[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [集沙門不應拜俗等事](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2108) › 2.20 # 集沙門不應拜俗等事 2.20 集沙門不應拜俗等事 2.20 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [2.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2108.2.20) 問曰。論旨以化盡為至極。故造極者。必違化而求宗。求宗不由於順化。是以引歷代君王。使同之佛教。令體極之至以權居統。此雅論之所託。自必於大通者也。求之實當理則不然。何者夫稟氣極於一生。生盡則消液而同無。神雖妙物。故是陰陽之化耳。既化而為生。又化而為死。既聚而為始。又散而為終。因此而推。固知神形俱化原無異統。精麁一氣始終同宅。宅全則氣聚而有靈。宅毀則氣散而照滅。散則反所受於大本。滅則復歸於無物。反覆終始窮皆自然之數耳。孰為之哉。若全本則異氣。數合則同化。爾為神之處形。猶火之在木。其生必並其毀必滅。形離則神散而罔寄。木朽則火寂而靡託。理之然矣。假使同異之分昧而難明。有無之說必存乎聚散。聚散。氣變之總名。萬化之生滅。故莊子曰。人之生氣之聚。聚則為生。散則為死。生為彼徒苦。吾又何患。古之善言道者。必有以得之。若異然邪。至理極於一生。生盡不化義可尋也。 > Question: The treatise's main purport holds that the exhaustion of transformation is the ultimate extremity, and therefore one who reaches the extremity must go against transformation to seek the origin; seeking the origin does not come from following transformation. On this basis, it adduces the monarchs of successive generations, making them identical with the teachings of Buddhism, and having those who embody the utmost extremity occupy rule by expedient means. This is what your elegant treatise relies on, being convinced of the Great Pervasion. Yet seeking its actuality, in terms of principle it is not so. Why is this? The endowment of qi reaches its limit within a single lifetime; when life is exhausted, it dissolves into nothingness. Although the spirit is a subtle thing, it is still merely the transformation of yin and yang. Having transformed to become life, it transforms again to become death; having gathered to become the beginning, it disperses again to become the end. Inferring from this, we firmly know that spirit and form transform together, originally having no different lineage. Fine and coarse are of a single qi, and from start to finish share the same dwelling. When the dwelling is intact, the qi gathers and there is sentience; when the dwelling is destroyed, the qi disperses and consciousness is extinguished. When it disperses, it returns what it received to the Great Origin; when it is extinguished, it reverts again to no-thing. Coming and going, beginning and end, all are exhausted in the natural order of fate. Who could make it otherwise? If the root is wholly identical, how could the qi be different? When destiny concurs, they transform together. Thus, the spirit dwelling in the form is like fire being in wood: their arising must be together, and its destruction must be extinction. When the form separates, the spirit disperses and has nothing to lodge in; when the wood rots, the fire is silenced and has nothing to rely upon. This is indeed the principle of things. Even if the distinction between sameness and difference is dim and difficult to clarify, the doctrine of being and non-being must reside in gathering and dispersing. Gathering and dispersing are general names for the transformation of qi, the arising and ceasing of myriad transformations. Therefore Zhuangzi said: 'The life of man is a gathering of qi; when it gathers there is life, and when it disperses there is death. Since life is \[viewed by\] them as mere suffering, what do I have to worry about?' Those of antiquity who spoke well of the Way must have grasped this. How could it be otherwise? The ultimate principle reaches its limit within a single lifetime; once life is exhausted, there is no further transformation—its meaning can be investigated. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 2.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2108.2.19) - [Next: 2.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2108.2.21) - [Up: 2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2108.2) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2108~en-mt.2.20) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [佛祖歷代通載](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2036.7.77) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2108.2.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2108.2.20) · Pramāṇa