佛祖歷代通載 22.8

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.