佛祖歷代通載 22

English (machine translation) 22

Language: English

22.1

Compiled by Nianchang of Huating, Abbot of the Dazhong Xiangfu Chan Monastery of Jiaxing Circuit

The False Ninth Transformation: Being the Archivist under the Pillar in the Time of King Wen of Zhou (The nineteenth transformation says: In the time of King Wen of Zhou, Lord Lao became Xieyizi. At that time King Zhou was licentious and tyrannical, and the realm was plunged into misery. Thereupon he rode a chariot of whirlwind, with the Earl of the Wind clearing the way and Pengzu riding on the right, descending to the south of Boshan. The Earl of the West bowed to him and appointed him Keeper of the Archives. When King Wu conquered Shang, he was promoted to Archivist under the Pillar. He composed the Chijing jing to teach King Wen the way of benevolence and righteousness, and composed the Xuanji jing to bestow upon the Duke of Zhou. Through the reigns of King Cheng and King Kang, his lineage served as Archivists under the Pillar. In the time of King Zhao, there was the omen of black qi; Lord Lao bestowed the esoteric text of the Eight Heavens upon King Zhao, but the king did not use it, which later led to the calamity of the glued boat.) The refutation states: We have heard of the records of the Nine Heads and the Five Dragons, the writings on double pupils and four breasts, the texts of the metal Qin and the fire Han, and the canons of the yellow Wei and the white Jin; but we have never heard that King Wen took Laozi as his teacher, or that the Xuanji was used to instruct the Duke of Zhou. It is only recorded that King Wen took Taigong as his teacher and King Wu took Ji Dan as his teacher. The various books fully record this, and former Confucians have spoken of it at length. Why run counter to the Hundred Schools to put forth another absurd list, singing blindly with dishevelled minds to delude living beings? One who would emulate the sages must devote himself to reality; unfounded talk merely brings about the world's ridicule. According to the Shiji and separate biographies, Laozi was born in the reign of King Ding and interacted with Confucius; why falsely place him in the time of the Earl of the West? Since he was a sage, seeing King Zhou's licentiousness he should have exerted all his strength to admonish him and rectify his shortcomings; yet he instead rode high in a flying chariot and fled far away. Is this how a loyal minister should behave? In former days when crossing the pass, he hired Xu Jia as his driver and rode in a frail cart; now he rides a chariot of whirlwind, preceded by the Earl of the Wind, with Pengzu riding on the right. How could his self-aggrandisement be so wildly absurd? Moreover, Pengzu was already dead by this time, and the Earl of the Wind would not clear the way for him. From Gong Liu onwards, King Wen's ancestors accumulated benevolence and filial piety for generations; his transformative virtue prevailed across the Jiang and Han rivers, and his compassion extended even to the wayside rushes: why would he wait for the teachings of the Chijing jing? The Duke of Zhou instituted rites and composed music, reigning on behalf of the monarch over the realm; he established the Golden Casket to make his oath and instituted the Rites of Zhou to pass down regulations: what need had he of the teachings of the Xuanji? King Zhao was called an enlightened ruler; the histories record no disaster of black qi, yet they falsely alter the omen of the white rainbow into a talk of black qi. Bestowing him with esoteric writing is yet another reckless claim. Previously they said that Lord Lao was the Religious Master of the Nine Heavens, the Sovereign Lord of the Golden Gate, wearing the crown of the seven luminaries, draped in a nine-coloured mantle, riding a jade carriage of the eight scenes, driving five-coloured divine dragons; within the golden palace he sat inside a jade canopy, attended by immortal boys on the left and jade maidens on the right, accompanied by ten thousand sages and flanked by a thousand spirits. Since Laozi possessed such an exalted status, why would he refuse to dwell in it and instead return to the petty post of Keeper of the Archives, bending his body to serve as a minister, standing beside his sovereign beneath the pillars, rushing to morning audience and bowing in the evening, holding the tablet upright and tucking in his sash? Forsaking his high flight to the tall trees to cast himself into the low ground of a dark valley—what absurd confusion of high and low! The title 'Xieyi' is not recorded in the Book of Zhou, and 'Sovereign Lord of the Golden Gate' was concocted from nothing by Daoists: having only a name without reality, who would believe and transmit it? Chasing the wind to find a shadow, planting lightning to seek its root—is this not what it means? If it was because King Zhao did not believe that he suffered the disaster of the glued boat, then the First Emperor of Qin sought immortals and personally visited the seashore, braving the waves and treading danger in hope of meeting deities; yet in vain he dreamt of Anqi's name, never seeing Xianmen's face, dying on the road at Shaqiu, stinking with the stench of salted fish. Emperor Wu of Han loved immortality: his body wore the clothes of winged men, his mouth drank dew from the celestial poles, indulging Luan Da's deceptive words and believing Li Shaojun's fraudulent arts, yet his body entered Maoling without the slightest benefit. Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei trusted Kou Qianzhi's claims, building the celestial palace of the Jinglun, exhausting wealth and wearing out his people, only to contract a virulent pestilence. Emperor Wudi of Northern Zhou orally ingested cinnabar elixirs and clothed his body in yellow robes; fever erupted at Jinyang, and he died having lost his voice. Emperor Wuzong of Tang took Zhao Guizhen as his master and ingested golden elixirs; before the Huichang era ended, he suffered an untimely demise. In recent times, the Retired Emperor of Song trusted Lin Lingsu to roam the Moon Palace, reciting the stanzas of the Supreme Ultimate and wearing swords to expel evil, yet his state was ruined, his house destroyed, and he died in Eastern Korea. All these several sovereigns devoted their sincere hearts to one aspiration, hoping to enjoy a thousand years; yet they met with lingering afflictions, without a single miraculous result. To mock King Zhao over the disaster of the glued boat—is that not seeking out another's faults without basis? Taking joy in another's misfortune is something a gentleman does not do.

22.3

The False Tenth Transformation: Discrepancies in Lord Lao's Successive Descents and Births (The first transformation says: Laozi was born before the Five Movements. In the second transformation: Laozi was born amidst the Three Qi. The sixth transformation says: Lord Lao's surname was Li, his taboo name Hongyuan Yaoling, and his courtesy name Guangming. In the seventh year of Shanghe, the year being gengchen, on the third day of the ninth month, jiazi, at the mao hour, he was first born in the Northern Xuan Jade Country, on Mount Tiangang Lingjing, within Li Valley. On the evening when the Holy Mother Xuanling gave birth to him, three suns arose in the east, nine dragons spat water, the Moon Consort scattered flowers, and the Sun Boy radiated splendour. At five years of age, he embodied the Dao and congealed the true; at twenty, he possessed a golden countenance and jade visage, leaving his home and family to transcend worldly dust. Later, inspired by Yuanshi's descent to bestow teachings, he was granted the Yuyi Taizhang and the Taidong Zhenjing. Lord Yuqing, the Celestial Emperor of Ziwei, descended with a jasper carriage to welcome him, bestowing cinnabar seals and talismanic writings, making him the Latter Sage Sovereign Lord of the Golden Gate of Shangqing, holding dominion over the spirits and immortals of the ten heavens, rivers, and seas. The eleventh transformation says: In the first year of Qingzhuo, on the first day of the seventh month, Lord Lao entrusted his mysterious spirit and jade essence to descend into the Jade Maiden of Taiyuan for one thousand three hundred years, titled Laozi the Unsurpassed, and also titled the Dharma King of the Great Chiliocosm. The twelfth transformation says: In the first year of Qinghan, Lord Lao lodged with the Jade Maiden Feixuan of the Nine Heavens for eighty-one years, titled Laozi the Exalted. The thirteenth transformation says: In the first year of Qinghan, jiawu, on the ninth day of the ninth month, he descended into the Jade Maiden of Yuansu for seventy-three years, titled Laozi of the Nine Spirits. The tenth transformation says: In the gengchen year of Yang Jia, the eighteenth king of Yin, in the wuwu month, Laozi entered the mouth of the Jade Maiden Xuanmiao; after eighty-one years, on the fifteenth day of the first month of the gengchen year, the ninth year of Wu Ding, the Holy Mother split her left armpit, clasped a plum tree, and gave birth to him. As soon as he was born, he walked nine steps, and lotuses sprang from every step; nine dragons spat water; he was endowed with the seventy-two marks and eighty-one minor signs. Pointing to heaven with his left hand and to earth with his right hand, he said: 'Above heaven and beneath heaven, only the Dao is solely venerable; I shall expound the unsurpassed teaching of the Dao to universally deliver all beings.' It also says: Li Lingfei attained the true method of cultivating longevity; his wife, of the Yin clan of Tianshui, was sleeping during the day in Lai Township and saw the Taishang descend from heaven, transforming into a dark coin; she swallowed it and became pregnant, giving birth to a white-haired child after eighty-one years, named Laozi; born beneath a plum tree, he took Li ('plum') as his surname from the shoot).

22.4

Refutation: A falling star pierced the Pleiades—this indeed was the portent for Yu the Great. Lightning encircled the Pivotal Star—this manifested the auspicious joy of the Yellow Emperor. A rainbow swept the Flowery Isle, and Shaohao thereupon met his destined era. A star crowned the lunar orb, and Zhuanxu thereby responded to the omen. A red dragon illuminated [the sky] to herald Emperor Yao. Thick, swirling clouds were the true sign for the founding ancestor of the Han. These are the divine wonders of sages, fully recorded in genealogical documents. Yet never has it been heard that at Laozi's birth three suns rose together, that he paced nine steps all around, that lunar consorts scattered flowers, and that solar youths radiated splendor. Moreover, when stars fell like rain and the sun suffered an eclipse, the Chunqiu recorded them as strange events; if Li Er had possessed such portents, why would Confucius not have recorded them? Furthermore, Luyang waved his spear and turned back the sun (found in the Huainanzi); Duke Jing spoke good words and drove back the Planet Mars (in Liu Xiang's Xinshu); General Ershi drew his sword and a spring gushed forth (in the Hanshu); and Geng Gong bowed to a well and water welled up (in the Hou Hanshu). When there are extraordinary signs, books take them as fine accounts. Since Lao[zi] has no such texts, these matters are surely fabricated talk; they relied on another Great Sage and appropriated them as his wonders. Now, though sages display appearances through manifold paths, their birth through transformation is never divided into two bodies. The Bhagavān's hundred kotis of transformation bodies were manifested simultaneously across the trichiliocosm; once his transformative ties were concluded, he immediately entered nirvāṇa. Why would Laozi descend and be born generation after generation with such gross absurdity? He was originally Li Er, yet they falsely altered his posthumous name Li Boyang and called him Guangming, concealing his original name and adding fine titles. The genuine text of the Shiji does not record a single word of this, whereas Daoist books fabricate false accounts with a hundred kinds of embellishments. The first two transformations are described as being before the Great Change, while the latter ten cycles are recorded as being after Fuxi. They seek after vacuity and pick up falsehoods, deceiving later generations. Earlier they say that at five years of age he congealed the real, and at twenty entered the Way; later they say he was born with white hair after eighty-one years [in the womb]. Their own words contradict each other—why wait for others to attack them? They do not acknowledge the reality of Laxiang in Bozhou, but falsely transmit the fictional Jade Realm of the Northern Dark. With drooping ears and disheveled hair, they absurdly claim seventy-two marks; conceived through illicit union, they flatteringly allege that he paced nine steps all around. They plucked the auspicious signs of the Śākya[muni] to serve as wonders for Lao[zi], taking this stinking weed to foul those orchids and angelicas. The Jade Realm of the Northern Dark is not recorded in the Shanhai jing; Tiangang and Li Valley are not detailed in any local registers. The Baijia pu of Wang Jian (Grand Defender Wang Jian had the Baijia pu) never mentions the name of the Jade Maiden, and the Xing shi yuan rarely speaks of the Xuanmiao clan. According to Daoist Jia Shanxiang's preface to the Gaodao zhuan, 'Boyang arose in the Ji clan's Zhou.' Since it says he arose in the Ji Zhou, Laozi was not in the Shang. One clearly knows that at the time of Yang Jia, there was originally no Li Er; only in the declining Zhou did Lao Dan first appear. (Hu Zeng said: 'The lances and halberds of the Seven Heroes were tangled as hemp; / Across the Four Seas, no one could sit at home. / Lao[zi] instead longed to live in Tianzhu, / So he took Xu Jia and crossed the flowing sands.' From this it is clear he was a man of the late Zhou.) Fleeing disorder, he entered Qin and died, being buried in Huaili; Qin Yi mourned him, cried out three times, and departed—this is good evidence! Why doubt it any further? The Shiji's basic biography says that no one knew his end. The loose talk of the Huahu jing says he 'crossed the flowing sands,' conflating the portents of the Tathāgata's birth with the vapor of Laozi crossing the pass. Cleverly though you may harmonize them, on what do your false assertions rely? According to the Dunhuang shilu, in the twenty-ninth year of King Huan of Zhou, the king visited the Xianyu Pavilion and discussed past and present with his ministers. The king asked: 'What sort of man was Lao Dan's father?' Suo Sui, the Prefect of Tianshui, replied: 'Lao Dan's father was surnamed Han, named Qian, with the courtesy name Yuanbei. He was crippled, base, and born without ears. Blind in one eye, solitary and impoverished, he begged for a living. At sixty-two he had no wife. He engaged in illicit union with Jingfu, an old swineherd bondwoman in the household of his neighbor the Yishou clan, and she became pregnant. After eighty-one years, he was born. When Laozi was born, his hair was white, hence he was called Laojun.' These were his original, true traces, yet they hide them and do not transmit them, stealing another's abilities in order to aggrandize Lao[zi]'s holiness. If one has a broken broom at home, one values it at a thousand pieces of gold—how true this saying is!

22.5

Thrice Becoming a Buddha, the Eleventh Fabrication: (The thirty-fourth transformation says: 'Laojun told the Hu king: "I will cause my disciple to become a Buddha, and you must take him as your teacher." He then caused Yin Xi to transform his body into a Buddha, serving as a teacher to the Hu people, instructing them to become śramaṇas, conferring upon them the Dharma of the Buddha, and expounding the Sūtra in Forty-Two Sections.' It also says: 'Laojun went to the kingdom of Śrāvastī and himself transformed into a Buddha, sitting upon a seven-jeweled throne, his body being millions of fathoms tall, filling the entire empty sky.' It also says: 'Laojun, wishing to reorganizing the Buddhist teachings, in the ninth year of King Zhuang of Zhou, commanded his disciple King Fantuo from the Brahmā Heaven to mount the essence of the moon and lodge within the womb of Lady Māyā in Tianzhu. On the eighth day of the fourth month in the tenth year, he was born from her right flank. Later he entered the Snow Mountains to practice asceticism for six years, completed the Way, gathered the multitude of buddhas, and was called Moni. In the fourth year of King Kuang, he was dissolved and transformed, and the Supreme One commanded him to ascend to the Jiayi Heaven as the Sage Shanhui.')

22.6

Refutation: When roots are deep, the fruit is lush; when a spring is distant, the stream runs long. When the tiger roars, the wind rises; when the dragon chants, the mists gather. The auspicious appearance of sages always has deep origins: having planted good causes in the past, they now elicit wondrous fruit. Our Buddha, the Bhagavān, accumulated practices and piled up merit throughout three incalculable kalpas, seeking bodhi through the six pāramitās without withholding anything, casting away body and life as numerous as the sands of the Gaṅgā, and abandoning kingdoms and cities as numerous as fine dust motes. Adorning worlds and guiding sentient beings, he then responded to Dīpaṃkara's prediction, succeeded to the rank of Kāśyapa, descended to be born in Central India, and took birth in the royal palace. Pacing seven steps all around, he pointed to Heaven and Earth as the most venerable; his thirty-two marks vied in brilliance with the sun and moon. The Four Heavenly Kings held up his feet to bear him out of the worldly dust; with his six years of practice fulfilled, he achieved the Way. He manifested his body across a hundred kotis of lands, expounded the Dharma for forty-nine years, spread his voice and teachings throughout the human and heavenly realms, and destroyed the non-Buddhists beneath the twin trees. Once the matters of his transformative ties were concluded, he returned to the unconditioned. Such were his manifestations according to conditions and appropriate to the times. Why would he have needed Laozi to first transform Yin Xi into a Buddha, concealing another's divine achievements and claiming them as his own superior deeds? The Buddha was born in the era of King Zhao of Zhou, whereas Lao[zi] descended in the reign of King Ding; separated by seventeen sovereigns and more than three hundred years, the [Buddha's] transformation had already filled the world, and his teaching had already filled the dragon palaces. Households looked up to the breeze of his benevolence; the realm honored the standards of the Śākya clan. How could it rely on Li Er to reorganize it, or on Fantuo to reappear? Tacking the earlier onto the later is flattery and deceit played upon the foolish! Formerly, when crossing the pass, he hired Xu Jia as his attendant—how could he have had devas and humans as his escort? Riding a rustic cart, how could he have had a seven-jeweled throne? With a broad forehead and drooping ears, how could he have had a body of ten thousand fathoms? This is deceitful, heterodox absurdity, cheating the worthy and slandering the sages! When the kun transforms into the peng, it is due to self-transformation; when a snake molts into a pheasant, it does not rely on another's power. These are all the nature of things, elicited by yin and yang, bursting forth when the time arrives, not caused by another. Laozi was simply an ordinary man, himself a subject and minister; how could he produce another divinity and further cause Yin Xi to become a Buddha? This is blinding one's own mind and gouging out the eyes of others. Flouting propriety and slighting the sages incurs the karmic retribution of having one's tongue ripped out! The Sage Shanhui, when about to ascend to the eighth bhūmi, met Dīpaṃkara Buddha and received the prophecy of non-arising: this was the former name of the Bhagavān. Since he had already attained Buddhahood, his merit realized and his fruit perfected, and once the matters of his transformative ties were concluded, he entered nirvāṇa, conveying his spirit to the realm of permanent bliss and forever entering the sphere of the unconditioned. How could he, having completed the deeds of a Buddha, become the Sage Shanhui again? Tacking the later onto the earlier—what utter confusion! Fraudulently stealing what is untrue corrupts people's sight and hearing. Now, although the heavens are joyful, they are still within saṃsāra, not exempt from the calamity of the three disasters and unable to escape the suffering of the five signs of decay. The Sage transcends birth and death, forgetting both suffering and joy; he soars high above the fords of the three realms and walks alone beyond the six dusts. Why would he turn back to the heavens and re-enter the worldly clamor, polluting our Sage and deceiving our Great Awakened One? This is like abandoning the majestic dignity of the Son of Heaven to long for the menial labor of a groom, or abandoning the spacious halls of a splendid mansion to delight in the thatched eaves of a humble shack. You rejoice in the glory of the Jiayi Heaven; I feel shame at the disgrace of dung. Under the Sui, Grand Duke of Chu Yang Su, passing by Louguan, saw the murals on the wall and asked the Daoist: 'What picture is this?' The Daoist replied: 'It is the picture of Laozi Converting the Hu and Becoming a Buddha.' Su said: 'I have heard that when Laozi tried to convert the Hu, the Hu people would not accept him; only when Laozi transformed into a Buddha did the Hu people accept him. If so, it is the Buddha who was able to convert the Hu, and the Dao that was unable to convert them. Why say that Laozi converted the Hu?' The Daoist could give no answer. Excellent indeed were Yang Su's words—this is the argument of an understanding man! If the Hu people had not known beforehand that there was a Buddha, how would they have been willing to accept the transformation of a Buddha? Examining it by this, India already had a Buddha beforehand. Yet they say that Yin Xi became a Buddha and Laozi only then transformed—how deeply have they deceived our school! (The Louguan was originally the residence of Yin Xi, south of the pass; Daoists still reside there today.)

22.7

Usurping Names and Arrogating Sagehood, the Twelfth Fabrication: (The forty-eighth transformation says: 'The Grand Steward of Song asked Master Kong: "Is the Master a sage?" Confucius replied: "As for being a sage, how could Qiu presume? I am merely broadly learned and well-informed." The Grand Steward said: "Were the Three Kings sages?" Confucius said: "The Three Kings were good at employing wisdom and courage; whether they were sages, Qiu does not know." The Grand Steward said: "Were the Five Emperors sages?" Confucius said: "The Five Emperors were good at employing benevolence and righteousness; whether they were sages, Qiu does not know." The Grand Steward said: "Were the Three Sovereigns sages?" Confucius said: "The Three Sovereigns were good at adapting to the times; whether they were sages, Qiu does not know." The Grand Steward, greatly startled, said: "If so, then who is a sage?" Confucius, his expression moving, paused and said: "Qiu has heard that among the people of the West there is a sage: he does not govern, yet there is no disorder; he does not speak, yet he is naturally trusted; he does not convert, yet things naturally proceed. Vast and boundless, the people cannot find a name for it! Qiu suspects he is a sage." The Shizhi jing says: 'Confucius was in Lu, and Laozi was in Zhou. Looking toward Luoyang in Zhou from Lu, it was in the west. This referred to Laozi as the sage of the West. When Confucius inquired about the rites, he earlier made the sigh of "like unto a dragon," so this refers to Laozi.')

22.8

The refutation states: Now, hawking and brokering oneself are the vile conduct of women; being neither boastful nor vainglorious is the profound ability of the sage. Thus Shun praised the merits of Yu, admiring his achievements without competing; Confucius commended Meng Zhifan, who still remained humble despite his generous service. Therefore their fine reputations spread for a thousand autumns, and their modesty shone forth to the four seas. The passage quoted above is found in full in the 'Zhongni' chapter of the Liezi. General consensus throughout history has held that these were the words of the Master praising the Buddha as the Great Sage of the West (Dharma Master Falin's memorial to Emperor Taizong of the Tang and Chancellor Zhang's Treatise in Defense of the Dharma both cite this text as referring to the Buddha as the Sage of the West). One has never heard that because Laozi was in Zhou and Confucius in Lu, he therefore referred to Laozi as the Sage of the West. Usurping names and falsely claiming sagehood—how greatly you deceive us! One who usurps the position of a sage is not benevolent; one whose words deviate from principle is not wise. Moreover, the ancestral origin of the Dao began with the Yellow Emperor and had nothing to do with Laozi. Laozi took Rongchengzi as his master and expounded the five thousand words; even if he spoke of sagehood, he could not surpass Xuan Yuan. Since Confucius did not praise even the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors as sages, to turn around and call Laozi a sage—is that not excessive? Our Bhagavān completed the myriad practices, and his fruition realized the ten bodies. His radiating light pervades worlds numerous as dust motes, and his manifested bodies respond across realms vast as grains of sand. He cannot be measured by human affairs, nor sought in a physical location. He is truly the Great Master of the Triple World and the Compassionate Father of the four kinds of beings. Pacing supreme within the universe, he is the Dharma King among kings; uniquely revered beyond the world, he is the Great Sage among sages. Therefore, seated peacefully at the seat of awakening, his majestic influence prevails over myriad realms. Even with the Duke of Zhou establishing rituals and creating music, Confucius expounding the Book of Changes and editing the Book of Odes, the literary compositions of Bu Yan, the speeches of Duanmu Ci, the wide learning and rhetoric of Sima Qian, the comprehensive erudition of Ge Hong, the arcane discourse of Wang Fusi, and the magical transformations of Zuo Ci—though they all galloped across this worldly domain, their words never touched the Great Way. They may be high masters who improve society, but they can hardly be sages who transcend the world. According to records, Tianzhu is a sacred realm where all the worthy gather, where the past Buddhas were all born together. Fan Ye's Book of Han (the historian's appraisal in the 'Treatise on the Western Regions' of the Hou Han shu) states that its land is more prosperous than the Central Plains, harmonized by the jade-candle weather, a place where spiritual sages descend and assemble, and where the virtuous and noble are born. Therefore, worthy and capable individuals of ancient times frequently traveled there. Laozi's Xisheng jing (Scripture of Western Ascension) says: 'I heard that in Zhugan (now changed to 'opening the Dao in Zhugan') there is an ancient sovereign teacher who is adept at entering the unconditioned, without beginning and without end, perpetually and ceaselessly enduring; therefore I travel west.' Furthermore, an old edition of the Huahu jing (Scripture of Converting the Barbarians) states: 'Why was I born so late, and nirvāṇa achieved so early? Not having seen Śākyamuni, my heart is filled with idle sorrow.' This demonstrates that Laozi himself pointed to the Buddha as the Sage of the West. Furthermore, the Yellow Emperor dreamed of wandering to the country of Huaxu, which lies west of Yanzhou. Wang Shao's commentary notes: 'This refers to Tianzhu in the west.' During the reign of King Mu of Zhou, hearing that a Great Sage had appeared in the west, his heart was very fearful. He dispatched Zaofu to ride the eight steeds of Hualiu to ascend the Kunlun Mountains in the west to view the setting sun in order to suppress that spirit. Furthermore, a transformed person came from the extreme west who could overturn heaven and alter earth, with boundless sagely power and inexhaustible myriad transformations. King Mu revered him like a deity and built the Mid-Heaven Terrace for him to dwell. The transformed person guided King Mu on a spirit journey; in an instant, it was already like several years. Furthermore, in the fifty-second year of King Mu, the Tathāgata demonstrated his extinction; in the west there were twelve white rainbows spanning south and north, persisting through the night without extinguishing. The king asked the Grand Astrologer Hu Duo: 'What omen is this?' Hu Duo replied: 'In the west there is a Great Sage; it is merely the appearance of his signs of decline.' King Mu rejoiced and said: 'I always feared him; now I have no worry.' This proves that Zhugan is a superior land where sages dwell, which is why a worthy king sought in the west and a transformed person came to the east. Furthermore, Zhang Qian was dispatched on an embassy, tracing the source of the Yellow River westwards to Daxia; he heard that south of the Snow Mountains there was the kingdom of Shendu, whose people venerate the stupa (futoo), do not kill or punish, and ride elephants into battle. Shendu is present-day India. Thus the tradition of benevolence is clearly detailed in the Han histories. All the citations above point to India as the West; since the Buddha was born there, they refer to the Buddha as the Sage of the West. How could they speak of Luoyang as the West and Laozi as the sage? It was also said: 'Confucius previously sighed about him being like a dragon, hence this sagely virtue refers to Laozi'—with the intent of turning Confucius's single instance of inquiring about ritual into becoming Laozi's disciple. Confucius said: 'I have no constant teacher; whoever is good is my teacher.' And: 'When three people walk together, there must be a teacher for me among them.' Thus he learned the zither from Music Master Xiang, asked about music from Chang Hong, asked about official titles from the Viscount of Tan, and entering the Grand Ancestral Temple, inquired about everything. When someone asked about farming, he said, 'I am not as good as an old farmer'; when someone asked about gardening, he said, 'I am not as good as an old gardener.' This shows that Confucius was open-minded, receptive to goodness, and diligently devoted to the Dao. How could asking about one matter make someone his master? At that time, Laozi was the Archivist, managing the ritual records of the Duke of Zhou, so Confucius asked him. If inquiring about ritual makes one Confucius's master, then are the old farmer and old gardener also Confucius's masters? Surely not! Courting fame, hawking oneself to the world, and seeking to be a master of others—the gentleman does not do this.

22.9

Regarding the thirteenth fabrication, 'Uniting the Qi to Constitute the Dao' (The forty-eighth transformation says: On the twelfth day of the seventh month in the twenty-third year of King Zhao of Zhou, Laozi reached the Hangu Pass. Having met him, Yin Xi invited him to return to his own residence, where he expounded the Daodejing in two scrolls and over five thousand words. Yin Xi kowtowed and said: 'I wish to receive its essentials.' Laozi said: 'Well said.' He then explained the essentials of the Dao and De for him, saying: 'The Dao refers to nihuan (nirvāṇa). Nihuan is heavenly virtue. Its principle resides in the human head. The purple qi descends to the cinnabar field; this is called the du, which refers to the spleen. The spleen is the Central Yellow Great One. The yellow qi wanders and governs the central palace. The mother of myriad things refers to the cinnabar field. The cinnabar field is the mysterious female. It resides in the lower origin. In the course of one night, a single qi descends and circulates through the three palaces. 'Emerging from the same source but having different names' refers to semen. The first is called semen, the second sweat, the third blood, and the fourth bodily fluid; hence they are called 'different names.' 'Mystery of mysteries' refers to the left and right sweat. 'The gate of all wonders' and 'the Dao that can be spoken of' refer to the morning meal being delicious. 'Not the constant Dao' refers to it turning into feces in the evening. This follows the interpretation of Zhang Daoling; Daoling spoke thus. 'Being and non-being produce each other' refers to the mouth and the belly. 'Difficult and easy complement each other' refers to semen and qi. This is the crucial instruction Laozi transmitted to True Man Yin. He also transmitted to Yin Xi the Divine Cinnabar Scripture, the Golden Liquid Scripture, and the secret formula of the Eightfold Refinement, Ninefold Reverted Elixir, and Subduing Fire. Its formula says: 'The reverted elixir of golden liquid flows with immortal radiance; soaring high into the clouds, it ascends the heavenly mound. The red and yellow qi forms in an instant; one should obtain the male and female to separate the disordered pearls. It can bring about transformative shifts and produce a travelling kitchen; the spiritual youth and jade maiden take me as husband. Emerging and entering without interval, harmonizing with heaven; the true semen coagulates like frost, skillfully sinking and floating. If you treasure and revere it, they will surely come to visit.' He also transmitted the names of the nine elixirs and a song that says: 'Round, three to five inches and one tenth; the mouth four and eight, two-inch lips. Length two feet, thickness even; belly three and uniform, sitting and hanging warm. Yin above and yang rushing below; beginning and end martial, civil in between. Starting at seventy, ending at three decades; within two hundred, skillfully harmonizing. The yin fire turns white, the yellow sprout is revered; both converge together to assist the person. The child dwelling in the palace attains peace and preservation; coming and going to roam, not exiting the gate.')

22.10

The refutation states: Now, the Dao values purity and tranquility, and Virtue esteems non-action, calmly maintaining inward composure and shepherding oneself with humility. Not relying on this Dao, they separately promote numerous falsehoods, solely taking the circulation of qi and manipulation of energy as self-cultivation. They lose the purity of Dao and De and deviate from the marvelous gate of spontaneity, falsely setting up artful words and arbitrarily forcing interpretations. Guarding the cinnabar field they deem the supreme Dao, and keeping the two kidneys they deem the mystery of mysteries. Vile, crude, and superficial, they deceive and delude the common populace. Those such as Wang Qiao and Xianmen did not favor these formulas, and the likes of Baishi and Chisong did not rely on such ways. Through elixir scriptures and smelting formulas, prolongation of life is never seen; through swallowing medicines and ingesting lingzhi mushrooms, longevity has rarely been observed. Emperor Wu of Zhou took elixirs until he became mute; Emperor Wuzong of Tang took elixirs and died early. How many worthy and good people have they misled into failing to preserve their natural lifespan! Since the true secrets of Dao and De reach their ultimate principle in this, the remaining writings in the Daoist canon are not worthy of esteem. Today's Daoist priests further display shallow arts: some practice spirit-writing, scrawling chaotically merely out of craving for nocturnal drinking; some perform exorcisms and slay ghosts, deceiving people into thinking they avert calamities; some confine themselves within enclosing walls and guard within, which is called 'galloping while sitting'; some conserve speech without action, which is called 'foolish silence'; some perform bear-hangings and bird-stretchings, aspiring to stand shoulder to shoulder with Pengzu; some swallow qi and rest the spirit, mimicking tortoises and cranes for longevity; some circulate semen up to the vertex, hauling the river cart; some consolidate the cinnabar field and seal it within, calling it preservation; some unite qi as the Dao, acting like Laozi gathering deer to mate incestuously; some snatch semen and gather the spirit, mixing men and women together. Clacking the teeth they call the 'heavenly drum'; swallowing saliva they call the 'sweet spring.' They call the male organ the 'golden vegetable,' seeking only rigidity; they call the female aperture the 'jade gate,' secretly concealing its vile name. They call a virgin maiden a 'true person,' and intercourse 'dragon and tiger.' The infant and lovely maiden, lead and mercury, cinnabar furnace—hence they say 'Open the life-gate and embrace the true person; the infant returns, the dragon and tiger play; three, five, seven, and nine form the heavenly net.' Thus Zhang Daoling's Yellow Book says: 'Men and women have the method of harmonious union, the way of intercourse in three, five, seven, and nine. Its secret formula for attaining reality lies in the cinnabar field. The cinnabar field is the jade gate. They take taboos as most urgent, not allowing leakage onto the roadway. The roadway is the anus.' Furthermore, the Daoist Rules of the Inner Audience state: 'The ritual regulation is that on the new moon and full moon days, men and women attend the master in private chambers, approaching the master to establish merit and virtue. Yin and yang advance together; during the six periods of day and night they must establish merit and virtue. They must not disrupt the order of internal attendants, must not crave heterodox ways and lose the way of proper central control, and must not jump ahead or fall behind, disrupting the sequential order; nor may they dislike the ugly or favor the beautiful.' It also says: 'On the occasion of the new moon and full moon, attending the master in the private chamber, mutual affectionate feelings arise and men and women copulate, aligning four eyes and two noses upper to lower, with two mouths and two tongues facing each other. Once yin and yang connect, the semen and qi subsequently circulate. Therefore Laozi said: My master taught me the Golden Elixir Scripture, causing me to concentrate single-mindedly on nourishing the jade stalk; three, five, seven, and nine return the yin essence; breathing into the jade pool, one enters the dark mystery; practicing the Dao equally, one ascends to the Grand Purity.' Songs and mnemonic formulas like these all have such meanings. Taking such lascivious obscenity as true cultivation, they do not consider the words about returning to the root and recovering one's destiny, but solely practice the vile arts of uniting qi. Seeking the Dao through this falsely ensnares human ethics; seeking transcendence through this is unattainable throughout one's life. Eradicating guilt with this, guilt cannot be eliminated; averting disaster with this, disaster cannot be averted; seeking blessings with this, blessings cannot arise; renouncing the household with this, the household cannot be left behind. How does this differ from steaming sand to make rice, vainly enduring toil and trouble? Seeking the real within a mirror, in the end nothing is obtained. Alas! Discarding the Black Dragon's pearl to gather gravel, turning away from the sacrificial vessel to covet chaff! Deceiving themselves and misleading others, they sink to their deaths in the ocean of suffering. How lamentable! How lamentable!

22.11

(2) Fourteenth Forgery: Stealing the Buddha's Miracles and Transformations (The forty-second transformation says that Laozi entered Magadha, manifested rare signs to convert its king, founded the Buddhist teaching [futujiao], named himself the Pure Buddha, and assumed the title Māmāni. Reaching Śrāvastī, he transformed himself into a god, descending from heaven, attended by devas and humans, manifesting a body hundreds of thousands of tens of thousands of fathoms tall. He also reached Jibin, subduing the barbarian king and prince; fire could not burn him, cauldrons could not boil him, water could not drown him. The barbarian army of one million with bows, arrows, swords, and halberds were struck down all at once. Flying lightning flashed in eight directions, sounding like thunderclaps, and men and horses fell in panic. He transformed Mr. Guo into an airborne head chanting praises. He also reached Tiaozhi, lifting a great mountain with his hand. Reaching Kosala, he subdued ninety-six kinds of non-Buddhist outsiders. Reaching Kayira, he held the sun in his left hand and the moon in his right, hiding them inside his head; heaven and earth turned dark, mountains flew, rocks split, seawater flowed backward, and mountains and rivers traversed the sky. He also went to Khotan, manifesting himself at Mount Nanqu to the old barbarian king, and commanded Yin Xi to transform into a golden man, sixteen feet tall, with a round halo around his neck, treading on lotuses, descending from the sky to bow in homage to Lord Lao. He said to the barbarian king: 'This gentleman's disciple shall be your master.' He also left behind a divine alms bowl so that they might obtain the taste of Dharma. Furthermore, at the city of Pimo, the earth turned golden, and he emitted nine-coloured divine light that illuminated dusty sands of realms. Then the True Person of Red Numinousness, the Elder of Central Yellow, the True Lord Taiyi, the Nine Palaces, the Six Ding, the Divine Lords of the Eight Trigrams, the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, and the Jade Maidens scattering flowers arrived on floating clouds. Lord Lao sat on a seven-jewelled throne, burned lily incense, and played the music of the Sovereign Heaven. Moreover, the kings, consorts, and queens of more than eighty states all came to listen to the Dharma. He left Yin Xi to become a Buddha, and the bowl remained at the city of Pimo, whereupon he ascended back to heaven. Lord Lao also subdued a great poisonous dragon at the Congling Mountains, traversed all Five Indies, and beneath an isolated tree on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa transformed a jade throne to preach the Buddhist teaching to the king, delivering two thousand five hundred śramaṇas and transmitting the precepts and monastic rules to them. The sixty-sixth transformation also says that the saṅghārāma of Pimo City in the state of Khotan is the place where Lord Lao converted the barbarians into Buddhas, where a stone pillar records the event: 'The Sage of the East, named Lord Lao, came to convert our state.' Below it cites discussions on entering the school above to prove these deeds).

22.12

Critique: According to the 'Memoir on the Western Regions' in the Book of the Later Han, the Records of the Three Kingdoms, and the Records of the Western Regions of the Wei and Sui dynasties (with sixty fascicles of illustrations and forty fascicles of memoirs, making one hundred fascicles in total as the Record of the Western Regions), all record that the Five Indies of the Western Heaven possess the holy traces of the Buddha. Whether on stone banners or pillars, their events were all inscribed; none mention that Lord Lao ever left his name. When Zhang Qian first came west, the name of the Buddha [futu] was first transmitted. Down to the present dynasty, state envoys traveling back and forth number no fewer than a hundred persons; none have ever seen the claim of Lord Lao converting the west. To the places reached by Emperor Güyük during his western expedition to the sea, there were only Buddhist monks. Traveling near the northwestern sea, there is a country where Buddhist pagodas in the city stand dense as a forest, and the ruler of that country is solely an upādhyāya. Furthermore, in the Tang, Wang Xuance was dispatched on an embassy westward to Magadha; at Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa and the place where the Buddha attained awakening, he inscribed stele inscriptions praising the Buddha's holy conversion, but never heard tell of Lord Lao's affairs (the above inscriptions and praises are in Wang Xuance's biography). Furthermore, Layman Zhanran accompanied Taizu on his western expedition to Khotan and the Qipchaq realm, crossing the Tian Shan and snowy ranges, detailing all their customs, and likewise knew nothing of Laozi's affairs. At present, Great King Hulegu, the Emperor's own brother, guards the Western Regions; from Samarkand to the west of the southwestern snowy mountains, envoys travel back and forth without cessation. Aside from inquiring in person about Laozi's conversion, all say they have heard nothing of it. Thus, the miracles of Laozi in Daoist books are forgeries. Since this is not a universally accepted view, how could it be worthy of trust? We respectfully uphold:

22.13

(3) The Imperial Edict Prohibiting the Forged Scriptures of the Daoist Canon Below (Whoever sees them may seize them at will):

22.14

Scripture of the Conversion of the Barbarians (composed by Wang Fu); Biography of the One Resembling a Dragon; Scripture of the Holy Annals; Scripture of the Western Ascension; Scripture of Going Beyond the Passes; Scripture of the Nine Heavens; Scripture of the Red Writing; Scripture of Upper Clarity; Scripture of the Southern Dipper; Scripture of the Jade Weft; Rhapsody on Recording Victories; Treatise Discriminating Immortals (by Liang Kao); Treatise on Chewing Heterodoxy; Treatise on the Three Destructions (by Zhang Rong of Qi, pseudepigraphically attributing it to another surname); Treatise on Clarifying the True and Discriminating the False (by Wu Yun); Veritable Records of the Supreme Lord; Treatise on the Ten Mountains; Record of Qingyang Palace; Inner Biography of Xuanjiu; Record of the Imperial Preceptors; Arranged Records of the Three Heavens; Treatise on the Ten Anomalies and Nine Delusions (by Fu Yi and Lü Xuanqing); Illustrations of Manifestations Through the Ages; Treatise on the Precedence of Buddhism and Daoism; Treatise on Respecting the Dao and Clear Evidence (by Yuan Banqian of Tang); Treatise on Assisting the Correct and Eliminating Heterodoxy (by Wu Yun); Treatise on Refuting Heterodoxy and Returning to the Correct (by Du Guangting); Scripture of the Twelve Voids; Scripture of Hiding Heaven and Concealing the Moon; Scripture of Red Painting for Delivering Life; Inner Biography of Master Louguan; Scripture Slandering Daoism and Buddhism (fabricated by Lin Lingsu and Du Guangting to destroy the Great Canon); Illustrations of the Roots of the Three Teachings (composed by Li Dafang of Changtian Monastery in the Jin); Record of Sovereigns Throughout the Ages Venerating Daoism; Inner Biography of Laozi of High Ascendance; Scripture of the Twenty-Four Births of Numinous Treasure; Scripture of Primordial Chaos Generating the Three Purities; Scripture of the Five Dukes Inquiring of the Void; Veritable Records of the Emperor of Primordial Chaos.

22.15

(4) By imperial edict, at Great Minzhong Monastery in Dadu, the forged scriptures of the Daoist canon were burned. Except for the Daodejing, all were completely burned and destroyed. Elder Linquan Conglun of Bao'en Chan Monastery in Dadu was commanded to apply the fire. Having expressed gratitude for the imperial grace, he took incense and said: 'The Son of Heaven with the Buddha's mind pities sentient beings, fearing their fall into the pits of heterodox views in the three paths. Herein there is no partiality whatsoever; within this, the vermilion and purple must be clearly distinguished. Therefore it is said: the sage's insight is impartial, and heaven's workings are unfathomable. Having come to praise virtue, how dare I not repay this benevolence? This incense is solely offered to pray for longevity:'

22.16

'May the World-Ruler of the Great Yuan, the reigning Emperor's sagely person live ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years! We humbly pray that the golden wheel and the wheel of Dharma turn together, his blessings surpassing three asaṃkhyeyas; that the sun of Shun and the sun of the Buddha shine equally bright, his lifespan extending for hundreds of millions of kalpas.' Next, he raised the fire and said: 'Remembering of old the time of Emperor Ming, who once relied on blazing flames to distinguish beauty from ugliness; the Son of Heaven of the Great Yuan continues the Great Plan—who does not know of his displaying the correct and destroying the heterodox? Alas, Daoism has secretly subverted Buddhist texts, fabricating falsities and forging untruths from antiquity to the present, stealing the words and phrases of the Buddhist scriptures, scheming to put their titles on palm-leaf manuscripts, slandering the Tathāgata, and falsely accusing the former sages. How can their vile words and foul phrases be fully spoken? Their rootless wild talk is truly hard to recount in full. Beginning with Zhang Daoling's inventions, they did not comply with Laozi's profound words, erroneously composing jiao-offering books and compiling Numinous Treasure scriptures, deceitfully claiming they were obtained from emptiness, and falsely saying they were transmitted in person by the Supreme Lord. They used the ghostly methods of the Three Zhangs to bewilder foolish men, and set up five-movement divine talismans to seduce and bewitch ordinary women. Seen from this, Ge Xiaoxian sought essentials in vain, Tao Hongjing fabricated superficial phrases for nothing, Du Guangting stole openly with craft, no different from a robber, and Lu Xiujing was attractive outside but feeble inside, what different from a wandering persuader? Were it not for being unwilling to suffer bitterness, who would talk about others' faults? Bao Jing's execution was still tolerable, but Wang Fu's karmic retribution was by no means light. Fu Yi and Jiang Bin are unworthy of mention; fellows like Master Zhang and Jiao are not worth discussing. Kou Qianzhi's silver tongue harmed others and benefited himself. Lin Lingsu's flattering schemings brought ruin to the state and death to families. Slandering people's patriarchs will surely incur temporary humiliation; destroying the worthy will definitely bring calamity across three lives. Cause and effect have no discrepancies; karmic retribution is exact. Alas, how lamentable that Falin was unappreciated and suffered demotion; how sorrowful that Daoshi, though appearing again, found it hard to prevail, causing the sons of the Buddha to break their hearts! Fortunately, August Heaven opened its eyes. We respectfully reflect that His Sagely and Brilliant Majesty the Emperor, World-Ruler of our Great Yuan, has refuted heterodoxy and returned to the correct, removing the false and preserving the true, fearing that sentient beings would forever sink in the ford of delusion, and leading all people to ascend the path of awakening. Redress of grievances has now concluded; we thank the imperial grace, which even grinding our bones and shattering our bodies could not repay.' He then traced a circle with the torch and said: 'Noble Sirs, can the numinous texts of the Three Caverns still realize this fire-light samādhi or not? If you understand right here: "With the Scripture of the Northern Dipper in the house, in vain does it cause people unrest." If not yet so: "From now on, after ashes fly and smoke vanishes, let them go anywhere to seek their Heavenly Worthy!" Look closely at once!' On the twentieth day of the tenth month of the eighteenth year of Zhiyuan, Elder Linquan Conglun of Bao'en Chan Monastery in Dadu applied the fire by imperial decree.

First 16 of 222 passages. Read on

Linked texts (1)

佛祖歷代通載 — Classical Chinese