貞元新定釋教目錄 12.8

12.8

帝深愛焉。遣向京取瑜伽論。帝自詳覽。覩其詞義宏遠非從來所聞。歎謂侍臣曰。朕觀佛經譬猶瞻天望海莫測高深。法師能於異域得是深法。朕比以軍國務殷不及委尋佛教。而今觀之宗源杳曠靡知涯際。其儒道九流比之猶汀瀅之池方溟渤耳。而世云三教齊致此妄談也。

The Emperor took great delight in it. He sent emissaries to the capital to fetch the Yuqie lun. The Emperor examined it carefully himself, and seeing that its wording and meaning were vast and far-reaching, unlike anything he had heard before, he sighed and said to his attendant ministers: "When We gaze upon the Buddhist scriptures, it is like looking up at the sky or gazing out across the ocean, impossible to fathom its height or depth. That the Dharma Master was able to obtain such profound Dharma in foreign lands is remarkable. Preoccupied recently with abundant military and state affairs, We had no leisure to examine the Buddhist teachings thoroughly. But seeing them now, their source and origin are vast and boundless, without any discernible shore. Comparing the Confucian and Daoist traditions of the Nine Schools to this is like placing a small pond beside the vast ocean. For the world to say that the Three Teachings arrive at the same destination is sheer nonsense!"