出三藏記集 12.16

12.16

I have heard that the good treatises of conventional truth are gathered into the sea of the Dharma, and the adornment of literary expression is subsumed within the initial ranks [of cultivation]. Ever since the Great Transformation flowed eastward, people of successive ages have chanted and sung it; from the Wei dynasty onward, miscellaneous compositions have emerged among various collections. When talent embodies elegance and thought penetrates subtle principles, they are truly the feather banners of the Dharma gate and the bells and chimes of Fan chant. The late Prince of Baling, Army-Pacifying General and heir apparent to Prince Wenxuan of Jingling of Qi, received jade blossoms from the peaks of Kunlun and was gifted with bright pearls from the jewel ocean. His wisdom shone from the days of babbling, and his understanding was evident in the years of silk embroidery. His filial devotion and fraternal love were perfected, his capacity and brilliance clear and thorough; hence in childhood he engaged in no weak games, and from early on possessed mature wisdom. Just as he set his will upon learning, he had already encompassed the ancient classics. He was exceptionally fond of poetic verses and rhapsodies, fully displaying the talent of 'scaling heights'; he applied his mind to clerical script, matching the mastery of 'approaching the pond.' His accomplishments filled bamboo and silk, and his reflections brimmed with the wind and the moon. At that time, Qi was in its virtuous prime, and Prince Wenxuan assisted along the broad highway. After the teachings of wisdom were made brilliant, the heir apparent was sent afar as an imperial branch to garrison the Xi River. Stepping down from his carriage, the wind of his virtue arose; ascending his seat, good order was established. He resided in the Hanqing Tower to discipline himself, and diffused orchids and thoroughworts to inspire the common folk. The commandery abounded in famed mountains, and its cliffs were rich with spiritual temples; thus his superior cultivation grew loftier, and his pure mind ventured ever further. Whenever he traveled and climbed, his instructive reflections were like a deep spring, truly sufficient to extol the ultimate Way and make manifest the profound summit. Observing his compositions of rhapsodies on sūtra chanting, his verses narrating embroidered images, his vow texts on the thousand Buddhas, his great vows of self-sacrifice, his poems on the four city gates and the nine cemetery contemplations, and his eulogies for Śākyamuni and the ten holy disciples—all of these were composed of crystallized natural brilliance, with novel tones emerging. Thus Vice Director of the Left Fan Yun deeply admired his literary gatherings, constantly praising and honoring him as a fine talent among the younger generation. Coming to the Longchang era, the omens of misfortune first showed; at the end of Yongyuan, fortunes fell into decline. The clinging creepers lost their shelter, and the great boulder was toppled and cleft. Tigers and wild rhinos escaped their cages, and suspicion fell upon the imperial clan. Yet he was happy with Heaven and knew his destiny, keeping calm in grief and savoring the Way. In adversity he did not compromise his integrity; in straitened circumstances he did not alter his virtue. Reflecting upon cause and effect, he was never blinded; penetrating both the ultimate and conventional truths, he was clear as the dawn. He concentrated his devotion on the gate of the Great Awakening, and was austere and fervent in the depths of the scriptures. Thereupon he lowered his curtain and plastered his door to write a commentary on the *Śata-śāstra*, bringing forth its hidden principles and fully exhausting its subtle scripture. He personally prepared silk and paper, writing the Mahāyāna scriptures by hand. The great sūtras he transcribed numbered ten works in all; his brushwork was vigorous and sharp, and its style graceful and delicate. As for the penetration of his thought and the breadth of his literary arts, he surpassed the talent of continuing the family lineage, fully matching the brilliance of indigo outshining blue. Now, ignorance within the deep palace is a well-known maxim; arrogance among those fed on fine meats is recorded in past chronicles. Yet he was able to stand apart from his peers, rising lofty and transcendent. Was this not because inwardly he was forged with a steadfast and fragrant nature, and outwardly he was refined by the demeanor of passing through the courtyard? Speaking in terms of the Dharma, he was like Golden Dragon succeeding Subāhu; deliberating from the worldly standpoint, he surpassed the dutiful Gong in carrying on the legacy of the Prince of Chensi. He may truly be called a great being of past causes, a sandalwood kinsman, who brought no shame to the ancestral edifice and proved fully capable of shouldering the burden. In the past, through Dharma matters, I frequently beheld his pure presence; and when I gathered the vinaya in Kuaiji, he repeatedly invited me for offerings and courtesies. Alas that he died young, and his writings were not widely circulated! Now I have compiled and recorded his Dharma verses to follow the inner collection of Prince Wenxuan, so that beyond a thousand generations, people will know that the orchids and chrysanthemums have not withered.