弘明集 1.18

1.18

問曰。佛道言。人死當復更生。僕不信此之審也。牟子曰。人臨死。其家上屋呼之。死已復呼。誰或曰呼其魂魄。牟子曰。神還則生。不還神何之呼。曰成鬼神。牟子曰是也。魂神固不滅矣。但身自朽爛耳。身譬如五穀之根葉。魂神如五穀之種實。根葉生必當死。種實豈有終已。得道身滅耳。老子曰。吾所以有大患。以吾有身也。若吾無身吾有何患。又曰。功遂身退天之道也。或曰。為道亦死。不為亦死。有何異乎。牟子曰。所謂無一日之善。而問終身之譽者也。有道雖死神歸福堂。為惡既死神當其殃。愚夫闇於成事。賢智豫於未萌。道與不道如金比草。善之與福如白方黑。焉得不異。而言何異乎。

The question was asked: "The Buddha's Dao says that when a person dies, he will be reborn again. I do not believe this is certain." Mouzi said: "When a person is on the verge of death, his family ascends the roof to call him; once he is already dead, they call him again—whom are they calling?" Someone said: "They are calling his hun and po souls." Mouzi said: "If the spirit returns, he lives; if it does not return, where does the spirit go?" The person said: "It becomes a ghost or a spirit." Mouzi said: "That is so. The soul and spirit certainly do not perish; it is only that the body itself rots away. The body is like the roots and leaves of the five grains; the soul and spirit are like the seeds and fruit of the five grains. When roots and leaves sprout, they must die; how could seeds and fruit ever have an end? Only when one attains the Dao does the body perish. Laozi said: 'The reason I have great calamity is that I have a body; if I had no body, what calamity would I have?' He also said: 'When the work is accomplished, the person withdraws: this is the Dao of Heaven.' Someone said: "Whether one practices the Dao, one dies; if one does not practice it, one also dies. What difference is there?" Mouzi said: "This is what is called having not a single day of goodness, yet asking for a lifetime of praise. If one possesses the Dao, though he dies, his spirit returns to the hall of blessings; if one commits evil, once dead, his spirit will suffer its retribution. A fool is blind to what has already occurred; the worthy and wise anticipate what has not yet sprouted. The Dao and non-Dao are like gold compared to grass; goodness and blessing are like white contrasted with black. How could they not be different, that you should say what difference is there?"