辯正論 8.44

8.44

靈寶智慧定志通微經云。天尊過去世是道民。姓樂名淨信。由供養道士得成天尊。右玄真人者。過去時施比丘財帛飲食。今成真人者。是亦不可。何者道有十號皆自然應化。天尊先天而生。不由業行而得。本無父母不稟陰陽。何有過去修因今成無極。自相矛楯偽妄可知。若實氏族所生。何為傳記不載。靈寶度命經云。天尊出遊西河之邊。坐弱水之上。口吐五色之光。普照諸天四方。邊國普見光明。長幼男女皆往稽首。天尊口吐五篇真文。宣示男女者。今略詳之。所以然者。赤縣神州大人坐處。城邑聚落戶口眾多。天尊誠心計應平等。何為遠遊邊國近捨中華。為是神力所不周。為當夏民劣不堪化縱其劣也。不應劣彼邊夷。邊夷既蒙聖力而垂容中土。何不降慈光而現德。若不能來此即是無靈。但搆虛談還成詭論比來商人行往蕃使經過共所未詳絕無蹤緒。智慧罪根經云。不得輕師慢法傲誕三寶。第十二戒云。不得竊取佛經妄宣道要。

The Lingbao zhihui dingzhi tongwei jing states: 'In a past life, the Heavenly Worthy was a person of the Dao, surnamed Yue and named Jingxin. Due to making offerings to a Daoist master, he was able to become a Heavenly Worthy.' As for the True Person of the Right Mystery, who in a past life gave monks wealth, cloth, food, and drink and has now become a True Person—this too is untenable. Why? The Dao has ten titles, all of which are spontaneous, responsive transformations. The Heavenly Worthy was born before Heaven; he was not obtained through karmic actions. Originally having neither father nor mother and not receiving the yin and yang, how could he have cultivated causes in the past and now become the Ultimate? Their self-contradiction and fabrication can be known from this. If he were indeed born of a clan, why is it not recorded in the chronicles? The Lingbao duming jing states: 'The Heavenly Worthy journeyed along the banks of the West River and sat above the Ruoshui. His mouth emitted light of five colours, universally illuminating all heavens and the four quarters. The frontier lands universally saw this radiance, and young and old, men and women, all went to bow their heads. From his mouth the Heavenly Worthy emitted five chapters of True Talismans, proclaiming them to men and women.' Now let us examine this briefly. Why is this so? The Divine Province of the Red County is where great men reside; its cities and settlements have a vast population. If the Heavenly Worthy's mind were sincere, he should be impartial. Why did he travel far to frontier lands and abandon China close at hand? Was it because his divine power did not reach so far, or was it that the people of the Xia were inferior and incapable of being converted? Even granting their inferiority, they should not be inferior to those frontier barbarians. Since the frontier barbarians received his sagely power, when turning toward the Central Lands, why did he not send down his benevolent light and manifest his virtue? If he could not come here, then he possesses no numinous efficacy; this is merely constructing empty talk, resulting in fallacious arguments. Lately, merchants travelling back and forth and foreign envoys passing through all know nothing of this, with completely no trace or trail of it. The Zhihui zuigen jing states: 'One must not despise the master, disdain the Dharma, or arrogantly mock the Three Jewels.' The twelfth precept states: 'One must not steal Buddhist sūtras to falsely proclaim them as essentials of the Dao.'