辯正論 6.67

6.67

內喻曰。序云。懷於李氏處胎八十一年。蓋太陽之數壽一百六十年。處胎已過其半。三變五百。將非假稱珍怪。太史公以為楚老萊子及周太史儋皆老子也。或言。二百三十年。或一百六十歲。皇甫謐云。諸子之書近為難信。唯秦佚弔焉。老死信矣。世人見谷神不死。是謂玄牝。故好事者遂假託焉。神仙傳云。欝華子錄回子傳豫子太成子赤精子武成子尹壽子真行子錫射子反色先生等。並是老子身者。皆見碎書。不出神仙正經。未正可據用也。夫有天地則有道術。道術之士何時暫乏。豈獨常是一老子也。皆由晚學之徒好奇尚異。苟欲推崇老子使之無限。淺見道士欲以老子為神異。使後世學者信之。故為詭說耳。誠哉斯言。可為永鑒矣。夫妙樂資三德乃成法身為五分所立。是以生滅頓遣。圓覺之性乃彰。空有兼融。靈儀之妙攸在。故得形超視聽之表。名息情塵之外。湛然常樂。文系之所未詮。嶷爾圓明。言象之所莫測。雖西王桃實屢熟而靡延。東海桑田數變而非永。五雲九轉。悲繩鳥之暫留。飛雪玄霜。比遊駒以難固信。終馗無大椿之久。蜉蝣罕龜鵠之年。爾道之劣五也。

The Buddhist response says: The preface says that he was conceived in Lady Li's womb and remained there for eighty-one years, which corresponds to the number of the Great Yang, and his lifespan was one hundred and sixty years—having already spent more than half of it in the womb. Changing three times to reach five hundred years—are these not falsely claimed wonders? The Grand Historian regarded Lao Laizi of Chu and the Zhou grand scribe Dan as both being Laozi. Some say he lived two hundred and thirty years, others one hundred and sixty years. Huangfu Mi said: 'The books of the various masters have lately become hard to credit. Only Qin Yi's mourning for him shows that Lao's death was genuine. People of the world saw the words "the valley spirit never dies, it is called the mysterious female," so busybodies concocted fabrications.' The Shenxian zhuan says: 'Yuhuazi, Luhuizi, Chuanyuzi, Taichengzi, Chijingzi, Wuchengzi, Yinshouzi, Zhenxingzi, Xishezi, and Master Fanse are all incarnations of Laozi.' These are all seen in fragmentary books and do not come from the orthodox scriptures of the divine immortals; they cannot yet be properly relied upon. Wherever there are heaven and earth, there are arts of the Dao; when have men of the arts of the Dao ever been lacking? How could it always be the single person of Laozi? It is all because late learners love wonders and prize the extraordinary, recklessly wishing to elevate Laozi and make him boundless; shallow-sighted Daoist masters wished to make Laozi into something divine and extraordinary so that later scholars would believe in him, and therefore made up these deceitful tales. How true are these words! They can serve as an eternal mirror. Marvelous bliss relies on the three virtues to achieve the dharmakāya, which is established by the fivefold division [of precepts, samādhi, wisdom, liberation, and knowledge of liberation]. Thus arising and ceasing are suddenly cast off, and the nature of perfect awakening is manifested; emptiness and existence are harmoniously merged, and the wonder of the spiritual presence abides. Hence his form transcends the realm of sight and hearing, and his name rests outside the dust of defilements; he is calm and ever-joyful, beyond what texts can explain, towering and perfectly luminous, past what words and images can fathom. Even though the peach fruits of the Queen Mother of the West ripen repeatedly, they do not prolong life indefinitely; though the mulberry fields of the Eastern Sea change many times, it is not eternal. The five clouds and nine-turned elixir: one grieves over the brief stay of the sparrow bound by a cord; the flying snow and mysterious frost are as difficult to secure as a fleeting steed. Truly, a morning mushroom does not have the longevity of the great chun tree, and a mayfly seldom sees the years of a crane or tortoise. This is the fifth inferiority of your Dao.