集古今佛道論衡 4.9

4.9

"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,