辯正論 4.199

4.199

學窮經史。才邁群英。著齊志一部釋老志一卷。又撰仁壽舍利見瑞記一部。總敘佛法由來云。釋氏非管窺所及。率爾妄言之。昔春秋莊公七年四月辛卯。夜恒星不見。夜中星隕如雨。而意說者。以為四月八日佛生時也。案周四月夏之二月。且辛卯非八日。年紀云。言魯知不及他國。牟融云。漢明帝夢金人。其名曰佛。於是遣使往求經書。又案漢武帝得休屠王祭天金人。劉向列仙傳云。七十四人在佛經矣。然則明帝前已有佛之經像。魚豢云。老子入西戎教為浮圖者。此言出自化胡經。不足取也。漢世曰浮屠。即佛陀也。猶沙門與桑門語之囀耳。典略云。黃帝夢遊華胥氏之國。華胥氏者即天竺國也。在佛神遊之所。

His learning exhausted the classics and histories; his talent surpassed the throng of heroes. He composed the Qi zhi in one part, the Shi Lao zhi in one fascicle, and also compiled the Renshou sheli jianrui ji in one part. Summarizing the origins of the Buddha's teachings, he stated: 'The Śākya teaching is not something that can be reached by looking through a tube or by speaking recklessly and rashly. Formerly, in the seventh year of Duke Zhuang in the Chunqiu, in the fourth month, on the day xinmao, the fixed stars were not seen at night, and in the middle of the night stars fell like rain. Those who comment on this hold that it was the time of the Buddha's birth on the eighth day of the fourth month. However, checking the fourth month of Zhou shows it corresponds to the second month of Xia; moreover, xinmao was not the eighth day. The Chronology states that Lu's knowledge was said not to reach that of other states. Mou Rong states that Emperor Ming of Han dreamed of a golden man whose name was Buddha, whereupon he dispatched envoys to go in search of sūtras and books. Furthermore, checking the records, Emperor Wu of Han obtained the golden man used to sacrifice to Heaven from the King of Xiutu. Liu Xiang's Liexian zhuan states that seventy-four persons are found in the Buddhist sūtras. That being so, there were already Buddhist sūtras and images prior to Emperor Ming. Yu Huan says that Laozi entered the Western Barbarians and taught them to become Buddhas; these words derive from the Huahu jing and are unworthy of acceptance. In the Han era, it was called futu, which is Buddha (Fotuo); this is merely a sound shift in terminology like shamen and sangmen. The Dianlüe states that the Yellow Emperor dreamed of wandering to the country of the Huaxu clan; the Huaxu clan is precisely Tianzhu (India), situated where the Buddha spiritually roamed.'