大唐內典錄 4.4

4.4

The Buddhist scriptures state from the outset: Faith is the source of the Way and the mother of merits; wisdom is the foundation for leaving the world and attaining liberation. Without faith, one cannot board the light skiff; without wisdom, one cannot sever deep delusion. Therefore, the vast ocean of birth and death is boundless and without shore; without the vessel of the Six [Pāramitās], there is no way to cross it. For this reason, wise men have faith that the Six Pāramitās are the basis for transcending rebirth; hence they board the vessel and achieve great deliverance. This Way is clearly manifest, and can only be attained through wisdom. Since the teaching began in the Central Land, it has suffered destruction three times. Later it moved to the southern regions and was propagated throughout the Five Dynasties. Weighing the facts, in enlightened dynasties, faith and wisdom become evident of themselves without need for words; whereas in bellicose states, benevolence and wisdom cannot expand boundaries. How could it be otherwise? How could it be otherwise? Thus, under the two dynasties of the Jin and the Song, this culture flourished exceptionally; the dissemination of the Buddhist Path and its ancestral principles were splendid to behold. Now I shall briefly recount it to manifest these past events. Regarding the catalogue of the Song era: Liu Yu, whose style name was Deyu, was a man of Duxiang in Pengcheng. On the day of his birth, a miraculous light illuminated the room. In stature he was seven feet six inches tall. He accepted the abdication of the Eastern Jin and styled his dynasty the Song, continuing to make Jiankang his capital. By the Yuanjia reign era of the third sovereign [Emperor Wen], a memorialist stated: 'Recently, the building and decorating of temples and pagodas have become excessively rampant; those who covet merit grow more extravagant and competitive day by day.' Emperor Wen questioned Palace Attendant He [Shangzhi], saying: 'Fan Tai and Xie Lingyun both assert that the Six Classics were originally meant to save the mundane world, but for the true essentials of nature and spirit, one must take the Buddhist scriptures as a compass. These words of upright wisdom from worthy and eminent men are truly fitting. If all the lands within our borders were purely transformed by this teaching, I could fold my robes, let my hands hang down, and attain Great Peace while sitting.' Shangzhi replied: 'The Central Court is far in the past and difficult to know fully. Since crossing the Yangtze, there have been Wang Dao and Zhou Yi, the crowning leaders among chancellors; Wang Meng and Xie Shang, models for human conduct; and Xi Chao, Wang Mi, and their peers, who were either praised as peerless or hailed as unmatched. A brief list of several dozen men reveals not a single one who was not an elite talent. Laymen of pure faith have never been lacking in this age. Dharma Master Huiyuan said: "There is nowhere that the Śākya clan's transformation cannot be applied." Your servant considers these words to accord with the profound principle. Why? If in a village of a hundred households, ten people observe the five precepts, then ten people will be honest and cautious. If in a town of a thousand families, a hundred people cultivate the ten virtues, then a hundred people will live in harmony. When this moral teaching spreads throughout the realm, among hundreds of millions of registered households there will be millions of benevolent people. For every good deed one can perform, one evil is removed; when one evil is removed, one punishment is halted. When one punishment is halted in a family, ten thousand punishments are halted in the state. Thus, what Your Majesty said about attaining Great Peace while sitting is indeed true! Hence, when Fotudeng entered Ye, Shi Hu's slaughter was cut in half; when the precious pagoda at Mianchi radiated light, Fu Jian's mallets and saws were put to rest. Juqu Mengxun turned on his own kin without affection and was as cruel as a jackal or tiger, yet in his final years he awakened and transformed into a good man. The monk Fajian had strength equal to ten thousand men; on the verge of causing chaos along the Yellow and Wei Rivers, he willingly submitted to death with his hands bound behind his back to avert disaster for his master. How could this not be the influence of internal transformation?' At that time, Yang Xuanbao, Gentleman of the Ministry of Personnel, was seated nearby and stepped forward to say: 'Your servant humbly fears that when Qin and Zhao discussed the arts of military strength, and Sunzi and Wu Qi exhausted schemes of conquest, they would have found no use for this.' The emperor said: 'These are not tools for the Warring States; it is truly as you say.' Shangzhi said: 'Honouring hermits makes warriors lax; esteeming benevolence and virtue makes military morale decline. If one takes Sunzi and Wu Qi as one's model, with one's mind set on swallowing and devouring others, one would also find no use for the Way of Yao and Shun—how could it be only the Buddhist teaching?' The emperor was greatly pleased and said: 'Having you in the Buddhist sangha is like Confucius having Jilu: evil words do not enter his ears.' The emperor ordered Lu Cheng, Palace Drafter, to compile the Xu fa lun in over a hundred fascicles to praise and expound Buddhist principles with abundant breadth. Judging from this, it may indeed be called supreme. The Dharma is manifested through people; the Buddha entrusted it to emperors and kings. From this point on, the Buddhist teaching flourished in the Song dynasty. Renowned monks and wise scholars were as thick as rice and hemp; precious monasteries and golden wheels were as dense as bamboo and reeds. Successively passed through eight rulers over fifty-nine years, the translators—consisting of Chinese, foreigners, clerics, and laity—numbered twenty-four people in total. Together, they produced sūtras, vinayas, prātimokṣa codes, karmavācanās, upadeśas, abhidharma treatises, biographies, records, and so forth, totalling 210 works in 496 fascicles, which are compiled as the Song Dynasty Jiankang Catalogue.