弘明集 3.10

3.10

Someone raised an objection: 'The teachings of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius take filial piety as foremost. Filial piety is the utmost of virtue and the root of the hundred conducts. When the root is established, the Dao is born, reaching through to the divine spirits. Therefore, in a son's serving his parents, while they are alive he provides them with utmost nourishment, and when they pass away he offers sacrifices to them. Among the three thousand offenses, none is greater than having no descendants. Since one's body comes from parents, one dare not injure or ruin it; hence Yue正 [Yuezheng Zichun] injured his foot and harbored shame for the rest of his life. Yet the path of a śramaṇa abandons those who gave him birth, casts aside relatives and approaches strangers, shaves off beard and hair, and ruins his natural appearance. In life he neglects caring for his parents' countenance, and in death he forever cuts off blood sacrifices, treating blood relations as mere passers-by on the road. Nothing violates principle and wounds sentiment more severely than this. Yet you claim to propagate the Dao, spread benevolence, and broadly deliver the multitude of beings. How does this differ from chopping down the roots and pruning the trunk, while praising the lushness of shoots and grain? I have never heard or seen such a thing! If the skin is no longer there, where can the hair attach? This greatly contradicts secular teachings; how will you dispel this doubt?'