廣弘明集 13.55

13.55

The Bodhisattva says: The 'Inner Chapters' of the Zhuangzi state that when Lao Dan died, Qin Yi went to mourn him, wailed three times, and came out. The disciples wondered and asked, 'Were you not a friend of our master?' Qin Yi replied, 'Just now when I entered to see, the young were weeping for him as if weeping for a father, and the old were weeping for him as if weeping for a son. In ancient times this was called escaping from nature's form. At first I thought he was such a man, but now I see he was not.' 'Escaping' means hiding. 'Nature' (tian) means release from bondage. 'Form' means the body. This means that at first he took Laozi to be an immortal who had freed himself from bondage and hidden his form, but now he saw it was not so. He lamented that by flattery and deviousness Laozi had captivated people's affections, so that he could not escape death, and thus was no true friend of his.