廣弘明集 13.146

13.146

The inner admonition states: The ultimate Dao responds to circumstances without fixed form; sages and worthies seize opportune moments to guide living beings. Confucius lived among the nine wild tribes without worrying about their uncouthness; Yu entered the land of the naked and cheerfully removed his garments. King Wen of Zhou went to Yue and tattooed his body; King Wuling accommodated the times and adopted Hu attire. Although the fish traps and rabbit snares were different techniques, their success in catching fish and hares was equal. How much more so is it to alter worldly customs to restrain the mind, and shave the body to fortify resolve! Leaving aside hairpins and tassels of office to meet the Dao, and abandoning beard and hair to cultivate truth—the sacred ordinances are not without purpose; indeed they have profound reasons. Yet benevolence and righteousness were distorted among the 'three vagrants', and Robber Zhi drew support from the 'five virtues'. The sacred teachings extend far into the past, eventually allowing the 'dead rat to be falsely titled a precious jade' (Liu Zi says: 'The people of Zhou called a dead rat an uncut jade'); the profound transformation is subtle and deep, thus causing 'the mountain pheasant to be confused with the phoenix' (Wen Zi says: 'A man of Chu took a mountain pheasant to be a phoenix'). Therefore, the ninety-five kinds of non-Buddhist paths flourished among the Western Rong, and the thirty-six schools threw the Eastern country into confusion. As for the treatises of Ulūka's son, the scriptures of the master of the Vaiśeṣikas (The Nirvāṇa Sūtra refers to them as the treatises of the Vaiśeṣikas), the rṣi of Kapita and Īśvara (The fire-ascetic non-Buddhist was named Kapita; the water-ascetic non-Buddhist was named Īśvara), and the path of the followers of Nirgrantha Jñātiputra (the nihilistic non-Buddhists of the Jñātiputras)—some rely on water or fire to seek sagehood; some depend on the sun and moon to imitate spirits; some cling to the four great elements, denying causality; some point to the three karmic actions as having no retribution. Their stagnant consciousness is as dark as the Nether Mountain; their perverse minds are as murky as the Dark Valley. These categories are the deviant treatises of the Western regions. Next, there are the ghost-laughs and spirit-chatter, tranquil songs and grand chants, swallowing swords and spitting fire—terrifying the ordinary mind of Zhongqing; spraying rain and blowing wind—astonishing the shallow thoughts of Liu An. Or carrying the talismans of the Central Yellow on their bodies, chanting the registers of the Numinous Flying immortals with their mouths, treading the Golden Gate to roam with their spirits, and leaning upon the Jade Capital to wash away burdens. Examples such as these are the heterodox teachings of the Eastern realm. All of them have their minds covered by the nets of heresy, and inverted needles piercing their eyes. Deeply clinging to the moat of delusion, they build high the citadel of doubt. Each clinging to one corner, they are confused and submerged within the three realms; contending in guarding the two views, they are darkened and sunk within the nine streams of thought. The substance of their consciousness undergoes transmigration, with ignorance obscuring its fundamental ground; the functions of their minds drift and fluctuate, grasping at marks and drowning its vast source. The Great Sage foresaw this with his eye of the Dao, prescribing medicine according to their capacities: he was born in the Western lands, and his true teaching flowed East. Where disease was severe, the King of Physicians descended in person; where the ailment was mild, he sent formulas to be imparted from afar. Subordinate officers were deployed to eliminate the owl-monsters, while great generals slaughtered the leviathans. This too is the medical skill of He and Bian within the Śākya gate, the strategic power of Sun and Wu for the Dharma King. The Sages have no two disparate codes; the meaning of appearances and clothing is equivalent. Just as the clear Ji and muddy Yellow rivers flow into the vast ocean to share the same taste, and those with green breasts or crimson brows gather at Mount Sumeru to share the same golden hue. Master Chonghe said: 'The texts of the Celestial Armillary all pursue the way of spirit immortals and immortality. Second to this is nourishing our present body and life, staying our youth and extending radiance, perhaps up to three or five hundred years; they take only this as truth. The meaning of longevity and long vision lies in this. The methods studied by today's Daoists no longer take this as their concern. However, generally they merely cause someone, like in the Buddhist family, to die physically and have the spirit be reborn in an exalted realm. If they no longer value this physical body, it would be better to single-mindedly study the Buddha's path. The Buddha's path trains and disciplines the spirit so that it becomes brighter and increases daily. It possesses the most profound principles and methods of concentration and wisdom, clearly ready for cultivation—why labor in bitter toil? Calling themselves Daoists, yet actually practicing the Buddhist family's monastic rules? And their study is not focused; they are merely of the sort who sketch dragons and paint tigers. Why not discard the deer-hide cap, cast off the yellow coarse wool, shave beard and hair, dye the kāṣāya, and take refuge in the World-Honoured One? The scriptures and methods of walking the Dao among worldly Daoists are understood only after condensing the Sāṃkhya-śāstra (meaning they extract from Buddhist scriptures and treatises, altering them to make Daoist books, such as the Huangting, Yuanyang, Lingbao, Shangqing, and other scriptures, as well as the canons of the Three Sovereigns, all altered from the Lotus and Amitāyus Sūtras). In cultivating the mind, they rely on sitting meditation to hope for spiritual response (meaning they change the name of 'sitting meditation' to 'contemplating the spirit'). Shangqing is exceptionally high, yet it does not transcend the realm of the upper spheres. The immortal methods of Taiqing have further been cast aside and left undiscussed. It is unknown what method distinguishes them from the Buddhist family that qualifies them to be called Daoists. Those who grasp its essence should take the Buddha as their master.' You are a man of the South, who personally studied the method of Master Chonghe, a Daoist of Mount Mao. Master Chonghe and Tao Yinju always took revering the Buddha-dharma as their vocation; whenever they met monks, they invariably bowed in worship. Within the mountain grottos they fully installed Buddha images, personally leading their disciples; those who received their teaching repented morning and evening, constantly reciting Buddhist sūtras. According to the excerpted text of the Xuanji compiled by Chonghe, he criticized contemporary Daoists who did not revere the Buddha. Thus Tao Yinju's letter in reply to Dharma Master Daluān stated: 'On the last new moon, my ears heard the spoken sound; this morning, my eyes received your written words. Perhaps because my bows of prostration have accumulated over the years, the true response has come to grace me. Right now I am straightening and dusting the rattan and reed mats, drawing flower-water, squaring my lapels with solemn thoughts, and awaiting the sound of your warning staff. Disciple Tao Hongjing of Huayang makes obeisance.' Your masters served the Buddha and revered the saṃgha, never holding differing views. Why do you entrap yourself in turning against your own lineage? Being unrighteous and unbenevolent, your crime incurs the ultimate retribution. Mouzi's treatise says: 'Comparing the transformations of Yao, Shun, the Duke of Zhou, Confucius, and Laozi to the Buddha is like comparing a white deer to a qilin.' Yet you are unable to realize this; this is your eighth blindness.