弘明集 1.50

1.50

The questioner asked: “The Daoists say that Yao, Shun, the Duke of Zhou, Confucius, and the seventy-two disciples did not die, but became immortals. The Buddhists say that all humans must die and none can escape it. Why is this?” Mouzi said: “These are monstrous and preposterous words, not spoken by sages. Laozi said: ‘Heaven and Earth cannot even endure forever; how much less can man!’ Confucius said: ‘One may depart and avoid the world, yet filial piety remains constant.’ I have perused the Six Arts and examined the chronicles: Yao had his demise; Shun had Mount Cangwu; Yu had his tumulus at Kuaiji; Boyi and Shuqi had their tombs on Mount Shouyang. King Wen died before he could punish Zhou; King Wu passed away unable to wait until King Cheng grew up. For the Duke of Zhou, there is the chapter on reburial; for Zhongni, there was the dream of the two pillars. Boyu died before his father; Zilu has the tale of being minced into pickle. Boniu has the text saying ‘It is fate!’; Zeng Shen has the words ‘Uncover my feet!’; Yan Yuan has the record of an untimely death and the metaphor of ‘sprouting without flowering.’ All of these are inscribed in the canonical scriptures, the utmost words of the sages. I take the scriptures and commentaries as proof and the people of the world as verification; yet they claim they did not die—is that not delusion?”