集古今佛道論衡 4.12

4.12

In the winter, the eleventh month of the third year of the Xianqing era (658 CE), because the winter snow had not yet fallen, the Emperor was burdened with worry and concern. Thinking to widely spread the rain of the Dharma and to perform rainmaking prayers to supplicate for the falling of snow, he accordingly established a field of merit. Thus, in a quiet place within the imperial palace, he broadly adorned a Dharma seat. He issued an imperial decree summoning the śramaṇa Yibao of Da Cien Temple, the Daoist priest Zhang Huiyuan of Dongming Abbey, and others to enter the palace. The debates expounding the Dao held in a side hall began from this occasion. The inner and outer palace personnel all assembled at the Dharma feast. The elites of the Buddhist and Daoist traditions were thoroughly sought out and selected to the utmost extent; such a glorious spectacle had never occurred in all antiquity. The Son of Heaven personally inquired about where Yibao came from, and while on his seat he replied in full. At that time, the Daoist priest Li Rong first ascended the high seat and established the doctrine of the 'original limit' (benji). An imperial decree addressed Yibao: 'I have heard that the master is capable in debate. Please ascend the high seat and discuss the profound principles together.' He immediately mounted the seat and asked: 'Since your thesis marks the "original limit", is it that the Dao has its origin in the limit and is therefore called the "original limit", or is it that the limit has its origin in the Dao and is therefore called the "original limit"?' [Li Rong] replied: 'Both ways are admissible.' [Yibao] challenged him: 'If the Dao has its origin in the limit, then the limit is the origin of the Dao. Could it also be that the limit has its origin in the Dao, so that the Dao is the source of the limit?' [Li Rong] replied: 'Whichever way one goes, how could it not be coherent?' [Yibao] countered: 'If you allow the Dao and the original limit to be reciprocally coherent, conversely could it also be that naturalness and the Dao are reciprocally patterned on each other?' [Li Rong] replied: 'The Dao patterns itself on naturalness; naturalness does not pattern itself on the Dao.' [Yibao] countered again: 'If the Dao patterns itself on naturalness, while naturalness does not pattern itself on the Dao, then could it also be that the Dao has its origin in the original limit, while the original limit does not have its origin in the Dao?' At this, the Daoist priest was cornered by the objection; fearing that his school's doctrine would collapse, he merely remained silent and was unable to offer an answer. Yibao then pressed his objection further, saying: 'You say the Dao has its origin in the original limit, and thus allow the Dao and the limit to mutually originate each other; could it also be that the Dao patterns itself on naturalness? Why then can the Dao and naturalness not mutually pattern themselves on each other?' Having been pressed repeatedly, Rong could neither comprehend the objection nor untie the knot. He then began to jest recklessly, saying: 'The Dharma master calls me "elder-born" (xiansheng); you have therefore become my disciple!' Yibao immediately retorted to cut him down: 'Today, debating before the sacred presence, we are clarifying the heterodox and the orthodox to inform the imperial mind. Coarse jests of rustic woodcutters defile the heavenly hearing; properly speaking, they must be cast aside and are truly impermissible. Nevertheless, since antiquity there is an ancient precept that no word goes unreciprocated; so I shall briefly reply to you. I take serving the Buddha as my master, and I am a disciple of the Buddha. Since you are called "elder-born" (born before), you ought to have been born before the Dao! If I am a disciple, the Buddha is my master. If you were born before the Dao, you ought to be the ancestor of the Dao!' The Daoist priest was deeply embarrassed at that moment and had no reply; his chowry drooped, and his voice and energy sank together. Yibao thereupon taunted him: 'The chowry has already withered; the deer-skin cap is about to snap. The voice has already grown weak; the spearhead of doctrine is also broken.' Li Rong, having no answer, backed away and stepped down from the seat. Soon there was an imperial decree ordering Yibao to ascend the seat according to the ritual. He then modestly declined, saying: 'Yibao is an ordinary monk from south of the Yangzi, decayed bamboo sheath in the mountains. The heavenly light shines from afar, shedding its rays into the woods and springs, lightly deigning to send down the imperial decree so that I directly face the imperial gaze. Now, the Triratna of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha is the unsurpassed field of merit, the stairway to the mountain of joy, the ferry bridge across the ocean of suffering. The Dharmakāya is eternally abiding, yet its traces display arising and falling; the maintenance of the semblance teaching relies on the imperial power. Prostrating, I reflect that Your Majesty's Dao surpasses Xuan[yuan] and [Fu]xi, and your virtue exceeds Yao and Shun; handling myriad affairs with effortless ease, you broadly manifest the Triratna. The Empress diligently carries on the palace virtues; the Crown Prince's renown resounds in praised hymns. Now, because fertilising rain has not descended and auspicious snow has not yet fallen, out of care and toil for the common folk you establish a fast to pray for blessings. Inside the purple court you erect the banner of victory; within the imperial yellow carriage-canopy you set out the Dharma seat. Desiring to make the wind of the Dao ever fan and the sun of the Buddha shine continuously, you have thereupon decreed that the black-robed and yellow-robed each set forth profound principles: expounding the teaching of the Jade Capital on the jade steps, and raising the words of the golden mouth at the golden palace gates, thereby using this immense blessing to adorn the sacred reign. I humbly pray that for the Emperor, the golden wheel will turn forever and the jade mirror remain perpetually bright, your veneration equal to the Northern Star and your fortune towering like the Southern Peak. May the Empress's mind be as bright as the seven luminaries and her person fathom the two forces [of Heaven and Earth], handing down instructions to the six palaces and serving as a maternal model to the myriad states. May the Crown Prince concentrate his spirit in the Wangyuan Palace and manifest wisdom in the Spring Quarter, spreading radiance to the front stars and unfolding the maps of succeeding martial virtue. As for Yibao, an obscure recluse from a maritime corner, I suddenly find myself intermingled with the heights of Song and Hua. With a fearful mind I ascend the fearless seat; with an inarticulate mouth I unfold remarks that provoke smiles.' And so forth. 'Now, as the sacred intention has deigned to reach me, bidding me to test emptiness and set up a thesis, I now present the topic of my thesis, whose title is "The Meaning of the Mahāprajñāpāramitā". This is the elephant carriage of the Mahāyāna, the dragon ferry of the Vaipulya, the great master of bodhisattvas, and the mother of wisdom of the Tathāgatas. "Mahā" is great; "prajñā" is wisdom; "pāramitā" is reaching the other shore. Because the dark mansion cannot exhaust its profound splendour, we provisionally designate it with "great"; because the water mirror cannot illustrate its pure clarity, we borrow "wisdom" to illuminate it; because striving to reach its end cannot attain its limits, we borrow "crossing over" to express it.' And so forth. The Daoist priest Zhang Huiyuan asked: 'The sound is a barbarian sound; the characters are Tang characters. Translating barbarian into Tang—what benefit is there in this?' [Yibao] replied: 'The characters are Tang characters; the sound is a Sanskrit sound. Translating Sanskrit into Tang benefits both this and that.' [Zhang] challenged again: 'How can a barbarian sound benefit people?' [Yibao] replied: 'The Buddha appeared in Tianzhu, where the Sanskrit sound is the correct teaching. Flowing into China, the beneficial appearances have been very numerous. How could there be no benefit?' The other could neither advance a challenge nor, turning back, could he assert incoherence. Yibao took pity on him and said: 'The Daoist priest is advanced in age and now falls into madness again! Replying to doctrinal points like this, he does not reflect at all.' Zhang said: 'How am I mad?' Yibao teased him: 'If your mind were not mad, how could you utter mad words? Withdrawing would be fine; why stay bound to the loom?' Zhang thereupon returned to his seat. The Daoist priest Yao next debated the doctrine, saying: 'Prajñā is neither foolishness nor wisdom; why is it translated as wisdom?' [Yibao] replied: 'In order to crush foolishness, it is praised and called wisdom.' Zhang reproached: 'What is foolishness, that one brings wisdom to crush it?' [Yibao] replied: 'The foolish person is the Daoist priest; wisdom is brought to crush him.' Zhang said: 'How am I foolish?' [Yibao] replied: 'Prajñā is neither foolishness nor wisdom; crushing foolishness, it is praised as wisdom. If the Daoist priest is devoid of foolishness, my medicine of wisdom is also discarded.' After several rounds of such rebuttals, Zhang choked back his breath, swallowed his voice, and became completely bewildered, having lost his ground. Having no counter-challenge, he sat in silence. Yibao then teased them comprehensively: 'Zhang has nowhere to flee from madness, while the Daoist Yao has no ground to escape foolishness. Now that the mad and the foolish have retreated, Li may approach the barrier!' Rong then asked: 'The thesis marks "prajñāpāramitā"; this is neither that [shore] nor this [shore]. Why speak of "reaching the other shore"?' [Yibao] replied: 'Prajñā is neither this nor that; it is praised as crossing over to that.' Li said: 'If, being neither that nor this, it is praised as crossing over to that shore, one should also, being neither that nor this, praise it as reaching this shore.' [Yibao] replied: 'Although both that and this are annihilated, praising that causes one to depart from this.' Li said: 'Praising that and not praising this—it should also be neither this nor not that.' [Yibao] replied: 'Praising that causes one to depart from this; when this is departed from, that is also annihilated.' Li Rong had no further challenges, so he joked: 'The monk's head is like a pellet; his understanding of the doctrine is also round and rolling!' Yibao responded immediately: 'Now one pellet strikes the yellow sparrow, / And has already shot two owls! / The pellet strikes the yellow sparrow's foot; / The shot hits the owls' waists.' At that time, since Li had released his mechanism and been struck by the pellet, Zhang Yuan pulled out his arrow to assist him. Yibao teased again: 'Li cannot extricate himself, / And mad Zhang helps him to perish! / The Daoist Yao's single foolishness— / Why does he not see assistance?' Yao then spoke, and so forth. Yibao mocked them all together: 'Two persons assisting one person; / Three fools make one wise man! / Heard of in the past, only now seen today; / These words have nowhere to follow.' At that time, the Son of Heaven was delighted, and the inner palace was filled with harmonious acclaim. Li Rong bowed his head repeatedly and then said: 'If you have such an understanding of doctrine, why did you have to come all the way from the land of Wu?' Yibao said: 'The excellent land of the Three Wu originally produces outstanding sages; people with horizontal eyes and four-legged bodies have never had men of talent.' And so forth. When he finished speaking, he descended from the seat. At that time, he alone held off the Huang-Lao masters, and none dared to resist in argument. It may truly be said that sounding the drum of debate in the royal court was no different from the day of [Ārya]deva, and sprinkling the sound of the Dharma in the imperial palace was no other than the time of Śāriputra. When the event ended, they accompanied each other back to lodge in the official quarters. Yibao said to the Daoist priests: 'A team of four horses cannot overtake the tongue; making clear speech is not easy. When has pure conversation under Heaven ever had an end? It is like the celestial bodies in the sky, resembling the rivers and mountains that stabilise the earth. You should directly cite principles without waiting for my vulgar words. How could you face the Heavenly Countenance and lightly engage in bantering discussions? If you were handed over to the law for investigation, your crime would surely be irreverence! Fortunately, the Sacred Sovereign's great compassion pardoned your shortcomings; yet the crime of irreverence is ultimately hard to escape.' The Daoist priests were greatly ashamed. Zhang Yuan said: 'There is no need to recount it.' Yibao said: 'What is past cannot be blamed, but what is to come can still be pursued. Please broaden the methods of doctrine and comprehensively examine the profound principles. Would this not mean that the noble tracks of Śākya and Li do not let their refined tradition fall, where victory and defeat are both forgotten, and feelings and principles are both cast aside?' The compiler states: Examining the essentials of Yibao's doctrinal paths, it may be said that his talent stood out in his time and served as a standard for myriad generations. Smashing the Yellow Turbans within the yellow carriage-canopy did not rely on the Han armies; arraying the imperial net before the Emperor did not burden the Qin battle-lines. Therefore, scaling ladders and waist-belts were heard of in vain in the discussions of Master Yao; swallowing up and joining the horizontal and vertical alliances truly completed the glory of the Duke of Song.