弘明集 6
English (machine translation) 6
- Language
- English
6.1
Compiled by Vinaya Master Shi Sengyou of Jianchu Monastery in Yangdu, Liang dynasty.
6.2
Dharma Master Daoheng's Treatise Refuting Objections
Ming Sengshao's Treatise on Rectifying the Two Teachings
Zhou Yong of Shan's Refutation of Senior Clerk Zhang Rong's Rules of the School
Xie Zhenzhi's Analysis
Treatise on Chinese and Barbarians
6.3
Treatise Refuting Objections
6.4
By Shi Daoheng
6.5
In the Yixi era of the Jin dynasty, I heard that the two worthy gentlemen, Yuan and He, south of the Yangzi River, were both discussing the principles of governance and criticizing the contemporary administration. Although I have not yet seen their texts, their ideas seem to follow Han Fei's chapter on the "Five Vermin", thereby mocking the shortcomings of the age and issuing a treatise on the "Five Obstructions", and the unencumbered śramaṇas were unjustly lumped into their categories. Fearing that this will dazzle the sentiments of the times and cause people to sink permanently into deviant delusion, and unable to endure the utmost indignation, I have therefore constructed a dialogue between guest and host to refute it.
6.6
A gentleman bound by the teachings of the Eastern Capital addressed an unrestrained, recluse countryman of the western border, saying: "I have formerly heard that the Buddha's Dharma is profound and vast, not something to be debated within the moral teachings; its Daoist-like ethos is mysterious and remote, not something to be likened to material forms; its purity and concise transcendence are not matters that ordinary knowledge can touch; and its subtle severance from all existences cannot be fathomed by common sentiments. Therefore, it is always honored by temporal rulers and admired by the noble and eminent. Thereupon, the common masses gather like thunder and rush toward it, all sighing in admiration and praising its goodness, saying: 'If one is steeped in its spirit, its refined principles penetrate the subtle; if one investigates the flavor of its truth, it subtly accords with the divine function. One washes away the dust and defilement in one's heart and mind, and casts off the shackles from one's outer form. One transcends mundane burdens beyond the cage, leaves worldly affairs far behind, and walks aloft. In living out genuine simplicity, Boyi and Shuqi cannot surpass their integrity; in relinquishing glory and favor, Chaofu and Xu You cannot outdo their resolve; in savoring the mysterious import, Yan Hui and Ran Boniu cannot share their style; in shedding confusion and filth, Wangzi Qiao and Red Pine cannot rival their purity.' If it were truly as spoken, then its principles would indeed be flawless. But observing the various śramaṇas nowadays, all are generally lacking in such talent. Flocking together in vulgar confusion, no preeminent excellence is seen among them. They are confounded like the turbulent waves of the Jing and Wei rivers; they are indistinguishable like fragrant and foul herbs stored in the same hamper. If the source were pure, the flowing waters should be clear; if the roots were deep, the branches and ears of grain would surely flourish. Examining their words and deeds, they are inconsistent from beginning to end; investigating their roots and branches, there is hardly anything to compare favorably. That I express wonder and doubt is truly due to this. Just as the Yellow Emperor's forgetting of his wisdom and Baoliang's loss of strength were both refined and cast into sages within the forge, if the Way does not operate in vain, talent must match the vessel. Yet, when śramaṇas have left household life and departed from secular customs to elevate their ideals, turned against the kinship of heaven-given relations, abandoned the gravity of glory and splendor, marred the adornments of their physical appearance, and observed the prohibitions of pure discipline, their inquiring minds dwell solely on principle, and their commitment belongs solely to the Dharma. They rest wherever they set foot, and eat only vegetarian food. They should make their virtuous conduct outstanding so that it becomes the veneration of the era, and make their demeanor harmonious and solemn so that it serves as a model for all things. Yet when touching upon actual affairs, they are negligible and have not a single merit worth taking up. Why are their aspirations so high and remote, yet their occupations and practices so vulgar and near? When it comes to seeking profit and toiling, they never pause for a moment's rest. Some cultivate fields and gardens, ranking alongside farmers; some engage in trade and exchange, competing for profit with the multitude; some rely arrogantly on the medical arts, rashly treating hot and cold ailments; some use mechanical cleverness and deviant skills to eke out a living; some divine solitary emptiness and falsely discuss good and ill fortunes; some use deceitful ways and assume false authority to shoot for temporal favor; some accumulate hoardings and reserves to nourish themselves in excess; some clap their hands in empty talk and sit by to feed off the common people. In all these cases, their virtue does not match their robes, and their actions mostly violate the Dharma. Even if they occasionally possess a single good, how could it suffice to mark the excellence of transcendence? They could simply be abolished to unify customs! All these are of no benefit to temporal governance and bring harm to the way of ordering the realm. They are what law enforcers deeply detess and what rulers of state find to be a grave peril. Furthermore, in the world there are five pests, and the śramaṇas constitute one of them! How is this known? They devise great expedient means to incite the foolish multitude. On one hand, they entice; on the other hand, they intimidate, saying: 'Doing evil will surely incur calamities for cumulative kalpas; cultivating good will immediately bring infinite blessings. Speaking of transgressions, there is the surveillance of the unseen realm; speaking of fortune, there is the protection of the divine spirits.' They urge and lead them, exhorting people to do what they cannot do; they compel and press them, forcing them to achieve what people cannot achieve. Above, it diminishes the care for parents; below, it harms the shares of wives and children. Gatherings exhaust the sweetness of fine delicacies; monasteries reach the extremity of grand and magnificent splendor. They strip the precious treasures of living people, exalting useless and empty expenses; they exhaust the yearly reserves of private families, and run short the real supplies of the military and the state. They proclaim empty fame into the future, and depict shapeless wonders before they manifest. Listening to their words, they flow abundantly and fill the ears; watching their appearance, they are lofty and fill the eyes. Yet examining current affairs to seek proof, none have seen their genuine verification. This is what is called tying a shadow or catching the wind, with no beginning or end to be known. This truly makes my feelings ill at ease, and poses a great doubt to those who have discernment. If you have fine explanations, I beg to receive your instructions. Should I perhaps attain a momentary awakening, I would forever discard these blockages." The host answered. The host was forlorn for a while and sighed deeply: "Alas, how strange! What you have set forth, how shallow it is! Indeed, one cannot speak of the Great Dao with the vulgar because they are stuck in external forms; one cannot debate the ultimate principle with the biased because they are confined to conventional designations. Now I shall briefly raise one corner for you, and you may reflect and return to its fundamental principle on your own. Now, when the Sage establishes teachings, he responds to the vessel; in presenting the Dharma, he receives the capacity. Because there are limits, he transforms them gradually, recording a good intention even at the tip of a fine hair, and forgetting vulgar stinginess in the hills and ravines. The goodness of a single deed becomes a resource for one's life forever; the blessing of a single thought ultimately serves as a spiritual function. When having just dumped a single basket of earth, one cannot demand the accomplishment of building a mountain; when newly heading toward a transcendent realm, one cannot exhaustively demand the fullness of wrapping up the sack. Indeed, that the sea is called great is because it does not maintain pristine purity; that the Dao is called hiding its traces is because it lacks a blazing display. Now, the love of affectionate parents is what clings to conscious minds, yet śramaṇas discard it like casting off a worn shoe. Name, status, wealth, and sensual pleasure are what worldly sentiment prizes, yet śramaṇas regard them as chaff. They can be said to endure what ordinary people cannot renounce. This is the elegant disposition of their exalted aspirations, the sublime enterprise of propagating the Dao. Yet you say it is negligible; how is this not a lack of wondrous appreciation? Moreover, their aspirations and professions are not the same, and the paths they pursue diverge; when forks in the road branch off, they do not understand one another. That you have not seen their preeminent excellence is only natural. The ancients always sighed that talent was difficult to find; this is truly so! The Zhou was renowned for its many officers, yet there were only ten capable ministers. In the height of Tang and Yu, there were only the eight Yuan and eight Kai. Confucius's disciples numbered three thousand, all eminent figures within the realm; yet when selecting those to fill the four subjects, the number did not reach ten. Among them, Boniu suffered an incurable illness; Yan Hui suffered the six extremes; Zixia was stingy; Zigong engaged in trade; Zai Yu was hard to carve; Zilu was rash and obstinate; and Ran Qiu amassed wealth, failing to act fittingly in his post. Although Ran Yong was like a red calf born of a plow-ox, the entire world praised his virtue, making him the paragon of human relations, and admiring his lofty standard as the exemplar for scholars and officials; for a hundred generations, people have sung of his remaining ethos, and for a thousand years they have revered his glorious conduct. Yet when it comes to the śramaṇas, people bitterly strip away their integrity and harshly treat them as rubble and broken tiles. How could this be the gentleman's way of broad understanding and elegant, upright discourse? This is like a man entering the workshop of Gongshu Ban, not praising the subtlety of the south-pointing chariot, but only mocking the clumsy worker for injuring his hand. It can truly be called submitting to the lowest currents and cherishing what is base and inferior. In the past, a chancellor asked a guest: 'Common sayings claim that the owl eats its mother. Can there really be such a thing?' The guest replied: 'I have only heard that the filial crow feeds its mother in return.' The chancellor was disheartened and felt ashamed of his slip of the tongue. In harbor of your thoughts today, are you not like that chancellor's question? A gentleman stops evil and praises good; what do you call doing the opposite? Furthermore, you say, 'They rest wherever they set foot.' Yet forests and fields are desolate, constantly having the menace of bandits; entering and leaving city gates, their movements are entangled in the criticism of socializing; dwelling where they should not brings the burdens of worldly dust; lingering in fields and hamlets offends the gossip of the human world. In these several options, there is neither advance nor retreat, like finding oneself in a dead-end ravine. Although the universe is vast, they know not where to place themselves.
6.7
"Furthermore, you say, 'They eat only vegetarian food.' Indeed, in the human world there is the scarcity of insufficiency, and mountains and marshes have no accumulated reserves. Just when they should obtain provisions, you burden them with the law; turning nine times in the path, how could they stand firm? If in a grand, sagely age there were the starvation on Mount Shouyang, or in a bright, harmonious era there were the drowning in the sea, how would that accord with your refined sentiments? However, having no fur or feathers on the body, one cannot be bared without clothing; having a stomach that is not an inedible gourd, one cannot hang without eating. Before having reached the ultimate, one must have that by which one is sustained. When the year is plentiful, they obtain sufficiency from the common people; when the season is lean, they exert effort to supply themselves. This is truly not what is ideal, but an inevitable necessity. Therefore, when a viper bites the hand, one cuts it off to preserve the whole. Weighed in their light and heavy aspects, what is preserved is greater. Although they manage their own persons, they do not seek without attaining; seeking need not take only a single path. Provided that relieving needs has principle, why resent multiple means as defiling their desires? Confining them so they cannot act at all—why must you be so obstinate? In antiquity, Bocheng plowed in person to reclaim land; Changju and Jieni worked yoked together to tend agriculture; Tao Zhu traded as a merchant to make a living; the scholar of Wuling watered vegetables to supply himself; Cui Wen sold medicine to stave off lack; Yan Junping performed divination to fill his needs; Zhang Heng won fame through arts and calculations; and Ma Jun displayed success with extraordinary contrivances. These were merely people who went against custom and escaped the world; they were not yet seen as having transcended the dust from afar, severed from the world like heaven, yet all people ceaselessly praised and recited them. However, among the śramaṇas, those whose traces surpass these figures and who are ashamed to associate with their ilk often number in the tens of thousands; as for those who embody the Dao, whose spirit transforms and transcends the human realm, they cannot be calculated, yet you have never spoken of them. How partial you are! We should together consider and compare the facts; you cannot hold differing views for the past and present, or use different words for the few and the many. Valuing the rare and simple while holding the numerous and vulgar in contempt—I fear this is not a discussion that seeks precision and verifies principle. You say, 'They could simply be abolished to unify customs'—what kind of talk is this? The sage does not deceive: in a hamlet of ten households, among three people there must be teachers and elders. When fragrant orchids flourish together, to wish to gather and burn them—is that not cruel? Among them, there are naturally those whose virtuous demeanor is profound and vast, whose capacity marks the aspiration of the times: some are preeminent and pristine, lodging their dwellings in the pure and remote; some have dhyāna contemplation that enters the subtle, purifying their spirit in the transcendent realm; some expound subtle words, dispelling obscurity and resolving blockages; some are diligent in the enterprise of merit, exhorting transformation and exalting good. In general, as for the origin of leaving household life, on the day they shave their hair and draw out their hairpins, all make solitary vows with heart and mouth, their feelings reaching utmost sincerity. Although life and death are vast and submerged, and the mysterious path is long and remote, they must urge themselves on and surely step onto the Dao. The glory of a wheel-turning king is suddenly regarded as dust and dirt; the gravity of Śakra is despised like chaff. At the beginning, all have refined sincerity and thus attain resonance. Unless one attains realization abruptly in a single leap and embodies complete perfection, how could there not be minor faults in between? One should simply record their genuine simplicity and broadly raise their dark and yellow shades; how can you lump everything together into one category with no further discrimination? One cannot, because of the transgression of Guan and Cai, execute the entire Ji clan; nor, because of the violence of the Four Calamities, banish the entire court. How is this different from a person who, suffering from head lice, wishes to burn the head along with them, or, troubled by a thorn in the foot, wishes to sever the entire thigh? Is that not excessive?"
6.8
You say that they are of no benefit to contemporary governance and harmful to the Dao of good order. Now, when those who propagate the Dao benefit the world, living things use it daily without knowing it. Thus Laozi said: 'Under the transformation of non-action, the common people all say, "We are naturally so."' These words are apt indeed! Therefore, Duanmu Ganmu pillowed his head in retirement and the State of Wei was greatly governed; Gengsang Chu instructed well and the villagers of Weilei turned toward benevolence. While śramaṇas in this world truly have no visible achievements subject to immediate administrative assessment, beyond the teaching of names they are genuinely beneficial to the unseen realm. Near at hand, using the five precepts to instruct living beings is something beyond the realm of the Five Classics. Far afield, averting the obscure perils of the eight difficulties is no match for criminal penal laws. Please consider that assessing transgressions by the Tripiṭaka is not the stream of statutes and decrees, and resolving delusion through prajñā is not what Laozi and Zhuangzi spoke of. The untainted factors of the path and the causes and conditions that eradicate suffering—these are matters that the teachings of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius put aside without discussing. Exhausting principle beyond physical forms and instruments reaches the utmost of the supreme Dharma, simultaneously refining the spirit and discerning the subtle and the gross, ascent and descent; their superiority and inferiority cannot be mentioned in the same breath. Formerly, Baidu aided transformation and supported governance with the Dao: the state borders were tranquil, the people understood righteousness, the harvest was piled high year after year, and nothing suffered blemish or pestilence. If this is not benefit, what is it? You say that the world has five pests and the śramaṇa is one of them. In general, those called pests are so designated because their minds have no noble calling, wandering dissolutely without a name; or they gamble and behave licentiously, squandering their family estates; or their names are registered on the household rolls while they idle away their entire lives; or they hold sinecures and eat the bread of idleness, unwilling to apply their minds; or they wield power and position to prey upon the common folk; or they scramble after advancements, damaging both public and private interests; or they give free rein to violence and villainy, constantly committing lawlessness. All these harm moral teachings, disorder uprightness, and thoroughly corrupt customs. For this reason Xun Yue wielded his brush and the 'Discourse on Wandering Knights' arose; Han Fei trimmed his quill and the treatise 'Five Vermin' was composed. Calling these 'pests' is indeed reasonable; applying this to śramaṇas—is that not slanderous? Our state is currently competing above with the towering splendor of Tang and Yu, and matching below the flourishing civilization of Yin and Zhou; it does not allow the banks of the Ji and Ying rivers alone to possess gentlemen who look down on the world, nor Mount Shang and the Luo River alone to boast guests of fine seclusion. It is just about to vigorously fan the breeze of recluses and revere masters beyond the secular sphere. Observing your thoughts and plans for current governance, you actually wish to follow in the treacherous footsteps of the tiger-and-wolf Qin in its demise, and inherit the harsh, petty, and corrupt laws of Lord Shang: burying scholars and burning Confucian classics so that government lacked order; instituting taxes exceeding half of income so that households had no surplus wealth; establishing mutual-responsibility groups of three and five, guarding against the people as if they were bandits. The realm was thrown into boiling turmoil, and the people had no means to live, bringing the Ying clan to an end before three generations had passed, while the disasters that befell those two men brought execution upon them in their own time. Only on the day facing execution did they belatedly feel remorse! The initial error in legislating was originally meant to pacify the state and quiet the people, but they failed to consider that when dykes are too steep, they will conversely fail to contain oneself. Once the affair has passed, what is the use of lamenting? You say: 'On one hand they entice and lead, on the other they coerce.' Now, living beings have deep or shallow conditions, sharp or dull faculties, easy or difficult comprehension, shallow or deep practice. Therefore, the ways of enlightening and instructing them are not single; the reasons for their awakening are not uniform. Modulating, checking, and turning, they strive to cause them to follow goodness. These are the sharp spurs of expedient means, the ford and bridge of wondrous salvation; this is by no means what is called enticing and coercing.
6.9
You say that for transgressions the unseen realm watches, while for blessings spirits bestow protection. Now, when one embodies the utmost purity of virtue, all good things gravitate toward him. The Book of Changes states: 'He treads in good faith and meditates on yielding compliance; from Heaven blessing is bestowed on him; there is good fortune and nothing that is not beneficial.' It also says: 'When one commits misdeeds in hidden obscurity, the ghosts and spirits are able to punish him.' Are these not the watchfulness of the unseen realm and the protection of the spirits? As for the retribution of good and evil, the scriptures contain verified proofs; they need not be enumerated here in full. You say that banquets exhaust fine delicacies and monasteries reach the height of magnificence. These are simply families cultivating blessings who exhaust their means to prepare provisions for the future, draining their wealth solely as a grand strategy for their own persons. It is hardly that the spirits savor the magnificence or that the assembly of monks covets the flavors! It is just like a farmer sowing crops or a craftsman building a house: they will select sound timber to seek the adornment of halls and chambers, and carefully screen seeds to anticipate the harvest of fine crops. Therefore, agriculture must be planted in fertile soil, and in choosing a dwelling one must select a high and dry location. Hence we know that the Three Jewels are the field of blessings for living beings; making offerings is simply cultivating one's own merit. You say that they carve away the precious items of the living people and exalt useless and empty expenses. Now, broadly bestowing and universally loving is the deep virtue of the benevolent; adorning the ancestral temple is the utmost mind of filial reverence. If secular teachings are like this, the Dao is also the same. Among things, there are those where losing brings gain, and doing it brings certain rewards. Furthermore, floating wealth is like dung and dirt, while bestowing generosity serves the spirit; it is like using rotten wood to make a boat, which nevertheless becomes a vital ford for crossing over. What empty expense is there? If one wishes to sit upright and wait for spontaneous ease, or fold one's hands in silence hoping for peace and joy, that is like seeking to fell trees without an axe, or seeking fullness without eating—how could it be attained? If failing to cultivate oneself already brings distress, why must you go further to obstruct the ears and eyes of the common people and block the great goodness of the realm? Having already drunk poison yourself, you further wish to administer aconite to others; what cruelty could match this? This can be called destroying oneself while entrapping others, bringing disaster upon both together. Thus, retribution as the blind, deaf, dumb, and mute, and calamities dwelling in darkness across kalpas, are the karmic retribution of Devadatta, who undergoes the uninterrupted suffering of the Avīci Hell. You say that this depletes the yearly stores of private households and leaves the resources of the military and the state deficient. When a sage king governs the world, pure customs spread afar; he shakes the guidelines of the Dao to maintain the six directions, and spreads the net of virtue to encompass all talents. In the rivers there are no men beating the waves in distress, and in the valleys there are no scholars harboring sighs. The four classes of people all rest secure in their vocations, and the hundred officials each fulfill their duties. Within the seas all is harmonious and open, and the nine provinces are bound together as one. Thereupon the war chariots are stowed away, and the armored soldiers turn back to spread manure on the fine grains left across the fields; the granaries are stacked until the grain decays; the young advance in virtue renewed day by day, and the aged live out their full longevity. They should together beat the earth singing praises of the Great Peace, and drum their bellies to behold this flourishing transformation! Why do you harbor such deep and unwarranted worries, fretting that the times are deficient? Is this not excessive? You say: 'Begrudging the Court Provisioner, one's mouth swells; facing the vast ocean, one draws in one's belly.' This truly applies to you, sir!
6.10
You say that they tie down shadows and chase the wind, with no one knowing the clue. Now, false eloquence confusing the genuine is what the Great Sage grieved over; lamenting that the times did not recognize jade was why Bian He wept bitterly. However, the wondrous purport is subtle and serene, and only the Dao can embody it; it is empty, serene, simple, and direct, and only virtue can tally with it. Its function is far-reaching: it can serve as a bridge for the fallen and drowning, extricate those in darkness, save those who are obstructed, finely rescue the contemporary age, and its transformation flows without bounds. Therefore, when its spiritual brilliance once radiates, it stirs the great chiliocosm; when its moistening benevolence is momentarily sprinkled, the nine provinces receive moisture. Thus Indra and Brahmā awakened to its subtle purport and turned their sincere devotion to it; emperors and kings looked up to the profound doctrine and pledged their allegiance; the eight classes of beings partook of the spiritual transformation and purified their minds; scholars and commoners gazed upon its true demeanor and rushed forward. Eminent and loftily detached, it is indeed not the nominal teaching within the realm; solemn and reverent, it is truly the unseen track beyond this world. Yet its surrounding walls are steep and sheer, so that few find its gate; its inner chambers are profound and secluded, so that rare are those who enter its halls. Thus, though the Dao rescues everything across the vast expanse, your principles conflict with it; though virtue embraces the boundless, your deeds are separated from it. That you, sir, cling to delusion and finish your life in it, never awakening until your teeth fall out, truly has its reason. Now, when the sun and moon shine gloriously in the sky, the blind do not behold their brilliance; when thunder and lightning shake the earth, the deaf do not hear their sound. Whose fault is this? Yet you are now about to debate the notes of gong and shang while despising the beauty of literature—truly this is the height of error! Formerly, the Wenlin fish changed its sight at the first dawning of light, and Subhadra opened his hearing at the final condition. What sin have you committed, what misfortune is yours, that you alone harbor doubts to the end of your years? Compared to what ordinary men lament, this is foremost among what is most lamentable! Thereupon, [the questioner] hesitated, withdrew from his mat, and despondently lost his composure. After a long while, he said: 'I have heard the explanation of the Great Dao: it spans antiquity and the present, broadly establishing causes and conditions, exhausting principle and fulfilling nature, standing firm in non-action; propagating the Dao in the present age does not expect results within a single lifetime. It can be said to trace beginnings and meet ends, ultimately returning to destiny. I was truly stranded in slumber through the long night, failing to comprehend its purport, and therefore always fashioned boundaries. Now, having had the fortune to hear your leftover discourse, the knots are untied, doubts are dispersed, and I am wide awake as if parting the layered clouds to behold the bright sun, or removing a blindfold to awaken to true wisdom. I am truly undiscerning, and respectfully accept your fine instruction.'
6.11
Rectifying the Two Teachings (Because a Daoist wrote the Discourse on the Barbarians and the Chinese, this was composed to rectify it)
6.12
By the Recluse Ming (Sengshao)
6.13
Having heard this divergent treatise vigorously speaking of abolishing the monasteries, and fearing that it slanders the sages, I will clarify their true destination. Therefore, I first examine and rectify the passages of the two scriptures cited as evidence, hoping that both sides may awaken to the profound ford.
6.14
The discourse cites a Daoist scripture as saying: 'Laozi entered the Pass and went to the state of Vaiśālī in Tianzhu. The queen of the state was named Qingmiao. While she was taking a daytime nap, Laozi, riding the essence of the sun, entered Qingmiao's mouth. At midnight on the eighth day of the fourth month of the following year, he cleaved her right armpit and was born, falling to the ground. He immediately walked seven steps, raised his hand, pointed to heaven, and said: "Above heaven and below heaven, only I am supreme. The three realms are all suffering; what is there to enjoy?" Thereupon the Dao of the Buddha arose.' (This matter is in the 'Inner Chapter on Mysterious Subtlety'; this is an authentic scripture from Hanzhong, not a fabricated book.) Rectification: The purport of the Daoist masters lies in the two scriptures of Laozi; the wonder of expounding the profound is fully present in the seven chapters of Zhuangzi. Yet in attaining the One and exhausting emptiness, there is no mention of the marvel of bodily transformations; when Pengzu and a short-lived youth share the same lifespan, we find no proclamation of deathlessness. Therefore, those who maintain their natural harmony do not strive to alter what is normal; resting in their times and abiding in compliance, how could they seek longevity? As for riding the essence of the sun to enter the mouth and cleaving the armpit, the chronology does not match; relying on strange tales to conflate accounts, claiming what they do not possess, and wildly arguing about spiritual transformations—such absurd sorcery of the Qin and Han extended into the Wei and Jin. Since these words do not stem from the sages, how could they be called authentic scriptures?
6.15
The treatise cites: 'A Buddhist scripture says: "Since Śākyamuni attained Buddhahood, dust-particle kalpas have already passed. At times he manifested as the master of the Confucian scholars, the state preceptor, or a Daoist master."' (These are all authentic, established scriptures, not expedient explanations.)
6.16
Rectification: The fundamental aim of the Buddhist scriptures is to illuminate the ultimate teaching. Yet across the three times there is nothing to be attained; conventional realizations of the path of awakening cannot be manifested through physical affairs. However, where the refined and deep converge, meditative concentration and wisdom have evidence within; where conditions and stimuli respond, cause and effect are never false without. Śākyamuni uttered the true proclamation that exhausts the source to illuminate that which the spiritual Dao penetrates. Therefore, his refining of essence and investigating with illumination are not the work of nurturing vital breath; minute goods stepping to the ultimate are different from barely approaching the edge; the Dao rescues through forgetting the corporeal form, and what is valued is not preserving life. Generating life after life is not valued, and persisting in existence after existence—what merit has it? Forgetting merit, his merit is conspicuous; in tranquil cessation, his Dao is constant. Emerging from the beginningless and entering the endless, there is no response that is not his body, and dust-particle kalpas are not distant. This is why it serves as the teaching.
6.17
The treatise says: 'The purports of the two scriptures tally like the halves of a tally.'
6.18
Rectification: The Buddha opens the three times, and therefore his perfect response is inexhaustible; Laozi stops at the living corporeal form, and therefore his teaching exhausts itself in the shallow and the pure. Hence, teachings concerning the corporeal form do not discuss distinct rebirths, while the transformation of perfect response exhausts all categories of living beings. Thus, the Duke of Zhou, Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi were truly teachers of emperors and kings, but they are not proof for your former statement. Since opening and blocking differ, their teachings also violate the verification of tallying together.
6.19
The treatise says: 'The Dao is the Buddha; the Buddha is the Dao.'
6.20
Rectification: Since the teachings have the square and the round, how can one see them as identical? One who follows the Buddha may certainly take Laozi as an expedient, but how can one who studies Laozi claim identity with the Buddha? If, harboring rivalry and admiring the high, one compiles and confounds them, wildly attempting to use their identity to establish the heterodox and discard the orthodox, this is studying what is not proper study, letting oneself leak into a pest of the Dao; it is merely an excess of failing to measure oneself, showing oneself to be shameful by clinging to a rigid vessel.
6.21
The treatise says: 'Their entrances differ, and their workings must be distinct; each fulfills its nature without altering its functions.' It also says: 'At times it illuminates the Five Classics, at times it spreads the Three Vehicles; in China it uses Chinese speech, transforming the barbarians it uses barbarian tongues.' It also says: 'The Buddha and the Dao are equal in penetrating transformation, yet there is a distinction between the barbarians and the Chinese.'
6.22
Rectification: When tranquil resonance penetrates, it must reach through to all living beings. The Buddha, with a single voice, allows beings to receive awakening according to their kind. Why must the transformation among the barbarians be limited to the Three Vehicles? How could the Dao that teaches China be confined to the five teachings? Since the subtle function accords with resonance, the barbarians and the Chinese are not distinct; as for the differences of worldly customs, which one goes against the sage's rule? Thus, though their entrances differ, their teachings are inherently equal.
6.23
The treatise says: The ceremonial cap and sash are the appearance of the Chinese states; cut hair and black robes are the attire of the various barbarians.
6.24
The correction says: One who seeks what is prized in principle should first examine the origins of ritual and custom. Transmitting or altering [customs] across different paths depends solely on the times and circumstances. Therefore, the gentleman changes like a leopard, while the common people's patterns are reformed first. Zhuansun received instruction, yet set aside his [Lu] aspirations to learn from Yin. Now, in attaining virtue through the Shao and the Wu dances, the reigns through abdication and dynastic succession had different regulations. When later sages arise, how could they be restricted by barbarian or Chinese? How much less could following the ultimate teaching necessarily be bound to national costume! Thus, by clinging to fixed local traditions, one becomes confused about what is profound and stumbles in one's actions. As water and land differ, reaching what is far requires appropriate means; how could the analogy of the boat and the cart not be nimble? But notching the boat and guarding the tree stump merely show a dual attachment to where one fixes one's gaze.
6.25
The treatise says: Below, they abandon wife and children; above, they discard the ancestral sacrifices. Objects of desires and cravings are all indulged through ritual, yet the canons of filial piety and respect are solely curtailed by the [Buddhist] law. They contravene virtue and violate natural order, without ever realizing it. It also says: Preserving one's bodily form and maintaining the ancestral sacrifices is the teaching of continuing the good; marring one's appearance and abandoning one's family name is the discipline of severing evil. What is to be valued in principle is the Dao; what is contemptible in affairs is worldly custom.
6.26
The correction says: Now you consider abandoning ancestral sacrifices to be a violation of natural order, and preserving cravings and desires to be the indulgence of ritual. If so, then the canons of filial piety and respect are preserved on our side, and worldly custom is not necessarily contemptible; marring one's appearance and severing evil is considered base by that side, and the Dao is not necessarily precious. Cherishing custom, being bound to the old, exalting China, and prizing ritual, you arbitrarily invert what is noble and base, making claims that are mere individual assertions. You merely wish to sink into common viewpoints; how could you expect that in the end you would bury the words of the sages?
6.27
The treatise says: Nirvāṇa and immortal transformation are each a distinct method. The Buddha is called the Truly Real, and the Dao is called the Correct One. The One returns to deathlessness, and the Real accords with non-arising.
6.28
The correction says: 'Princes and kings attained the One, and all under Heaven became upright'—here there is no discussion of immortal transformation. 'To die but not perish is longevity'—here there is no talk of deathlessness. Countless explanations are deceptive and excessive, their words false yet embellished. 'When the Great Dao fell into obscurity, minor attainments arose everywhere.' How true are these words! Those various fraudulent and insolent claims seek merely to give cover to their transgressions; examining them against the words of the sages, they certainly do not brook criticism. The teachings of the Daoists today take longevity alone as their principal doctrine and deathlessness as their main goal. Their refining of cinnabar, ingesting of vapor, swallowing of jade, ascending as spirits, shedding like feathers, corpse-liberation, and bodily transformation are methods on which they rely; yet in the end, no one has ever witnessed this to be so. They also claim that those who do not ascend as immortals become ghosts at death, or are summoned to fill posts in the heavenly bureaus according to their original merit. Although this greatly diverges from the original principles of the teachings of Laozi and Zhuangzi, it still might not violate secular teachings: diminishing desires, tending toward goodness, riding transformation, according with passing away, and forgetting about life so that life may be preserved—such an intent, while in actual principle reduced to delusion, does not yet throw regular human relations into chaos. As for the followers of Zhang [Daoling] and Ge [Xuan], they have thoroughly mixed this with transformations of spirits, vulgarizations, and bizarre absurdities to delude the world. Their tallies, incantations, and petitional efficacies are all alleged to have been transmitted by Lord Lao, and have been gradually amplified over time. They then went on to cite Buddhist teachings from afar to corroborate their fabrications, creating utterances that are chaotic and contradictory, relying on teachings without canonical authority. Examining them against the canonical doctrines, their falsehood can be known. This causes truth and falsehood to mingle in the same stream, so that those who hope for awakening are perpetually deluded and none can distinguish them. The deception and disorder are already extreme.
6.29
The visitor, having become familiar with the correct teachings of the Buddha and Laozi, has still not encountered their vital path. I shall now briefly outline one corner of it to lead him to reflect upon himself. Only when principle illuminates and examines the mind, and the two names and teachings are both grasped, can movement and stillness be fully exhausted, and whatever one encounters be mounted as a vehicle. The teaching of Laozi consists in cultivating oneself and governing the state, casting aside high status, and ensuring that affairs are correctly proportioned; taking emptiness and non-being as the root, and softness and weakness as the function; introspecting and listening inwardly, sinking roots and resting in tranquility; keeping thought simple in celestial origin, serene and elevated above the human world; nurturing harmony through luminous qi, remaining unperturbed by gain or loss; in adversity, not plotting success but waiting upon one's destined mandate; in success, not scheming for oneself but taking the common good as the measure. This is why scholars look up to what has flown down from him, and why his Dao seems to survive. Where does it find room for boundless spirit transformations or aiding the world with deathlessness? As for harmonizing the morning mist, feather transformation, and refining transformations to reach the wondrous spirit: these are accomplishments accumulated from previous lives, naturally born with extraordinary qi; therefore, although those who record anomalies mention them, those who speak of principle do not base themselves upon them. If we examine spiritual marvels down to the varieties of creatures: on a large scale, there are auspicious anomalies like the qilin and phoenix; on a small scale, there are transformations like sparrows into clams and pheasants into chou. Once having received their form, can they be attained through aspiring study? Coming even to Yan Hui and Confucius, whose Dao bordered on perfection and whose personal endowments reached the ultimate: they could only look up to the spiritual dust and halt their desires, finding no path to follow; thus that destiny is not arbitrary can be clearly demonstrated by deduction. Therefore Confucius valued knowing one's destiny and necessarily had things of which he did not speak; Boyang discarded the pursuit of anomalies and firmly adhered to non-action; both did so in order to suppress the source from which absurdities arise. Thus, plumbing the spirit and exhausting teachings must proceed from a central principle; the completion of the Dao and the attainment of affairs each converge in a primordial source. If one's deeds and karmic activities were set in previous lives, but one now studies forcibly to attain their efficacy; or if accumulations were formed in plain weakness, yet one arbitrarily longs to falsely change what comes first—how could a native of Yan seeking to reach Yue ever hope to arrive? Therefore, when study obtains what is proper to study, study succeeds; when actions do what can be done, actions can be accomplished. Thus, study mirrors sentient beings, establishes teachings under heaven, observes signs, measures changes, and preserves without disputing the profound mysteries of managing the world: this is the utmost limit of Confucius and Laozi. Acting upon what has not yet arisen, illuminating exhaustively the subtle conditions, seeing that diverse lives share a common principle, refining away the false to return to the real: this is the uprightness of spiritual efficacy and the vastness of the Buddhist teaching. Thus the Buddha clarifies the source, while Laozi preserves life. Those who cling to life are obscured; those who clarify the source are penetrating. Yet resting quietly in the Great Norm, though obscured, is not delusion; moving from the source, principle is penetrated and illumination reaches the ultimate. Therefore, one must prize natural wholeness in virtue and seek the Dao from oneself; exalting the root and relying on penetration, merit returns to the four elements; not plotting what is not so, preserving the teachings and keeping to the regular: this is the purity of Confucius and Laozi, attaining what is proper to study. Transcending the source to the ultimate vista, following the streams to explore the source, regarding having life as dust and poison—therefore resting one's veneration of ruler and parents, not marveling or debating over diverse transformations, not clinging to fixed quarters to be alarmed by the wondrous, quietly contemplating to broaden thought, and accumulating deeds in the present to anticipate the future: this is the essence of the Buddhist teaching, bright in its actions. Therefore, when study obtains what is proper to study, it can nourish and preserve living beings, and the teaching will be revered throughout the realm; when one is clear in acting through proper action, one will eliminate habits, flow back against the stream, and transcend both gods and humans. Beyond this, nothing more can be known. The attainment of purifying thought will surely lie here.
6.30
Family Regulations of Zhang Rong
6.31
Zhou Yan's Objections
6.32
My family has revered the Buddha for generations, while my maternal uncle's family served the Dao. The Dao and the Buddha reach the ultimate without duality. Tranquil and unmoving, they arrive at the root in identity; stimulated, they penetrate everywhere, producing differences when meeting with traces. It is like the music not being uniform yet not obstructing the secret of the Five Emperors, or the rituals not being inherited yet not lamenting the sages among the Three Sovereigns. How could the Three and Five be so? Because their times were different, their customs were not the same; because their ages were diverse, their significance was not identical. How could one rashly employ common foolishness to falsely question the spiritual ultimate? I see Daoists battling with śramaṇas, and Confucians, Mohists, and śramaṇas holding trials of right and wrong with Daoists. Once, a wild goose flew across the expanse of the sky; because of its great distance, it was hard to tell from a duck. A person of Yue took it for a duck, and a person of Chu took it for a swallow. The people were merely of Chu and Yue—was the wild goose ever anything other than one wild goose? Although the pure root is one, I naturally revere both; as its root has poured forth and its traces have divided, I have already soared to where it settles. You may exclusively honor the traces of the Buddha, but do not slight the root of the Dao.
6.33
Letter to the two He, the two Kong, and Zhou [Yong] of Shanzi
6.34
Shaoxi sends this letter to the various wandering scholars, saying: Zhang Rong speaks. A bird sings mournfully when about to die; a person speaks good words when approaching his end. Recently, as illness has grown severe and life has declined, this is also a case of the soul lingering for only a few breaths. Moreover, it is like a frightened boat losing its rudder in an empty gorge, or the foot of a mountain without bonds in the middle of a marsh. Therefore, in the brief time of looking at shadows, though only an inch, there is always urgency, unable to mend its passing. Wishing that the remaining intentions after my spirit's departure serve as a guide for my younger brothers and nephews, I have composed these Family Regulations. I frequently chant its one chapter on 'Penetrating the Source of the Two Paths'. I now present it to you worthy gentlemen to see what you think of it.
6.35
Reply to Zhang's Letter and Questions for Zhang
6.36
Zhou [Yong] of Shanzi returns a letter to Shaoxi, saying: Zhou Yong bows his head. Your esteemed composition has arrived. I have received it and see that you have raised your family's standards high; Shenzi would not sit arrogantly, and truly there is no need to urge respect. Exploring the root, there is an insight into the loftiness of mind; though spiritual ways are what people return to, I know their master. However, outside of Śākya, the Confucian bonds are vast; surpassing this and capable of standing as equal to Confucius, the teachings of Huang-Lao are truly prominent. As their teachings gradually flowed, they were not free of corrupting flaws, yet the root of their plain simplicity contains principles that may be revered. In my long-held view on what to accept and reject, the clear and turbid waters are roughly distinguished; in granting and denying, it does not amount to mistaking purple for vermilion. I have merely harbored these thoughts within my breast without yet having occasion to put them into words. The compliance and divergence of different paths must not be erroneously conflated; in examining the boundary between sameness and difference, writing ought to have a clear direction. Analyzing your incoming message, to say that 'reaching the root, they are identical' seems not to be what I call identical; and that 'different times lead to different customs' is also not what I call difference. For a long time I have wished to gently raise regulations in this matter; fortunately, taking advantage of your elegant interests, let us attempt to speak exhaustively together. It is roughly outlined as follows, and I eagerly await your profound insights.
6.37
Penetrating the Source says: The Dao and the Buddha reach the ultimate without duality. Tranquil and unmoving, they arrive at the root in identity; stimulated, they penetrate everywhere, producing differences when meeting with traces.
First 37 of 90 passages. Read on
Linked texts (1)
- 弘明集 — 僧祐, Classical Chinese