Some might say: “Zhuangzi indeed is less profound than Buddhist scriptures. However, it has a unique literary style that Buddhist scriptures don’t have, which is free and leisurely, making reader feel pleasantly surprised. Scholars of classical prose and attendees of imperial examinations all flock to emulate its style. What do you say to this?”
I would say: “Buddhist scriptures exemplify the ideal that ‘supreme eloquence requires no ornamentation’. To compare them with worldly literature is like asking the spring sun to vie for colorfulness with a hundred blossoms – the comparison simply can’t be done, and I will leave it at that. If you really wish to discuss literature, do we not have the Six Classics and the Four Books – which are culmination of the Confucian teachings – to serve as standard? Let me offer some analogy, here it goes –
“The writing of Confucius is upright and bright, like the sun and moon; whereas the best of Zhuangzi resembles a sky full of fleeting stars, while its worst is like a wildfire raging across the plains endlessly.
“The writing of Confucius is deep and vast, like great rivers and the ocean; whereas the best of Zhuangzi resembles torrential falls or crashing waves, while its worst is like chaotic currents.
“The writing of Confucius is refined and mellow, like Grade A jade; whereas the best of Zhuangzi resembles crystal or colored glaze, while its worst is like imitation stones.
“The writing of Confucius is approachable and practical, like the five staple grains; whereas the best of Zhuangzi resembles lychees from Annam or grapes from Tayuan, while its worst is like unripe pears or persimmons.
“The above are the broad distinctions. Hopefully they have conveyed a good idea to a writer about whom he should take as his model. As for the question about which one should a monk learn from, the answer is that a monastic has nothing to do with literature at all!”
by Grand Master Lian Chi (蓮池大師), the Eighth Patriarch of Pure Land Buddhism
莊子 (二) – 錄自明末蓮池大師《竹窗隨筆》(初筆)
或曰:「莊子義則劣矣; 其文玄曠疏逸，可喜可愕，佛經所未有也。諸為古文辭及舉子業者，咸靡然宗之。則何如?」曰:「佛經者，所謂至辭無文者也; 而與世人較文，是陽春與百卉爭顏色也。置勿論。子欲論文，不有六經四子在乎? 而大成於孔子，吾試喻之。孔子之文，正大而光明，日月也; 彼南華，佳者如繁星掣電，劣者如野燒也。孔子之文，渟蓄而汪洋，河海也; 彼南華，佳者如瀑泉驚濤，劣者如亂流也。孔子之文，融粹而溫潤，良玉也; 彼南華，佳者如水晶琉璃，劣者如珉珂珷玞也。孔子之文，切近而精實，五穀也; 彼南華，佳者如安南之荔、大宛之葡萄，劣者如未熟之梨與柿也。此其大較也。業文者宜何師也，而況乎為僧者之不以文為業也。」
Buddha Mind 