出三藏記集 12.45

12.45

夫覺海無涯慧境圓照。化妙域中。實陶鑄於堯舜。理擅繫表。乃埏埴乎周孔矣。然道大信難聲高和寡。須彌峻而藍風起。寶藏積而怨賊生。昔如來在世化震大千。猶有天魔愎忿六師懷毒。況乎像季。其可勝哉。自大法東漸。歲幾五百。緣各信否運亦崇替。正見者敷讚邪惑者謗訕。至於守文曲儒則距為異教。巧言左道則引為同法。距有拔本之迷。引有朱紫之亂。遂令詭論稍繁訛辭孔熾。夫鶡旦鳴夜。不翻白日之光。精衛銜石。無損蒼海之勢。然以闇亂明。以小罔大。雖莫動毫髮。而有塵眎聽。將令弱植之徒。隨偽辯而長迷。倒置之倫。逐邪說而永溺。此幽塗所以易墜。淨境所以難陟者也。祐以末學志深弘護。靜言浮俗憤慨于心。遂以藥疾微間山棲餘暇。撰古今之明篇。揔道俗之雅論。其有刻意剪邪建言衛法。製無大小莫不畢探。又前代勝士書記文述。有益三寶者。亦皆編錄。類聚區分列為十卷。夫道以人弘。教以文明。弘道明教。故謂之弘明集。兼率淺懷附論于末。庶以涓埃微裨𤅀岱。但學孤識寡。愧在褊局。博練君子惠增廣焉。

The ocean of enlightenment is boundless, and the realm of wisdom shines perfectly. Its subtle transformation within the mundane world truly molded Yao and Shun; its principles, holding sway beyond the diagrams of the Changes, indeed formed the basis of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius. Yet when the Dao is great, faith is difficult; when the melody is high, few can harmonize. When Mount Sumeru rises steep, the tempest winds arise; when precious treasures accumulate, resentful thieves are born. Formerly, when the Tathāgata was in the world, his transformation shook the great chiliocosm, yet there was still the Heavenly Māra's obstinate wrath and the six masters harboring poison—how much more so in the semblance age, could it be any different? Since the Great Dharma flowed eastward, nearly five hundred years have passed. As conditions varied in faith and doubt, its fortune likewise rose and fell. Those with right view set forth praise, while those who were deluded and perverted slandered and mocked it. As for pedantic and narrow-minded Confucians, they rejected it as a heterodox teaching; smooth-tongued followers of the left-hand path cited it as conforming to their own ways. The rejection involved the delusion of uprooting the fundamentals; the citation involved the confusion of vermilion and purple. Consequently, deceptive treatises grew increasingly numerous, and fallacious words blazed forth vigorously. Now, the call of the night-pheasant does not overthrow the light of the bright sun, and the pebble carried by the Jingwei bird does not diminish the might of the vast ocean. Yet, using darkness to confound the light and using the petty to deceive the great, though it cannot shake a hair, nonetheless defiles what is seen and heard. It would cause those of weak foundation to remain long deluded by false debates, and those who are inverted to sink forever, pursuing perverted doctrines. This is why the dark path is easy to fall into, and the pure realm is difficult to ascend. Although I, Sengyou, am but a junior student, my aspiration is profound in propagating and protecting [the Dharma]. Reflecting quietly upon the superficial customs, indignation arose in my heart. Thereupon, during slight intervals between treating illnesses and in the leisure of dwelling in the mountains, I compiled clear writings of past and present and gathered the elegant discourses of both clergy and laity. Wherever there was a deliberate effort to eradicate heterodoxy and establish arguments to protect the Dharma, I investigated them thoroughly without regard to whether the compositions were large or small. Furthermore, regarding the letters, records, and literary compositions of past eminent figures that benefit the Three Jewels, I also compiled and recorded them all, categorizing and dividing them into ten fascicles. Now, it is through human beings that the Dao is broadened, and through literary culture that teachings are made clear. Propagating the Dao and clarifying the teachings—hence it is called the Collection for the Propagation and Clarification [of Buddhism] (Hongming ji). In addition, giving free rein to my own shallow thoughts, I appended treatises at the end, hoping to contribute a drop of water or a grain of dust to the ocean and Mount Tai. But as my learning is isolated and my knowledge sparse, I am ashamed of my narrow limitations. May broad and refined gentlemen graciously supplement and expand it!