And then some might ask: “In their commentaries on the Buddhist sutras, ancient sages often quoted Zhuangzi, how do you explain that?” I will say: “Among Chinese classics, the best ones were written by Zhougong, Confucius, Laozi and Zhuangzi. When Buddhist sutras came to China from India, of course ancient sages had to rely on quoting those Chinese classics in order to help people understand it. However, they mostly quoted the wording instead of the meaning. It’s as if when a southerner tries to describe a boat to a northerner who has never seen one, the southerner will have to point to the northerner’s carriage and says: “A boat is somewhat like a carriage, which can transport goods to somewhere faraway.” It is using the carriage to help explaining a boat, not equating the carriage with a boat.
by Grand Master Lian Chi (蓮池大師), the Eighth Patriarch of Pure Land Buddhism
莊子 (三) – 錄自明末蓮池大師《竹窗隨筆》(初筆)
曰:「古尊宿疏經造論，有引莊子言者，何也?」曰:「震旦之書，有引莊子言者，周孔老莊為最矣。佛經來自五天，欲借此間語而發明，不是之引，而將誰引? 然多用其言，不盡用其義，彷彿而已矣。蓋稍似而非真是也。南人之北，北人不知舟，指其車而曉之曰:『吾舟之載物而致遠，猶此方之車也。』借車明舟，而非以車為舟也。」
Buddha Mind 