辯正論 2.3

2.3

公子問曰。竊覽道門齋法。略有二等。一者極道。二者濟度。極道者。洞神經云。心齋坐忘至極道矣。濟度者。依經有三錄七品。三錄者。一曰金錄。上消天災保鎮帝王。正理分度大平天下。二曰玉錄。救度兆民改惡從善。悔過謝罪求恩請福。三曰黃錄。拔度九玄七祖。超出五苦八難。救幽夜求歎之魂。濟地獄長悲之罪。七品者。一者洞神齋。求仙保國之法。二者自然齋。學真修身之道。三者上清齋。入聖昇虛之妙。四者指教齋。救疾攘災之急。五者塗炭齋。悔過請命之要。六者明真齋。拔幽夜之識。七者三元齋。謝三官之罪。此等諸齋或一日一夜。三日三夜。七日七夜。具如儀典。其外又六齋十直甲子庚申本命等齋。通用自然齋法。坐忘一道。獨超生死之源。濟度十齋。同離哀憂之本。始末研尋其功甚大。其間威儀軌式堂宇壇場。法象玄虛備諸楷則。衣冠容止濟濟鏘鏘。朝揖敬拜儼然齋肅。旋行唱讚真氣自然。燒香散花神儀欝在。身心俱致感應必臻。賓主同諧自符景福。明真儀云。安一長燈。上安九火置中央。以照九幽長夜之府。正月一日八日十四日十五日十八日二十三日二十四日二十八日二十九日三十日夜中安一長燈令高九尺。於一燈上燃九燈火。上照九玄。其佛家娑羅藥師度星方廣等齋。威儀軌則本無法象。世人並見何所表明。

The young gentleman asked: "I have privately examined the fasting rituals of the Daoist tradition, and they comprise roughly two classes: the first is the Ultimate Dao, and the second is Salvation. As for the Ultimate Dao, the *Dongshen jing* says: 'Fasting of the mind and sitting in forgetfulness reach the ultimate Dao.' As for Salvation, according to the scriptures there are three registers and seven classes. As for the three registers: the first is called the Golden Register, which averts heavenly disasters above, protects and preserves emperors and kings, sets proper order and measures, and brings Great Peace to the realm; the second is called the Jade Register, which delivers the myriad people, causes them to abandon evil and follow good, repent transgressions, apologize for sins, and seek grace and blessing; the third is called the Yellow Register, which rescues the ninefold darkness and the ancestors of seven generations, transcends the five sufferings and eight difficulties, saves the souls crying out in the gloomy night, and delivers the long-grieving sinners of the hells. As for the seven classes: the first is the Fast of Dongshen (Cavern Spirit), a method for seeking immortality and preserving the state; the second is the Fast of Ziran (Spontaneity), the Dao of studying truth and cultivating the person; the third is the Fast of Shangqing (Highest Clarity), the marvel of entering sagehood and ascending to emptiness; the fourth is the Fast of Zhi Jiao (Instruction), an urgent rite for saving the sick and averting disasters; the fifth is the Fast of Tutan (Mud and Charcoal), the essential rite for repenting errors and begging for life; the sixth is the Fast of Mingzhen (Luminous Truth), for delivering the consciousnesses in the gloomy night; the seventh is the Fast of Sanyuan (Three Primes), for apologizing for crimes before the Three Officials. These various fasts last either one day and one night, three days and three nights, or seven days and seven nights, fully detailed in the ritual codes. Beyond these, there are also the Six Fasts, Ten Monthly Fasts, the cyclical fasts on Jiazi and Gengshen days, and the Destiny Fast, which generally apply the method of the Fast of Spontaneity. 'Sitting in forgetfulness' alone surpasses the source of life and death; the ten fasts of salvation jointly abandon the root of sorrow and grief. Examining them from beginning to end, their merit is exceedingly great. Moreover, their deportment, rules, halls, and altars model the mysterious void and possess all standards. Their robes, caps, and manners are stately and resonant; their morning salutations and bows are solemn and reverent. Walking in circumambulation while chanting praises, the true qi is spontaneous. Burning incense and scattering flowers, the spiritual presence is magnificent. When body and mind are both concentrated, resonance and response are sure to arrive; when hosts and guests are in mutual harmony, great blessing naturally tallies. The *Mingzhen yi* says: 'Erect a tall lamp with nine flames atop it placed in the center, so as to illuminate the mansions of the long night in the ninefold darkness. On the nights of the first, eighth, fourteenth, fifteenth, eighteenth, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, and thirtieth days of the first month, erect a tall lamp nine chi in height, and upon the one lamp burn nine flames to shine up to the ninefold darkness.' Now, Buddhist fasts such as the Śāla, Bhaiṣajyaguru, Star-Deliverance, and Fangguang rituals originally had no cosmic archetypes in deportment or rules. When worldly people observe them both, what do they manifest?"