[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) › 7.77 # 佛祖歷代通載 7.77 佛祖歷代通載 7.77 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [7.77](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7.77) 問曰。論旨以化盡為至極。故造極者必違化而求宗。求宗不由於順化。是以引歷代君王。使同之佛教。令體極之至以權君統。此雅論之所託。自必於大通者也。求之實當。理則不然。何者夫稟氣極於一生。生盡則消液而同無。神雖妙物。固是陰陽之化耳。既化而為生又化而為死。既聚而為始。又散而為終。以此而推。固知神形俱化原無異統。精粗一氣始終同宅。宅全則氣聚而有靈。宅毀則氣散而照滅。散則反所受於本。本滅則復歸於無物。反覆終窮。皆自然之數耳。孰為之哉。若反本則異氣。數合則同化。亦為神之處形。猶火之在木。其生必並。其毀必滅。形離則神散而罔寄。木朽則火寂而靡託。理之然矣。假使同異之分昧而難明。有無之說必存乎聚散。聚散氣變之總名。萬化之生滅。故莊子曰。人之生氣之聚。聚則為生。散則為死。若死生為彼之徒。則吾又何患。古之善言道者。必有以得之。若果然耶。至理極於一生。生盡不化。義可尋矣。 > Question: The premise of your treatise considers the exhaustion of transformation to be the highest ultimate; therefore, those who attain the ultimate must go against transformation to seek the Ultimate. Since seeking the Ultimate does not proceed by following transformation, you cite the kings of past generations, aligning them with the Buddhist teaching, claiming that those who attain the utmost embodiment of the Ultimate provisionally govern the realm. This is what your elegant treatise relies on, and it assumes a great universality. But when examined against reality, the principle is not so. Why? Endowed qi is limited to a single lifetime; when life ends, it dissolves into nothingness. Although the spirit is subtle, it is certainly just the transformation of yin and yang. Having transformed into life, it transforms again into death; having gathered to become the beginning, it disperses to become the end. Reasoning from this, we surely know that spirit and form transform together and originally have no separate lineage. Subtle and coarse are of one single qi, residing in the same dwelling from beginning to end. When the dwelling is intact, qi gathers and consciousness exists; when the dwelling is destroyed, qi disperses and illumination is extinguished. When it disperses, it returns what it received to the root; when the root is extinguished, it returns to nonexistence. Arising and returning, beginning and ending, are all natural destiny; who could cause it? If returning to the root meant a different qi, then when the numbers aligned they would transform together; this means the spirit residing in the form is like fire in wood: their arising must be together, and its destruction must mean extinction. When the form departs, the spirit disperses with nowhere to dwell; when the wood rots, the fire goes out with nothing to support it. This is the natural order of principle. Even if the distinction between identity and difference is obscure and difficult to clarify, the doctrine of being and nonbeing must reside in gathering and dispersing. Gathering and dispersing are the general names for the transformation of qi, the arising and ceasing of myriad transformations. Hence Zhuangzi said: 'The life of human beings is a gathering of qi; when it gathers there is life, when it disperses there is death. If life and death are companions, what then should I worry about?' Those among the ancients who spoke well of the Dao certainly attained this. If it is indeed so, the ultimate principle is limited to a single lifetime; when life ends, there is no further transformation—its meaning can be readily ascertained. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 7.76](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7.76) - [Next: 7.78](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7.78) - [Up: 7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036~en-mt.7.77) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (2) - [弘明集](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2102.5.43) — 僧祐, Classical Chinese - [集沙門不應拜俗等事](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2108.2.20) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7.77](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7.77) · Pramāṇa