廣弘明集 13.100

13.100

The Buddhist response says: The Preface says: 'He was conceived in Lady Li's womb, remaining inside for eighty-one years.' This is the number of Great Yang. His lifespan was one hundred and sixty years, yet staying in the womb already took up more than half. Changing three times to reach five hundred—is this not a fabricated marvel? The Grand Astrologer considered that Lao Laizi of Chu and the Grand Astrologer Dan of Zhou were both Laozi. Some say two hundred and thirty years, some say one hundred and sixty years. Huangfu Mi said: 'The writings of the various masters have lately become hard to trust; only Qin Yi’s mourning of him proves that his death from old age is a fact.' Seeing that 'the valley spirit never dies' and 'it is called the mysterious female', meddlers subsequently fabricated legends upon it. The *Biographies of Divine Immortals* says that Yuhuazi, Luohuizi, Chuanyuzi, Dachengzi, Chijingzi, Wuchengzi, Yinshouzi, Zhenxingzi, Xishezi, Master Fanyi, and others were all Laozi's embodiments; but this only appears in fragmented writings and does not come from authentic immortal classics, so it cannot be relied upon. As long as there are heaven and earth, there are arts of the Way. When have masters of the arts of the Way ever been briefly lacking? How could it always be the single person of Laozi alone? It all stems from later scholars who craved curiosities and valued the bizarre, arbitrarily wishing to exalt Laozi so as to make him boundless; Daoists of shallow views wished to make Laozi supernatural so that future scholars would believe in him, and therefore made up deceptive claims. How true these words are! They can serve as a mirror. Now, wondrous bliss relies on the three virtues to be achieved; the dharmakāya is established by the fivefold division. Therefore, when arising and ceasing are completely discarded, the nature of perfect awakening is manifested. When emptiness and existence are harmoniously fused, the wonder of the spiritual form resides therein. Hence, his form transcends the bounds of sight and hearing, and his name reposes beyond the dust of passions. Serene and eternally joyful, he is beyond what line and text can delineate; towering and perfectly bright, he is past what words and appearances can fathom. Even if the peaches of the Queen Mother of the West ripen repeatedly, they do not bring true longevity; even though the mulberry fields of the Eastern Sea change several times, they are not eternal. Among the five clouds and the ninefold elixir, one grieves for the fleeting stay of the tethered bird; flying snow and dark frost are compared to the wandering colt, hard to trust in their stability. Zhongkui does not possess the longevity of the great chun tree; the mayfly rarely attains the years of the tortoise or crane. This is the fifth inferiority of your Dao.