廣弘明集 5.10

5.10

夫神仙之書。道家之言。乃云。傅說上為辰尾宿。歲星降為東方朔。淮南王安誅於淮南。而謂之獲道輕舉。鉤弋死於雲陽。而謂之屍逝柩空。其為虛妄甚矣哉。中興篤論之士。有桓君山者。其所著述多善。劉子駿甞問人言。誠能抑嗜慾闔耳目。可不衰竭乎。時庭中有一老榆。君山指而謂曰。此樹無情慾可忍。無耳目可闔。然猶枯槁腐朽。而子駿乃言可不衰竭。非談也。君山援榆喻之。未是也。何者。余前為王莽典樂大夫樂記云。文帝得魏文侯樂人竇公。年百八十。兩目盲。帝奇而問之。何所施行。對曰。臣年十三而失明。父母哀其不及事。教臣鼓琴。臣不能導引不知壽得何力。君山論之曰。頗得少盲。專一內視精不外鑒之助也。先難子駿以內視無益。退論竇公便以不鑒證之。吾未見其定論也。君山又曰。方士有董仲君者。繫獄陽死。數日目陷蟲出。死而復生。然後竟死生之必死。君子所達夫何喻乎。夫至神不過天地。不能使蟄蟲夏遊震雷冬發。時變則物動。氣移而事應。彼仲君者。乃能藏其氣。屍其體。爛其膚。出其蟲。無乃大怪乎。世有方士。吾王悉所招致。甘陵有甘始。廬江有左慈。陽城有郄儉。始能行氣導引。慈曉房中之術。儉善辟穀。悉號三百歲。本所以集之於魏國者。誠恐斯人之徒。接姦詭以欺眾。行妖慝以惑人。故聚而禁之。甘始者老而有少容。自餘術士咸共歸之。然始詞繁寡實。頗竊有怪言。若遭秦始皇漢武帝。則復徐福欒大之徒矣。桀紂殊世而齊惡。姦人異代而等偽。乃如此耶。又世虛然有仙人之說。仙人者黨猱猨之屬。與世人得道。化為仙人乎。夫雀入海為蛤。雉入海為蜃。當其徘徊其翼差池。其羽猶自識也。忽然自投神化體變。乃更與黿鼈為群。豈復自識翔林薄巢垣屋之娛乎。而顧為匹夫所惘納虛妄之詞。信眩惑之說。隆禮以招弗臣。傾產以供虛求。散王爵以榮之。清閑館以居之。經年累稔終無一効。或歿於沙丘。或崩乎五柞。臨時雖誅其身滅其族。紛然足為天下笑矣。然壽命長短骨體強劣。各有人焉。善養者終之。勞擾者半之。虛用者殀之。其斯之謂歟。

Now, the books on immortals and the sayings of the Daoists claim that Fu Yue ascended to become the constellation Chenwei, that the Year Star descended to become Dongfang Shuo, that King An of Huainan was executed in Huainan yet they call it attaining the Way and ascending lightly, and that Lady Gouyi died at Yunyang yet they call it the corpse departing and the coffin being empty. How extreme is their falsity! Among the upright scholars of the Restoration there was Huan Junshan, whose writings were mostly admirable. Liu Zijun once asked someone, 'If one can truly curb cravings and desires and close the ears and eyes, could one avoid decline and exhaustion?' At that time there was an old elm tree in the courtyard. Junshan pointed to it and said, 'This tree has no feelings or desires to repress, and no ears or eyes to close, yet it still withers and rots away. For Zijun to say one could avoid decline and exhaustion is not valid discourse.' Junshan drawing on the elm as an analogy was not right either. Why? When I previously served as Wang Mang’s Grandee of Music, the Music Records stated: Emperor Wen acquired Marquis Wen of Wei’s musician, Old Master Dou, who was one hundred and eighty years old and blind in both eyes. The Emperor found him remarkable and asked him what practices he performed. He replied, 'Your servant lost his sight at the age of thirteen. My parents pitied my inability to work and taught me to play the zither. I am unable to perform gymnastics and guiding [qi], and do not know what power has granted my longevity.' Junshan critiqued this, saying, 'He considerably benefited from becoming blind young, focusing inward and enjoying the aid of his vital essence not examining things outward.' Having first refuted Zijun on the grounds that looking inward is of no benefit, he then turned to Dou Gong and used his not examining [outward] as proof; I have not seen any definitive conclusion in this. Junshan also said, 'Among the masters of esoteric techniques there was Dong Zhongjun, who was imprisoned and feigned death. After several days, his eyes sank and maggots emerged, yet he died and revived, only to finally die in the end. That life must end in death is understood by gentlemen, so what need is there of an analogy?' Now, the supreme spirit does not exceed Heaven and Earth, yet they cannot make hibernating insects roam in summer or thunder crash in winter. When the seasons change, things move; when the qi shifts, events respond. That Zhongjun was able to conceal his breath, make a corpse of his body, rot his flesh, and bring forth maggots—is this not a great absurdity? There are esoteric masters in the world, all of whom our King summoned: Ganling had Gan Shi, Lujiang had Zuo Ci, and Yangcheng had Xi Jian. Shi could circulate qi and practice gymnastics; Ci was adept in the bedroom arts; Jian excelled at grain abstention; all were claimed to be three hundred years old. The original reason for gathering them in the State of Wei was genuinely the fear that such people would consort in deceit to dupe the masses and practice sinister sorcery to bewilder the people; thus they were assembled and placed under restraint. Gan Shi was old yet had a youthful appearance, so the other practitioners all turned to him. However, Shi’s words were copious but lacking in substance, and he secretly made strange claims. Had he encountered the First Emperor of Qin or Emperor Wu of Han, he would have been another Xu Fu or Luan Da. Jie and Zhou lived in different ages yet were equal in evil; wicked people belong to distinct dynasties yet are alike in fabrication—could this be the case? Furthermore, the world emptily maintains tales of immortals. Are immortals of the same kind as monkeys and apes, or do people of the world attain the Way and transform into immortals? When sparrows enter the sea they turn into clams, and when pheasants enter the sea they turn into giant clams. While they hover with wings uneven, their feathers still recognize themselves; suddenly casting themselves into transformation, their forms alter, and they instead herd with softshell turtles and tortoises—how could they still recognize the delight of soaring through groves or nesting on walls and houses? Yet monarchs have instead been duped by commoners, accepting empty and false words, believing dazzling and deceptive tales, raising court etiquette to summon those who refuse to be subjects, bankrupting fortunes to supply empty demands, handing out royal titles to honor them, and providing quiet and secluded pavilions for them to live in. Though years pass and harvests accumulate, in the end not a single result is achieved; some died at Shaqiu, others passed away at the Wuzuo Palace. Although at the time they executed their persons and exterminated their clans, it was a messy affair sufficient to become the laughingstock of the world. However, as for the length of life and the strength of the physical constitution, individuals differ: those who nurture it well complete it; those who toil and perturb it cut it by half; those who squander it perish prematurely. Is this not what is meant?