上皇帝書
Memorial to the Emperor
十二月日。杭州靈隱永安蘭若傳法沙門賜紫臣僧契嵩。謹昧死上書。皇帝陛下。臣聞。事天者必因於山。事地者必因於澤。然其所因高深。則其所事者易至也。若陛下之崇高深明。則與夫山澤相萬矣。適人有從事其道者。舍陛下而不即求之。雖其渠渠終身絕世。烏能得其志耶。抑又聞佛經曰。我法悉已付囑乎國王大臣者。此正謂佛教損益弛張。在陛下之明聖矣。如此則佛之徒。以其法欲有所云為。豈宜不賴陛下而自棄于草莽乎。臣忝佛之徒。實欲扶持其法。今者起巖穴。不遠千里。抱其書而趨闕下。願幸陛下。大賜以成就其志也。臣嘗謂。能仁氏之垂教。必以禪為其宗。而佛為其祖。祖者乃其教之大範。宗者乃其教之大統。大統不明。則天下學佛者。不得一其所詣。大範不正。則不得質其所證。夫古今三學輩。競以其所學相勝者。蓋宗不明祖不正。而為其患矣。然非其祖宗素不明不正也。特後世為書者之誤傳耳。又後世之學佛者。不能盡考經論而校正之。乃有束教者不信佛之微旨在乎言外。語禪者不諒佛之能詮遺乎教內(始草書。即云佛之所詮概見乎教內。及寫奏時廼改曰。佛之能詮遺乎教內。意謂。佛之善巧詮發此法之語。存乎教部之內。為學徒以始草者傳出遂與奏本有異然此二說其義皆可用。他本或云。所詮概見乎教內者。蓋兩出之也)雖一圓顱方服之屬。而紛然自相是非。如此者古今何嘗稍息臣不自知量。平生竊欲推一其宗祖與天下學佛輩息諍釋疑。使百世而知其學有所統也。山中嘗力探大藏。或經或傳。校驗其所謂禪宗者。推正其所謂佛祖者。其所見之書果謬。雖古書必斥之。其所見之書果詳。雖古書必取之。又其所出佛祖年世事迹之差訛者。若傳燈錄之類。皆以眾家傳記與累代長曆。校之修之。編成其書。垂十餘萬言。命曰傳法正宗記。其排布狀畫佛祖相承之像。則曰傳法正宗定祖圖。其推會祖宗之本末者。則曰傳法正宗論。總十有二卷。又以吳縑繪畫。其所謂定祖圖者一面。在臣愚淺。自謂吾佛垂教僅二千年。其教被中國殆乎千歲。禪宗傳于諸夏。僅五百年。而乃宗乃祖其事迹本末。於此稍詳。可傳以補先聖教法萬分之一耳適當陛下。以至道慈德治天下。天地萬物和平安裕。而佛老之教。得以毘贊大化。陛下又垂神禪悅彌入其道妙。雖古之帝王百代未有如陛下窮理盡性之如此也。是亦佛氏之徒。際會遭遇陛下萬世之一時也。臣所以拳拳懇懇不避其僭越冒犯之誅。輒以其書與圖偕上進。欲幸陛下垂于大藏與經律皆傳。臣螻蟻之生已及遲暮。於世固無所待。其區區但欲教法不微不昧而流播無窮。人得資之而務道為善。臣雖死之日猶生之年也。非敢僥倖。欲忝陛下雨露之渥澤耳。其所證據明文。皆出乎大經大論。最詳於所謂傳法正宗論與其定祖圖者。儻陛下。天地垂察。使其得與大賜。願如景德傳燈錄玉英集例。詔降傳法院。編錄入藏。即臣死生之大幸耳。抑亦天下教門之大幸也。如陛下睿斷。允臣所請。乞以其書十有二卷者。特降中書。施行其傳法正宗記與其定祖圖。兼臣舊著輔教編印本者一部三冊。其書亦推會二教聖人之道。同乎善世利人矣。謹隨書上進。干瀆冕旒。臣不任激切屏營之至。誠惶誠恐謹言。
December, [Year]. Qisong, the purple-robed imperial-bestowed monk and Dharma transmitter at Yongan Temple in Lingyin, Hangzhou, humbly risks death to submit this memorial to Your Imperial Majesty.
I have heard that those who serve Heaven must do so through the mountains, and those who serve Earth must do so through the marshes. Yet relying on their height and depth, their goal is easily reached. But Your Majesty's loftiness and profound wisdom are tens of thousands of times greater than mountains and marshes. So if someone devoted to the Way were to abandon seeking it from you, even if they toiled their whole life in seclusion, how could they accomplish their aim?
I have also heard the Buddha say in scripture, "I have entirely entrusted my Dharma to kings and ministers." This means that the flourishing or decline of Buddhism depends on Your Majesty's enlightened rule. Thus, how could Buddhist followers, who wish to do something for the Dharma, neglect to rely on Your Majesty and abandon themselves to the wilderness?
Though I am a humble follower of the Buddha, I truly wish to uphold his Dharma. Now, I have emerged from my mountain hermitage and traveled a thousand miles, carrying my writings to your palace gate, hoping Your Majesty might generously grant me the opportunity to fulfill my aspiration.
I have always believed that when the Compassionate One (Buddha) established his teachings, he made Chan (Zen) the tradition and the Buddha its ancestor. The ancestor provides the great model for the teaching, and the tradition provides its great lineage. If the great lineage is unclear, then Buddhists worldwide cannot unify their understanding. If the great model is incorrect, then they cannot verify their realization. That followers of the three schools have long competed, each promoting their own learning, stems from the tradition being unclear and the ancestor being incorrect. This has been a great problem.
Yet it is not that the ancestor and tradition were originally unclear or incorrect. Rather, later generations of writers transmitted errors. Moreover, later Buddhists could not fully investigate the scriptures and treatises to correct these mistakes. As a result, some clung rigidly to the teachings and did not believe the Buddha's subtle meaning lay beyond the words. Others, focused on Chan, failed to realize that the Buddha's skillful expression of the Dharma remained contained within the teachings(In the original draft, it said "The Buddha's expression is roughly contained within the teachings." When the memorial was written, it was changed to "The Buddha's skillful expression is left within the teachings," meaning that the Buddha's skillful words revealing the Dharma exist within the scriptures. Because disciples circulated the draft, it differs from the memorial version. However, both meanings are valid. Some other versions say "expression is broadly contained within the teachings," which is a dual rendering.). Thus, even among shaven-headed monks in robes, there was endless internal conflict and mutual criticism. Such disputes have never ceased throughout history.
Presumptuously, I have privately wished to unify the tradition's ancestor and lineage, allowing Buddhists everywhere to end disputes and resolve doubts, so that future generations would know the unified source of their learning. In the mountains, I have deeply studied the Tripitaka—sutras and commentaries—to verify what is called the Chan tradition and to correct the understanding of the so-called Buddha Patriarchs. Where existing texts were clearly mistaken, I rejected them, even if ancient. Where they were accurate, I accepted them, even if ancient. I also corrected errors in the chronological records of the Buddha patriarchs' lives, such as those found in the *Transmission of the Lamp* and similar works, by cross-referencing multiple biographies and historical calendars. I compiled this into a work of over one hundred thousand words, titled *The Orthodox Record of the Dharma Transmission*. The diagrams of the patriarchs' lineage I arranged are called *The Orthodox Lineage Chart of the Dharma Transmission*. My essays clarifying the tradition's origins are titled *The Orthodox Treatise on the Dharma Transmission*. Together, they form twelve volumes. I also painted a silk scroll of the Orthodox Lineage Chart.
In my humble opinion, the Buddha's teachings have flourished for nearly two thousand years, spreading to China for about a thousand. The Chan tradition has been transmitted in China for only five hundred years. Yet now, for the first time, the lives and lineage of our patriarchs are recorded in such detail, perhaps contributing a fraction to the preservation of the sacred teaching. Now is the time when Your Majesty governs the world with supreme virtue and compassionate kindness, bringing peace and prosperity to all. Thus, Buddhist and Taoist teachings can assist in transforming the world. Your Majesty, moreover, delights in meditative insight and delves deeply into the Way's profound mystery. No emperor in the past hundred generations has matched Your Majesty in fathoming principle and exhausting human nature.
So this is a unique moment for Buddhists to meet Your Majesty in a million years. That is why I earnestly and humbly, risking the punishment for exceeding my station, present my writings and chart to Your Majesty. I hope you will grant them a place in the Tripitaka, so they may be transmitted alongside the sutras and monastic rules. I, a lowly creature, am already old and have little left to hope for in this world. My only concern is to ensure the Dharma does not grow faint or obscure, but spreads endlessly, so that people may rely on it to pursue the Way and do good. Even on the day I die, I will feel I have lived anew. I do not seek special favor or wish to bask in Your Majesty's grace. The evidence and scriptural citations are all drawn from the major sutras and treatises, most thoroughly in *The Orthodox Treatise on the Dharma Transmission* and *The Orthodox Lineage Chart*. If Your Majesty, with heaven-like clarity, would examine and bestow your generous gift, I humbly request that, following the precedent of the *Jingde Transmission of the Lamp* and *Jade Flower Collection*, you order the Bureau of Scripture Translation to compile my works for inclusion in the Tripitaka. That would be the great fortune of my life—and also the great fortune of the Buddhist teaching itself. If Your Majesty, with your wise judgment, grants my request, I humbly ask that the twelve-volume work, *The Orthodox Record of the Dharma Transmission* and *The Orthodox Lineage Chart*, together with my earlier three-volume *Aid to Teaching*—which harmonizes the ways of both Buddhism and Confucianism to benefit the world—be submitted to the Imperial Secretariat for implementation. I respectfully present them with this memorial.
I intrude upon Your Majesty's presence with deep agitation and utmost reverence. I am overwhelmed with awe and fear, and humbly submit this.