辯正論 6

English (machine translation) 6

Language: English

6.2

Section 5: Ten Analogies (In reply to Daoist Master [Li Zhongqing's] Ten Differences)

There was a Yellow Turban [Daoist] named Li Zhongqing, whose learning fell short of pipe-peeping and whose knowledge was put to shame by [ordinary] measurement. Yet he boasted of his white-bird wings while gazing in fear at Mounts Song and Hua; bearing the mere flicker of a torch, he vied in brightness with the sun and moon. He then composed the 'Ten Differences' and 'Nine Delusions' to disparage and measure the Utmost Sage. I lamented his ignorance and pitied how harmless he thought his offence was. Therefore, I have briefly fashioned these Ten Analogies to enlighten him and Nine Admonitions to warn him, laying them out as clearly as pointing to one's palm. May noble gentlemen inspect their rationale here.

6.6

The External First Difference states:

6.7

(Note: The Most High Lord Lao entrusted his spirit to the Jade Maiden of Profound Wonder, tearing open her left armpit to be born.

6.8

Śākyamuni resided in the womb of Lady Māyā, emerging through the opening of her right side.)

6.9

The Internal First Analogy states:

6.10

Lord Lao went against the normal order, relying on a shepherd girl to emerge from the left; the World-Honoured One accorded with transformative teaching, being born from the right through a sacred mother.

6.11

The bodhisattva says: According to the collected commentaries on the Five Thousand Characters by Lu Jingyu, Dai Shen, Wei Chuxuan, and others, as well as the classifications and commentaries by Emperor Yuan of Liang, Zhou Hongzheng, and others, there are four kinds of 'Most High' (Taishang), referring to the Three Sovereigns and Yao and Shun. This means that in high antiquity there were rulers of such great virtue who stood above the myriad commoners; hence they were called 'Most High'. Guo [Xiang] and Zhuang[zi] state: 'He who is esteemed by the times becomes the ruler; he whose talent does not match his age becomes the minister.' Laozi was neither thearch nor sovereign and was not included within these four categories; what canonical evidence is there for rashly calling him 'Most High'? Examining Daoist scriptures such as the Xuanmiao, Zhongtai zhutao yuji, as well as the Chusai ji, all state that Lao[zi] was born of Mother Li, and make no mention of a Jade Maiden of Profound Wonder. Since it is not an orthodox teaching, it is all the more a false fabrication. According to the Xianren yulu, 'Immortals have no wives, and jade maidens have no husbands. Though receiving a female form, they ultimately never give birth.' Were there such an auspicious portent, it would indeed be praiseworthy; why then is there no text about it in the Shiji and no record in the Zhoushu? To seek the baseless and demand reality from it is truly just the talk of deceivers. The Liji says: 'Those demoted from office without rank are demoted to the left.' The Lunyu says: 'Fastening garments on the left is contrary to propriety.' If the left were superior to the right, why do Daoist masters circumambulate to the right instead of turning to the left when practicing the Dao? The state's imperial edicts all say 'as stated to the right', which accords with Heaven's constant norm.

6.12

The External Second Difference states: (Note: Lord Lao bequeathed instructions revealing long life devoid of birth and death; Śākya established teachings demonstrating eternal cessation that never ceases to give life.)

6.13

The Internal Second Analogy states: (Note: Li Dan received a physical form subject to birth and death, fearing the birth of afflicted life, which instead brought on white hair; Śākya displayed his form, demonstrating cessation and birth while returning to the cessation of quietude, thereby radiating a golden body.)

6.14

The bodhisattva says: Laozi said: 'The reason I have great afflictions is that I have a body; if I had no body, what afflictions would I have?' Since Laozi was afflicted by having a body and sought to be free of sorrow, yet could not avoid white hair and was no different from ordinary folk, if one speaks of long life, why did he die early?

6.15

The External Third Difference states: (Note: Lord Lao appeared in response and was born here in the Eastern Xia; Śākya descended in trace and arose among those Western Barbarians.)

6.16

The Internal Third Analogy states: (Note: Li Er was born in Ku County of Eastern Zhou; the Benevolent One descended in trace to appear in the Divine Land of the Central Xia.)

6.17

The bodhisattva says: The Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom states: 'A thousand thousandfold count is called three thousand; doubling past a thousand again is called a great thousand. Kapilavastu lies in the very centre of it.' The Loutan jing states: 'East of the Onion Range is named Cīnasthāna (Zhendan). Because the sun first rises and shines upon the eastern corner, it is called Cīnasthāna.' Another edition reads: 'Hence it received this name.' When the Buddhas appear in the world, they are always in the central realm and are not born in border regions; if born in a borderland, the earth would tilt on their account. According to the Fayuan zhuan, Gaoseng zhuan, Yongchu ji, and other texts, He Chengtian of the Song debated about the border and the centre with Dharma Masters Zhiyan and Huiguan. The Dharma Masters said: 'In the Western Regions, on the day of the Beginning of Summer'—another edition reads 'on the day of the Summer Solstice'—'at exact noon, an upright pole casts no shadow. At the shadow platform in the Han lands, on the day of the Beginning of Summer'—another edition reads 'at the appointed time'—'away from the gnomon a shadow still remains.' According to mathematical treatises, an inch in the heavens equals a thousand li on earth; only then did He realise it, and the centre and border were at last determined. Discussing it in terms of facts, the realm of Central India is the centre of the earth, whereas Cīnasthāna may rightly be considered the east. Another edition reads: 'Originally residing in the centre, the directions are distinct; it is more than fifty thousand li from the sea.' If measured by this land, reaching east to the seacoast, Kapilavastu can by no means be considered the west; the truth of this is verified.

6.18

The External Fourth Difference states: (Note: In the days of King Wen, Lord Lao was the ancestral master of the flourishing Zhou; in the time of King Zhuang, Śākya was the religious lord of Kaśmīra.)

6.19

The Internal Fourth Analogy states: (Note: Boyang occupied the post of a petty official, humbly serving as archivist; he was not in the days of King Wen, nor was he the teacher of the flourishing Zhou.)

6.20

The sage Śākya held the position of crown prince and attained supreme veneration in his own person; during the prime of King Zhao, he became the religious lord of Jambudvīpa.

6.21

The bodhisattva says: The Book of the Former Han states: 'Confucius is of the highest-upper class, being a sage; Laozi is of the middle-upper class, being a worthy.' He Yan and Wang Bi said that Lao[zi] had not yet attained sagehood. The Treatise on the Two Teachings states: 'The Archivist of the Pillars was at court, but was originally not an imperial counsellor. Leaving the Zhou and entering Qin, he spoke of the Dao for the Guardian of the Pass; he had no reputation among the feudal lords and was never received by the Son of Heaven.' If he were the teacher of the Zhou, the historical records lack clear evidence; since it does not accord with orthodox accounts, how could it be accepted? According to the Shiji and Wang Jian's Genealogy of the Hundred Families, 'Li Lao was a descendant of Gaoyang. The founding ancestor Gaoyao served as Shun's judicial officer (li), and hence they adopted that clan name. The rise of the Li clan began with Dan; before Dan, there was no surname Li, only the clan name Li (理). Because he was born beneath a plum tree (li), he was called the Li clan.' Laozi's son was named Zong, who served Marquis Wen of Wei; he was an individual from the end of the Spring and Autumn period, during the Warring States era. Since in the generation of King Wen there was no Li surname, how could there have been Dan appearing as the teacher of Zhou? The chronology is contradictory and lacks definitive basis. The Baopuzi says that he appeared in the generation of King Wen; Ji Kang and Huangfu Mi both say he was born at the end of the Yin; these are merely pointing to the forged texts of Daoism, not what is recorded in the state's standard histories.

6.22

The External Fifth Difference states: (Note: Lord Lao descended into trace in the era of the Zhou kings, hiding three times and appearing three times across more than five hundred years; Śākya was born in response in the barbarian lands, passing away once and being born once, with a lifespan of only eighty.)

6.23

The Internal Fifth Analogy states: (Note: The Li master's three concealments and three appearances lack any reliable basis to support them; even if granted some five hundred years, he would still fall short of the lifespan of turtles and cranes.)

6.24

The Dharma King's single cessation and single birth displayed a form as vast as minute dust motes; within eighty years, he enlightened and guided multitudes as numerous as the sands of the Ganges.

6.25

The bodhisattva says: Examining the various standard histories and canonical records, there are no texts recording his three concealments and three appearances of emerging and disappearing. Only Zang Jing, Zhu Cao, and others in their general rules of the Laozi state: 'Explaining the fundamentals of humaneness, righteousness, rites, and music for Confucius was the first period. In the generation of King Nan, when a thousand households were afflicted by diseases, Lord Lao bestowed the one hundred and eighty precepts together with the one hundred and seventy chapters of the Taiping jing; this was the second period. In the time of Emperor An of the Han, he bestowed upon Celestial Master Zhang the teaching of Orthodox Unity and Bright Authority, at which time he called himself the Archivist of the Pillars of Zhou dispatched by the Most High; this was the third period.' Now, manifesting a form to establish teachings must rely on conditions, and exhorting transformations to deliver people requires a congregation of disciples. How could it be that across five hundred years he had no disciples at all? Appearing three times and hiding three times, not a single follower was seen receiving his teaching or directly inheriting it! These are utterly groundless, absurd fabrications, hollow rumours passed down in back alleys. In the Zhou, he clumsily rode a small cart, his sideburns hanging down with silken hair; coming to the Han, flutes and drums gathered like clouds, and feathered retinues floated in the void! Gan Bao's Soushen ji makes no mention of this account, and the Qixie yiji does not record such divine portents. Guessing from one's own heart and fabricating intentions—their deceitful falsehood is extreme indeed.

6.26

The External Sixth Difference states: (Note: Lord Lao's descent to the world began in the days of King Wen of Zhou and ended in the time of Kong Qiu; Śākya's birth below originated in the family of Śuddhodana, corresponding to the era of our King Zhuang.)

6.27

The Internal Sixth Analogy states: (Note: Kāśyapa [Laozi] was born in the dingmao year of King Huan and passed away in the renwu year of King Jing; though his life ended in the time of Kong Qiu, he was not born in the era of Ji Chang [King Wen]. The Tamer [Buddha] was born in response in the jiayin year of King Zhao and passed away in the renshen year of King Mu; thus as the scion of Śuddhodana, he originally preceded King Zhuang.)

6.28

The bodhisattva says: When Confucius went to Zhou, he met Lao Dan and inquired about propriety; this is fully clear in the Shiji. But serving as the teacher of King Wen lacks canonical evidence. Arising at the end of the Zhou, his affairs can be traced; but being in the early Zhou, the historical texts do not record it. Furthermore, examining the official system of the Zhouli during the eras of Kings Wen, Wu, Cheng, and Kang, there are no titles of Archivist of the Pillars or Keeper of the Archives. He must have been a minor official omitted from the official categories at the end of the Zhou.

6.29

The External Seventh Difference states: (Note: Lord Lao was born early in the Zhou dynasty and later went to the Shifting Sands; none could fathom his end, and no one knew his whereabouts.)

6.30

Śākya was born in the Western Realm and died beside the Ajitavatī River; his disciples beat their chests, and the barbarians wailed loudly.

6.31

The Internal Seventh Analogy states: (Note: Laozi was born in Lai Township and buried in Huaili; detailed in Qin Yi's condolences, his fault lay in evading the natural form. Gautama emerged from that royal palace and concealed himself beneath these crane trees; this was transmitted down to the era of Emperor Ming of Han and kept secret in the books of the Orchid Terrace.)

6.32

The bodhisattva says: The Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi state: 'When Lao Dan died, Qin Yi went to mourn him; he wailed three times and came out. The disciples were surprised and asked, "Were you not a friend of the Master?" Qin Yi said, "Just now when I went in, the young mourned him as if mourning their father, and the old mourned him as if mourning their child. In ancient times, this was called evading the natural form. At first I thought he was such a man, but now I know he was not." "Evading" means concealing; "natural" means escaping bonds; "form" means the body. This means that at first he thought Laozi was an immortal who had escaped bonds and concealed his form, but now he knew it was not so. He lamented that Laozi used flattery and crookedness to win people's feelings, and so could not escape death; hence he was not his friend.'

6.33

The External Eighth Difference states: (Note: Lord Lao trod on the five and grasped the ten; he had fine eyebrows and a square mouth, double pillars and triple leaks, sun-like temples and a moon-like forehead; these are the marks of a sage of the Central State.)

6.34

Śākya had a nose like a gold ingot, eyes like the Well Constellation, pupils like blue lotuses, and hair curled in snail-shaped spirals; these are the marks of a Buddha of the Western Regions.

6.35

The Internal Eighth Analogy states: (Note: Li Lao's fine eyebrows and square mouth were merely the appearance of an elder; treading on five and grasping ten are hardly the marks of a sage. The Bhagavat's gathered-sun, molten-gold hue manifested portents of rare marvel; the wonders of the svastika and the thousand-spoked wheel truly designate the marks of a sage.)

6.36

The bodhisattva says: Laozi's scripture Zhongtai and others state: 'Lao Dan was yellow in colour, with a broad forehead, long ears, large eyes, sparse teeth, and thick lips; his hands grasped the lines of the character "ten" (十), and his feet trod upon the strokes of twice five (二五).' These were merely extraordinary marks among men, not the marvellous appearance of a sage. Biographies and records all state: 'Laozi had a prominent, thin nose, a pointed head, an elevated mouth, sparse teeth, squinting eyes, plucked ears, greyish-pear hair, thick lips, and long ears.' Such was his appearance; how could he compare to the Buddha? The Tathāgata's body was sixteen feet tall, upright and unbowed; his round halo of seven feet illuminated all dark realms; on his crown was an uṣṇīṣa, his hair dark blue; his ears hung down with lobes, and his gaze was clear and luminous; his cheeks were like a lion's, his seven places full and rounded; his mouth had forty teeth, square, white, and even; his tongue could cover his face, shaped like a lotus petal; inside and outside his hands were graspable, all palm lines complete; his speech was like thunder, possessing eight kinds of sounds; on his chest was a svastika, and on his feet were thousand-spoked wheels; his colour was that of molten purple-gold, with marks and signs hard to describe; he possessed thirty-two marks and eighty auspicious characteristics. Emitting a single ray of light, the hells ceased [their torment]; expounding a single Dharma, bitter agonies were brought to peace. These are fully set forth in the various sūtras, without need for detailed citation.

6.37

The External Ninth Difference states: (Note: Lord Lao established teachings whose respectful and humble deportment naturally followed the Central Xia; Śākya instituted rules whose reverent and solemn appearance likewise conformed to foreign lands.)

6.38

The Internal Ninth Analogy states: (Note: Lao was a secular man whose official rank was of the lowest grade; wearing robes and cap, bowing and prostrating, he naturally complied with the court regulations. The Buddha was a sacred lord; his Dao diverged from the worldly, and his robes, appearance, and deportment differed from ordinary conventions.)

6.39

The Bodhisattva said: In the past, Yu Jiuyu of Danyang composed the Mingzhen lun (Treatise on Illuminating Truth) in nineteen chapters to refute the Daoist masters and expose their falsehoods. Examining that treatise, it states that the garments of cap and coarse cloth (he) are precisely what Confucian and Mohist scholars wore in ancient times. In antiquity, the Five Thearchs wore deerskin caps and Xu You wore a leather hat; both were merely the clothing of the common world. The body of the coarse garment is three zhang and six chi long, which makes three hundred and sixty cun, said to model the thirty-six decades of a single year, or to represent the three hundred and sixty days of a year. On the front of the coarse garment are two ribbons, said to model yin and yang; the two split corners of the cap likewise model the Two Modes. Mr. Yu also said that if one takes the Zhou and Qin dynasties, they considered the tenth month of the Xia calendar to begin the year; as for the varying degrees, waxing and waning, and the adjustments of the calendar cycles, how could one still arrive at the number three hundred and sixty? Investigating Yao, Shun, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius, they did not wear such garments. Examining when the Yellow Emperor met the August Man, and when the spirits of the Nine Perfected descended to Thearch Ku, up to the Great Yu of the Xia opening the treasuries of the Tu and Zhong mountains, an exhaustive search reveals not the slightest evidence for these garments. Upon examination, the Zhou had the omen of the red sparrow and was moved by the auspicious sign of the cinnabar writing; since it corresponded to the virtue of Fire, the dynasty wore vermilion garments. Laozi was a man of the Zhou and furthermore a minor official; in his cap and shoes, bowing and prostrating, he naturally observed the constant rituals. The present-day 'parish head' (zhitou) was originally named a 'ghost-soldier' (guizu); their yellow turbans and red registers do not imitate Boyang [Laozi]. Blessing water and administering talismans, they directly took Zhang [Daoling] as their master. Neither Daoist nor worldly, whose tradition do they inherit?

6.40

The non-Buddhist's Tenth Difference says: (Note: The teaching of Lord Lao takes the recovery of filial piety and compassion as the root of virtue; the Dharma of Śākya takes renouncing kin as the foremost practice.)

6.41

The Buddhist's Tenth Analogy says: (Note: Laozi's instruction was mad and rebellious, taking the slaughter of one's two parents as the foremost practice; the Śākya teaching is kind and compassionate, taking the salvation of the four kinds of born beings as the root of virtue.)

6.42

The Bodhisattva said: Your Huahu jing says: '[Yin] Xi wished to follow Dan [Laozi]. Dan said: "If you are of utmost sincerity and wish to follow me, you must sever the heads of your seven family members—parents, wife, and children—and only then may you depart." Xi, in utmost sincerity, then severed the heads of his parents and family, seven persons in all. When he brought the heads before Dan, they transformed into seven pig heads.' Now, conforming to the Dao of heaven and earth is practice; not harming harmonious qi is filial piety. Ding Lan was moved to communicate through decayed wood; Dong Yong's filial piety summoned a heavenly maiden. Even birds and beasts have mothers and offspring that know affection. How much more so when Dan and Xi were practicing the Way in the world: how could severing one's parents' heads be called filial? How could slaying one's wife and children be considered compassion?

6.43

Ten Buddhist Analogies Answering the Ten Non-Buddhist Differences:

6.44

Buddhist: In birth, there are superior and inferior (First).
In establishing teachings, there are shallow and deep (Second).
In virtue and station, there are high and low (Third).
In conditions for conversion, there are broad and narrow (Fourth).
In lifespan, there are long and short (Fifth).
In traces of conversion, there are earlier and later (Sixth).
In passing away, there are manifest and hidden (Seventh).
In primary and secondary marks, there are few and many (Eighth).
In demeanor and deportment, there are similarities and differences (Ninth).
In Dharma gates, there are sudden and gradual (Tenth).

6.45

Preface to Answering the Ten Differences

6.46

Now, as with pepper and orchids or the abalone market, being habituated for long, one delights in what was first entered; when surface embellishments are lavish and pervasive, one indulges love out of biased emotions. Thus, regarding the 'Xianchi' and 'Yuying' music, Mo Di had his discourse 'Condemning Music'; regarding pure sovereigns and sagacious rulers, Tian Ba had his speech 'Defaming the Sages.' Such is their estimation! How much more so when, although the qilin and the roebuck are of different natures, Lu customs made their forms equal; though the deer and the horse are of distinct shapes, the people of Qin treated their appearances as one. Even casual shifts of perception can abruptly reach such an extent—how much more so for ordinary people! Zhongqing has thus set forth the superiority and inferiority of Śākya and Laozi; I, moved to pity and grieved by it, have fully addressed them in the subsequent treatises. Each item is answered in turn, as detailed above.

6.47

Non-Buddhist: Difference in Left and Right at Birth (First)

6.48

The non-Buddhist treatise says: The responsive traces of sages differ from those of ordinary mortals. Some ride dragons and elephants to abide in the womb; others open the flanks and armpits to appear in the world. Although both are unconnected to the two qi and do not depend on the two parents, as for the distinction between left and right, their difference in superiority and inferiority is the first.

6.49

Buddhist: In birth, there are superior and inferior. (The mother of the Li clan was of the Ping clan of Lai township, where Laozi came to lodge his form; Queen Māyā was the queen of the King of Kapilavastu, through whom Śākya descended his divine spirit.)

6.50

The Buddhist analogy says: Fastening the robe on the left is honored by the Rong and Di barbarians; receiving commands on the right is esteemed by the Central Florescence. Thus the Chunqiu says: 'An officer of a noble house has no royal mandate; an assistant officer has it—is this not putting things on the left [i.e., inverted]?' The Shiji says: 'Lin Xiangru's merit was great, and his position was to the right of Lian Po; Po was ashamed of it.' It also says: 'Zhang Yi, as chancellor, favored Qin over Wei [literally: placed Qin on the right and Wei on the left]; the Xi Shou favored Han over Wei,' which means they found it disadvantageous. The Liji says: 'Those who use heterodox ways (zuodao, lit. left ways) to confuse the masses shall be put to death.' Is this not clear evidence that the right is superior and the left is inferior? Huangfu Mi's Gaoshi zhuan states: 'Laozi was a man of Xiang in Chu; his family lived south of the Guo River. He served Chang Congzi as his master, and when Master Chang fell ill, Er went to inquire after his illness.' Ji Kang said: 'Li Er studied the arts of the nine immortals under Juanzi.' Examining the writings of the Grand Astrologer and others, none say that Laozi was born by having his left armpit split open. Since there is no authentic source, these are all absurd fabrications, and it is evident that they cannot be trusted. By verifiable evidence, brandishing the lance and wielding the brush stand foremost in martial and civil affairs; the five qi and three luminaries are truly the leaders of yin and yang. Therefore, the gate of Śākya turns to the right, thereby aiding human utility, whereas Zhang Ling's heterodox path truly runs contrary to heavenly constancy. Why is this? Śākya aroused compassion without conditions and responded to the summons of those with capacity. To speak of his traces: his practice was fulfilled through three asaṃkhyeyas, and his marks perfected through a hundred kalpas. Descending his spirit, he rode a jade elephant; eclipsing brightness, he was born with a golden countenance. The thirty-two auspicious omens opened their auspicious signs in the earthly realms; the eighteen Brahmā heavens were startled by marvelous portents in the celestial palaces. His wondrous marks spanned the ten directions; his divine light shone across the eight extremities. To describe his origin: he long ago realized complete enlightenment, and sands of dust cannot count his lifespan; he early ascended to serene illumination, and empty space cannot measure his body. How could it merely be an extraordinary omen of grasping a branch, or proving auspiciousness through white hair? It is like the glow of a firefly contending in radiance with the Dragon Candle, or a fish eye shining alongside the pearl of the serpent. This is the first inferiority of your Dao.

6.51

Non-Buddhist: Difference in Arising and Cessation of the Gates of Teaching (Second)

6.52

The non-Buddhist treatise says: As for the equality of non-arising and non-cessation, the principle is uniform. Yet in guiding the world and leading ordinary beings, there cannot but be differences. Arising is what beings delight in; cessation is what beings abhor. Thus, the way of life is difficult to attain and must await cultivated merit; the method of cessation is easy to seek, so how could it require laborious learning? From this we know that by ascending with the spirit and harnessing the sunbeams, one can naturally preserve the body for accumulated kalpas; when the qi is exhausted and the form perishes, the spirit naturally passes away in an instant. This is the second difference in the gates of teaching.

6.53

Buddhist: In establishing teachings, there are shallow and deep. (Laozi's instruction was to embrace unity and preserve ignorance, cast off form and extinguish wisdom, barely reaching non-action. The Śākya teaching is universally pervasive and fully cultivated, completely possessed of all virtues, ultimately speaking of wondrous enlightenment.)

6.54

The Buddhist analogy says: Destroying the body out of fear of great afflictions, and cutting off wisdom to avoid perpetual toil; discussing living beings as suspended warts, and equating the annihilation of nature with the joy of a king—such are the discourses of Laozi and Zhuangzi. Moreover, 'continuously enduring,' the ancient sovereigns did not die and did not end; 'unbroken and nameless,' Master Lao 'returns again to nothingness.' Yet 'constantly existing' is not the designation for eternal disappearance, and how could 'nothingness' be the transformation of longevity? Let us briefly clarify their shallowness and depth. As for texts on preserving weakness and holding to the feminine, and discourses on emptying the mind and filling the belly, they recognize that floating life is limited and lament that the waters of wisdom are boundless. In speaking of greatness, they are confined within the mundane realm; in fashioning transformations, they do not exceed their natural allotments. Such is their aspiration! How could they match the Great Enlightened One, who opens infinite conditions and displays all-perfect illumination? In discerning subtlety, he fathoms the finest crevices; in investigating principle, he extends beyond all spatial limits. His fine qi harmonizes with the ethereal vapor; his golden body compares in firmness with the Great Void. To speak of his capacity: it is like the difference in height between Mounts Song and Hua and an ant-heap, or the difference in depth between the vast oceans and a shallow well. This is the second inferiority of your Dao.

6.55

Non-Buddhist: Difference in the East and West Directions (Third)

6.56

The non-Buddhist treatise says: Between the two directions of east and west, there is naturally the distinction of yin and yang; between the two positions of left and right, there arises the difference of benevolence and righteousness. Benevolence merely nurtures goodness, and yang moreover promotes life; righteousness governs regulation, and yin pertains to austere killing. When the two qi constitute the teachings, yin is not equal to yang; when speaking in terms of the five virtues, benevolence is deep and righteousness is shallow. This is the third difference in direction and position.

6.57

The Note of Rebuttal says: Qian is yang and the father, residing in the northwest; Kun is yin and the mother, divined in the southwest. The north is the realm of flourishing yin, yet it becomes the position of the middle son; the south is the land of flourishing yang, yet it turns into the dwelling of the middle daughter. Since male and female have no fixed directions, yin and yang are not bound by a permanent standard. Thus, wood plunders earth, so Ji is taken as the wife of Jia; metal overcomes wood, so Yi is taken as the wife of Geng. Since Qian's position is lofty, it resides in the northwest; Zhen can bring forth the thearch, yet it is in the east. As for ritual mats, if spread from north to south, the west is considered supreme, which is said to conform to the honor of Qian; if arranged from east to west, the south is considered supreme, which is said to follow the fullness of yang. Superiority and inferiority are naturally evident—is this not what is meant?

6.58

Buddhist: In virtue and station, there are high and low.

6.59

The Buddhist analogy says: A husband of metal and a wife of wood—how can yin and yang be rigidly held forever? Li is south and Kan is north—male and female have no fixed directions. Therefore, that which is east of the meridian is yang because boys and girls are born in the east; that which is west of the meridian is yin because fathers and mothers age in the west. This distinguishes yin and yang based on birth and aging, not determining superiority and inferiority based on high and low station. Supposing the parents dwell in the west, they should not thereby be lower than their children; when sons and daughters are in the east, how would they dare be honored above their father? Benevolence is not perfected without righteousness; righteousness does not nurture without benevolence. Thus, the son in the east is benevolence, and the father in the west is righteousness. Standards are established according to context; do not confuse the grand principle! If one is stubbornly constrained by place of birth and restricted to geographic territories, then the Great Yu having emerged from the Western Qiang would completely void his virtues of universal benevolence, and King Wen having been born among the Eastern Yi would forever lack the teachings of moral governance. Ingesting the Yangzi and taking in the Han River is not the lowly dwelling of a narrow marsh; floating on the Wei and commanding the Jing River is no divine residence of emperors. (First refuting the heterodox, next praising the correct:) Now, the Śākya clan: above heaven and below earth, he alone stands solitary in supreme honor; through the three realms and six destinies, he is eminently exalted for his wondrousness. Moreover, the companions of the two vehicles of lesser learning and the peers of the five stages of the great mind are like the myriad stars revolving around the Northern Polestar, or like golden mountains adorning the blue sea. They suffice to bend the defiant minds of Deer-Head and Elephant-Face, and cause the six heretical teachers and ten immortals to offer the rite of heartfelt submission. How does this stop merely at humbling Xu Jia as an ordinary fellow, guiding Yin Xi as a pass official, receiving instruction from between teeth and tongue—(Note: The Gaoshi zhuan states: 'Chang Congzi thereupon opened his mouth. Laozi said: "Does this not mean that teeth are hard and perish, while the tongue is soft and endures?" Master Chang said: "Everything is said."')—or gaining fame merely as an archival clerk? This is the third inferiority of your Dao.

6.60

Non-Buddhist: Difference in Transforming the Florescent and the Barbarian (Fourth)

6.61

The non-Buddhist treatise says: Between the Florescent and the barbarian, etiquette creates a barrier; high and low are made clear in canonical documents. The peripheral and the correct diverge in their paths; victory and defeat are preserved in the historical annals. The rulers of the Rong and Di are not permitted to usurp the title of King; the lords of Chu and Yue thus voluntarily demoted themselves to Viscounts. How could a petty peddler [like the Buddha] match the Great Master of our Heavenly King? This is the fourth difference between the Florescent and barbarian.

6.62

Buddhist: In conditions for conversion, there are broad and narrow. (Laozi was the master of conversion in purity and voidness for the nine domains, expounding five thousand teachings; Śākya was the all-knowing Dharma King of the three realms, opening eighty-thousand wondrous treasuries.)

6.63

The Buddhist response says: According to the preface to the Daode[jing], Laozi cultivated the Dao and kept himself hidden, making namelessness his concern; when the Zhou declined, he went out through the Pass, whereupon the two-chapter teaching was produced. However, the Zhou documents, the canons and counsels, contain nothing composed by Master Lao. According to the Erjiao lun and other texts, the five-thousand-character text was expounded by Rongcheng, and Laozi merely spoke it for [Yin] Xi—transmitting rather than originating. Furthermore, his official post was only an archivist, and his station was not that of a premier. Was the grand master of the prosperous Zhou not perhaps entirely fictitious? (First refuting the heterodox, then praising the correct.) Śākya descended his spirit at Kapilavastu and lodged his form in the royal palace. His wisdom was indeed born from innate knowing; his Dao was universal awakening. He radiated the light of wisdom across hundreds of millions of worlds, and spread the cloud of the Dharma throughout the great chiliocosm. His spiritual grace encompassed the ten directions, and his divine transformation extended to the four quarters. Canons loftier than precipitous cliffs and soaring peaks, scriptures housed in dragon palaces and borne on elephants' backs, are overflowing here! Even with the secret reckoning methods of Sang Hongyang, one could not count their finest dust; even with the discources on heaven by Zou Yan, one could not evaluate their trickles and drops. How could it be merely eighty-one chapters or a text set forth in five thousand characters? I regret that you have not peered over the high wall, leading you to utter the slander of Shusun Wushu. Yet how could this harm the sun and the moon? One can only lament your ignorance. This is the fourth inferiority of your Dao.

6.64

External Argument: Difference Five: Longevity and Premature Death in Natural Life.

6.65

The External Argument says: Lord Lao's Dao is attuned to the pivot of the circle, of equal measure with empty space; his spirit transcends external forms, endlessly transforming. Therefore, his lifespan is certainly unlike that of mortals: his concealment and manifestation clearly differ from the worldly. Śākya's lifetime was limited: his lifespan had a brief allotted time; once extinguished, he could not be reborn. (Commentary retort: Since Laozi is said to enjoy longevity, in which commandery or county is he today?) How fragile and transient were his eighty years! This is the fifth difference, regarding longevity and premature death.

6.66

The Buddhist view: Lifespans have extension and brevity. (Laozi: The Shiji says Zhou grand scribe Dan lived over two hundred and thirty years. Śākya: The Lotus Sūtra says his lifespan endures for kalpas as numerous as the dust motes of five hundred myriad kotis of asaṃkhyeyas.)

6.67

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.

6.68

External Argument: Difference Six: Priority in Birth.

6.69

The External Argument says: The Daoist and Buddhist scriptures each have their own claims. Some say they appear in the world kalpa after kalpa, competing that none came before; others say they are born age after age, vying to declare their antiquity. These are remote matters and difficult to verify. Now, relying on historical records, we determine their eras: speaking in terms of human relations, the elder is revered and the junior is lowly; speaking in terms of the local community, there is the elder brother and the younger brother. This is the sixth difference, regarding priority.

6.70

The Buddhist view: The traces of transformation have priority and posteriority.

6.71

The Buddhist response says: Śākya was born at the beginning of the prosperous Zhou; Laozi was born at the end of the Ji clan's decline. In years, they differ by more than two hundred; in generations, by more than ten kings. The purple mist and green ox did not appear in the reigns of King Zhao and King Zhuang; the divine radiance and white elephant had nothing to do with the years of King Huan and King Jing. Yet a cavernous fog darkens the heavens, and a muddy stream obscures the earth. When Zang Wenzhong made an improper sacrifice, Confucius condemned his lack of wisdom; when Zigong spoke ill of the sage, Zigong criticized his faulty words. A blemish in words is hard to rub away; a team of four horses cannot overtake the tongue. This is truly not false! (First refuting the heterodox, then praising the sage.) In stooping down to respond to ordinary mortals, he lodged his form in a fragile body; adapting to capacities to transform beings, he conformed to a hundred-year lifespan. Therefore, with the fruition restricted by karmic cultivation, Xinxin was caused to give rise to doubt; with his years brief while his conversion was vast, Maitreya was led to harbor hesitation. A gigantic mountain cannot be measured with a steelyard—likewise, though his lifespan seemed brief, his true age is far more distant; the mysterious void cannot be determined by feet and inches—so too, the distant kalpas are inexhaustible. How could it be like seeking immortality in a snake's hole only to end up with an early death, or waiting for medicine on a rainbow sash yet failing to extend one's years? This is like a soaring quail racing aloft alongside the wings of a Peng bird, or a nag competing in distance with the stride of a thoroughbred. This is the sixth inferiority of your Dao.

6.72

External Argument: Difference Seven: Departure of Spirit and Return to Quiescence.

6.73

The External Argument says: Since the day Lord Lao was born was unlike that of mortals, the time of his concealing his traces was certainly different from that of the world. Thus, heading west to the shifting sands, his journey passed through the Hangu Pass; his green ox departed the frontier, and purple mist floated in the sky. Neither his beginning nor his end can be fathomed, and no one knows his whereabouts. Śākya suffered a grievous illness at Śrāvastī and announced his demise in the Twin Groves; burning the coffin and cremating the corpse was merely following barbarian customs. His breath ended and his spirit departed, not differing in the least from ordinary mortals. This is the seventh difference, regarding departure from the world.

6.74

The Buddhist view: Demise has manifestation and concealment.

6.75

The Buddhist response says: The preface says: 'He lodged his form in Lady Li's womb, showing people the meaning of having a beginning and an end.' How is this not arising and ceasing? It is just as Zhuangzi said: 'When Lao Dan died, Qin Yi mourned him.' Born in Lai Village, he died in Huaili. If his beginning and end could not be fathomed, how blind must one be! (First refuting the heterodox, then praising the correct.) When the Great Compassionate One's teaching was complete and his virtues fulfilled, the causal conditions ended and the occasion ceased. The ship of benevolence sank in the two rivers; the sun of wisdom set at the Twin Trees. Thereupon, the ranks of the six heavens and eight kingdoms, the fellowship of the Dharma and the hosts of the noble assembly, gathered swiftly like lightning and raced like the wind, massing like clouds and converging like mists. His spiritual teeth and auspicious relics displayed supreme blessings in foreign lands; his dark-blue hair and reddish nails revealed divine craftsmanship unparalleled in history. Thus we know that, neither coming nor going, the virtue of his grand salvation is magnificent; neither manifested nor hidden, the reputation of his exemplary conduct flourishes! How could it be compared to looking in vain toward Lake Ding while only the tumulus of Mount Jiao remains, or not returning from the shifting sands while the mound of Fufeng stands with trees in vain? (Commentary note: The Huanglan says: 'The Yellow Emperor's tumulus is on Mount Jiao; Laozi's tumulus is in Fufeng.') This is the seventh inferiority of your Dao.

6.76

External Argument: Difference Eight: Physical Marks and Auspicious Signs of Sages and Worthies.

6.77

The External Argument says: The marvelous marks of sages are inherently different from those of ordinary mortals: eight-colored eyes with double pupils, river-like eyes and sea-like mouth, a dragon face and crane stride, an inverted forehead and extraordinary body hair. As for curly hair and green irises, these are the original features of barbarians; high noses and deep-set eyes are the ordinary forms of foreigners. How could they be compared to our sages and taken as wondrous marks? If serving the Buddha brings such recompense, gentlemen and ladies of the Central Plains would conversely take on barbarian forms! This is the eighth difference, regarding marks and signs.

6.78

The Buddhist view: The marks and signs have few and many.

6.79

The Buddhist response says: The physical marks of sages are not fixed; they manifest wonders according to the region. Thus sages with serpent bodies and dragon heads had their Dao honored in supreme antiquity; rulers with double pupils and four breasts had their virtue made manifest in the middle ages. The Duke of Zhou's inverted grasp was merely a single hair on a fine steed; Yu's ears being level with his shoulders were just a piece of jade from Mount Kunlun—they cannot be compared. (First resolving doubts, then praising the correct.) The dharmakāya is identical with suchness; it has no fixed spatial location and its principle is beyond names and words. The transformation body arises from responding to beings; its marvelous form can be described in names and speech. Hence there are the radiance of the white ūrṇā and dark-blue eyelashes, the beauty of lips like the bimba fruit and eyes like lotus petals, the marks of the svastika and the thousand-spoked wheel, and the distinction of the solar orb and lunar brilliance. It is a form of non-matter yet marvelous matter, a body divorced from signs yet endowed with all signs. Bhakula possessed some but not in full; a wheel-turning king possesses them fully, yet they are not luminous.

6.80

Commentary: The Satyaka[-nirgrantha] Sūtra says: 'Supreme is the nature born of non-matter; supreme are the marks born of a hundred merits; supreme are the eighty secondary marks, adorning the body of the Buddha-sun. Suppose all the beings of the four modes of birth in a trichiliocosm were to become wheel-turning kings, and this were multiplied a hundredfold: this would only equal the merit of a single hair of the Tathāgata. Adding another hundredfold produces the merit of one secondary mark. Adding another hundredfold produces the merit of one primary mark. Adding another hundredfold produces the merit of the white ūrṇā between the eyebrows. Adding another hundredfold produces the merit of the invisible usṇīṣa mark. Adding another hundredfold produces the merit of the voice like a Brahmic conch.' When seers behold it, they mourn for themselves, lamenting that they are like fading leaves at dawn and dusk; when brahmacārins see it, their feelings are stirred, sighing that the miraculous blossom is rarely encountered. How could it merely be treading on five and clutching ten to claim wonder, or an exorcist mask and a dead tree trunk to display extraordinary nature? (Commentary note: Cao Zhi's Treatise on Physiognomy says: 'Confucius's face was like an exorcist mask; the Duke of Zhou's form was like a dead tree trunk.')

6.81

How could Yangwen rival Zongmie in beauty, or Mengju compete with Longlian in charm? This is the eighth inferiority of your Dao.

6.82

External Argument: Difference Nine: Internal and External Deportment and Robes.

6.83

The External Argument says: In the teaching of Laozi, demeanor and deportment consist of bowing, prostrating, yielding, and saluting; wearing black caps and yellow coarse robes, holding the tablet, and trailing shoes. These symbols and attire are indeed the ancient institutions of the Chinese. (Commentary note: Daoist masters originally wore Confucian robes, not differing from secular folk. In the Northern Zhou reign of Emperor Wu, they first began to wear the cross-over cloak, stitched with twenty-four seams to correspond to the twenty-four qi of yin and yang; this originated from human whims and had no canonical basis.) The Buddhist teaching prescribes the kāṣāya, with the left shoulder covered and the right shoulder bared, skirts made of full-width unadorned cloth, and the garment of half-pieced qizhi; with shaved heads and exposed craniums, squatting like dogs and crouching like foxes, they do not participate in human relationships and truly follow barbarian customs. How can this attire alone be used to match our deportment? This is the ninth difference, regarding appearance and dress.

6.84

The Buddhist view: Deportment has commonalities and differences.

6.85

The Buddhist response says: Jade pendants and golden sables are not worn in the wilderness; lotus clothing and thoroughwort sashes do not tread upon the royal court. Therefore, the alms bowl is not what is laid out in ancestral temples, and dyed robes are different from the attire for imperial audiences. Thus those who align with the Dao may accord with capacities to guide beings, and those who take their stand upon virtue may correct the times to instruct the world. Hence, for cutting his hair and tattooing his body, Taibo was praised for his virtue by Confucius; acting contrary to convention to accord with the Dao, people of the time extolled the cherry blossom. How much more so when one is about to return to one's true nature, purify the spirit, separate from the ordinary, and tread upon sainthood—that one would not alter one's attire and dress has never been heard of! Therefore, their robes resemble the field of merit and their utensils conform to the Dharma. Silk strings and paulownia zithers do not bewitch their ears; vermilion and purple do not dazzle their eyes. Light furs and fat horses do not pamper their bodies; power struggles do not alarm their minds. Therefore, the scripture says: 'The arhat is a true person; sound and form cannot defile him, honor and position cannot move him.' Why must one wear pheasant caps and sparrow bonnets, binding and restraining oneself, chattering the teeth and exhaling breath to claim the Dao? Climbing a tree to seek fish departs ever further from it; lifting a boat and waiting for a hook, how vulgar! This is the ninth inferiority of your Dao.

First 85 of 147 passages. Read on

Linked texts (1)

辯正論 — Classical Chinese