佛祖歷代通載 5.55

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?"