廣弘明集 9

English (machine translation) 9

Language: English

9.1

Compiled by the Śramaṇa Shi Daoxuan of Ximing Temple in the Great Tang

9.2

Section 2: Disputation of Doubts, Part 5

9.3

Treatise on Laughing at the Dao (widely excerpted for its comical parts)

Your subject [Zhen] Luan presents this memorial: Having received the imperial decree commanding me to examine the two teachings of Buddhism and Daoism, and to determine their priority, depth, similarities, and differences, your subject, without presuming upon his own shallowness and deficiency, has respectfully recorded and submitted them for imperial consideration. Your subject considers that Buddhism and Daoism differ in their doctrinal traces, and their emergence, submergence, concealment, manifestation, transformations, and adaptations are also divergent. Their profound subtleties and secret profundities are not easy to scrutinize in detail. Looking at them broadly in contrast, Buddhism takes dependent origination as its core, while Daoism takes spontaneity (ziran) as its principle. Spontaneity is achieved through non-action; dependent origination is realized through the accumulation of practice. When the fundamental is maintained, affairs are tranquil and principles are equal; when the core is contravened, the intent is perverse and the teachings become spurious. When principles are equal, the beginning and the end are like one; when teachings are spurious, there is nothing that will not be done. Examining the five thousand characters of Laozi, both its diction and meaning are sublime; it is truly estimable. The ways to establish oneself, govern the state, and rule the people abound therein. Yet Daoism has methods of talismans, writings, and spells of bewitchment and cursing, whereas Buddhism prohibits bizarre powers and perverse, unfilial practices. The two contrast with each other, causing the people of the world to doubt what is orthodox and what is heterodox. How could this be the intent of the Great Way's spontaneity, empty tranquility, and non-action? It is because later people turned their backs on the fundamental and fabricated wild distortions. Moreover, the techniques of the Daoists take ascending to immortality as divine, thereby deluding people and stealthily enriching themselves for the moment. Formerly, Xu Fu practiced deceit and trickery, seeking an independent realm in Yidan; Wencheng and Wuli practiced bewitchment and falsehood in the Han dynasty; the three Zhangs practiced deception and delusion in Xiliang; and Sun En raised turmoil in Dongyue. Such enormous banes have been called slanderous deceptions since antiquity. If used to guide governance, governance mostly becomes corrupt; if used to instruct the populace, the populace mostly becomes deceitful. Testing their scriptures and canons, scroll after scroll contradicts itself; debating their principles and meaning, there is nothing commendable from head to tail. Formerly, as for Ji Xingfu's conduct as a man: when he saw someone observing propriety toward his ruler, he respected him as a filial son caring for his parents; when he saw someone lacking propriety toward his ruler, he detested him as a hawk or falcon pursuing birds. Xuan Ni (Confucius) said: 'In serving the superior, a gentleman considers how to exhaust his loyalty when advancing, and considers how to amend errors when retreating; he accords with his ruler's excellence and rescues him from evils. Thus superior and inferior can be fond of each other.' The Zuo Commentary states: 'When the ruler approves of what is acceptable, yet there is unacceptable within it, the minister presents what is acceptable in order to remove what is unacceptable.' What kind of man is your subject? Having received the imperial decree lowering this inquiry, how would I dare not reply truthfully? The two scrolls of the Daodejing may serve as the model for the Confucian forest. As for the doubtful errors, let us discard both extremes, and I request that you consider excising and amending them. Inquiring into the Five Thousand Characters, it says: 'When the superior man hears of the Way, he diligently puts it into practice. When the middling man hears of the Way, it seems to exist and seems not to exist. When the inferior man hears of the Way, he laughs at it loudly. If he did not laugh, it would not be sufficient to be the Way.' Taking up the perspective of the inferior man, your subject has composed the Treatise on Laughing at the Dao in three fascicles, comprising thirty-six items. The three fascicles laugh at the names of their Three Caverns; the thirty-six items laugh at their scriptures having thirty-six sections. Sweating with trepidation, I present this, losing all composure of heart and spirit. Respectfully presented. On the fifteenth day of the second month of the fifth year of Tianhe of the Great Zhou (570 CE), by your subject Zhen Luan, former Sili, Founding Count of Muji County.

9.5

Treatise on Laughing at the Dao, Fascicle 1:
1. The Creation of Heaven and Earth
2. Discrepancies in Reign Titles
3. Yuan as Heavenly Man
4. Forming Scholars into Men
5. Five Buddhas Appearing Simultaneously
6. Five Refinements Producing Corpses
7. Guanyin Attending upon Laozi
8. The Western Buddha is the Yin Method

9.6

Treatise on Laughing at the Dao, Fascicle 2:
9. Differences in the Diameter of the Sun
10. The Flying and Floating of Mount Kunlun
11. The Dao Method of Establishing Offices
12. Reciting 'Namo Buddhāya'
13. Bird Tracks as Former Script
14. Zhang Qian Procuring the Sūtras
15. Universal Convergence of the Sun and Moon
16. The Honorable Supreme One
17. The Five Grains Decreed by Inscription
18. Laozi Becoming a Buddha
19. Commissioning Gautama
20. Serving the Heterodox in Search of the Dao
21. Heterodox Qi Confusing Governance
22. Admonishing the Dead Trees

9.7

Treatise on Laughing at the Dao, Fascicle 3:
23. Rites of the North as the Origin
24. Harming Relatives to Seek the Dao
25. Talismans for Extending Lifespan
26. Cedrela Trees Equal to Kalpas
27. Birth and Death Accompanying Kalpas
28. Ingesting Elixir to Turn Golden
29. Altering Buddha to Dao
30. Stealing Buddhist Cause and Effect
31. Saying Daoist Scriptures Appeared When They Had Not
32. Five Hundred Million Tiers of Heavens
33. Dignified Demeanour in Going Out and Entering
34. Daoists Serving the Buddha
35. Daoists Blending Qi
36. Daoist Writings of the Various Philosophers

9.8

1. The Creation of Heaven and Earth

9.9

1. The Supreme Dao Lord creates heaven and earth. The Initial Record states: Laozi, seeing the virtue of King You of Zhou decline, wished to cross the pass westward. He made an appointment with Yin Xi to meet three years later in the Qingyang liver in the market of Chang'an. Laozi then took birth in the womb of an empress. When the appointed time arrived, Yin Xi saw someone selling Qingyang liver. Thereupon he searched and found Laozi rising from his mother's bosom, with white hair and temples, sixteen feet in height, wearing a heavenly crown and holding a golden staff. Leading Yin Xi, he converted the barbarians, retreating into Mount Shouyang, where purple clouds covered them. The barbarian king suspected sorcery and boiled Laozi in a cauldron, but it did not become hot. The Old Lord was furious and interrogated and executed the barbarian king; his seven sons and one-tenth of the countrymen died together. Only then did the king submit and command the countrymen to accept conversion, shaving their heads, remaining unmarried, receiving the two hundred and fifty precepts, and making statues of his form with incense and fire to worship. Laozi thereupon transformed his body: his left eye became the sun, his right eye became the moon; his head became Mount Kunlun, his hair became the constellations; his bones became dragons, his flesh became beasts, his intestines became snakes, his belly became the sea, his fingers became the Five Sacred Mountains, his body hair became grass and trees, his heart became the canopy, down to his two kidneys uniting to form the true, essential parents.

9.10

Your servant Luan laughs, saying: The Book of Han states that Chang'an was originally named Xianyang. When the Han Founder pacified the realm and was about to make Luoyi his capital, he was admonished by Lou Jing and sighed, saying: 'I shall have long peace (changan) here.' He therefore named it thus. In the time of King You of Zhou, [this name] did not yet exist; how could Laozi have known in advance of Chang'an and set an appointment with Yin Xi [there]? Furthermore, on examining the Santian zhengfa hundun jing, it says: 'At the beginning of Chaos, the clear qi became Heaven and the turbid qi became Earth, and immediately the forms of the seven luminaries and the myriad phenomena came into being.' Their origin was long ago! How could it be that only after converting the barbarians did Laozi first transform into the sun, moon, mountains, and rivers? If that were so, then before King You, Heaven and Earth had not yet generated the myriad things. Why then do the Daoist scriptures have the Three Sovereigns, the Five Emperors, and the Three Kings? It would mean that Heaven and Earth began with King You! Furthermore, the Zao tiandi ji says: 'Mount Kunlun is 4,800 li high; above it are Mount Yujing and Mount Daluo, each 4,800 li high; combined, the three mountains are 14,400 li high.' Moreover, the Guanshuo pin says: 'Heaven and Earth are separated by 105,000 li, and calculating that the Ziwei Palace is above five hundred million levels of heaven, it is then several million li higher than Mount Kunlun.' Yet Lord Lao took his heart as the Flowery Canopy, his liver as the Palace of the Blue Emperor, his spleen as the Ziwei Palace, and his head as Mount Kunlun. I know not what offense Lord Lao committed to be planted upside-down on the ground, with his head below and his liver above! Being inverted, are his views inverted as well? Taking Chang'an as the year of crossing the pass, and King You as the time of cosmogony—could anyone possibly accept using this to convert beings?

9.11

2. On Discrepancies in Reign Titles

9.12

The preface to the Daodejing says: 'Laozi descended to become the preceptor of Zhou in the first year of Shanghuang, dingmao, and departed Zhou to cross the pass in the first year of Wuji, guichou.' I laugh, saying: In ancient times, when the former sovereigns and kings established years, there were no reign titles. It was only with Emperor Wu of the Han that the creation of reign titles began, and later rulers followed it down to the present day. 'Shanghuang' is rash nonsense, deeply laughable.

9.13

Furthermore, the Wenshi zhuan says: 'Ever since the Three Sovereigns, Laozi has been the national preceptor generation after generation, converting the barbarians.' It also says: 'In the time of Tang he was Xishouzi, and at the beginning of Zhou he was Guoshuzi.' Since he was the national preceptor, he ought to have transmitted canonical records. Why did he not recount them, listing only people such as Yi Yin, Fu Yue, Lü Wang, and Kang Shaogong? As for Fu Yue, he only annotated that Laozi was the Archivist below the Pillar, while Daoists annotate that he was the preceptor of Zhou; thus he was a secular official. Why do the historical chronicles not mention this? Furthermore, the first year of Shanghuang was in the cyclical year dingmao; calculating the entire Ji royal line of seven-hundred-odd years, no reign title of 'Shanghuang' is ever heard of. An examination of all the historical chronicles shows they all say Laozi crossed the pass during the reign of King Jing. In the sixteenth year of Duke Ai of Lu, Kong Qiu died, which was in the time of King Jing of Zhou; King Jing [of Zhou] was the son of King Jing [who reigned earlier], and that King Jing was more than ten generations after King You. This means Confucius and Laozi were contemporaries. Yet the Huahu jing says he crossed the pass in the days of King You and was never heard to return; how could he have met Confucius? The Huahu jing also says he served as the Archivist of Zhou for seven hundred years; yet from the beginning of Zhou down to King You was only three-hundred-odd years. How could they fabricate such falsehoods? Thus the year of Shanghuang is a fraudulent title of the Daoist portal. Therefore the Lingbao says: 'I delivered people in the half-kalpa of the first year of Shanghuang; at that time the human lifespan was 18,000 years.' How could they reach back to pluck a title from before a half-kalpa ago and apply it to recent times? How utterly laughable! Moreover, 'Shanghuang' and 'Wuji' are both the baseless fabrications of the ignorant. The author, wishing to make his art seem miraculous, appended days to reign titles, hoping that believers would follow it.

9.14

It also says: 'Generation after generation he was the national preceptor.' Ge Hong's preface to Shenxian zhuan has already expounded this to strange depths. When sages appear, assisting and saving come first. Yet Jie of Xia oppressed and tormented the people in misery, and Tang of Cheng and Wu Ding thirsted for the worthy; why did Laozi neither assist worthy sovereigns nor instruct tyrannical governments, merely cultivating his body, nourishing his nature, and keeping to himself? As he approached the age of ninety or a hundred, knowing on his own that death was near, he secretly traveled and crossed to the west, speaking solely to Yin [Xi] and only commanding him to read and recite, not encouraging him to instruct others. He died in Guanzhong, where his burial mound still exists. Qin Yi mourned him, wailed three times, and went out. Examining the earlier records and the later scriptures shows the later people's absurd treatises: though called reverent exaltation, they instead become a disgrace to the Dao.

9.15

3. On the Three Primes as Devas and Humans

9.16

The Taishang sanyuan pin says: 'In the heavenly palaces of the first rank of the Upper Prime, the original qi first congealed. The three luminaries shone forth, and the azure and yellow qi established the three palaces of the Upper Prime. The first palace is named the Palace of Seven Treasures and Purple Tenuity of Primordial Yang of the Mysterious Capital; it possesses the qi of the Azure Primordial Beginning Yang, which oversees all the authentic jade palaces of spontaneity, the Lingbao Shanghuang, all the heavenly sovereigns, kings, superior sages, and great spirits. Their palaces are all fifty-five million, five hundred and fifty-five thousand, five hundred and fifty-five hundred million levels of azure-yang qi. Within them, the divine immortals, officials, and human assemblies each number five hundred million, fifty thousand, down to the tens of thousands of levels as above, all formed into persons by the condensation of the spontaneous azure primordial qi. The numbers of levels, officials, and human assemblies of its nine palaces are all the same as Purple Tenuity.'

9.17

Your servant laughs, saying: The Santian zhengfa jing says: 'When the light of heaven was not yet brilliant and the dense accumulation not yet clarified, through seven-thousand-odd kalpas the dark luminescence first divided. The nine qi were present there, each qi separated from the next by 99,990 li. The azure qi ascended and clarified, while the turbid and blended qi descended. And the Heavenly King of the Nine Heavens' Authenticity and the Heavenly King of the Primordial Beginning were born within the nine qi. The qi condensed and took form, and then there were the sovereigns of the nine authenticities, all of which were the stations of the nine universes congealed from the clear qi of the nine heavens. The Ladies of the Three Primes were born from the qi in the Dongfang Palace, with three thousand jade boys and three thousand jade maidens attending on each. Taking Heaven as father and qi as mother, they gave birth to the Lords of the Three Primes.'

9.18

Furthermore, on examining the Lingbao zuigen pin, it says: 'The Grand High Lord of the Dao bowed to the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning and inquired about the ten virtues and other teachings. Thereupon the Heavenly Worthy commanded that the divine immortals be summoned, and each expounded causes and conditions. Those who attained the Way, numerous as the sands of the Ganges, had already become Tathāgatas, and those who had not yet achieved it were also like the sands of the Ganges.' Furthermore, the Yuanshi zhuan says: 'Heaven stands opposed to hell; the virtuous ascend to heaven, and the evil enter the earth.' If we judge by this doctrine, reason does not support it. Why? The Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning, the Grand High Lord of the Dao, and all the heavenly spirits and humans all had the condensation of the spontaneous, clear primordial qi as the basis of their transformation, and were not accomplished through cultivating the precepts. Since they were originally not accomplished through upholding precepts, how could they make me alone practice virtuous dharmas in the hope of attaining it?

9.19

Furthermore, on examining the Duren benxing jing, it says: 'The Grand High Lord of the Dao said: "Over immeasurable kalpas I have delivered countless people. Because of the merit of my causes and conditions, the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning conferred upon me the title of Grand High (Taishang)."' Scrutinizing this raises doubts. For instance, the Youwu shengcheng pin says: 'Emptiness is the mother of the myriad things; the Dao is the father of the myriad things.' This means that the Dao existed first, and only then were there sentient beings. Thus this was the father of the Dao, not something made by sentient beings. Since the Dao is like this, why would sentient beings need to cultivate virtue to make it? Furthermore, the Dao generates the myriad things, and the beginning of generating things is indeed the origin. Since I was originally born without defiling habits, how could there be the distinctions of suffering and pleasure in the six realms of rebirth and four forms of birth? This too is impossible. It also says: 'The conscious spirit of sentient beings originally exists of itself and is not generated by the Dao.' Yet since the Dao can generate the myriad things, is the conscious spirit not a 'thing'? This too is impossible.

9.20

4. On Fashioning Soil to Make Humans

9.21

The Santian zhengfa jing says: 'When the nine qi had divided, the Heavenly Kings of the Nine Authenticity, down to the Ladies of the Three Primes, the Lords of the Three Primes, and the Grand High Lord of the Dao, thereupon took form. Reaching the Yellow Emperor, he first established the living people, fashioning soil into images in the wilderness. After three years they could speak, each in a different region; therefore there were the Cang, Qin, Yi, and Qiang. The five passions united in virtue, and the five dharmas were spontaneous; receiving the qi of the upper authenticities, they were able to become humans.'

9.22

Your servant laughs, saying: The Sanyuan pin says that the retributions of good and evil karma all stem from a single body. Furthermore, the Yuanshi zhuan says: 'If one commits sexual misconduct, theft, or filial impiety, at death one enters hell to undergo the five sufferings and eight difficulties, and is later born among the six beasts and the peripheral barbarians.' Deductions based on this reveal extreme contradictions. Moreover, during the Yellow Emperor's time of the clay images, it took three years for the qi of the upper authenticities to enter before they could speak. This qi of Upper Purity shares the same source as the Grand High; in terms of what came first, there was neither evil nor good, so why did it enter into the clay images and immediately fall into the eight difficulties as barbarians? In fashioning clay into images, there was previously no cause either; why, after being fashioned, should there be the distinction between central and peripheral? Furthermore, was the qi of the upper authenticities foolish or clever? If it were foolish, it should not have entered the clay and been able to speak; if it were clever, it should have recognized the five sufferings and eight difficulties. Why would it not delight in the joy of goodness and instead crave suffering and difficulty? Scrutinizing these various points, they are deeply laughable.

9.23

5. Clarifying the Simultaneous Arising of Five Buddhas

9.24

The Wenshi zhuan says: 'Laozi descended in the first year of Shanghuang to become the preceptor of Zhou. In the first year of Wuji, riding a thin-board carriage drawn by a green ox, he crossed the pass, expounding the five-thousand-word text for Yin Xi, saying: "I wander between Heaven and Earth; you have not yet attained the Way and cannot follow me. You must recite the five-thousand-word text ten thousand times; your ears will penetrate all hearing, your eyes will penetrate all sight, your body will be able to fly, and you will have the six superknowledges penetrating the four directions. Meet me in Chengdu." Xi followed his words and attained this. Having sought and met him, they went to Mount Dandate in Jibin, and even when the king burned and submerged them with fire and water, Laozi sat in a lotus flower reciting scriptures as before. The king begged for mercy and repented. Laozi advanced Yin Xi as his master and told the king: "My master is called Buddha; the Buddha’s deeds are unsurpassed." The King of the Way followed and received conversion: men and women shaved their hair and did not take wives. This is the unsurpassed Dao receiving the Buddha’s divine power; he entrusted Yin Xi to be the Buddha of the country of Jibin, styled Bright Light, the Youthful Scholar (Rutong).'

9.25

Your servant laughs, saying: The 'Guangshuo pin' says: The king of Shilaoguo heard the Celestial Worthy preach the Dharma, and together with his wife and children all attained the fruit of srotāpanna. The king of Qingheguo heard of this and went with his ministers to the abode of the Celestial Worthy, and they all ascended to heaven in broad daylight. The king became the head of the Brahmā Heaven, styled Master of the Law of Xuanzhong. His wife, upon hearing the Dharma, flew up likewise and became the King of the Wonderful Brahmā Heaven. Later, she was born in Jibin with the title King Fentuoli. He was murderous and devoid of the Way. Master of the Law of Xuanzhong needed to transform and save him. He manifested birth in the womb of Madam Li. After eighty-two years, he cleaved her left armpit, born already white-haired. After three months, riding a white deer, he traveled west with Yin Xi to hide in Mount Dande. Three years later, King Fentuoli saw them while hunting, and immediately burned and drowned them. Laozi did not die. The king submitted, shaved his head, and changed his clothing. Taking the surname Shi, the personal name Fa, and the title Śramaṇa, he attained the fruit and became Śākyamuni Buddha. Down to the Han dynasty, the Dharma flowed into Eastern Qin. Moreover, the Wenshi zhuan says: When Laozi converted the barbarians, he deferred to Yin Xi as master to convert them. The Xiaobing jing says: Yin Xi deferred to Laozi as master. The Wenshi zhuan says: 'My master is called Buddha. Buddha-matters are the unsurpassed Way.' It also says: 'The unsurpassed Way, relying on the majestic spiritual power of the Buddha, entrusted Yin Xi to be the Buddha.' Examining these various accounts, master and disciple are thrown into utter confusion! How can any moral instruction remain? Moreover, both the Huahu jing and the Xiaobing jing say: When Laozi converted Jibin, he himself became the Buddha. The 'Guangshuo pin' says: King Fentuoli was Laozi's wife, who attained the Way and was called Śākyamuni Buddha, who was the one whose [teaching] flowed during the Qin and Han. The Xuanmiao pian says: Laozi entered the pass and reached the realm of Weivei in India. He entered the mouth of Madam Qingmiao. On the eighth day of the fourth month of the following year, he cleaved her left armpit and was born. Raising his hand, he said: 'Above the heavens and below the heavens, I alone am supreme. The three realms are all suffering; what is there to enjoy?' Following this, within the single country of Jibin, there are as many as five Buddhas appearing together: the first is Yin Xi, named Rutong; the second is Laozi who converted Jibin; the third is Laozi's wife, King Fentuo, named Śākya; the fourth is Laozi becoming a Buddha in Weivei, also named Śākya; the fifth is the white-and-pure prince Siddhārtha becoming a Buddha, again named Śākya. Examining the Wenshi zhuan, it says: 'Every five hundred years comes a worthy; every thousand years, a sage.' Now five Buddhas appear together—do they not feel this is troublesome? If you say that sages can divide their bodies to transform beings, their preaching of scriptures must also take many forms; why then are the transformations of Lao[zi] numerous, yet his scripture is only two fascicles and never changes? As for the Buddhist scriptures of the young scholar Yin Xi and King Fentuo, none are heard of today; there are only those preached by the white-and-pure prince. Inferring from this, that Lao and Xi were Buddhas is an exposed falsehood. Furthermore, the secret doctrines of the Daode jing do not permit people to hear them; from beginning to end they take turns, truly with profound intent. Yet if Lao[zi] could become a Buddha, that was merely one man, a Daoist. Not knowing to revere the Buddha is extreme confusion! If a father is a Daoist, could it be that because the Buddhist monk is a son, he becomes a Daoist? Or could it be that on account of being a Buddhist monk, one would not acknowledge his own father?

9.26

6. Five Refinements Reviving the Corpse

9.27

The Wulian jing says: 'For one who attains extinction, use colored silk: the Son of Heaven uses one pi; dukes and kings, one zhang; commoners, five chi. Superior gold of five ounces is used to make a dragon; commoners use iron and five five-colored stones to write the jade text. It is exposed and buried throughout the night at a depth of three chi.' The Nüqing wen says: 'The departed souls of the nine generations of ancestors immediately emerge from the long night and enter the Heaven of Radiant Light, provided with kitchen meals for thirty-two years; they return to their former bodies and are born anew.'

9.28

Your servant laughs, saying: In the 'Sanyuan pin', the three palaces, nine bureaus, nine offices, and one hundred and twenty bureaus of heaven, earth, and great waters record sins, blessings, merits, and conduct; the examining officials write them down without the slightest error. The good have their longevity increased; the wicked have their lifespans curtailed. How could it be that without depending on karma and conduct, merely by using five chi of silk, one can cause the departed souls of nine generations of ancestors to enter the Heaven of Radiant Light and after thirty-two years return to their former bodies? That this is an impossible assertion can be seen from this. If we calculate the text of the 'Five Refinements', it appeared before heaven and earth were separated; if applied down to the present day, then after thirty-two years they should have bored through their tombs and emerged. In all that ears and eyes have known, why is it that from the time of Fuxi onwards, no one has heard of Daoist corpses or nine generations of ancestors emerging from the ground? That this is impossible is truly laughable. Nowadays, ancient tombs in the open countryside also have holes opened in them—could these not be the places where the ancestors of Daoists were reborn? This also can make one smile.

9.29

7. Avalokiteśvara Serving the Dao

9.30

There are Daoists who make images of Laozi with two bodhisattvas attending him: one is called Vajragarbha, and the other is called Avalokiteśvara. Furthermore, Daoists wear yellow cloth capes, or wear something like a cloak covering the entire body, stealing the appearance of Buddhist monks' kāṣāya robes. Their wearing of yellow capes was originally the clothing of ancient worthies, draped crosswise with two ribbons added in front; today, all of these have been eliminated to imitate the appearance of Buddhist monastic robes.

9.31

Your servant laughs, saying: Examining the 'Eight-Character Text of the Inner Sounds of the Heavens', it says: 'The Brahmā form falls into voidness, ninefold pushing forward.' The Heavenly Perfect Sovereign Person explained: 'Brahmā form' was the title of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning during the Longhan era; by the Chiming era, he was called Guanyin. Furthermore, examining the Shu ji, it says: Zhang Ling took refuge from malaria in a village shrine, where he obtained the art of cursing ghosts, and fabricated talismans and writings to deceive the common people; he was swallowed by a great serpent. His disciples, feeling ashamed, claimed that he ascended to heaven in broad daylight. Ling's son Heng was the Successor Master, and Heng's son Lu was the Inheriting Master; using their ancestor's demonic arts, they threw the realm into confusion. The Han shu says: Liu Yan appointed Lu as Major of Superintending Righteousness, whereupon Lu killed Su Gu, the Grand Administrator of Hanzhong, and seized Hanzhong, transforming the people through the way of ghosts. At that time, a rumor circulated that 'one in yellow clothing shall rule as king.' Lu thereupon ordered his followers to change into yellow robes, kerchiefs, and capes as an omen of replacing the Han. From then until now, yellow clothing has not ceased. That their images wear the robes of śramaṇas is truly lamentable! Moreover, the foundation of establishing oneself places loyalty and filial piety first. If a son is imaged while the father attends him, heaven and earth could not stand. Avalokiteśvara is a Mahāsattva of the supreme rank; Laozi does not even measure up to a great worthy. Yet to make the grandfather stand in attendance upon the grandson is unfilial! Furthermore, to inherit the clothing of the rebel Zhang Lu is disloyal! Since they harbor both disloyalty and unfilial conduct, how are they worthy of being followed?

9.32

8. The Buddha Being Born from the Yin of the West

9.33

The Laozi xu says: 'The way of yin and yang transforms and completes the myriad things. The Dao is born in the east, being wood and yang; the Buddha is born in the west, being metal and yin. The Dao is the father, the Buddha is the mother; the Dao is heaven, the Buddha is earth; the Dao is life, the Buddha is death; the Dao is cause, the Buddha is condition. Together, as one yin and one yang, they are inseparable. The Buddha is what the Dao produces. As for the Mahāyāna that maintains the good Dao, it naturally has nothing from which it is born. The Buddha-assembly sits in large [squares], modeling itself on the squareness of earth; the Daoist-assembly sits in small [circles], modeling itself on the roundness of heaven. That Buddhist monks do not perform military service is because they bear the semblance of yin-qi and women; therefore military service is not imposed on them. As for the Dao producing soldiers, one can understand that when Buddhist monks see the Son of Heaven, princes, and marquises, they do not bow down, resembling women who stay deep in the inner palace and do not interfere in government affairs. When Daoists see the Son of Heaven, commandery governors, and magistrates, they bow down, because they interfere in government affairs as officials. That in Daoist assemblies they drink wine is without fault; in Buddha-assemblies they do not drink, because a woman drinking wine violates one of the seven grounds for expulsion. Daoist assemblies do not fast, because they govern life, and life requires eating; Buddha-assemblies observe the fast, because they govern death, and death does not eat; furthermore, it is because women moderate their food. Buddhist monks sit alone, because women maintain oneness; Daoists lodge together, therefore they have no restriction.'

9.34

Your servant laughs, saying: The Wenshi zhuan says: 'The Dao is born of eastern wood, male; the Buddha is born of western metal, female.' Now, inferring through the Five Elements, metal can carve wood; wood regards metal as official/ghost, and metal regards wood as wife/wealth. Inferring from this, the Buddha is the official/ghost of the Dao, and the Dao is the wife/wealth of the Buddha! It also says that 'the Dao produces the Buddha,' but the principle is not so. In yin-yang and the Five Elements, how could there be wood that produces metal? Hence we know the Dao does not produce the Buddha. That Buddhist monks sit in large assemblies is because they are the official bureau of the Dao; that Daoists sit in small assemblies is because they are pressed from above by the officials. That Buddhist monks are exempt from military service and taxes is because of their original royal clan, and thus they are exempted; for Daoists, being of common and lowly status, military service and taxes are standard. If the Daoist scriptures are like this, then exempting them from military service and taxes would violate Daoist teachings! Moreover, the Lingbao dajie says: 'Daoists shall not drink wine, nor shall they curry favor with the noble.' How can they deliberately violate this great precept? What follows is a confused babble entirely without point. It also says: 'Daoists consider fasting to be a method of death, and therefore do not fast'—why then do they not gorge themselves all day long to nourish this physical frame, rather than taking up the cessation of grain and ingestion of qi to seek the arts of longevity? In the end, nothing comes of it; it is merely an argument of chasing shadows! It also says: 'Buddhist monks sleep alone, while Daoists lodge together.' Based on this, can the Yellow Book of sexual joining be false?

9.35

9. The Circumference and Diameter of the Sun and Moon

9.36

The Wenshi zhuan says: 'Heaven is four hundred and nine thousand li away from the earth. The straight diameters of the sun and moon are each three thousand li, and their circumference is six thousand li. The distance between heaven and earth from south to north is ninety thousand myriad li; from east to west and the four corners it is likewise transformed in shape.' The Jiku jing says: 'Mount Kunlun is fifteen thousand li high.'

9.37

Your servant laughs, saying: According to the Jiku jing, heaven and earth are one hundred million and five thousand li apart, which is completely different from the preceding Wenshi zhuan. The Wenshi zhuan says that the circumference of the sun and moon is six thousand li and their diameter is three thousand li; according to mathematical principles, the circumference should be nine thousand li—how could it be only six thousand? Furthermore, that heaven is round and earth is square is a constant assertion of Daoists. Now if the four corners are equal in measure to the sides of the square, then heaven and earth are both round! The Huahu jing says: 'The upper limit of the Buddha-dharma reaches only as far as the Heaven of the Thirty-Three; it does not reach the eighty-one heavens of the Dao.' It also says: 'Mount Kunlun has nine tiers, each tier nine thousand li apart. The mountain has four faces, and each face has one heaven; hence four times nine makes thirty-six heavens. In the first tier Śakra resides.' Now calculating that Mount Kunlun is fifteen thousand li high and has nine tiers, if each tier is nine thousand li high, then its height must be eighty-one thousand li; yet to say it is fifteen thousand li—how could they diverge so greatly? It is extremely laughable!

9.38

10. The Flying and Floating of Mount Kunlun

9.39

The Wenshi zhuan says: 'Every myriad myriad hundred million myriad myriad years, there is a great flood, and Mount Kunlun flies and floats. At that time, flying immortals welcome and take up the Heavenly King and the good people, placing them on top of the mountain. After another myriad myriad hundred million years, a great fire arises. At that time, the sages fly to welcome the Heavenly King and the people, placing them on top of the mountain.'

9.40

Your servant laughs, saying: The Jiku jing says: 'When heaven and earth are burned in the kalpa fire, all is ablaze, empty, and desolate. The pure qi becomes heaven, and the turbid qi becomes earth. Thereupon, the Giant Spirit and Hu Hai are dispatched to create and establish the mountains, rivers, sun, and moon as before.' If Mount Kunlun flies and floats, it might conceivably allow people to be received and settled on top of the mountain. But if heaven and earth are ablaze and the mountain is incinerated by fire, logically it cannot stand alone; how could they receive and take up kings and people to settle them on top of the mountain?

9.41

Moreover, the Duren miaojing says: 'Above the five hundred million tiers of heaven lies the Heaven of Grand Net, where there is Mount Yujing, which disasters cannot reach.' Calculating on the basis of the Supreme Lord's compassion, why did he not welcome them so as to place them on Yujing? If he watched them die without welcoming them, that is not compassionate; if he was unable to welcome them, that is deception! Furthermore, the Duren benxing jing says: 'The Dao said: I undergo birth and death in accordance with the kalpas.' Yet if the Supreme Dao Lord dwells above Grand Net where disasters cannot reach, and still says he undergoes birth and death in accordance with the kalpas, how could the other flying immortals welcome and take up heavenly kings and good people, placing them on top of the mountain to let them escape death? This is profoundly foolish and ignorant, and likewise laughable.

9.42

11. The Heavens of the Daoist Method Establishing Offices

9.43

The Wufu jing says: The Dao Lord of the Central Yellow said, "Heaven generates the myriad things, and humans are the most noble. The human body encompasses Heaven and Earth, and models nothing less. It establishes a Son of Heaven, and sets up the Three Excellencies, Nine Ministers, Twenty-seven Grand Masters, Eighty-one Primary Officers, Nine Provinces, One Hundred and Twenty Commanderies, and One Thousand Two Hundred Counties. The gallbladder is the Son of Heaven, the Great Dao Lord; the spleen is the Empress; the heart is the Grand Commandant; the left kidney is the Minister of Education; the right kidney is the Minister of Works; the eight gods ennobled together with the navel are the Nine Ministers; the twelve gods of the Pearl Pavilion, the twelve gods of the stomach, and the three gods of the triple burner together make twenty-seven Grand Masters; the gods of the four limbs make eighty-one Primary Officers, which together with [the Grand Masters, Ministers, and Excellencies] make one hundred and twenty, to model the number of commanderies. Moreover, the lungs are the Department of Affairs of State, and the liver is the Orchid Terrace Pavilion."

9.44

Your servant laughs and says: When examining the names of provinces and commanderies in the Daoist scriptures, the text seems to have originated in recent ages. In antiquity, counties were large and commanderies were small, as seen in the Chunqiu and the 'Luo gao' of the Zhoushu. Now, on the contrary, commanderies are made larger than counties—is this not [proof that] it is not a Daoist scripture from before the Chunqiu period? It is deceitful, confusing, and erroneous, unfit to behold, and truly laughable.

9.45

12. On Chanting 'Namo Buddhāya'

9.46

The Huahu jing says: When Laozi converted the barbarians, the king would not accept his teachings. Laozi said, "If the king does not believe, I shall go south into India to convert the various kingdoms, and their Dao will flourish greatly. South of this, none will be more revered than the Buddha." The barbarian king still did not believe or accept it, saying, "If you go south to convert India, I will bow my head and chant 'Namo Buddhāya' (South-none Buddha)." Furthermore, at the Quick Sands pass there was the kingdom of Jiayi, which constantly committed robbery and plunder. The barbarian king, troubled by them, made men guard the pass with constant worry (you); thus men were named youpose (upāsaka). Women also feared being plundered by the Jiayi, and moreover worried about their husbands being beleaguered by the barbarians (yi); thus they were named youpoyi (upāsikā).

9.47

Your servant laughs and says: In the barbarian language, namo means "taking refuge" and also means "save me". In the barbarian language, upāsaka means "virtuous, faithful layman"; upāsikā means "virtuous, faithful laywoman". If, because Laozi said that the Buddha arose in the south, one therefore calls it nanwu fo ("South-none Buddha"), then had he arisen in the west, could one call it xiwu fo ("West-none Buddha")? If one says that men guarding the pass can be named youse ("worried about the pass"), and women worrying about their husbands and fearing barbarians can be named youyi ("worried about barbarians"), then as for po, could it be that they also worry about their grandmothers? Explaining words and glossing terms according to Chinese characters in this manner is crude, clumsy, helpless, and shameful, and exceedingly laughable.

9.48

13. On the Writing Prior to Bird Tracks

9.49

The Dongshen sanhuang jing, referring to the immortals of the Western Regions, says: "Huangwen (Sovereign Script) was the writing at the very beginning of bird tracks prior to the Three Sovereigns." It also says: "The Three Sovereigns are the revered spirits of the Three Caverns, the ancestral qi of the Great Existence. The Heavenly Sovereign presides over qi; the Earthly Sovereign presides over spirit; the Human Sovereign presides over birth. The three unite to complete virtue, and the myriad things are transformed and generated."

9.50

Your servant laughs and says: The 'Wenshi pin' of the Perfected of the Southern Pole states that the thirty-six rolls of the True Script of Lingbao reside in the jade chamber of the mysterious terrace on Mount Yujing. The large characters of the True Script fill it within. Heaven and Earth drown and perish, forming and failing myriad times, yet the True Script alone remains luminous. This True Script is none other than the text of the Three Caverns. Since the Three Sovereigns are the revered spirits of the Three Caverns, they certainly cannot be later than the Three Caverns. At that time, birds and beasts did not yet exist; how then can it be called the initial writing of bird tracks prior to the Three Sovereigns? If Fuxi is taken as one of the Three Sovereigns, then according to the Huainanzi, the Yellow Emperor ordered Cangjie to observe bird tracks and create characters. This was only in the time of the Yellow Emperor; how could it be the beginning of bird writing prior to the Three Sovereigns?

9.51

14. On Zhang Qian Fetching the Scriptures

9.52

The Huahu jing says: The Bodhisattva Kāśyapa said: "Five hundred years after the Tathāgata's parinirvāṇa, I traveled east and transmitted the Dao to Han Pingzi, who ascended to heaven in broad daylight. Another two hundred years later, I transmitted the Dao to Zhang Ling. Another two hundred years later, I transmitted the Dao to Jianpingzi. Another two hundred years later, I transmitted it to Wushi. After that, toward the end of the Han dynasty, standards declined and my Dao was not honored. Coming to the jiazi year, the seventh year of the Yongping reign of Emperor Ming of the Han, a star appeared in the daytime, and at night Emperor Ming dreamed of a spiritual being sixteen feet tall with the light of the sun behind his neck. In the morning, he asked his ministers. Fu Yi said: 'In the west, the crown prince of a barbarian king attained the Way and was called Buddha.' Emperor Ming then dispatched Zhang Qian and others to exhaust the sources of the Yellow River. Passing through thirty-six kingdoms, they reached Śrāvastī. The Buddha had already entered nirvāṇa. They copied 605,000 words of scriptures, and returned in the eighteenth year of Yongping."

9.53

Your servant laughs and says: The Hanshu states that Zhang Ling was a person of the time of Emperor Shun of the Later Han. He was a visiting student in Shu, and upon entering Mount Heming, was swallowed by a serpent. Reckoning Emperor Shun, he was the seventh-generation descendant of Emperor Ming; by principle, he could not have lived over a hundred years before Emperor Ming! Furthermore, it says that Emperor Ming dispatched Zhang Qian to search for the source of the Yellow River; this is also a fabrication. According to the Hanshu, Zhang Qian searched for the source of the Yellow River on behalf of Emperor Wu of the Former Han. How could Emperor Ming of the Later Han have dispatched him to search again? One wonders what kind of long-lived immortal Qian was, that he was sent on missions generation after generation—what suffering! Its reckless citation is also laughable.

9.54

15. On the Suns and Moons Gathering Universally

9.55

The eight-character text of the third Zongpiao Heaven in the Zhutian neiyin says: 'Zeluo Juepu Taiyuan Daluo.' The Sovereign Immortal of the Thousand Heavens explains: 'Ze is the name of a mountain in the center of heaven, the lair of myriad dragons. Luojue is the esoteric name of the Dao Lord. Putai is the hidden appellation of the Perfected. The Jade Terrace is located on the south side of Mount Ze. Thirty thousand suns and moons shine to its left and right. Luohan and the Moon Consort: when the great eon meets calamity, the suns and moons of the various heavens assemble beneath the Jade Terrace, in the division of the great chiliocosm. Under heaven, all is overturned and transformed, and the great chiliocosm is consumed in flames.'

9.56

Your servant laughs and says: The Jiku jing says that after heaven and earth were consumed in flames, the Giant Spirit Hu Hai was ordered to create mountains and rivers, and Xuanzhong was ordered to create suns and moons. Thirty trillion leagues south of Mount Kunlun, there is another Mount Kunlun; thus in sequence there are one thousand Mount Kunluns, named a minor chiliocosm. There are further one thousand minor chiliocosms, named a medium chiliocosm. There are further one thousand medium chiliocosms, named a great trichiliocosm. Calculating this, within a great trichiliocosm there are ten billion suns and moons. Moreover, the scripture says that when the great eon concludes and heaven and earth are overturned and transformed, none of the suns, moons, and stars survive. If they assemble universally, then ten billion should arrive together; why do only three thousand arrive? If the remainder do not assemble, is it because the calamity does not reach them, or because their native realms are deficient? If they are indeed deficient, ordinary mortals on earth still receive the illumination of the sun and moon; with the blessings of the heavens being superior, how could they alone lack illumination? Moreover, below the sun and moon is the desire realm. The lower beings are not called the upper realm of Daluo, which is untouched by calamity. Now, for them not to come—how could that be right in principle? One must realize that the creator of this scripture merely heard the name 'great chiliocosm' and was confused about the number of suns and moons; hence it is thus.

9.57

16. On the Supreme Being Venerable and Noble

9.58

The Wenshi zhuan states that Laozi roamed the heavens with Yin Xi. Entering the White Gate of Ninefold Enclosures, the Heavenly Emperor bowed upon seeing Laozi. Laozi ordered Xi to exchange courtesies with the Heavenly Emperor. Laozi said, "The Supreme (Taishang) is venerable and noble; an audience will be granted on a designated day. The Supreme resides in the Palace of Seven Jewels on Mount Yujing, transcending the various heavens, silent, obscure, pure, and remote."

9.59

Your servant laughs and says: The Shenxian zhuan states that Shen Yi of Wu commandery ascended as an immortal in broad daylight. Four hundred years later, he returned home and recounted: 'When I first ascended to heaven, I wished to see the Heavenly Emperor, but he was so venerable and noble that he could not be seen. Thereupon I first met the Supreme, who was seated in the main hall with several hundred male and female attendants.' Given this clear account, one knows that the Supreme is inferior to the Heavenly Emperor. To say that the Supreme is venerable and noble and reigns above all heavens is absurd. Now, according to the Jiutian shengshen zhang, the Supreme dwells in the Palace of the Mysterious Metropolis (Xuandu). The Palace of Jade Purity is above Xuandu; what palace is again above Jade Purity? It is already two levels higher than Xuandu. Yet Laozi says that the Supreme reigns above all heavens—how could there be such an error?

9.60

17. On the Five Grains Being the Chisel that Cuts Life Short

9.61

The Huahu jing says: The Three Sovereigns cultivated the Dao, and people never died. In high antiquity, heaven produced sweet dew and earth brought forth wine springs; eating and drinking them yielded longevity. From middle antiquity onward, heaven produced the five qi and earth brought forth the five flavors; eating them extended one's years. In low antiquity, the world deteriorated; heaven produced wind and rain, and earth nourished the hundred beasts, which humans hunted and ate. Pained by this condition, I tasted the hundred grains to feed the teeming masses. Thereupon, the Three Sovereigns each presented five pecks of grain as a pledge of faith, seeking that their sons and grandsons throughout generations would never lack the five grains born in the Divine Continent.

9.62

Your servant laughs and says: The Wufu jing says that the three immortal kings told the Yellow Emperor, "The reason humans enjoy longevity is that they do not eat the five grains." The Dayou jing says: "The five grains are the chisel that cuts life short; the foul five grains make one's lifespan shorten and shrink. When this food enters the belly, have no hope for long life. If you wish not to die, let there be no feces in your intestines." The Wufu jing says: "Solomon's seal is the qi of the three yangs, reaching up to the Palace of Great Purity. Eating it is sweet and delicious, and grants long life." One cannot understand why Laozi did not taste this, but instead tasted the five grains that rot human intestines! Moreover, the Three Sovereigns were all spiritual beings; why did they not cause their descendants to rule over the realm of longevity, but instead begged with five pecks of grain for their descendants to rule over the Divine Continent, seeking short lives of cut life and rotten intestines? This is also laughable.

First 62 of 139 passages. Read on

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廣弘明集 — Classical Chinese