[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [佛祖歷代通載](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036) › 21.92 # 佛祖歷代通載 21.92 佛祖歷代通載 21.92 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [21.92](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.21.92) 辯曰。蓋聞龍圖鳥篆之文。龜書科斗之典。玉版玉諜之記。金縢金匱之書。秦漢魏晉之章。宋齊梁陳之簡。記事記史直筆直言。靡覩虛皇之名。不聞元始之號。安有手執玉圭。身掛黃褐。頂垂皓髮。頭戴金冠。別號天尊。高拱三清之上。獨稱教主。統御九華之宮。縱有天尊之名。並是偷竊佛語。古今稱佛名為天尊。不關道君之事。竊他美稱妄自尊嚴。取信通人。斯言謬矣。案列子及易鉤命訣。皆云。天地未生之前。有太易。有太初。有太始。有太素。有太極。說者咸云。太易者。未見氣也。太初者。氣之始也。太始者。形之始也。太素者。質之始也。太極者。質形已具混沌未分也。太極之後乃生兩儀。謂之天地。夫名從實生。實從名起。名實既著。其道乃行。太易之前。沓然空洞。溟溟漠漠。本絕音容。何得謾張九氣妄生四人。虛上生虛。似敲空而求嚮。偽中起偽。如趁影之尋蹤。豈不思。既立其名。須有其體。既立其體。須有氏族。且道虛皇元始誰人所生。氏族何起。居在何處。若有源系。出在何書。若無來由。即是虛設。又空洞之前。本無歲數。今標歲數愈見虛張。蓋數目起於伏羲。甲子唱乎皇帝。將今記古。顛倒何多。且上之三尊。為有形耶。為無形耶。若是有形。不在太易之上。爰從父母而生。須有年代時處姓氏名字。前云三氣共德而生。則是以氣生氣。與氣不殊。何有形名。若是無形。本無名位。下第七化乃云。老君以上皇元年九月二日。出遊西河。遇元始天尊。乘八景玉輿。駕九色玄龍。群仙導從。手把華旛。師子白鶴嘯歌邕邕。同會西河之上。授老君洞玄玉符。此是誰耶。進退兩求。並無準的。則知海棗虛談有名無實。雕氷鏤雪枉廢詞章。山海之所不收大荒之所不載。庸愚巧飾。何足信哉。老君衰周之柱史。誑云混沌之祖宗。避周亂而過函關。妄云天地之父母。既自語之相戾。何函矢之相攻。掩耳偷鈴。欲隱彌露。道德章云。吾有三寶。寶而持之。一曰慈。二曰儉。三曰不敢為天下先。老君獻胡王妻子。與胡兵格戰。何有慈乎。乘玉衡之輿。坐金闕之內。披九色離羅之衣。廕九光偃鶴之蓋。何有儉乎。生於無始起於無因。為萬道之先。作元氣之祖。觀混沌之未判。視清濁之未分。為帝王之師。作天地之母。何有不敢為天下先乎。遼陽高憲。字仲常。遊東京白鶴觀。見三清像指其右曰。此何像也。觀主對曰。老君像。曰何代人。曰周定王時。又指左曰。此何像也。主曰。道君像。曰此何代人。住倉惶未答。憲指中尊曰。且饒這元始天尊。聞者傳以為笑。 > The refutation states: I have heard that in the texts of the Dragon Chart and the Bird Script, the classics of the Tortoise Writing and the Tadpole Script, the records of the jade tablets and jade rolls, the writings in the metal-bound coffers and golden caskets, the chapters of the Qin, Han, Wei, and Jin, and the bamboo slips of the Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen—where events are recorded and history is preserved with a direct brush and straightforward words—one never sees the name of the 'Empyrean Sovereign' (Xuhuang), nor hears the title of 'Primal Origin' (Yuanshi). How could there ever be one holding a jade scepter in hand, dressed in yellow coarse wool, with white hair falling from his crown and a golden headdress on his head, uniquely styled 'Heavenly Worthy' (Tianzhun), solemnly presiding high above the Three Clarities (Sanqing), solely calling himself the Lord of the Teaching and governing the Palace of Nine Glories? Even if there is the title 'Heavenly Worthy', it was entirely stolen from Buddhist texts. From antiquity to the present, the Buddha has been called 'Heavenly Worthy' (Devātideva / Lokanātha); it has nothing to do with the Daoist Lords. Stealing another's exalted title and arrogantly aggrandizing oneself to win the trust of educated men—these words are utterly absurd! Upon examining the Liezi and the Yijing gouming jue, both state: Before heaven and earth came into being, there were Great Change (Taiyi), Great Inception (Taichu), Great Beginning (Taishi), Great Substance (Taisu), and Great Ultimate (Taiji). Commentators all say: 'Great Change is when qi is not yet seen. Great Inception is the beginning of qi. Great Beginning is the beginning of form. Great Substance is the beginning of physical matter. Great Ultimate is when matter and form are already complete, but chaos has not yet divided.' After the Great Ultimate, the Two Modes were produced, which are called Heaven and Earth. Now, names are born from reality, and reality arises through names. Once names and realities are manifest, their principle may be carried out. Before Great Change, all was fathomless emptiness, dim and indistinct, originally devoid of sound and form. How could they fabricate the nine qi and falsely give birth to four figures? Creating emptiness upon emptiness is like striking empty space seeking an echo; generating falsehoods within falsehoods is like pursuing a shadow in search of footprints. Have they not considered: once a name is established, there must be a physical body; once a physical body is established, there must be a clan and lineage? Tell me then: by whom were the Empyrean Sovereign and Primal Origin born? Whence did their clan and lineage arise? Where do they dwell? If they have an ancestral lineage, in what book does it appear? If they have no origin, then they are purely fictitious fabrications. Furthermore, before that fathomless void, there was originally no count of years. Now marking year counts makes the empty fabrication all the more obvious. For counting began with Fuxi, and the sexagenary cycle was proclaimed by the Yellow Emperor. Applying modern \[chronology\] to record antiquity—how inverted is this! Moreover, do the three exalted ones above possess form or do they lack form? If they possess form, they cannot be prior to Great Change; they must be born from parents and have era, time, place, clan name, and personal name. Previously they claimed that the three qi converged in virtue to give birth \[to them\]; that would mean qi gave birth to qi, no different from qi—how could there be form and name? If they are formless, they originally have no name or status. Yet the seventh transformation below says: 'On the second day of the ninth month in the first year of the Sovereign on High, Lord Lao traveled west of the River and met the Heavenly Worthy of Primal Origin, who was riding a jade carriage of the eight radiances, drawn by nine-colored dark dragons, guided by a retinue of immortals holding floral banners, with lions and white cranes singing harmoniously, meeting together by the Western River to transmit the Dongxuan Jade Talisman to Lord Lao.' Who is this, then? Examining it both ways, there is no verification. Thus we know this is empty talk of sea dates—possessing name without reality, carving ice and chiseling snow in a futile waste of words. It is neither contained in the Shanhai jing nor recorded in the Dahuang jing; it is merely clever embellishment by the vulgar and foolish—how could it be worthy of trust? Lord Lao was merely an archival scribe in the declining Zhou, yet they falsely claim he is the ancestor of chaos! He crossed the Hangu Pass to escape the turmoil of the Zhou, yet they wildly call him the father and mother of heaven and earth! Since their own words contradict themselves, why do the cuirass and the arrow attack each other? Covering one's ears to steal a bell only reveals more of what one wishes to hide. The Daode chapter says: 'I have three treasures, which I treasure and hold fast: the first is compassion, the second is frugality, the third is not daring to be first in the world.' When Lord Lao presented wives and children to barbarian kings and engaged in combat with barbarian soldiers, where was his compassion? Riding a carriage of jade balances, sitting within a golden palace, draped in nine-colored gauze robes, and sheltered by canopies of nine lights with resting cranes, where was his frugality? Born in the beginningless and arising without cause, being prior to the ten thousand ways, acting as the ancestor of the primordial qi, observing before chaos was parted, watching before the pure and turbid were divided, acting as the teacher of emperors and kings, and serving as the mother of heaven and earth—how is this 'not daring to be first in the world'? Gao Xian of Liaoyang (courtesy name Zhongchang) visited the Baihe Monastery in the Eastern Capital. Seeing the images of the Three Clarities, he pointed to the one on the right and asked, 'What image is this?' The abbot replied, 'The image of Lord Lao.' He asked, 'From what era was he?' The abbot said, 'The time of King Ding of Zhou.' He then pointed to the left and asked, 'What image is this?' The abbot replied, 'The image of the Daoist Lord.' He asked, 'From what era was he?' The abbot flustered and could not reply. Xian pointed to the central honored one and said, 'Let us spare this Heavenly Worthy of Primal Origin for now!' Those who heard it passed it around as a laughingstock. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 21.91](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.21.91) - [Next: 21.93](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.21.93) - [Up: 21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.21) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036~en-mt.21.92) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [辯偽錄](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2116.1.10) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.21.92](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.21.92) · Pramāṇa