佛祖歷代通載 5

English (machine translation) 5

Language: English

5.1

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

(Bingzi) Emperor Zhang, [Liu] Da, changed [the era name to] Jianchu. (Also named Tan. Fifth son of Emperor Ming. Ascended the throne at nineteen. In the first month of the wuzi year, he passed away in the Zhangde Hall at the age of thirty-one. Buried in Jingling.) He ruled for thirteen years.

5.4

(Gengchen) The Emperor ordered Zheng Xuan and other scholars to compose the Baihu tong.

5.5

(Jiashen) Changed to Yuanhe. (Wang Jing, Regional Inspector of Xuzhou, submitted a memorial. A eulogy on the golden man praised the merit of the former emperor in bringing the Buddha, as recorded in the Book of Han. There were auspicious omens of divine sparrows, fenghuang, white deer, and white crows.)

5.6

(Dinghai) Changed to Zhanghe.

5.7

(Jichou) Emperor He, [Liu] Zhao, changed to Yongyuan. (Fourth son of Emperor Zhang. Ascended the throne at the age of ten. In the yisi year, he passed away in the front hall of Zhangde at the age of twenty-seven. Buried in Shenling.) He reigned for seventeen years.

5.8

(Yisi) Changed to Yuanxing.

5.9

(Bingwu) Emperor Shang, [Liu] Long, changed to Yanping. (Youngest son of Emperor He. Born over a hundred days, he ascended the throne in the twelfth month of the first year of Yuanxing. At that time, Empress Dowager Deng presided over the court and pronounced decrees. In the eighth month of the following year, he passed away in the front hall of Chongde at the age of two. Buried in Kangling.) He occupied the throne for one year.

5.10

(1: dingwei) Emperor An, [Liu] You, changed to Yongchu. (Son of Prince Xiao of Qinghe, Liu Qing, grandson of Emperor Zhang. Ascended the throne at the age of thirteen. In the second month of the yichou year, during an inspection tour of the south, he traveled to Ye and passed away in his imperial carriage at the age of thirty-two. Buried in Gongling.) He ruled for nineteen years.

5.11

(Jiayin) Changed to Yuanchu.

5.12

(2: dingsi) The twenty-first patriarch, Vasubandhu, was a man of the city of Rājagṛha. His family name was Viśākha; his father was Guanggai (Bright Canopy), and his mother was Yanyi (Strict and One). The family was wealthy but had no sons. The parents prayed at a Buddha stūpa to seek an heir. One night, the mother dreamed that she swallowed two pearls, one bright and one dark; she awoke to find herself pregnant. After seven days, an arhat named Xianzhong (Worthy Assembly) came to their house. Guanggai paid respects, and Xianzhong sat upright and received them. When Yanyi came out to bow, Xianzhong vacated his seat, saying, 'I return the bow to the great being of the Dharmakāya.' Guanggai did not understand the reason for this, so he took a precious pearl and knelt to present it to Xianzhong, testing whether he was genuine or false. Xianzhong at once accepted it with no modesty or gratitude. Guanggai could not bear it and asked, 'I am a man, yet when I paid respects you paid no regard; what virtue does my wife possess that the Venerable One vacated his seat?' Xianzhong said, 'I received the bow and accepted the pearl merely to bring you blessings. Your wife carries a holy child, who when born will be a lamp to the world and a sun of wisdom; therefore, I vacated my seat, not out of esteem for a woman.' Xianzhong further said, 'Your wife will give birth to two sons: the first will be named Vasubandhu, who is the one I revere; the second will be named Chuni (translated here as 'Wild Magpie'). In antiquity, when the Tathāgata cultivated the path on the Snow Mountains, a wild magpie nested upon his crown. After the Buddha attained the path, the wild magpie received the retribution of becoming the king of the country of Nadī. The Buddha prophesied, saying: "In the second five hundred years, you will be born into the Viśākha family in the city of Rājagṛha, sharing the same womb with a sage." Now there is no discrepancy.' A month later, two sons were indeed born. When the Venerable Vasubandhu reached the age of fifteen, he bowed to the arhat Guangdu and left home, inspiring the Bodhisattva Vibhāha to confer the precepts upon him. Traveling to transform beings, he reached the country of Nadī. That king's name was Changzizai (Always Sovereign). He had two sons: the first was named Mahāra, and the second was named Manorhita. The king asked the Venerable One, 'Are the customs of the city of Rājagṛha the same as or different from here?' The Venerable One said, 'In that land, three Buddhas once appeared in the world; now in your kingdom there are two teachers transforming and guiding.' The king said, 'Who are the two teachers?' The Venerable One said, 'The Buddha prophesied that in the second five hundred years there would be a great being of divine powers who would leave home to succeed the sage; your second son, Manorhita, is one of them. Though my virtue is slight, I dare to assume the role of the other.' The king said, 'If it is truly as the Venerable One says, I shall give up this son to become a śramaṇa.' The Venerable One said, 'Splendid, Great King, that you can follow the Buddha's intention.' He then conferred upon him the upasampadā and transmitted the Dharma to him, saying in a gāthā: / Bubbles and illusions are equally unobstructed; / How could one fail to comprehend this? / Attaining the Dharma within them / Is neither of the present nor of the past. / After the Venerable One transmitted the Dharma, he leapt into the air to a height of half a yojana, remaining there erect. The fourfold assembly gazed upward and reverently entreating him, he sat again in the cross-legged posture and passed away. Following his cremation, relics were obtained and a stūpa was erected. This was in the eleventh year of Emperor An of the Later Han, the dingsi year.

5.13

(Gengshen) Changed to Yongning.

5.14

(Xinyou) Changed to Jianguang.

5.15

(Renxu) Changed to Yanguang.

5.16

(Jiazi, 47) The eighteenth year of the king.

5.17

(Bingyin) Marquis of Beixiang, [Liu] Yi. (Grandson of Emperor Zhang, son of King Shou of Jibei. Empress Dowager Yan enthroned him. He ascended the throne in the third month of this year and passed away in the tenth month. He ruled for two hundred and seventy-two days.)

5.18

Emperor Shun, [Liu] Bao, changed to Yongjian. (Son of Emperor An. Ascended the throne at the age of eleven. Liang Shang and his son held the reins of government. In the eighth month of the jiashen year, he passed away in the front hall of Yutang at the age of thirty. Buried in Xianling. Made Crown Prince in the early Yongning era.) He reigned for nineteen years.

5.19

(Renshen) Changed to Yangjia.

5.20

(Bingzi) Changed to Yonghe.

5.21

(Renwu) Changed to Han'an.

5.22

(Jiashen) Changed to Jiankang.

5.23

(Yiyou) Emperor Chong, [Liu] Bing, changed to Yongjia. (Son of Emperor Shun; his mother was Honorable Lady Yu. Ascended the throne in the eighth month of the jiashen year of Jiankang at the age of two. Empress Dowager Liang presided over the court, and Liang Ji assisted the government. In the third month of the following year, he passed away in the front hall of Yutang at the age of three. Buried in Huailing.) His reign lasted one year.

5.24

(Bingxu) Emperor Zhi, [Liu] Zuan, changed to Benchu. (Great-great-grandson of Emperor Zhang, son of King Hong of Bohai. Ascended the throne at the age of eight. Precocious and intelligent, he once remarked at a court assembly regarding Liang Ji, 'This is an overbearing general.' Ji hated him and poisoned him in the front hall of Yutang. He was nine years old and buried in Jingling.) He reigned for one year.

5.25

(3: dinghai) Emperor Huan, [Liu] Zhi, changed to Jianhe. (Great-grandson of Emperor Zhang, son of Marquis Yi of Liwu. Ascended the throne at fifteen. Liang Ji assisted the government. In the dingwei year of Yongkang, he passed away in the front hall of Deyang at the age of thirty-six. Buried in Xuanling.) He reigned for twenty-one years.

5.26

(4. Jichou) The śramaṇa of the Parthian kingdom, An Qing, whose courtesy name was Shigao, was originally a crown prince who ought to have succeeded to the throne. He ceded it to his uncle, renounced his country, and took ordination (pravrajyā). Having arrived at Luojing, he translated twenty-nine works of scripture in one hundred and seventy-six fascicles, putting down his translation brush in the third year of the Jianning reign of Emperor Ling. Boarding a boat to travel, he once stopped at the Guting Shrine on Mount Lu. He berthed his boat below the shrine; the spirit of the shrine possessed great numinous efficacy, being able to divide the winds to escort incoming and outgoing vessels. There was someone who had begged for the spirit's bamboo, but cut it down before permission was granted; enraged, the spirit capsized his boat and cast the bamboo back to where it had been felled. Those who passed by held their breath and broke into a cold sweat. Shigao's boatmen offered sacrifices to pray for good fortune. The spirit immediately descended and uttered, "There is a śramaṇa on the boat; why has he not come together with you?" When Shigao arrived at the shrine, the spirit descended again and conversed fervently with Shigao. Weeping, the spirit said, "This disciple's home is this lake; a thousand li around are all within my jurisdiction. Because of past-life abundant anger, I have now received the retribution of an extremely repulsive body. Moreover, I will die very soon and must enter hell. I have a thousand bolts of fine silk as well as miscellaneous precious ornaments; please erect a temple and stupa for me to secure unseen blessings." Shigao gave his consent. Then he said slowly, "Can you emerge and reveal your form to be relieved of your toil?" The spirit said, "My form is ugly; what can be done?" Shigao said, "Just emerge." Thereupon it brought out its head from within the curtain: it was a giant python. Shigao incanted over it with Sanskrit mantras. The python shed tears like rain and suddenly vanished. Before Shigao's boat departed, a young man knelt before him; Shigao again incanted over him, and he left. The boatmen asked whose son he was. Shigao said, "The shrine spirit has already shed the python's body, so he came merely to give thanks." Shigao arrived in Yuzhang and built a temple, which is the present-day Da'an Temple. It was named after Shigao, and was indeed the beginning of temples and stupas in the Jiang-Huai region.

5.27

(Gengyin) The reign era was changed to Heping. In this year, the śramaṇa of the Yuezhi kingdom, Lokakṣema (also known as Zhi Chen), arrived in Luoyang. In his youth he had studied languages and became thoroughly proficient in the Chinese tongue. He subsequently translated scriptures; up to the Zhongping reign era, he translated a total of twenty-one works in sixty-three fascicles. In the first year of the Yongxing reign, Emperor Huan cast golden statues of the Buddha and Laozi in the palace, covered them with canopies adorned with hundreds of jewels, and personally offered worship to them. From this, the common people turned toward conversion, and the service of the Buddha became ever more flourishing.

5.28

(Xinmao) The reign era was changed to Yuanjia.

5.29

It was one thousand one hundred years since the Bhagavān manifested parinirvāṇa.

5.30

(Guisi) The reign era was changed to Yongxing.

5.31

(Yiwei) The reign era was changed to Yongshou.

5.32

(Wuxu) The reign era was changed to Yanxi.

5.33

(5. Yisi) The twenty-second patriarch, Manorhita, was the son of King Changzizai of the kingdom of Nadi. At the age of thirty, he encountered Patriarch Vasubandhu, took ordination, and transmitted the Dharma, arriving in western India. The king of that country, named Dedu, belonged to the Gautama clan; he took refuge in the Buddha-yāna and practiced diligence with zeal. One day, a small stupa appeared at the place where he was circumambulating the path. Wishing to take it for worship, none among the multitude could lift it. The king thereupon held a great assembly of the three groups—those of brahma-conduct, dhyāna contemplation, and incantatory arts—wishing to inquire into what was doubted. At that time, the Venerable One also attended this gathering. None of the three groups could discern it. The Venerable One then broadly explained to the king the origin of the stupa (the building of stupas by King Aśoka is not recorded in detail here): "Its appearance today is brought about by the power of Your Majesty's merit." Hearing this explanation, the king said, "The Supreme Sage is difficult to encounter; worldly pleasures do not last long." He forthwith transmitted the throne to the crown prince, took refuge with the Patriarch, and left the household life. In seven days he realized the four fruits [of arhatship]. The Venerable One deeply comforted and instructed him, saying, "Reside in this kingdom and properly liberate people yourself. Now in another realm there is a great Dharma vessel; I must go to convert him and enable him to attain liberation." [Dedu] said, "Master, your traces respond to the ten directions; as soon as a thought stirs, you arrive. Why should you trouble to travel there?" The Venerable One said, "It is so." Thereupon he burned incense and addressed from afar the bhikṣu Haklena in the Yuezhi kingdom: "You are guiding the flock of cranes in that country; the fruit of the Way is about to be realized, as you yourself should know." At that time, Haklena was expounding sūtra verses for King Baoyin of that country. Suddenly seeing the wondrous incense form into clusters, the king said, "What omen is this?" [Haklena] said, "This is Patriarch Manorhita, who transmits the Buddha's mind-seal in western India, about to arrive; he has first sent down this incense of faith." The king asked, "What are this master's supernatural powers like?" He answered, "This master received the Buddha's prediction from afar; he is to broadly proclaim the profound transformation in this land." At that time, the king and Haklena both bowed from afar. Knowing this, the Venerable One took leave of the bhikṣu Dedu and went to the Yuezhi kingdom, receiving the offerings of the king and Haklena. Later, Haklena asked the Venerable One, "I have resided in the forest for nine whites (in India one year is called one white). I have a disciple named Longzi who has been intelligent since youth. Searching through the three times, I cannot fathom his origin." The Venerable One said, "In the fifth kalpa past, this child was born into a brāhmaṇa family in the kingdom of Abhirati. He once offered sandalwood to a Buddhist monastery to make a mallet to strike the bell; as a recompense, he was granted intelligence and is revered by the multitude." [Haklena] also asked, "What cause brought about my affinity to attract the flock of cranes?" The Venerable One said, "In the fourth kalpa past, you were once a bhikṣu about to attend an assembly at the dragon palace. All your disciples wished to follow along. You observed that among the five hundred people, not one was capable of receiving the sublime offerings. At that time the disciples said, 'The Master always expounds the Dharma: to be equal in food is to be equal in the Dharma. Now since this is not so, what sagehood is there?' You then let them attend the assembly. Since you abandoned that life and went on to new births, transforming various countries, those five hundred disciples, having slight merit and meager virtue, were born into the feathered race. Now, moved by your past kindness, they follow you as a flock of cranes." Haklena, hearing these words, asked, "By what expedient means can they be liberated?" The Venerable One said, "I have the unexcelled Dharma treasure; you should listen, receive it, and transform future ages." And he spoke a gāthā: / The mind turns following ten thousand conditions; / The place where it turns is truly profound. / Recognizing the nature while following the flow, / There is neither joy nor sorrow. / At that time the flock of cranes heard the gāthā, cried out, and flew away. The Venerable One sat cross-legged and serenely passed away. Haklena and King Baoyin erected a stupa. This corresponded to the nineteenth year, the yisi year, of Emperor Huan of the Later Han.

5.34

(Dingwei) The reign era was changed to Yongkang.

5.35

It was one hundred years since the Great Teaching arrived in the Eastern Xia.

5.36

(6. Wushen) Emperor Ling, [named] Hong, changed the reign era to Jianning (great-great-grandson of Emperor Zhang; son of Chang, Marquis of Duting. He ascended the throne at the age of twelve. In the fourth month of the jisi year, he passed away in the Southern Palace at the age of thirty-four, and was buried in Wenling). He reigned for twenty-two years (established by Dou Wu).

5.37

(Renzi) The reign era was changed to Xiping.

5.38

(7. Guichou) In this year the Indian śramaṇa Zhu Foshuo arrived in Luoyang. He translated the Daoxing banruo jing, discarding ornate rhetoric and retaining the substance, penetrating deeply into the meaning of the scripture. In the Guanghe reign era, together with Zhi Qian, he translated the Pratyutpanna-samādhi-sūtra in a total of three fascicles. In this year, the Parthian upāsaka and Chief Commandant An Xuan arrived in the capital Luoyang, and together with the pure-faith layman Yan Fotiao, translated seven works of scriptures. At that time there were also the śramaṇas Zhi Yao, Kang Ju, Kang Mengxiang, Tanguo, and Zhu Dali, all of whom were skilled in regional vernaculars. By the end of the Han dynasty, more than three hundred works of scripture in all had been translated.

5.39

(Bingchen) An imperial edict was issued to engrave the texts of the Five Classics and erect them outside the gates of the Imperial Academy.

5.40

(Wuwu) The reign era was changed to Guanghe.

5.41

(8. Jiazi; 48) The reign era was changed to Zhongping. ○ Taoism began the Yellow Turban rebellion (originally Zhang Jue of Julu used magical arts to heal illnesses and plotted rebellion, calling himself the Great Worthy and Good Teacher, and also the Yellow Heaven. In not many years he rallied 360,000 men, all wearing yellow turbans. In the jiazi year they rose up simultaneously and slaughtered people; in the kuiwei year of Jian'an, they burned commanderies and counties. The court and the provinces were terrified. The General of the Household of the Left, Huangfu Song, was appointed to suppress and destroy them; Zhang Jue died of illness, and his corpse was beheaded. His two younger brothers were both defeated in battle, completely executed, and their heads delivered to the capital).

5.42

(Wuchen) ○ (Qi Chou declared himself Emperor and raised troops in rebellion).

5.43

(Jisi) ○ (The Yellow Turban rebel Ma Xiang in Yizhou declared himself Emperor. ○ Yellow Turban bandits arose; court trials were auctioned off and offices sold; eunuchs and Attendant-in-ordinary Bu manipulated power; all under Heaven was in great chaos).

5.44

Prince Bian of Hongnong (son of Emperor Ling; he ascended the throne and changed the reign era to Guangxi. ○ Yuan Shu rounded up the castrated men, executing them without distinction of young or old. The reign era was again changed to Zhaoning. Dong Zhuo, Governor of Taiyuan, entered the court, subsequently deposed the emperor to Prince of Hongnong, and soon after killed him, establishing the Prince of Chenliu as the Young Emperor). He reigned for one hundred and seventy days.

5.45

(9. Gengwu) Emperor Xian, [named] Xie, changed the reign era to Chuping (middle son of Emperor Ling. In the ninth month of the ninth year of Zhaoning, Dong Zhuo deposed the imperial son Bian and installed him; he ascended the throne at the age of nine). He reigned for thirty years (Dong Zhuo called himself Grand Preceptor, seized territory, and moved the capital to Chang'an. In the third year, Wang Yun and Lü Bu jointly executed Zhuo and exterminated his clan).

5.46

(10. Guiyou) During the Chuping reign of the Emperor, Mouzi—whose personal name is unknown and who was commonly called Mouzi—had already mastered the classics, commentaries, and various philosophers. Among books, whether great or small, there were none he did not delight in. Although he took no pleasure in military treatises, he nevertheless read them. Although he read books on divine immortals and immortality, he set them aside without belief, considering them fabricated and absurd. It happened that after the death of Emperor Ling, the world was in turmoil; only Jiaozhou was relatively peaceful, and extraordinary men from the north all came to reside there, mostly practicing the arts of divine immortality, grain avoidance, and longevity. Mouzi regularly refuted them using the Five Classics, so that none of the Daoist masters dared to respond to him. Prior to this, Mouzi had accompanied his mother to escape the world; at the age of twenty-six, he returned to Cangwu and took a wife. The commandery governor, hearing of his devotion to learning, paid a visit to invite him to take up an official post. At that time he was in the prime of his youth and his aspirations were devoted to study; moreover, seeing the disorder of the age, he had no intention of pursuing an official career and ultimately did not accept. At this time, commanderies and prefectures were suspicious of each other and cut off from one another. The governor, on account of his erudition and broad knowledge, wished to send him to pay respects to Jingzhou. Mouzi considered that while honorary titles were easy to decline, an official mission was difficult to refuse. Just then, the regional inspector's younger brother, the governor of Yuzhang, was killed by the General of the Household Ze Rong. The inspector dispatched the Cavalry Commandant Liu Yan to lead troops there; fearing that suspicion from adjacent territories would prevent the troops from advancing, he said to Mouzi, "My younger brother was slain by a treacherous rebel; the pain of flesh and blood incites resentment in my heart. I have dispatched Commandant Liu to go, but I fear that doubts beyond our borders will make it impossible for travelers to pass through. You possess both civil and military abilities and have the talent for independent diplomatic response. Now I would like to trouble you to pass through Lingling and Guiyang to open a route; what do you say?" Mouzi, reluctant to go against his wishes, consented. Just then his mother passed away, so the journey was ultimately abandoned. After a long while he sighed, saying, "Laozi renounced sagehood, abandoned wisdom, cultivated his person, and preserved truth; myriad things did not disrupt his intent, and the world could not alter his joy. The Son of Heaven could not make him a minister; the feudal lords could not make him a friend. Hence he is worthy of esteem." Thereupon he sharply set his intent upon the Buddhist Way and concurrently studied the five-thousand-word text of Laozi, taking the profound and subtle as his wine and playing with the Five Classics as his lutes and flutes. Most worldly people criticized him, thinking that he turned his back on the Five Classics and inclined toward a foreign way. If he wished to dispute, it was contrary to the Way; if he wished to remain silent, he could not bear to do so. Consequently, using brush and ink, he briefly cited the words of sages and worthies to verify and clarify it, entitling it *Mouzi's Treatise on Dispelling Doubts* (Mouzi lihuo lun).

5.47

The question was asked: "Why is he properly called 'Buddha'? What does 'Buddha' mean?" Mouzi said: "'Buddha' means 'Awakened One', just as the Three Sovereigns are called divine and the Five Thearchs are called sagely. The Buddha is the primal ancestor of virtue and the Way, and the ancestral lineage of the numinous deities. What the Buddha calls 'awakened' is being capable of indistinct transformations, dividing the body and dispersing the form, either existing or not existing, being able to become small or large, round or square, old or young, hidden or manifest; treading on fire without burning, walking on blades without injury; residing in defilement without being tainted, encountering calamity without suffering harm; arriving without traveling, radiating light without fabricating. Therefore he is called the Buddha."

5.48

The question was asked: "What is meant by the 'Dao'? What is the Dao like?" Mouzi said: "The word 'Dao' means 'to guide' (dao); it guides people to attain unconditioned non-action (asaṃskṛta). Pulling it, there is no front; leading it, there is no rear; lifting it, there is no top; pressing it down, there is no bottom. Looking at it, it has no form; listening to it, it has no sound. The four directions mark its greatness, winding around their exterior; a fine hair marks its subtlety, coursing through its interior. Therefore it is called the Dao."

5.49

The questioner asked: "Confucius took the Five Classics as the teaching of the Way, which one can recite with folded hands and step forth to put into practice. Now you speak of the Way as empty, non-existent, indistinct, and elusive, showing neither its meaning nor pointing out its affairs. Why does it differ so from the words of the sages?" Master Mou said: "One must not value only what one is accustomed to and disparage what is rare, being misled by external categories and losing the inner truth. Establishing an undertaking without deviating from the Way and its Virtue is like tuning strings without losing the gong and shang notes. The Heavenly Way models itself on the four seasons; the human Way models itself on the Five Constants. Laozi said: 'There was a thing formed out of chaos, born before Heaven and Earth; it may be taken as the mother of all under Heaven. I do not know its name; forced to give it a character, I call it the Way.' As for the Way as an entity: staying at home, one can serve parents with it; governing a state, one can rule the people with it; standing alone, one can cultivate oneself with it. Stepping forth to put it into practice, it fills Heaven and Earth; setting it aside and not using it, it recedes without departing. You do not understand it—what difference could there be?" The questioner asked: "Now, the utmost truth is not ornate, and the utmost speech is not adorned. Words that are concise yet profound are elegant; affairs that are few yet far-reaching are clear. Therefore, pearls and jade are rare and valuable, while tiles and gravel are abundant and cheap. The root of the Seven Classics established by the sages does not exceed thirty thousand words, yet all affairs are fully provided therein. Now the Buddhist scriptures are counted in the tens of thousands of fascicles and words in the hundreds of millions, which is not what the strength of a single person can endure. I consider it burdensome and non-essential." Master Mou said: "The reason the great rivers and the sea differ from ruts and puddles is that they are deep and wide. The reason the Five Sacred Peaks are distinguished from mounds and hills is that they are lofty and immense. If their height did not exceed that of hills and mounds, a lame sheep could mount their summits; if their depth did not exceed that of a trickling stream, a child could bathe in their deep pools. The qilin does not dwell within parks and enclosures; a fish that can swallow a boat does not swim in a creek of a few fathoms. If you crack open a three-inch clam to seek a lustrous pearl, or search a bramble nest to seek the fledgling of a fenghuang, you will certainly find it difficult to obtain. Why? Because the small cannot contain the large. The Buddhist scriptures recount the events of hundreds of millions of years in the past, and explain the essentials of myriad generations to come. Before primordial substance arose, before the great beginning was born, when Qian and Kun first emerged, its subtlety cannot be grasped, its minuteness cannot be entered. The Buddha encompassed everything beyond their vastness, and dissected everything within their profound subtleties, recording every single thing. Therefore, its scriptures are counted by the tens of thousands of fascicles, and its words by the hundreds of millions. The more numerous they are, the more complete; the more manifold, the richer. How could they be non-essential? Although it is not what one person can exhaustively endure, it is like going to a river to drink: drinking one's fill and being satisfied oneself, why should one care about the rest?" The questioner asked: "Since the Buddhist scriptures are so numerous, I wish to take their essentials and discard the rest, speaking directly of their reality and removing their ornament." Master Mou said: "No. The sun and the moon both shine, each having what it illuminates; the twenty-eight lunar lodges each have what they govern; the hundred medicinal herbs sprout together, each having what it cures. Fox furs prepare against the cold; fine and coarse linen ward off the summer heat. Boats and carriages take different routes, yet both carry travelers to their destination. Confucius did not, on account of the completeness of the Five Classics, refrain from composing the Chunqiu and the Xiaojing, because he wished to broaden the arts of the Way and accommodate human inclinations. Although the Buddhist scriptures are numerous, their convergence is one. It is just as the Seven Classics differ from one another, yet their valuing of the Way, virtue, benevolence, and righteousness is likewise one. The reason filiality is spoken of so extensively is that it is granted in accordance with people's conduct. When Zizhang and Ziyou both inquired about the same filiality, Confucius answered them differently, addressing each one's shortcoming. What is there to discard?"

5.50

The questioner asked: "The Buddhist Way is supremely venerable and supremely great; why did Yao, Shun, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius not cultivate it? Its words are not seen anywhere in the Seven Classics. Since you are devoted to the Shijing and Shujing and delight in the rites and music, why do you turn around to take fondness in the Buddhist Way and rejoice in strange arts? How could they surpass the classics and commentaries or enhance the sage undertakings? I venture to think that you, sir, ought not to take it." Master Mou said: "Books need not be the words of Kong Qiu; medicine need not be the prescription of Bian Que. What accords with righteousness should be followed; what cures illness is good. The gentleman broadly gathers all virtues to assist his person. Zigong said: 'What constant master did the Master have?' Yao served Yin Shou; Shun served Wucheng; Dan learned from Lü Wang; Qiu learned from Lao Dan. None of these are seen in the Seven Classics either. Although these four masters were sages, comparing them to the Buddha is like a white deer compared to a qilin, or a swallow compared to a fenghuang. If even Yao, Shun, Zhou, and Kong did so, how much more so for the Buddha, whose physical marks and signs, transformations, and supernatural powers are boundless! How could one cast it aside and not study it? The affairs and principles of the Five Classics have omissions; why should it be an object of wonder or suspicion that the Buddha is not recorded there?"

5.51

The questioner asked: "It is said that the Buddha has thirty-two marks and eighty minor signs. Why is he so exceedingly different from human beings? This is probably language meant to dazzle the ears, not an account of reality." Master Mou said: "The proverb says: 'He who has seen little wonders at much; seeing a camel, he calls it a horse with a swollen back.' Yao had eyebrows of eight colors; Shun had double pupils; Gao Yao had a horse's muzzle; King Wen had four breasts; Yu had three ear-holes; the Duke of Zhou was hunchbacked; Fuxi had a dragon's nose; Confucius had a concave skull; Laozi had a sun-shaped forehead, deep-set eyes, nostrils with dual columns, the character for 'ten' in his palms, and the characters for 'two' and 'five' on the soles of his feet. Were these not different from ordinary humans? What doubt can there be about the Buddha's marks and signs?"

5.52

The questioner asked: "The Xiaojing states: 'Body, hair, and skin are received from our parents; we dare not damage or injure them.' When Zengzi was near death, he said: 'Uncover my hands! Uncover my feet!' Now the śramaṇas shave their heads; how completely this violates the words of the sage, failing to accord with the way of a filial son! You, sir, are usually fond of discussing right and wrong and weighing the bent and the straight, yet you turn around and approve of this?" Master Mou said: "Slandering sages and worthies is unbenevolent; weighing things without impartiality is unwise. If one is neither benevolent nor wise, how can one establish virtue? If virtue will not be established, one belongs to the company of the recalcitrant and obstinate. How could discussion be taken lightly? Long ago, a man of Qi took a boat to cross a river, and his father fell into the water. His son rolled up his sleeves, seized his father by the hair and turned him upside down, causing the water to pour out from his mouth, and thereby the father's life was revived. Now, seizing the head and inverting the body is the height of unfiliality, yet he did so to preserve his father's person. If he had folded his hands and observed the ordinary norms of a filial son, his father's life would have ended in the water. Confucius said: 'One may advance toward the Way with someone, yet not be able to weigh circumstances with him'—this refers to acting as the occasion requires. Furthermore, the Xiaojing says: 'The former kings possessed supreme virtue and the essential Way,' yet Taibo cut his hair and tattooed his body, conforming of his own accord to the customs of Wu and Yue, violating the principle of 'body, hair, and skin.' Yet Confucius praised him, saying that he could indeed be called possessing supreme virtue. Confucius did not censure him because of his cutting of his hair. Viewed from this, if one possesses great virtue, one is not restricted by minor details. The śramaṇa renounces family wealth, abandons wife and children, and listens to no sounds and watches no beauty; this may be called the utmost deference. How could it violate the sage's words or fail to accord with filiality? Yu Rang swallowed hot coals and lacquered his body; Nie Zheng flayed his face and mutilated himself; Bo Ji perished in the flames; Gaoxing disfigured her features. Gentlemen died for righteousness in their bravery, and we have never heard that they were mocked for destroying themselves. If the śramaṇa's shaving of beard and hair is compared to these four, is it not far more [justified]?"

5.53

The questioner asked: "Now, of blessings, none surpasses continuing the lineage; of unfiliality, none exceeds having no descendants. The śramaṇas abandon wife and children, renounce goods and wealth, and do not marry to the end of their days. Why do they violate the conduct of blessing and filiality? They bring bitterness upon themselves with no extraordinary merit, and seek their own salvation with nothing remarkable." Master Mou said: "One who is long on the left must be short on the right; one who is grand in front must be narrow behind. Meng Gongchuo was more than qualified to be an elder of Zhao and Wei, but could not be an officer of Teng and Xue. Wife, children, goods, and wealth are the superfluities of the world; purifying one's person and dwelling in non-action are the subtleties of the Way. Laozi said: 'Which is closer to you, your fame or your person? Which is worth more, your person or your wealth?' It is also said: 'Observe the remaining customs of the Three Dynasties, examine the arts of the Way of the Confucians and Mohists: reciting the Shijing and Shujing, cultivating rites and etiquette, esteeming benevolence and righteousness, and attending to purity and integrity; their townsmen transmit their enterprises, and their fame and reputation overflow. These are what mediocre scholars practice, but what the tranquil and detached do not care about.' Thus, if Sui's pearl lies before you and a roaring tiger is behind you, and seeing this, you flee without daring to take the pearl, why is that? It is putting one's life first and one's gain second. Xu You nested in a tree; Boyi and Shuqi starved at Shouyang. The sage Confucius praised their worthiness, saying: 'They sought benevolence and obtained benevolence.' We have never heard that they were mocked for having no descendants or having no goods. The śramaṇas cultivate the Way and its virtue, exchanging the pleasures of wandering through the world and trading the joys of wife and children for purity and goodness. If this is not considered extraordinary, what could be extraordinary? If this is not considered remarkable, what could be remarkable?"

5.54

The questioner asked: "The Yellow Emperor let fall his robes and made garments and adornments. Jizi laid out the Great Plan, where bodily appearance is the first of the five matters. Confucius composed the Classic of Filial Piety, where dress is the beginning of the three virtues. It is also said: 'Straighten his clothes and cap, make dignified his gaze.' Yuan Xian, though poor, did not part with his splendid cap; Zilu, when facing calamity, did not forget to tie the tassel of his cap. Now the śramaṇas shave their heads and hair and wear red cloth; when meeting people, they have no etiquette of kneeling and rising, and lack the correct composure of circumspect deportment. Why do they so completely violate the regulations of appearance and dress, and run contrary to the adornments of the tablet-bearing gentry?" Master Mou said: "Laozi says: 'High virtue is not virtuous, therefore it possesses virtue; low virtue does not lose virtue, therefore it lacks virtue.' In the time of the Three Sovereigns, people ate meat, wore skins, nested in trees, and lived in caves, thereby exalting simplicity and plainness. Did they ever require the cap of Zhangfu or the ornamentation of curved fur robes? Yet those people were acclaimed as possessing virtue, being simple and substantial, upright, faithful, and without contrived action. The conduct of the śramaṇa bears resemblance to this." Someone said: "According to your words, then the company of the Yellow Emperor, Yao, Shun, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius should be discarded and are not worth emulating?" Master Mou said: "Now, when one's sight is broad, one is not deluded; when one's hearing is acute, one is not confused. Yao, Shun, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius cultivated worldly affairs; the Buddha and Laozi had the aspiration of non-action. Confucius traveled restlessly through more than seventy states; Xu You, hearing of the abdication, washed his ears in a pool. As for the way of the gentleman, he sometimes appears and sometimes stays in retirement, sometimes is silent and sometimes speaks, not letting his emotions overflow, nor corrupting his nature. Therefore, his way is valued according to its application. What is there to discard?"

5.55

The questioner asked: "The Buddhist Way says that when a person dies, they will be reborn again. I do not believe the truth of these words." Master Mou said: "When a person is near death, their family climbs onto the roof and calls to them. Once they are already dead, whom do they call?" Someone said: "They call their hun and po spirits." Master Mou said: "If the spirit returns, they live; if it does not return, where does the spirit go?" The other replied: "It becomes a ghost or spirit." Master Mou said: "Exactly so. The spirit indeed does not perish; only the body rots away of itself. The body is like the roots and leaves of the five grains; the spirit is like the seed and fruit of the five grains. The roots and leaves sprout and must die; does the seed and fruit ever come to an end? When one attains the Way, only the body perishes. Laozi said: 'The reason I have great misfortune is because I have a body. If I had no body, what misfortune would I have?' He also said: 'When merit is achieved and fame is established, to withdraw one's person is the Way of Heaven.'" Someone said: "Those who practice the Way also die; those who do not practice the Way also die. Is there any difference?" Master Mou said: "This is what is called having not a single day of goodness, yet asking for a lifetime of reputation. When one who possesses the Way dies, their spirit returns to the hall of blessings; when one who commits evil dies, their spirit suffers its calamity. The fool is blind to what has already occurred; the wise and discerning foresee before things sprout. Practicing the Way and not practicing the Way are like comparing gold to grass; calamity and blessing are like comparing white to black. How could they not be different? And how can you speak of them so lightly?"

5.56

Question: "Confucius said, 'When you are not yet able to serve human beings, how can you serve ghosts? When you do not yet know life, how can you know death?' This is what the sage recorded. Now the Buddhists constantly speak of the matters of birth and death and the affairs of ghosts and spirits. Surely these are not the words of sages and worthies. Those who tread the Way should be empty, non-existent, tranquil, and indifferent, returning their aspirations to unadorned simplicity. Why do they instead speak of birth and death to confuse their intentions, and discuss the superfluous affairs of ghosts and spirits?"

Mouzi said: "What you say is what is called seeing the outside without understanding the inside. When Confucius was displeased that Zilu did not inquire into the fundamental and the derivative, he checked him on this account. The Classic of Filial Piety says, 'He establishes ancestral temples for them and makes offerings to them with ghost rituals; he offers sacrifices in spring and autumn to remember them in their seasons.' It also says, 'In life, serve them with love and reverence; in death, serve them with grief and sorrow.' How could this not be teaching people to serve ghosts and spirits and to know birth and death? When the Duke of Zhou prayed for King Wu's life, he said, 'I, Dan, possess many talents and many arts, and can serve ghosts and spirits.' What was this for? Are the destinations of birth and death taught in the Buddhist scriptures not of this very kind? Laozi said, 'Having known the child, again preserve the mother; to the end of one's body one will not be in peril.' He also said, 'Use its light, and return again to its brightness, leaving no misfortune for one's body.' These speak of the destinations of birth and death and the lodging of good and bad fortune. The essential core of the supreme Way is indeed valued in stillness and silence. How could the Buddhists be fond of speaking? When people come with questions, they cannot but respond. How could bells and drums sound on their own? Only when struck with a mallet do they produce sound."

5.57

Question: "Confucius said, 'The barbarians having rulers is not as good as the Xia states lacking them.' Mencius mocked Chen Xiang for shifting to learn the techniques of Xu Xing, saying, 'I have heard of using the Xia to transform the barbarians, but have not heard of using the barbarians to transform the Xia.' In your youth, sir, you studied the Way of Yao, Shun, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius, but now you abandon it and change to learn the arts of the barbarians. Is this not excessive confusion?"

Mouzi said: "These are merely superfluous words from when I had not yet understood the Great Way. One could say of you, sir, that you see the brilliance of ritual systems yet are blind to the reality of the Dao and virtue; you see the brightness of a candle-torch yet have not beheld the sun in the courts of heaven. What Confucius said was to correct worldly ways; what Mencius stated was merely displeased with uncritical attachment. Formerly, Confucius wished to dwell among the Nine Yi [barbarians], saying, 'If a gentleman dwells there, what uncouthness could there be?' When Confucius was not accommodated in Lu and Wei, and Mencius went unemployed in Qi and Liang, could they further hold office among the barbarians? Yu came forth from the Western Qiang yet was a sage and worthy; Gusou fathered Shun yet was obstinate and stupid; You Yu was born in a Di state yet helped Qin achieve hegemony; Guan and Cai arose from the Yellow and Luo rivers yet spread slanderous words. The commentary says, 'The star of the Northern Culmen is in the center of heaven and north of humankind.' Viewed from this, the land of Han is not necessarily the center of heaven. In what the Buddhist scriptures expound, vertically and horizontally extending to the utmost limits, all creatures that contain blood belong to the Buddha. Therefore, I again revere and study it. Why should I discard the Way of Yao, Shun, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius? Gold and jade do not damage one another; the jade disc of Sui does not hinder them. To call others confused is merely to confuse oneself."

5.58

Question: "Confucius stated, 'Extravagance leads to insubordination, and frugality leads to stinginess. Rather than be insubordinate, it is better to be stingy.' Yusun said, 'Frugality is the common denominator of virtue; extravagance is the greatest of vices.' Now the Buddhists take giving up wealth through generosity as their reputation, valuing giving away all goods to others. How could there be any blessing in this?"

Mouzi said: "That was one time, and this is another time. Confucius's words were displeased with extravagance without ritual propriety; Yusun's discourse criticized Duke Zhuang for carving the rafters, not prohibiting generosity. When Shun farmed on Mount Li, his kindness did not reach his village; when the Grand Duke butchered cattle, his favor did not reach his wife and children. But when they were employed, their kindness flowed across the eight wildernesses and their favor was bestowed upon the four seas. When one has an abundance of wealth and goods, one values being able to give; when one is impoverished and constantly empty, one values treading the Way. Xu You was not greedy for the four seas, and Boyi did not covet his state. Yu Qing gave up a fiefdom of ten thousand households to relieve a destitute man in distress. Each followed his own aspiration. Xi Fuji, with the favor of a plate of food, preserved the neighborhood in which he lived. Xuan Meng, for the sake of a single meal, saved his invaluable life. Secret giving arises from what is unexpected; manifest retribution is as clear as the bright sun. How much more so when one empties family wealth and generates virtuous intentions—the merit and virtue are lofty like Mounts Song and Tai, boundless like rivers and oceans. Those who cherish goodness are answered with blessings; those who harbor evil are recompensed with calamity. There has never been one who planted rice and reaped wheat, or inflicted misfortune and obtained blessings."

5.59

Question: "Among people living in the world, none fails to love wealth and honor and detest poverty and lowliness, to delight in joy and ease and dread toil and fatigue. The Yellow Emperor cultivated his nature with the five delicacies as supreme; Confucius did not dislike fine grain nor mincemeat finely shredded. Now the śramaṇas wear red cloth, eat one meal a day, close off the six sense-faculties, and finish their lives in this world. What comfort can there be in this?"

Mouzi said: "'Wealth and honor are what people desire; if they cannot be obtained in accordance with the Way, one does not abide in them. Poverty and lowliness are what people detest; if they cannot be avoided in accordance with the Way, one does not abandon them.' Laozi said, 'The five colors cause people's eyes to be blind; the five tones cause people's ears to be deaf; the five flavors cause people's mouths to lose taste; galloping and hunting cause people's minds to run mad; goods hard to obtain hinder people's conduct. The sage acts for the belly and not for the eyes.' Could these words be empty? Liuxia Hui would not trade his integrity for the position of the Three Excellencies; Duan Ganmu would not trade his person for the wealth of Marquis Wen of Wei. Xu You and Chaofu lived perched in trees, considering themselves more secure than in imperial palaces. Boyi and Shuqi starved on Mount Shouyang, considering themselves more sated than with [the feasts of Kings] Wen and Wu. Each simply attained his own aspiration. What lack of comfort could there be?"

5.60

Question: "If the Buddhist scriptures are so profound, subtle, fine, and beautiful, why, sir, do you not talk about them in the imperial court, discuss them with your ruler and father, cultivate them in your household chambers, and communicate them to your friends? Why do you instead study the classics and commentaries and read the various masters?"

Mouzi said: "You, sir, have not grasped their source yet inquire into their streams. Now, setting out sacrificial vessels at the camp gates, raising banners in the court hall, wearing fox furs in the fifth month, or dressing in coarse and fine dolichos cloth to withstand the eleventh month—these are not unbeautiful, but they clash with their place and are wrong for their time. Therefore, to carry the methods of Confucius into the gate of Shang Yang, or to bring the theories of Mencius to the court of Su Qin and Zhang Yi, would produce not an inch of achievement, while errors would amount to tens of feet. Laozi said, 'When a superior person hears of the Way, they practice it diligently; when a middling person hears of the Way, it seems to exist and seems not to; when an inferior person hears of the Way, they laugh at it loudly.' I fear the loud laughter, and therefore do not speak of it. When thirsty, one does not need to wait for rivers and seas to drink; with the water of wells and springs, wherewith is one not satisfied? For this reason, I again apply myself to the classics and commentaries."

Question: "Laozi says, 'Those who know do not speak; those who speak do not know.' He also says, 'Great eloquence seems stammering; great skill seems clumsy.' A gentleman feels ashamed when his words exceed his actions. Assuming śramaṇas possess the supreme Way, why do they not sit and practice it? Why do they instead discuss right and wrong and debate the crooked and the straight? I consider this to be a degradation of virtuous conduct."

Mouzi said: "If next spring there is to be a great famine, not eating this autumn; if in the cold of the eleventh month one wears heavy furs in the fifth month—though such precautions are taken early, one does not avoid foolishness. What Laozi stated refers only to those who have attained the Way. For those who have not attained the Way, what knowledge do they have? When the Great Way is spoken in a single phrase and all under heaven rejoice, is that not great eloquence? Does Laozi not say, 'When merit is achieved, the body withdraws: this is the Way of Heaven'? Once the body has withdrawn, what more would it say? The śramaṇas of today have not yet attained the Way; how could they not speak? Laozi likewise spoke. If he had not spoken, how could the Five Thousand Words have been expounded? If one knows yet does not speak, that is permissible; but if one neither knows nor speaks, one is a fool. Therefore, one who can speak but cannot act is a teacher of the state; one who can act but cannot speak is a useful servant of the state; one who can both act and speak is a treasure of the state. The three grades each have their application. How is this a degradation of virtue? Only to be neither able to speak nor able to act—that is degradation."

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佛祖歷代通載 — Classical Chinese