北山錄 5.2.5

5.2.5

扁鵲工醫資有命也。 違時與命非彼所可。 故去形方影滅。 除業方報亡。 若使滅影留形遣報存業。 則巫幻作矣（未經懺洗令業除謝。 則同巫誑妖幻之說）昔者食馬麥。 目連請求地味（阿耆違多婆羅門請佛九十日。 唯食馬麥。 劫初有地味陷在地下。 目連欲運通取之。 如來皆不許。 意示後世者也）迦毘被圍。 目連請以鐵為城（釋種被琉璃王所圍。 目連欲化鐵城以護之。 如來不聽。 以業不可逃）大聖皆以業報不然之也。 故可為而不為不仁也。 不可為而不為。 何謂不仁乎。 若乃得理雖傷謂之義也。 失理雖存未云義也。 丹均薄於堯舜（以其不才故薄之。 而不使嗣位也）管蔡夷於周旦（管蔡二叔流言謗周公。 周公不以骨肉而不誅。 遂殺管叔而𥻦蔡叔）鄭莊克段（共叔段鄭莊公之母弟也。 以作亂莊公克之于偃）石碏屠厚（石碏石厚之父。 厚與公子州吁弑衛桓公自立。 問定君於碏碏使朝陳而殺之也）蓋骨肉是忍也。 保宗祧為事也。 舉其刑法以示將來。 使不子不弟之流是懼是厲。 如調達善星。 儻假鴻私免其罪戾。 則勸天下之為逆耳。 故呼食唾以辱之（調達學神通已。 化作一小兒。 於闍王𣍿上。 闍王因唾其口。 調達承而食之。 故佛以此辱為食唾之人）彰重苦以期之（佛夜行道。 善星以時久欲歇。 遂假作薄俱羅鬼恐佛。 故陷地獄）使臭味所同有恥且格（格正也。 雖於骨肉似有恥辱理歸於正同族為臭味同）罔有務倖于其免矣（不以倖門而免之也）由是聖人刑自邇而及遠。 不密親而間疏。 大權之義於焉何測。 若迺大禮與天地同節。 道德與天地同尊。 聖人與道德同體。 而君父率乎禮則尊天地。 尊天地則親道德。 親道德。 則敬聖人。 敬聖人則合天地之節。 廣道德之風矣。 非我大聖要上以求尊重。 蓋君父由道德而自尊重之也。 禮法既彰而人是俲。 故使形儀異俗。 則不異者禮敬之。 順道德也。 形儀不異俗。 使異俗者禮敬之。 則背道德也。 雖異者不必賢於不異。 不異者不必愚於異。 然土石之偶旌其像飾猶可敬也（土木偶雕塑像也）農賈之子表其服貌安不敬也（四姓出家皆同釋族。 不以賤族而不敬也）敬其不肖猶愈不敬（不以凡庸而敬之猶勝不敬）存夫羊而識禮（魯之常禮。 必殺羊告朔於廟。 自文公後不行告朔之禮。 猶祭羊而已。 至哀公時。 子貢為司倉主祭廟告朔之禮。 因君不視朔。 遂兼欲廢祭羊之事。 夫子曰。 爾愛其羊。 我愛其禮。 君雖不視朔見羊猶知此禮。 若兼去羊則禮無所記。 今敬亦然）市駿骨以招賢（昔燕昭王將慕賢士。 郭隗曰。 請王以黃金築臺而尊於臣。 則四方之賢者至矣。 以臣不肖王尚用之。 況賢者乎。 昔有求龍馬不獲。 有得死馬首者上之。 王以千金相醻。 聞者皆至。 一月獲三龍馬。 請王尊臣。 後果有樂毅等數人而至）蓋人倫之大道也。 故君父敬不敬在已以沙門受不受在人非大聖必欲抑君父致敬沙門必當欲坐受拜揖。 禮云。 子新冠而母拜（禮記冠義云。 已冠而字之。 成人之道也。 見於母母拜之。 見於兄弟兄弟拜之。 成□而具為禮也）介冑者不拜。 皆不失君親之敬也。 況儒有不臣天子不仕諸侯者乎（若巢許四皓等）若乃摩耶假壽待為佛母。 聖既誕矣。 還形于天（華嚴經。 過去未來諸佛皆以摩耶為母。 生佛既了。 遂歸于天）母子有裕。 奚非福乎。 昔夏啟生而母化為石（帝王世紀曰。 鮌納葉氏女曰脩已山行見流星意感。 又吞意茨三年不產。 後破背而生禹。 今蜀汶山廣葉縣有地名石細。 乃禹母化石處。 又禹欲通轅山。 謂塗山女曰。 餉我聞鍾鼓聲而來。 禹躍石能中鼓聲女往餉見禹方化動。 而至嵩山下化為石女。 方孕啟禹曰。 我子石也。

Bian Que was a skilled physician, but he depended on fate. To go against time and destiny was not within his power. Therefore, only when the form is removed is the shadow extinguished; only when karma is eliminated is the retribution dispelled. If one could extinguish the shadow while keeping the form, or dismiss the retribution while retaining the karma, then sorcery and illusions would prevail (unless purified through repentance so that karma is eradicated, it would amount to the deceptive, monstrously illusory claims of shamans). In the past, when horse grain was eaten, Maudgalyāyana requested the Earth's essence (the brāhmaṇa Agnidatta invited the Buddha for ninety days and offered only horse grain; in the beginning of the kalpa there was the Earth's essence sunken beneath the earth, and Maudgalyāyana wished to exercise supernatural powers to retrieve it, but the Tathāgata would not permit any of it, wishing to set an example for future generations). When Kapilavastu was besieged, Maudgalyāyana requested to turn it into an iron city (when the Śākyas were besieged by King Virūḍhaka, Maudgalyāyana wished to manifest an iron city to protect them, but the Tathāgata would not listen, for karma cannot be escaped). The Great Sage denied both on account of karmic retribution. Hence, to fail to do what can be done is unbenevolent; but if something cannot be done and one does not do it, how could that be called unbenevolent? As for acting: if one accords with principle, even if it brings harm, it is called righteousness; if one loses principle, even if survival is preserved, it cannot be called righteousness. Danzhu and Shangjun were slighted by Yao and Shun (because they were incompetent, they were treated with slight and not permitted to succeed to the throne). Guan and Cai were wiped out by Zhou Dan (the two uncles Guan and Cai spread slanderous rumors defaming the Duke of Zhou; the Duke of Zhou did not spare them on account of kinship, but thereupon executed Uncle Guan and banished Uncle Cai). Duke Zhuang of Zheng overcame Duan (Gongshu Duan was the maternal younger brother of Duke Zhuang of Zheng; because he rebelled, Duke Zhuang overcame him at Yan). Shi Que slaughtered Shi Hou (Shi Que was the father of Shi Hou; Hou assisted Prince Zhouyu in assassinating Duke Huan of Wey to set Zhouyu up, and when Hou asked Que how to secure the lord's rule, Que sent them to Chen where he had them killed). These show that kin was endured, and the preservation of the ancestral line was made primary. They enforced punishments to show future generations, causing those who were unfilial and unbrotherly to fear and reform. In the case of Devadatta and Sunakṣatra, had [the Buddha] used vast partiality to pardon their transgressions, it would have encouraged all under Heaven to commit treason. Therefore, he called him a consumer of spit to humiliate him (after Devadatta learned supernatural powers, he transformed into a small child sitting on King Ajātaśatru's knee; when the king spat, Devadatta caught it and ate it, so the Buddha humiliated him with the moniker 'consumer of spit'). He made plain severe suffering to warn him (when the Buddha was walking at night, Sunakṣatra wished to rest because it was late, and falsely assumed the guise of a Bakula demon to frighten the Buddha, whereupon he sank into hell). This caused those of common disposition to have a sense of shame and correct themselves (ge means 'to correct'; although it seemed humiliating to his own kin, the principle was to return them to correctness; those of the same clan share a common disposition), so that none would strive for good fortune by seeking exemption (not seeking exemption through opportunistic avenues). From this, the sage's punishments begin from near and extend to far; he does not draw kin close while keeping distant people at bay. How could one fathom the significance of his expedient means? As for great ritual, it shares the same rhythm as Heaven and Earth; the Dao and its virtue share the same dignity as Heaven and Earth; and the sage shares the same substance as the Dao and its virtue. When rulers and fathers follow ritual, they respect Heaven and Earth; respecting Heaven and Earth, they hold dear the Dao and its virtue; holding dear the Dao and its virtue, they revere the sage; revering the sage, they accord with the rhythm of Heaven and Earth and broaden the custom of the Dao and its virtue. It is not that our Great Sage coerces superiors to seek veneration for himself; rather, rulers and fathers naturally venerate themselves by way of the Dao and its virtue. Once ritual and law are displayed, people emulate them. Therefore, when bodily appearances differ from the secular, those who do not differ pay ritual homage, which accords with the Dao and its virtue. If bodily appearances do not differ from the secular and one makes those who differ pay ritual homage, then that goes against the Dao and its virtue. Although those who differ are not necessarily wiser than those who do not, and those who do not differ are not necessarily foolish compared to those who do, yet wooden and earthen figurines are reverenced when adorned as representations (earthen and wooden figurines refer to carved and molded statues); how could sons of peasants and merchants not be reverenced when displaying [monastic] vestments and appearance? (All who go forth from the four castes are equally of the Śākya clan; they are not disrespected because of humble caste). To reverence the unworthy is still better than not reverencing at all (to reverence even the ordinary is still superior to disrespect). Sparing the sheep preserves an understanding of ritual (in the standard ritual of Lu, a sheep had to be slaughtered at the ancestral temple to announce the new moon; after Duke Wen this ritual announcement was abandoned, yet the sacrifice of the sheep was retained; in the time of Duke Ai, Zigong was in charge of the granary and the ritual announcement at the temple, and since the ruler did not observe the new moon, he also wished to abolish the sacrificial sheep; the Master said, 'You love the sheep, but I love the ritual'; although the ruler did not observe the new moon, seeing the sheep still allowed one to know the ritual, whereas if the sheep were also eliminated, no record of the ritual would remain; reverencing is just like this here). Buying the bones of a thoroughbred attracts the worthy (in ancient times, King Zhao of Yan wished to attract worthy men; Guo Wei said, 'Let your majesty build a golden terrace and honor me, and worthy men from all four directions will arrive. Seeing that your majesty employs even an unworthy person like me, how much more so the worthy! In the past, someone seeking a divine steed could not find one, but someone brought the head of a dead horse, and the king rewarded him with a thousand pieces of gold. Those who heard of this all came, and within a month he obtained three divine steeds. Please honor me.' Afterward, several men including Yue Yi indeed arrived). This is indeed the great way of human relations. Therefore, whether rulers and fathers reverence or do not reverence depends on themselves; whether śramaṇas accept or do not accept homage depends on others. It is not that the Great Sage insists on suppressing rulers and fathers to force their respect, nor that śramaṇas necessarily desire to sit and receive bows and salutations. The Ritual says: 'When a son is newly capped, his mother bows' (the 'Meaning of Capping' in the Book of Rites says: once capped, he is given a courtesy name, which is the way of adulthood; when he presents himself to his mother, the mother bows to him; when he presents himself to his brothers, the brothers bow to him; completing adulthood, all the rituals are fulfilled), and 'A person in armor does not bow.' Neither loses respect for rulers and kin. How much more so when Ruism has those who would not be subjects to the Son of Heaven nor serve the feudal lords (such as Chao Fu, Xu You, and the Four Whiteheads). As for Māyā, she borrowed a lifespan awaiting the birth of the Buddha; once the Sage was born, she returned her form to Heaven (the Avataṃsaka Sūtra says: all Buddhas of the past and future have Māyā as their mother; after giving birth to the Buddha, she returned to Heaven). Mother and son enjoyed abundance—how is this not a blessing? In antiquity, when Xia Qi was born, his mother turned into stone (the Annals of Emperors and Kings says: Gun married a daughter of the Ye clan named Xiu Ji, who walked in the mountains, saw a shooting star, and was moved by it; she swallowed an adlay seed, and for three years did not give birth; later her back split open to give birth to Yu. Today, in Mount Wen in Shu, Guangye County has a place named Shixi, which is where Yu's mother turned to stone. Also, when Yu wished to open up Mount Huan'er, he said to the daughter of Tushan, 'Bring me food when you hear the sound of the bell and drum.' Yu jumped on a rock and struck the drum; when the woman went to bring food, she saw Yu transforming into an animal, and fled to the foot of Mount Song where she turned into a stone woman. She was pregnant with Qi, and Yu said, 'My son is inside the stone...').