廣弘明集 7.15

7.15

Ji also cited the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] where King Ajātaśatru harmed his father and Jīvaka described the situation; the Buddha resolved it through principle to dispel his delusion, whereas worldly people only bind themselves to external affairs and sink ever deeper into the net of delusion. Therefore, searching for a father among the aggregates, elements, and sense bases, he could not be found; originally it was merely a deluded thought that regarded the father as a real person, arbitrarily giving rise to plans to harm him and seize his exalted throne. If he had previously attained understanding and known that a father is fundamentally empty, why would he have committed treason? The kingdom also does not exist. Through the Buddha's instruction, he realized the deluded mind, repented with remorse and apology, and obtained rootless faith. Ji did not understand this, and sought to judge principle by external events, rebuking the Son of Heaven for annotating the scriptures and mocking ministers and subjects for treason and disorder, saying that the Buddha taught there is no father, and having no father, he should be eliminated. Grasping at traces to defame the teaching, his stupidity and darkness are not surprising. His remaining trivial and superficial points, like his prolix comparisons, are all of this kind. Furthermore, he cited the "Three Destructions" treatises of Zhang Rong and Fan Zhen; these are detailed fully in the previous collection. Words refuting Rong and Zhen will be seen in subsequent accounts. To say that when Rong and Zhen established their arguments none could refute them is an empty falsehood.