集古今佛道論衡 1.6

1.6

The Han faben neizhuan says: In the third year of the Yongping era of Emperor Ming, the Emperor dreamt of a divine being with a golden body sixteen feet tall, with the light of the sun behind his neck, flying before the palace hall. He was delighted by it. The next day he asked his ministers, 'What deity is this?' There was a man of broad learning, Fu Yi, who said, 'Your servant has heard that in Tianzhu there is one who attained the Dao, called the Buddha. He flies through empty space and his body has the light of the sun; it must surely be his spirit!' Thereupon the Emperor understood. He dispatched the Gentleman of the Palace Cai Yin, the General of the Household Qin Jing, the Erudite's disciple Wang Zun, and others, eighteen men in all, to the Da Yuezhi and Central Tianzhu to copy the Sūtra of Forty-two Sections, which was stored in the fourteenth room of the Stone Chamber of the Orchid Terrace. He also built a Buddhist monastery outside the Yong Gate west of Luoyang city. On its walls were painted a thousand chariots and ten thousand cavalry encircling a pagoda three times. Furthermore, wishing to paint a standing image of Śākyamuni, he had the appearance and image of the Buddha painted on the Qingliang Terrace of the Southern Palace and above the Kaiyang City Gate. At that time he was constructing his mausoleum, named Xianjie, and also had images of the Buddha made upon it, as extensively set forth in Mouzi. At that time there were the śramaṇas Kāśyapa Mātaṅga and Dharmaratna, whose spiritual ranks and practices were hard to match, and whose intention was to open up and transform beings. They met Cai Yin's mission when it reached Tianzhu, and [Cai Yin] invited Mātaṅga to journey east. Not confining himself to regional boundaries, he accompanied them to Luoyang to instruct the inclinations of beings, taking the promotion of faith as the primary task. The Emperor asked Mātaṅga, 'When the dharmarāja appears in the world, why did his conversion not reach here?' Mātaṅga said, 'Kapilavastu is the center of the three-thousand-great-thousandfold world system with its hundred million suns and moons. All Buddhas of the three periods of time are born there. Even gods, dragons, ghosts, and spirits who have vows and practices are all born there, receive the Buddha's true teaching, and all attain awakening. Sentient beings in other places lack the conditions to move the Buddha, so the Buddha does not go there. Although the Buddha does not go there, wherever his light reaches, after five hundred years, or one thousand years, or beyond one thousand years, there are always sages who transmit the Buddha's vocal teaching and convert and guide them.' He explained the doctrine at length, and the Emperor had faith in and revered him. By the first day of the first month of the fourteenth year of the Yongping era, Daoist priests from the Five Sacred Peaks and various mountains, taking the occasion of the New Year's court assembly, said among themselves, 'The Son of Heaven has abandoned our Dao and teachings and sought the barbarian teaching from afar. Now, on the occasion of the court assembly, we may submit a memorial to oppose it.' Their memorial said, 'We, disciple Chu Shanxin and others of the Supreme Three Caverns from the monasteries of the eighteen mountains of the Five Sacred Peaks, under penalty of death, say: Your servants have heard that the supreme, formless, nameless, limitless, unsurpassable, empty, non-active, and natural Great Dao arose prior to creation. High antiquity followed it together, and through a hundred kings it remained unchanged. Now Your Majesty's virtue surpasses the August Fuxi and outshines Yao and Shun. We have learned that Your Majesty abandons the fundamental and pursues the incidental, seeking teaching from the Western Regions. What you serve is merely a barbarian deity; what it preaches has no connection to Huaxia. We pray that Your Majesty forgive our transgression and allow a trial and contest with them. Among us Daoist priests from the various mountains, many can see through all things, hear from afar, and have a comprehensive understanding of the classics. Ever since the Primordial Emperor, we have thoroughly practiced the Supreme Lord's numerous registers and the talismans and incantations of the Great Void, reaching their utmost limits. Some can command ghosts and spirits; some can swallow the sunset clouds and inhale qi; some can enter fire without being burned; some can walk on water without drowning; some ascend to heaven in broad daylight; some conceal their forms beyond detection. As for occult methods, medicines, and elixirs, there is nothing we cannot do. We pray to be permitted to compete with them: first, so that the sage emperor's mind may be set at ease; second, so that the true and the false may be distinguished; third, so that the Great Dao may find its rightful place; fourth, so that the customs of China may not be thrown into disorder. If in our competition we prove inferior, we submit to whatever severe punishment may be decided; if we prevail, we beg that the false and deceitful be eliminated.' An imperial decree ordered Song Xiang, the Master of Writing, to lead them into the Changle Palace. The imperial decree stated: 'On the fifteenth day of this month, you may assemble at the Baima Temple.' The Daoist priests then erected three altars, with each altar having twenty-four gates opened. Daoist priests of the South Peak, Chu Shanxin; of the West Peak, Liu Zhengnian; of the North Peak, Huan Wendu; of the East Peak, Jiao Dexin; of the Central Peak, Lü Huitong; along with Qi Wenxin and others of eighteen mountains such as Mount Huo, Tianmu, Wutai, and Bailu, totaling 690 men, each brought 590 scrolls of Numinous Treasure True Texts, Supreme Jade Instructions, and Three Primes Talismanic Registers, and placed them on the western altar. They placed 135 scrolls of writings of twenty-seven masters, such as Mao Chengzi, Xu Chengzi, Huangzi, and Laozi, on the central altar. On the eastern altar, they set out offerings of food to sacrifice to the hundred spirits. At that time, the Emperor took his place in a temporary hall at the south gate of the temple, placing the Buddha's relics, scriptures, and images to the west of the path. On the fifteenth day, when the fast concluded, the Daoist priests bundled firewood and reeds mixed with sandalwood and aloeswood to make torches. Circling the scriptures of their masters, they wept and said, 'Your servants report upward to the Great Dao of the Grand Ultimate, the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning, all the immortals and hundred spirits: Now the barbarians throw the central realm into disorder; the sovereign believes in heterodoxy; the true teaching has lost its path, and the profound tradition has dropped its thread. Your servants dare to place the scriptures upon the altar and test them with fire, wishing to reveal them to the minds of the multitude so they may distinguish the true from the false.' Thereupon they set fire to burn the scriptures. Consumed by the fire, the scriptures were entirely reduced to ash. The Daoist priests looked at each other, paling and overcome with immense terror. Those who wished to ascend to heaven or conceal their forms lacked any power to do so; those who commanded ghosts and spirits called and ordered them, but received no response. Each harbored deep shame and regret. The Daoist priest of the South Peak, Fei Shucai, died of his own grief and resentment. Grand Tutor Zhang Yan said to Chu Xin, 'The test you performed has yielded no proof, which means it is false and deceitful. You should turn toward the true Dharma that has come from the West.' Chu Xin said, 'Mao Chengzi said that the Supreme Lord is the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Worthy, and the work of creation is called the Great Simplicity. How could this be false?' Yan said, 'The Great Simplicity has the reputation of prizing virtue, but has no spoken teachings. Now you claim it has spoken teachings; that is precisely what is false.' Xin then fell silent. At that time, the Buddha's relics emitted light of five colors, shooting straight into the air and whirling like a canopy, completely covering the great assembly and outshining the sunlight. Master Mātaṅga leaped high into the air, sitting and lying in empty space, displaying various supernatural transformations. At that time, heavenly precious flowers rained down upon the Buddha and the Saṅgha, and heavenly music was heard, deeply moving people's hearts. The great assembly was moved and delighted, praising it as something never seen before. All encircled Dharmaratna and asked him to preach the essentials of the Dharma. Ratna then uttered the great Brahmā voice, praising the Buddha's merit and virtues, and also had the great assembly extol the Triratna. He taught that wholesome and unwholesome phenomena all bring their retribution, and that the various marks of the six paths and triyāna are not uniform. He also explained the merit of pravrajyā as yielding the highest blessing, and that initially founding a Buddhist monastery yields the same measure of blessing as that of Brahmā. At that time, Liu Jun, the Minister of Works and Marquis of Yangcheng, along with over a thousand people including various officials, scholar-officials, and commoners, took pravrajyā. Also, 628 Daoist priests from the Four Sacred Peaks and various mountains, including Lü Huitong, took pravrajyā; Lady Yin, Lady of Handsome Fairness Wang, and other palace ladies and women, totaling 230 people, took pravrajyā. From that day until the end of the month, offerings of various kinds were prepared and given daily; monastic robes and water vessels were all provided by the relevant offices. Ten monasteries were then established: seven to house monks outside the city, and three to house nuns inside the city of Luoyang. The rise of the Buddha's Dharma under the Han began from this. Earlier, when Mātaṅga came from the west, he brought a painted standing image of Śākyamuni; the Emperor then ordered that it be copied, and offerings were made to it in the mausoleum park and at the Luoyang gates.