[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [集古今佛道論衡](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2104) › 1.20 # 集古今佛道論衡 1.20 集古今佛道論衡 1.20 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2104.1.20) 集論者曰。盛字安國。有說云即東晉名士綽之後也。祖即魏名臣之子荊也。綽有顯論。才學所推聞之前史盛為名父之子。仕晉為給事中祕書監散騎常侍。吳昌男少好墳典遊心史籍。常以為雖賢聖玄邈。得諸言表而仁愛自我陶染。庶物漸漬之功。莫過乎經史。是以仲尼因魯史記以著春秋。使百代之後仰高風以式瞻。孟軻孫卿並讚揚大化。暨乎史遷。亦記一代之成敗明鑒誡作來今遂歷心博綜撰考諸事疏著晉陽秋庶擬前賢以美道訓傳本并音合三十二卷。又命掌國史竭意經論。一時名作是稱良史。未奏遂卒。子潛以晉太元十五年上之。詔曰得上故。祕書監所著書。省以慨然。遠模前典憲章在昔。亦一代之事。輒勅納之祕閣以貽于後。潛襲父爵參驃騎將軍諮議參軍。見於晉紀。盛凡著述備如別集。品評老氏中賢之流。故知為尹述書乃祖承有據。嵇子云。老子就涓子學九仙之術尋乎練餌。斯或有之。至於聖也則不云學。古語曰。生知之者上。學知者次。王何所位典達鴻猷。故斑固敘人九等之例。孔丘等為上上。類例皆是聖。李耳等為中上。類例皆是賢。聖有極聖亞聖。賢有大賢中賢。並以神機有利鈍。故智用有漸頓。盛敘老非大賢。聖其閑放自牧。不能兼濟於萬物。坐觀周衰陽遁於西裔。而實死扶風葬槐里。非遁天之仙信矣。 > The compiler of the debates says: Sheng's courtesy name was Anguo. Some say he was a descendant of the famed Eastern Jin scholar Sun Chuo. His grandfather was Sun Chuji, a famous minister of the Wei. Sun Chuo had distinguished treatises, praised by his contemporaries for his talent and learning, and recorded in previous histories. Sheng, as the son of a renowned father, served the Jin as Gentleman in Attendance, Director of the Palace Library, and Cavalier Regular Attendant, with the title of Baron of Wuchang. In his youth he was fond of ancient canonical texts and roved his mind through historical records. He always maintained that although worthy sages were profound and distant, understood beyond words, benevolence and affection were cultivated from within oneself; and as for the efficacy of gradually imbuing the multitude of beings, nothing surpassed the classics and histories. Therefore, Zhongni based himself on the Lu historical records to compose the Spring and Autumn Annals, causing hundreds of generations to gaze up at his lofty style as a model. Meng Ke and Sun Qing both praised and propagated the great transformation. Down to the Historian Qian, he also recorded the successes and failures of an age, providing a clear mirror of admonition for future generations. Thereupon Sheng applied his mind extensively, compiling and investigating various matters, and wrote the Jin Yangqiu, seeking to emulate former worthies to glorify the instruction of the Way, in a total of thirty-two fascicles combining text and phonetics. He was also ordered to oversee the state history, exhausting his thoughts on classics and treatises; his works were celebrated in his day and he was praised as a fine historian. Before he could submit them to the throne, he passed away. In the fifteenth year of the Taiyuan era of the Jin, his son Qian presented them to the emperor. An imperial edict stated: "Having received the book written by the late Director of the Palace Library, We examine it with deep sighs of admiration. It models itself remotely on former canons and emulates the past; it is truly an achievement of an era. Let it be ordered to be accepted into the Secret Pavilion to be bequeathed to posterity." Qian inherited his father's noble rank and served as Chief Clerk and Consultant to the General of the Agile Cavalry, as seen in the Jin Annals. Sheng's various writings are fully detailed in his separate collection. He appraised Laozi as belonging to the category of intermediate worthies; thus we know that in writing the Yinshu, his ancestral transmission had grounds. Master Ji \[Kang\] said: Laozi studied the arts of the nine immortals under Juanzi, pursuing the refined elixirs—this may indeed have occurred. But when it comes to being a sage, it is never said that he studied. An ancient saying states: "Those who are born with knowledge are highest; those who learn and so get knowledge are next." As for what position Wang \[Bi\] and He \[Yan\] held, their classics conveyed great models. Thus Ban Gu's classification of people into nine ranks placed Kong Qiu and others in the highest-upper rank, all of whom are categorized as sages; Li Er and others were placed in the middle-upper rank, all of whom are categorized as worthies. Among sages there are supreme sages and second-rank sages; among worthies there are great worthies and intermediate worthies. Because their spiritual capacities have sharpness and dullness, the function of their wisdom has gradualness and suddenness. Sheng described Laozi as not being a great sage; his sageliness was of a leisurely, self-tending kind, unable to benefit all beings universally. He sat watching the decline of the Zhou and feigned escape to the western frontiers, but actually died in Fufeng and was buried in Huaili. That he was not an immortal who escaped to heaven is truly verified. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 1.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2104.1.19) - [Next: 1.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2104.1.21) - [Up: 1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2104.1) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2104~en-mt.1.20) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2104.1.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2104.1.20) · Pramāṇa