends all gods. Therefore heavenly sovereigns look up to and revere him, and Śakra and Brahmā welcome and escort him. Within the transformation realm of a single Buddha, across the three thousand worlds, there are none who do not revere and honour the Buddha. It is like the Son of Heaven making an imperial tour among the lands of feudal lords: how could the officials of the ranks of knights fail to pay court to the Lord of Ten Thousand Chariots? In properly establishing precedence, it is reasonable to distinguish the noble from the base. If one truly understands that the paths of the ordinary and the holy are distinct, one should properly avoid treating gold and lead as having equal value. The arts of Daoism do not extend beyond ten thousand leagues, whereas the Buddha's mind transforms dust and sand broadly. One should take one's standard from perceptive scholars and comprehensive minds, rather than obstinately clinging to narrow and foolish restricted views. Furthermore, that Buddhism comes first and Daoism second is fully recorded in numerous texts; that the Buddha is holy and Daoism is worldly has been known by all from ancient times to the present. You ought to cease illusions and return to truth, discard the perverse and turn toward the correct, direct your mind to study Buddhism, cultivate genuine practice, eliminate illusory and deceptive conditions, and become liberated from the suffering of saṃsāra. May you constantly be good companions within the Buddha's assembly, cultivate genuine practice together along the path of bodhi, transcend beyond worldly forms to emerge from the ordinary, and realise tathatā to enter the holy. Do not haughtily esteem yourself through arrogance, or perversely cling to distorted falsehoods, vainly living and meaninglessly dying, rising and sinking for vast eons, unable to save yourself. How lamentable!