集古今佛道論衡 1.2

1.2

Now, the unsurpassable awakening of the Buddha rises far beyond all cages and enclosures, supremely transcendent above the trailokya, and cutting off the four floods, he is called a sage. Therefore, wherever the bounds of his teaching reach, the realms of the great chiliocosm are brought under its sway; wherever his vocal teaching extends, the eight classes of beings are bathed and moistened in the Dao. Thus the adamantine throne stands firm at the center of the continent of Jambudvīpa, and the Utmost Awakened One seated upon it disseminated the fine methods of the eminent sage. Thereupon gods and humans received the Dao, and dragons and spirits turned their hearts toward him; drinking deeply of the medicine that knows no marks, they dispersed and dissolved the afflictions of avidyā. Yet what a sage initiates must depend on the times; when there were perverse and inverted men, he accommodated them so as to guide and transform them. In Tianzhu, the six principles flourished; in Shenzhou, the two chapters were esteemed. Consequently, Confucianism and Daoism vied to take precedence, and the true and the counterfeit were constantly contested. Unless one enters into realization and ascends to holy stages, by what means could one discriminate between these divergent paths? Thus the ninety-six heterodox paths competed to embellish their superficial words, and the sixty-two false views each presented their reputed principles. Though differing according to conditions, in general outline they came down to this: none failed to take the thoughtless realm as nirvāṇa, or to point to Brahmā as the source of life. Therefore, the twenty-five principles opened broad avenues for speculative calculation, and the six heterodox masters established the real sovereign master of the spiritual self (ātman). They boldly set up teachings for myriad eons, bringing the dust-bound masses under their control, and the nine regions revered them. When we examine their arts, they treat life lightly to merge with its source; when we discuss their practices, they remain obstinately attached to advance their beliefs. Thus the four Vedas carry speculative principles to the ultimate extreme of the dark primordial; the two classes of gods seek the origin of life back to the start of the eon. With their subjective speculations on the arcane and remote, they blinded and deceived living beings. Consequently, some cast themselves into waters or threw themselves from cliffs, sat in extreme heat or lay on thorns; inhaling the wind and dew, they claimed to be immortals; tracing back their physical forms, they called themselves sages. Obstinately maintaining their errors in perpetual delusion, they knew nothing of turning toward awakening. The Tathāgata, pitying those dark-haired folk, descended in spiritual radiance to the Red Marsh. His body shone sixteen feet tall, its golden color striking awe into humans and gods. Proclaiming with the four analytical knowledges, his insightful understanding penetrated both the hidden and the manifest. He caused the Demon King's battle arrays—his ten armies—to be shattered by a single word; when Brahmā came to pay homage, the three wheels crushed myriad delusions. Thereupon those who plated their bellies with copper and carried braziers on their heads held their tongues and submitted in the bodhimaṇḍa; those who revered the sun and honored fire cleansed their hearts and looked up toward the path of awakening. Beside the city of Śrāvastī, he greatly blunted the spears of heterodoxy; within the Grove of the Firm, he overturned the hollow dens. His deeds having become manifest, the work of encouraging and propagating them expanded greatly. At the Jade Gate, the autumn of the true Dao was proclaimed; in Jinling, the auspicious sign of riding on expedient means appeared. Upon the Qingliang Terrace, his spiritual appearance was depicted; in the Xianjie Garden, this sacred scene was displayed. Ordaining people and founding monasteries, the benevolent breeze was first widely spread; suppressing the heterodox and promoting the true, the path was opened from this point onward. At that time, the murmuring common folk dared not raise any contrary word; only the trivial Yellow Turbans occasionally raised divergent opinions. Yet their transformation did not reach as far as Longle, nor did their names and titles ever tread the courts of the royal academies. How could they comprehend the foremost sages, or earn the praise and blame given by Ban Gu and Sima Qian? How could they stand against the Buddhist tradition, or be confused with it as equals? Why is this so? It is truly because broad knowledge is scarce, and those who maintain their beliefs are constantly deluded. Now, by taking an all-encompassing view that is plain for all to see, its principles will surely open up and dispel past confusions. Moreover, their lineages are easy to discern: Kan Ze's responses to the emperor showed that the principles are hard to bend; Sun Sheng's discourses were as decisive as cutting through the ocean. Still, when learning is not far-reaching, understanding is blocked; when perverse eloquence seems so true, how could one not harbor doubts and suspicions? Even Confucius in eastern Lu still questioned the empty and full; when the ten disciples were stationed along the Xihe River, they still had doubts about the sage. The rest of the ordinary world is hardly worth discussing. Now, since the disciples of Tianzhu have long been separated in reputation, and in Cīnasthāna the debates involving Zhang and Ge have indeed become voluminous, I have deliberated on their origins, evaluated them, and arranged them in order, pruning away the weed-like excesses and polishing them as in a mirror. Gathering them together, I have titled the work Debates between Buddhism and Daoism. It is divided into four scrolls, designated by the cyclical characters jia and yi. If there are any abridgments or revisions, readers may examine them in detail.