集古今佛道論衡 4.9

4.9

陛下。睿性自天欽明纂曆。九功包於虞夏。七德冠於嬴劉。遂使天平地成遐安邇肅。既而㝢內無事垂慮玄門。爰詔緇黃考覈名理。但僧道士等輕生多幸濫沐恩光。遂得屢入金門頻昇玉砌。所恐聞見寡狹詞韻庸疎。虛煩聽覽不足觀採。伏增悚汗。降　勅云好。師等依位坐。又勅云。師可一人上座開題。時清都觀道士張惠元奏云。周之宗盟異姓為後　陛下宗承柱下。今日竪義。道士不得不先。又夷夏不同客主位別。望請道士於先上座　帝沈默久之。立遂奏曰。竊尋諸佛如來德高眾聖道冠人天。為三千大千之獨尊。作百億四洲之慈父。引迷拯溺惟佛一人。此地未出娑婆即是釋迦之兆域。惠元何得濫言客主妄定華夷。伏惟　陛下。屈初地之尊。光臨贍部。受佛付囑。顯揚聖化。爇慈燈於暗室。浮慧舸於苦流。書云。皇天無親。惟德是輔。蓋此之謂歟。惠元邪說未可為依。勅云好。更遣上仍僧為先。爾時會隱法師昇座。竪四無畏義。道士七人各陳論難。無足敘之事在別傳　次道士李榮開六洞義。擬佛法六通為言。立昇論席。問榮六洞名數。答訖。徵云。夫言洞者。豈不於物通達無擁義耶。答云是。難曰。若使於物通達無擁名洞未委。老君於物得洞以不。答云是。老君上聖何得非洞。徵曰。若使老君於物通洞者。何故道經云。天下大患莫若有身。使我無身吾何患也。據此則老君於身尚礙。何能洞於萬物。榮云。師緩莫過相陵轢。榮在蜀日。已聞師名。不謂今在天庭得親談論。共師俱是出家人。莫苦相非駁。立報曰。觀先生此語似索孤息。古人云。黃塵之下不許借矟。乍可出外別敘暄涼。此席終須定其邪正。向云與立同是出家。檢形討事焉可同耶。先生鬢髮不剪褌袴未除。手把桃符腰懸赤袋。巡門厭鬼歷巷摩兒。本不異淫祀邪巫。豈得同我清虛釋子。李榮大怒云。汝若以翦髮為好。何不剔眉。立曰何為剔眉。榮曰。一種毛故。立曰。一種是毛剔髮亦剔眉。卿亦一種是毛。何為角髮不角髭。榮遂杜默無對。立調曰。昔平津困於十難。李榮死於一言論德立謝古人論功無慚往哲。於即避席　主上解頤大笑。次後諸僧與論。時熱坐久恐勞　主上且辭。勅云好。遂散還寺。觀三藏玄奘在西明寺度僧。不在論席。十四日平旦。

"Your Majesty's sagacious nature comes from Heaven; in reverence and brilliance you succeed to the celestial cycle. The nine merits encompass those of the Yu and Xia; the seven virtues surpass those of the Ying and Liu. You have thereby brought peace to Heaven and stability to Earth, serenity to the distant and reverence to the near. With all within the realm at peace, you then turned your thoughts to the arcane portals, whereupon you summoned both the black-robed and yellow-clad to examine and verify the principles of truth. Yet we, monks and Daoist priests, having trivial lives and excessive good fortune, have illicitly bathed in your gracious radiance, thus being permitted repeatedly to enter the Golden Gates and frequently ascend the Jade Steps. We fear only that our learning is shallow and narrow, and that our words and rhymes are crude and poor, needlessly troubling your hearing and viewing and unworthy of your notice. Humbly our dread and perspiration increase." An imperial decree was issued, saying, "Very well. You masters may take your seats according to your rank." The emperor further decreed, "Let one of the masters take the high seat to open the topic." At that time, Zhang Huiyuan, a Daoist priest of Qingdu Abbey, memorialized, saying, "In the oaths of alliance of the Zhou dynasty, those of different surnames took the rear. Your Majesty traces your lineage to him who served beneath the pillar. In establishing the doctrine today, the Daoist priests must come first. Moreover, the foreign and the Chinese are not the same; the positions of guest and host are distinct. We request that a Daoist priest take the high seat first." The emperor remained silent for a long while. Huili then memorialized, saying, "I reflect that the virtue of all Buddhas and Tathāgatas is higher than that of all sages, and their Dao surpasses humans and devas. They are the sole venerated of the trichiliocosm, and the compassionate fathers of the billions of four continents. As for guiding the deluded and saving the drowning, there is only the Buddha alone. This land has not departed from the Sahā world, and is precisely the domain of Śākyamuni. How could Huiyuan illicitly speak of host and guest, or arbitrarily determine foreign and Chinese? I humbly reflect that Your Majesty, humbling your eminence of the first bhūmi, shed your brilliance upon Jambudvīpa, receiving the Buddha's entrustment to manifest and proclaim the holy teaching, lighting the lamp of compassion in the dark chamber and floating the boat of wisdom upon the streams of suffering. The Book says, 'August Heaven has no favorites; it aids only the virtuous.' Is this not what it means? Huiyuan's perverse discourse cannot be relied upon." The emperor decreed, "Very well," and ordered once more that the monks should still come first. At that time, Dharma Master Huiyin ascended the seat and established the meaning of the four grounds of fearlessness. The seven Daoist priests each presented counter-arguments, but these are not worth recording, and are found in another biography. Next, the Daoist priest Li Rong opened the meaning of the 'six caverns', taking it as an equivalent to the six supernatural knowledges in the Buddhadharma. Huili ascended the debate seat and asked Li Rong about the names and numbers of the six caverns. After the reply was given, he challenged, "Now, as for 'cavern' [dong], does it not mean being penetrating and unobstructed with regard to things?" Li Rong replied, "It does." Huili objected, "If to be penetrating and unobstructed with regard to things is called a 'cavern', I do not yet know whether Lord Lao attained unobstructed penetration with regard to things or not?" Li Rong replied, "He did. Lord Lao is a supreme sage; how could he not have penetrated?" Huili pressed, "If Lord Lao had penetrating obstructionlessness with regard to things, why does the Daoist scripture say: 'The greatest misfortune under heaven is having a body. If I had no body, what misfortune would I have?' Based on this, Lord Lao was still obstructed by his body; how could he penetrate the myriad things?" Li Rong said, "Master, go easy, do not press me too hard. When I was in Shu, I had already heard the Master's name, but I did not expect that today in the heavenly court I would converse with you in person. We are both renunciants; do not harshly criticize and refute me." Huili replied, "Observing these words of yours, Sir, it seems you are begging for a respite. The ancients said, 'Beneath the yellow dust, one does not lend a spear.' It would be fine to step outside and chat about the weather, but on this seat, the heterodox and the orthodox must ultimately be decided. Just now you said that you and I are both renunciants. If we examine outward forms and investigate matters, how could we be the same? Sir, your sideburns and hair are not cut, and your trousers and breeches have not been discarded. In your hand you hold peach-wood talismans, and from your waist hangs a red pouch. You patrol gates to ward off ghosts, and pass through alleys stroking children. At root, you are no different from wanton sacrificers and perverse sorcerers; how could you be the same as us, the pure and detached disciples of the Śākya?" Li Rong was furious and said, "If you consider cutting the hair to be good, why do you not shave your eyebrows?" Huili said, "Why should one shave the eyebrows?" Li Rong said, "Because they are the same kind of hair." Huili said, "They are both hair: if one shaves the hair, one also shaves the eyebrows. You, sir, also have one kind of hair; why do you bind your hair in a topknot but not bind your beard in a topknot?" Li Rong thereupon fell into silence and had no reply. Huili mocked him, saying, "Formerly, Pingjin was distressed by ten objections; now Li Rong has died from a single word. In discussing virtue, I fall short of the ancients; in discussing accomplishment, I have no shame before the wise of the past." Thereupon he left the seat. The sovereign parted his cheeks in great laughter. Thereafter, the other monks debated with them. As it was hot and they had sat for a long time, fearing to weary the sovereign, they excused themselves for the moment. The emperor decreed, "Very well." Thereupon they dispersed and returned to their temples. Note: The Tripiṭaka Master Xuanzang was conferring monastic ordinations at Ximing Temple and was not present at the debate. At dawn on the fourteenth day,