辯正論 8.37

8.37

道經度國王品云。天尊告純陀王曰。諸得道大聖眾至恒沙如來者。莫不從凡夫積行而得也。十仙者無量無數眾。亦有一興而致一仙。復有從凡而得其住。所以者何。功高則一舉。功卑則十昇。十昇者十住處階級而往。從歡喜至法雲。相好具足現身金剛。於是大王小王聞天尊說法即得四果。又案度身品云。尼乾子於天尊所聞說法解定。便獲須陀洹果道。又云。玄中養於靈鷲山中說五部尊經。度人無量。又云。與太和先生於檀毒山中大度王民。號曰沙門。案文始傳云。老子在罽賓國。彈指引諸天王及羅漢五通飛天大眾一時俱至。遣尹喜為師。又云。得道菩薩為老子作頌。又靈寶智慧罪根品云。恒沙天人聞法得道已成如來。此等妄說既多。為謗亦甚。所以然者。佛之與道教迹不同。出沒隱顯變通亦異。道以自然為宗。佛以因緣為義。自然者無為而成。因緣者積行乃證。是以小乘列四果之梯。大乘顯十等之級。從凡入真具有文證。未知道家所列四果十地。名與佛同。修行品次未見其說。又復道家所修。或有吸氣以沖天。或飲水而證道。或聞法以飛空。或餌草而尸解。行業既殊證果理異。或云。九重天。或云。三萬六千。或云。八十一天。或云。六十大梵。或云。三十六天。或云。三十二帝。或云。二十八天。或云。二十四帝。或云。一十八天。或云。九真天王。或云。九氣天君。或云。欲界六天。或云。四方氣君。或云。三元三天。或云。九宮天曹。或云。玉清大有。或云。玄都紫微宮。或云。三皇太極。諸如此類略件其目。未識此天為同為別。為重為橫。為高為下。為虛為實。修何業行而能昇陟。服食何草而得往生因緣次第未聞其說。然後視其所以。觀其所由。察其所安。則虛妄之情見矣。

The chapter on Delivering the King in a Daoist scripture says: "The Heavenly Honoured One told King Cunda: 'The great assemblies of holy ones who attained the Dao, up to Tathāgatas [numerous as] the sands of the Ganges, all attained it by accumulating practices from the status of ordinary persons. As for the ten immortals, they are an immeasurable and countless assembly; some also attain an immortal through a single arising, while others attain their abodes from being ordinary persons. Why is this? If one's merit is high, one ascends in a single lift; if one's merit is low, one ascends through ten stages. The ten ascents are graded progressions through the ten abodes, from Joyful up to Cloud of the Dharma, endowed with physical marks and manifesting a vajra-body. Thereupon the great kings and minor kings, hearing the Heavenly Honoured One preach the Dharma, immediately attained the four fruits.'" Moreover, examining the chapter on Delivering the Body, it says: "Nirgrantha, hearing the Dharma preached and understanding samādhi before the Heavenly Honoured One, then attained the fruit and Dao of a srotāpanna." It also says: "Xuanzhongyang preached the venerable scriptures of the five sections on Vulture Peak, delivering countless people." It also says: "Together with Master Taihe on Mount Daṇḍa, he broadly delivered the king's people, titling them 'śramaṇas'." Examining the Biography of Wenshi, it says: "When Laozi was in the country of Jibin, he snapped his fingers and summoned heavenly kings, arhats, those of the five superknowledges, and flying celestial assemblies to arrive all at once, dispatching Yin Xi to be their teacher." It also says: "Bodhisattvas who attained the Dao composed eulogies for Laozi." Furthermore, the chapter on Wisdom and the Roots of Sin in the Lingbao says: "Heavenly beings [numerous as] the sands of the Ganges heard the Dharma, attained the Dao, and have already become Tathāgatas." Such false claims being so numerous, their slandering is also extreme. Why is this? The traces of the teachings of the Buddha and the Dao are not the same; their appearances and disappearances, concealed and manifest states, transformations and adaptations are also different. The Dao takes spontaneity as its principle; the Buddha takes causes and conditions (hetu-pratyaya) as its meaning. Spontaneity is accomplished through wuwei (non-action); causes and conditions are realized only through accumulated practice. For this reason, the Hīnayāna sets forth the ladder of the four fruits, and the Mahāyāna reveals the ranks of the ten stages; from the ordinary to the true, there is complete scriptural evidence. We do not know about the four fruits and ten stages listed by the Daoists: their names are identical to those of the Buddha, yet no explanation has been seen of their sequences of cultivation. Furthermore, in what Daoists cultivate, some inhale qi to soar to the heavens, some drink water to realize the Dao, some hear the Dharma to fly into the sky, and some ingest herbs to undergo corpse deliverance. Since their practices and karmas are different, the principles of their realized fruits must be different. Some speak of the Nine Heavens; some of thirty-six thousand; some of eighty-one heavens; some of sixty Great Brahmās; some of thirty-six heavens; some of thirty-two sovereigns; some of twenty-eight heavens; some of twenty-four sovereigns; some of eighteen heavens; some of the Heavenly Kings of the Ninefold Truth; some of the Heavenly Lords of the Nine Qis; some of the six heavens of the desire realm; some of the Qi Lords of the Four Directions; some of the Three Primes and Three Heavens; some of the Heavenly Ministries of the Nine Palaces; some of the Great Existence of Jade Clarity; some of the Purple Tenuity Palace of the Mysterious Metropolis; some of the Supreme Ultimate of the Three Sovereigns. Such categories are briefly listed by their titles. We do not know whether these heavens are identical or distinct, layered or horizontal, high or low, empty or real; what karmic practices one cultivates to be able to ascend, or what herbs one ingests to obtain rebirth—the sequence of causes and conditions has never been explained. Therefore, looking at what they do, observing their motives, and examining what they rest in, their false sentiments become evident.