北山錄 1.11

English (machine translation) 1.11

Language: English

1.11.1

In the twenty-fourth year of the Zhou King, a jiayin year, in the spring on the eighth day of the second month, the Great Sage was born in Kapilavastu (King Zhao, the fourth lord of the Ji Zhou clan, was named Xia, the son of King Kang. He reigned for fifty-one years. In the twenty-fourth year, when the year was in jiayin, on the eighth day of the fourth month, the Buddha was born in Kapilavastu in the Garden of Joy beneath an aśoka tree. That is, in the city of King Śuddhodana in Central India). He spread his virtuous teachings throughout the Five Indias, but this the people of Zhou did not know (East, South, West, North, and Central India are all called "Tianzhu" [Heavenly India]; they were originally descendants of Brahmā. "Spread" means distributed. His transformation took place in the Western lands; the people of Zhou did not know of it). At first, rivers and springs overflowed, the great earth trembled, and an auspicious aura drifted through the sky, penetrating and passing through the Supreme Subtlety, spreading over the western quarter in a blue-red color (Though the people of Zhou did not know, on the morning of the eighth day of the fourth month they suddenly saw the earth quake and springs overflow, and looking toward the western quarter they saw a rainbow-like light, an auspicious omen ascending to pierce the Purple Subtlety). The King asked the Grand Astrologer Su You: "What kind of omen is this?" (Seeing the unfathomable auspicious sign in the west, King Zhao asked Su You. The Grand Astrologer is the one who divines the celestial signs.) The Astrologer said: "A Great Sage has been born in the western lands." The King said: "What does this portend for the realm under heaven?" He replied: "At present there is no incident; after one thousand years his voice and teachings will reach here." (The Grand Astrologer, divining from ancient books, knew that a Great Sage had descended and been born in the Western lands. The King suspected that it might concern his own land, so he asked what it meant for the realm under heaven. The Astrologer answered that only after a thousand years would his voice and teachings reach here. That at present there was no incident: from the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao of Zhou to the tenth year of the Yongping era of Emperor Ming of the Later Han, it was reckoned as one thousand and ninety-six years.) The King thereupon carved an inscription on stone in the southern suburbs (to record it. This matter comes from the Zhou shu yiji). Formerly, when Goryeo made inquiries of the people of Qi, Fashang also answered them with this (Goryeo did not understand the circumstances of the Buddha's birth and inquired about them of the people of Qi; the eminent monk Fashang also cited this text in reply to them). Now King Zhao inherited the illustrious achievements of King Wen, King Wu, King Cheng, and King Kang (King Wen and King Wu spread virtue and founded the base; King Cheng and King Kang assisted and continued the imperial throne, leading down to King Zhao), punishments were laid aside and the state was well governed ("Laid aside" means put away). Had he formerly been able to align his thoughts with wuwei, carefully adapt to the Dao, and upon observing the omen with his eyes, thoroughly investigate it in his mind—it was simply because the arrival of such fortunate responses has its appointed time (Although King Zhao beheld the wondrous omen, he was unable to seek out and visit the Sage; instead, he toured southward to the region of Chu, where his glued boat sank in the Han River. This was simply because the conditions for meeting a Sage have their proper times). In the past, when the world was first formed, a thousand flowers appeared, distantly portending that in the Auspicious Eon a thousand Buddhas would arise (In the past, at the beginning of the eon, a thousand lotus flowers emerged from the ocean, appearing to portend that a thousand Buddhas would appear in the world). Now, in the ninth decrement eon, human lifespan decreased from sixty thousand to one hundred years, and four Buddhas beneficially appeared in the world (Now, in the ninth eon, when human lifespan was sixty thousand years, Krakucchanda Buddha appeared in the world; when forty thousand years, Kanakamuni Buddha appeared in the world; when twenty thousand years, Kāśyapa Buddha appeared in the world; and when human lifespan was one hundred years, Śākyamuni Buddha appeared in the world). The remaining Buddhas will appear in the remaining decrement eons (The remaining nine hundred and ninety-six Buddhas will appear in the other decrement eons). The Great Sage, as the heir apparent to the succession of sagehood (his rank succeeded that of Kāśyapa Buddha), descended in spirit from the Palace of Contentment into the royal house, his radiance covering hundreds of millions [of worlds]. Those who accompanied him were devas of great majesty and virtue, reaching to the deities above and below. When the moment came and the asterism Tiṣya aligned, he was born from the right side beneath an aśoka tree in the Lumbinī Grove (Reach means arrive at. "Contentment" is Tuṣita. Vilāma/Vipāśyin here means maid-guard; the bālatree is the aśoka tree. The right side is auspicious; being born from the flank is distinct from ordinary mortals). In ancient times, the pole-star rainbow responded to births, portending monarchs ordained for their age; therefore the Great Sage likewise took the white elephant as an auspicious sign (Zhuanxu and Gaoxin were both born from the resonance of rainbow light circling the pole star; they were termed monarchs ordained for their age. The Buddha was likewise born with the solar disc and white elephant portending his auspicious sign). In ancient times, the eight-colored eyebrows and double pupils ascended to the supreme sovereign's throne ("Ascended" means climbed; "supreme" means great; "sovereign" means ruler. Yao had eight-colored eyebrows and double pupils); therefore the Great Sage likewise manifested the thirty-two marks to show his ascent to the ranks [of holiness]. In the kingdom there was an ancient seer (the ancient seer refers to Asita), who said to the King: "Alas! The prince possesses extraordinary tokens: if he stays at home, he will be a wheel-turning sage king; if he leaves home, he will accomplish the unsurpassed Dao. Looking upon his marks and signs, they are so luminous and manifest that he cannot remain at home!" ("Luminous" means bright; "manifest" means visible. By the prince's marks and signs, he feared he could not stay at home to be a wheel-turning king, but would mostly likely leave home to achieve the Dao.) King Śuddhodana heard this and was grief-stricken and alarmed ("Grief-stricken and alarmed" means sorrowful and tragic). "If the state's succession truly does not lie here, then our clan will perish! (If it is truly as the master has said, that if the crown prince does not remain at home to be a wheel-turning king, then we fear our clan will have no successor and will be wiped out.) The common people cannot be preserved, and will our descendants become mere guests of another state? Where will our state be?" (To preserve means to safeguard. The descendants of a lost state become successors of the former two kings and are termed "guests of the state".) Contemplating only how to keep him settled, he would clip his aspirations: he appointed guardians and tutors to provide instruction, and passed him through archery and charioteering to display his skills. The prince rode in a goat-cart to the academy and practiced the threefold teaching (this refers to the heir apparent entering the academy and deferring to his fellow countrymen according to age: first, because the father is present, he defers to make known the way of father and son; second, because the ruler is present, he defers to make known the duty of ruler and minister; third, because elders are present, he defers to make known the propriety of elder and younger. Thereupon teachers and friends were selected to instruct the prince in the sixty-four scripts, and so forth). Thereupon he drove elephants and strung bows, galloping in competition and pursuit, fully equipping abilities and achieving deeds, so that there was none in which he was not foremost in the world (Plotting to maintain him in peace: to keep him peacefully at home, it was appropriate to clip his mind bent on cultivation, establishing teachers and guardians to train him in the ways of civil and military arts, such as elephant-throwing, archery, drum-shooting, and wrestling games, fully equipping abilities and achieving deeds, such that none could match him). Then again, the king constructed the Palace of the Lesser Yang and summoned alluring beauties capable of overthrowing states, adorned in dark, yellow, crimson, and fine white silks, delicate, graceful, and dazzling in abundance (To construct means to complete. "Alluring beauties" means tall and slender beauties; Liezi says, "delicate and alluring." Having completed the palace built for the prince, he sought out beautiful women, namely marrying Yaśodharā, daughter of King Suprabuddha, and others, adorned in dark and yellow garments; "delicate, graceful, and dazzling in abundance" describes their deportment, demeanor, and movements). Striking and tapping the musical stones, playing the zithers and reed pipes (the stone instrument is the chime; this means pleasing him with music), he made it his sole business to indulge him with merriment and joy, splendid banquets, and wild drinking, so as to dispel his thoughts.

1.11.2

Dulling his ears and eyes, he quieted his nature of the Way (['dulling' means] temporarily; 'quieted' means serene and calm). When the year began to blossom (meaning the eighth day of the second month), the time for sympathetic resonance arrived, and ghosts and spirits conspired together (meaning the arrival of the devaputras of the Śuddhāvāsa heaven). The night had not yet ended ('ended' [ai] means properly upright, or also midnight). Filled with sorrow from the bottom of his heart, and utterly weary of concubines and palace women, he spurred his white horse to soar through the void, going to the green mountains and cutting off his hair (the prince thereupon vaulted the city wall, praying to become a Buddha). He embodied constant bliss and transformed all under heaven. Alas! Human contrivances are obscured by the contrivances of spirits; the contrivances of spirits are obscured by the contrivances of Heaven (obscured means darkened. Human contrivances refers to the deliberations of mortals. Although humans have schemes, being dark to the schemes of spirits, they cannot effect them). Human contrivances follow desire; Heaven's contrivances follow the Way. Spirits are no match for Heaven—how much less can mortals stand against it? For this reason, the gatekeeper took care of his portal in vain (the gatekeeper refers to the door attendant); the clepsydra keeper took care of the time in vain (in the *Rites of Zhou* there is a clepsydra keeper who managed the water clock's arrows); the palace guards dropped their armor (referring to the imperial guard); the bells and chimes suspended in the court failed to play (referring to the musicians). Dazed and bewildered, how could they have had leisure to attend diligently to their duties? Therefore, as for this body manifested in response to the world, though we speak of natural affection, its purpose was to benefit all beings, and it could not be bound by natural affection (the affection between father and son is natural affection. Although the Buddha's body was a manifest response born of transformation, its root was in rescuing beings. The conduct of rescuing beings must rely on the Way to be accomplished. The accomplishment of the Way cannot reside in passionate desire. Thus he could not but act according to his original intent). The royal father lamented his failure to return; the palace chambers became gloomy and lost their luster ('gloomy' [ai] means dark). Looking upon those distant mountain forests where he had departed for so long, tears fell in torrents. He decreed that five clan uncles and maternal uncles should go and seek him (namely, the five including Kula, all of whom belonged to the prince's clan; he commanded them to enter the mountains to seek and accompany him). He ordered them to attend to his warmth and cool, adapt to his staying or going, and never oppose the prince's wishes ('oppose' [fu] means contradict or disobey). Six years passed, of repeated reflections and awakenings. The austerities of emaciation and starvation did not constitute merit; only by nourishing the intestines and filling the belly could one become a vessel for the ultimate Way (the great carrier ate only hemp and wheat daily to subdue the non-Buddhists; then he said: 'I have a Dharma that no one in the world can know: all sentient beings abide relying on food.' Thereupon he accepted six pecks and four pints of milk rice and consumed it, and only then attained the Way). On this month, on this day, on this night—how advanced was the night? The Silver River had already turned, and all creatures had fallen silent. He took his seat upon the vajrāsana, coiled like a dragon; overcoming and eradicating the great difficulties, myriad virtues came to pay homage. How majestic was this vast kalpa's immense achievement, accomplished within the span of a single dripping clepsydra! (Having eaten the milk rice on the eighth day of the twelfth month, he bathed in the Nairañjanā River. Entering absorption upon the vajrāsana, he showed the severing of all defilements of the three realms and nine stages, and with thirty-four minds attained correct awakening). Now, Heaven has its accumulation of countless bright specks of light; the Earth has its accumulation of handfuls of soil; the mountains have their accumulation of fist-sized rocks; the seas have their accumulation of ladlefuls of water ('bright specks' [zhaozhao] means glittering light. Heaven is formed by accumulating tiny luminaries; the Earth is formed by accumulating handfuls of soil; mountains are formed by accumulating rocks; seas are formed by accumulating ladlefuls of water. All are passages from the *Doctrine of the Mean*). Therefore, by accumulating to become great, great utility is brought forth. In the past, the Great Being cultivated vast practices, omitting no good deed; by the vows of Samantabhadra, he entered universally into everything (Samantabhadra's practices and vows are as explained in the *Avataṃsaka Sūtra*). Thus at this very moment, his body sat everywhere across all sites of enlightenment. Small minds beheld him as sixteen feet tall, while great beings beheld him as vast and immense. Vast and immense, it encompasses the reward body; sixteen feet tall, it pertains exclusively to the transformation body. It is just like peeping at the heavenly way through a window: one sees much or little depending on the size of the fissure (though with a sixteen-foot body he attained equal and correct awakening upon the vajrāsana by the bank of Gayā, in true measure he has no equal, and does not belong to the three realms). How sorrowful! The ocean of suffering is roiling and chaotic; its torrential currents surge and recoil. Who will be the first to reach the shore and wait to be crossed over? I shall surely ferry them across by means of the Way ('who' [chou] means who; 'shore' [ya] means bank; 'wait' [si] means await; 'cross over' [ji] means deliver; 'ferry' [jin] means deliver. Who is the first to reach the shore and seek to cross the ocean of suffering? I shall ferry them across). Thereupon, he looked in all four directions, hesitating, and spent three weeks. Then in the morning he walked to the Deer Park. The Deer Park was a site of ancient Buddhas' prior conversion (the park was in the country of Vārāṇasī. Long ago, the king intended to slaughter a thousand deer. The Tathāgata and Devadatta were both deer kings, each leading five hundred deer. Thereupon they told the king: 'We promise to offer one deer each day.' One whose turn came was pregnant, so the deer king went in her place. The king was moved by his benevolence and spared all the deer. He then donated this park to the deer, and so it was named the Deer Park). Here he now gained the five men (namely the five companions: first, Kauṇḍinya; second, Daśabala-Kāśyapa; third, Aśvajit, who is Ma-sheng; fourth, Bhadrika; fifth, Mahānāman), tallying with those past events. He nearly finished turning the subtle words thrice (the so-called path of seeing, path of cultivation, and path of no-learning—turning the wheel of Dharma thrice; only those of great capacity awakened first). As for the rest, nothing is known of them ('nearly' [dai] means reaching; 'nothing' [mo] means not. Although it is said he initially spoke on the Four Truths, their awakenings differed). At that time, the earthly spirits raised their voices, and the hundred gods harmonized in unison. Above, it resonated throughout the nine heavens (saying that the three heavens of the first dhyāna make nine heavens that possess auditory consciousness); below, it permeated the yellow carriage (the yellow carriage is the earth; the *Huainanzi* states that the shape of the earth is like a carriage); laterally, it flowed across the eight quarters. Humans and gods congratulated one another, and the sun and moon shone with steadfast radiance. None failed to leap with joy, none failed to clap and cheer; the multitude of spirits rejoiced in harmony ('rejoiced' [xixi] means peaceful harmony; 'together' [xu] means mutually). The myriad sages joyfully acclaimed the Great Awakened One as the King of the Dharma. In the time of King Mu, an illusionist came from the western extremity. He could enter water and fire, pierce metal and stone, overturn mountains and rivers, and relocate walled cities; he mounted the void without falling and touched solid matter without obstruction, his myriad transformations beyond exhaustion (in the time of King Mu of Zhou, an illusionist had already arrived; but the sympathetic resonance of sentient beings had not yet arisen). He could not only change the shapes of physical things, but could also alter the thoughts of human minds (he could both manifest supernatural powers and transform the minds and thoughts of people). King Mu revered him like a spirit and served him like a monarch. Before long, the illusionist invited the king to journey with him. The king took hold of the illusionist's sleeve, and ascending upward, they halted only in the middle of heaven (invite [ye] means request; sleeve [qu] means robe sleeve). They then arrived at the illusionist's palace, constructed of gold and silver, and intertwined with pearls and gems.

1.11.3

[They] emerged above the clouds and rain, not knowing what supported them beneath; looking out upon it, it seemed like gathered clouds. The king fancied he had dwelt there for thousands of years, giving no thought to his own kingdom. (The king dwelt in the transformed realm, giving no thought to returning to his kingdom.) The illusionist again presented himself to the king to travel together. At the place to which they went back, gazing up they saw neither sun nor moon, and looking down they saw neither rivers nor seas. Where its dazzling radiance shone, eyes were blinded and unable to see; where its sounds resounded, ears were bewildered and unable to hear. (This was when the illusionist traveled with King Mu into the pure lands of the various Buddhas.) The king begged the illusionist to allow him to return. The illusionist moved him, and the king felt as though he were falling through empty space. When he came to his senses, the place where he was seated was just as it had been before. The king asked from where he had come, and his attendants said, 'Your Majesty was merely sitting in silent concentration.' (The attendants saw the king sitting in silence, while the king and the illusionist had made a spiritual journey to the pure land.) After three months, the king had not recovered, and he asked the illusionist again. The illusionist said, 'I traveled in spirit with Your Majesty. How could your physical form have moved? Furthermore, how did the place where you formerly dwelt differ from Your Majesty's palace? How did the place where you formerly traveled differ from Your Majesty's park?' The king was greatly pleased, and secretly thought that the one he had encountered was the Buddha. (Although the Buddha's voice and teachings had not yet reached here during his lifetime, the Buddha had indeed once come.) Yet he did not realize that this was the Buddha. How regrettable that he failed to grasp it! Jun Chen said: 'When ordinary men have not seen the sage, it is as if they are unable to see him; yet having seen the sage, they are also unable to follow the sage.' Truly it lies in this! (This is a passage from the Book of Zhou. Master Kong's commentary says: 'Ordinary men have beginnings but no ends. When they have not seen the Way, it is as if they cannot manage to see it; when they have already seen the holy Way, they also cannot make use of it. Thus they achieve nothing.' Now King Mu saw the sage but was unable to seek and advance toward the sage; it is truly regrettable!) Its bodhi tree casts a thick and dense shade; the vajrāsana is firm and unyielding. (Located fourteen to fifteen li southwest of Mount Gayā in the state of Magadha. That is the pippala tree. Its trunk is yellowish-white and its branches and leaves are lush green; it does not wither in winter or summer, and its fresh luster never alters. It is several hundred spans high, and beneath it rests the vajrāsana. It is the place where the Bodhisattva realized sagehood; it is also called the bodhimanda. When the great earth trembled, it alone did not quake or shake.) The tree serves as the outward sign of the seat; residing on the seat, one is shaded by the tree. The tree fittingly possesses the beauty of 'do not clip it, do not fell it'; the seat possesses the firmness of 'it neither fractures nor collapses.' (Both are from the poems on the Earl of Shao.) When the sage's Way was completed, his virtue commanded the reverence of the world. Were it not for this, what else could endure? (It is fitting to preserve its ancient relics to show the traces of the sage.) Therefore, the former kings of foreign lands carved stone to make statues, setting up markers in the south and north to observe the enduring transformation. (To carve means to engrave. Beneath the bodhi tree on the vajrāsana, they carved two large stone bodhisattvas. In later generations, if the Buddha's Dharma declines, the bodhisattvas will sink into the earth. When Master Xuanzang departed, they had already reached the chest.) Laozi was born under King Ding; (Laozi was born on the fourteenth day of the ninth month in the third year of King Ding of Zhou, in Quren Hamlet, Lai Township, Chen Commandery, State of Chu. His surname was Li, his given name was Er, his style was Boyang, and his posthumous title was Dan.) Zhongni was born under Duke Xiang of Lu. (Zhongni was born in the winter of the twenty-first year of Duke Xiang of Lu, in Ping Township in the State of Lu.) Laozi silently recognized the Capable and Benevolent One [Śākyamuni]; Zhongni inquired about rites from Boyang. The Scripture on the Practice of the Pure Dharma regards Mahākāśyapa as Lao Dan, and the Bodhisattva Youth of the Ruists as Kong Qiu. The Scripture of the Western Ascension says: (A Daoist scripture.) 'My master traveled in transformation to Tianzhu, and skillfully entered nirvāṇa.' (This refers to Laozi silently recognizing the Capable and Benevolent One.) This is the way of keeping to the feminine and preserving weakness; it is the teaching of 'not daring to be the first in the world.' Laozi's virtue was complete in this. The Odes say: 'None can vie with his blaze of glory'—Laozi had this. (This is from the Decade of the Pure Temple in the Mao Odes. 'Vie' means strong. 'None can vie' means vying. This poem praises King Wu's achievement in punishing Zhou. 'Blaze' means enterprise. He was able to strengthen his achievements and enterprise, just as Laozi possessed the Way and virtue and did not dare to be the first in the world.) The Fuzi says: 'The master of Laozi was named Śākyamuni.' (Fu Lang, whose style was Yuanda, was a cousin of Fu Jian. He served as governor of Qingzhou. He surrendered and returned to Xie Xuan under the Jin dynasty, and was later slandered and killed by Wang Guobao. He possessed discernment, was skilled at distinguishing flavors, and authored several treatises titled Fuzi.) This perhaps accords with Laozi's words. In ancient times, the Grand Minister Pi of Shang (that is, Grand Minister Bo Pi of Wu) asked Confucius, saying, 'Is the Master a sage?' Confucius said, 'Qiu has broad knowledge and a powerful memory; I am not a sage.' 'Were the Three Kings sages?' (Yu the Great of Xia, whose name was Wenming; King Tang, whose name was Lü; and King Wu of Zhou, whose name was Fa; these are the Three Kings.) Confucius said, 'The Three Kings were good at employing wisdom and valor; whether they were sages is not known to Qiu.' 'Were the Five Thearchs sages?' (Shaohao, Zhuanxu, Gaoxin, Yao, and Shun are the Five Thearchs.) Confucius said, 'The Five Thearchs were good at employing benevolence and trustworthiness; whether they were sages is not known to Qiu.' 'Were the Three Sovereigns sages?' (Fuxi, Shennong, and Huangdi are called the Three Sovereigns.) Confucius said, 'The Three Sovereigns were good at employing timely governance; whether they were sages is not known to Qiu.' The Grand Minister was greatly startled and said, 'If so, then who is a sage?' (Because he said that none of the ancient figures were sages, the Grand Minister was therefore greatly astonished.) The Master was silent for a while, then altered his expression and answered, saying: 'In the West there is a sage: he does not govern, yet there is no disorder; he does not speak, yet he is naturally believed; he does not convert, yet things naturally proceed.' (Without using weapons or punitive laws, all within the Dharma realm submit—how could this not be 'not governing, yet there is no disorder'? Without issuing orders or vows, dragon kings and devas all encircle him—how could this not be 'not speaking, yet naturally believed'? Ignorant beings turn in faith and classes of creatures know where to take refuge—how could this not be 'not converting, yet naturally proceeding'?) 'Vast and boundless, no one can give him a name!' (This shows that Zhongni knew there was a Buddha in the West; therefore he answered the Grand Minister in this way.) From this we know that although the Ruist Way is radiant and clear like the sun in the sky, he was capable of modesty such as this. Surely the subtle influence of the master of the Śākya clan had become evident. The Three Teachings are profoundly identical, and the regular relations of life can be harmonious. It is merely that the Dharma is imparted to many regions, and the scriptures and records emerge from many schools. The Śākya lineage relies on cause and effect; Laozi relies on emptiness and non-being; Zhongni relies on rites and music. Proceeding from the shallow to reach the deep, taking what is subtle to make it manifest, each adapted to the capacities of the given time, mutually supporting each other to achieve excellence. It is just as the four seasons of Heaven and Earth do not fail to bring spring on account of barley or shepherd's purse, (Mou is barley; qi is shepherd's purse.) nor fail to bring autumn on account of water caltrops or Chinese trumpet creeper. (Water caltrops and Chinese trumpet creeper belong to the category of herbs.) Thus the Ruist teachings arrived gradually. Tang of Yin altered the prayer; Confucius angled with a line rather than a net. (King Jie was unprincipled, and set nets while praying: 'May those that come from heaven, earth, and the four directions all enter this net of mine.' Tang of Yin removed three sides, leaving only one side open, and altered the prayer, saying...)

1.11.4

'I pray that those who owe their lives cast themselves into this net of mine.' The Analects states: 'The Master fished with a hook, but did not use a net.' Merely taking with a single hook, though killing, did not take many. These are all texts of the Ruist teaching progressively practicing non-killing.) The teaching of Laozi reaches the middle [level]: first, compassion; second, frugality; third, not daring to take the lead in the world (these are what Daoism calls the Three Treasures). The teaching of Śākya reaches the utmost: from birds and beasts to grass and soil, any violation is unfailingly penalized (these are the admonitions of the vinaya texts). If one uses the teaching of Śākya, it causes people to dwell in the exhaustion of contaminants (āsravakṣaya). If one uses the teaching of Laozi, it causes the people to reach empty harmony. If one uses the teaching of Kongzi, it causes the people to ascend to benevolence and longevity. Therefore, the Great Sage was born during [the reign of] a flourishing king (referring to the era of King Zhao of the Zhou), and the people of the Five Indias, the cities of a thousand chariots, and the lords of a hundred chariots were all elevated to sage-like wisdom (the cities of a thousand chariots and the lords of a hundred chariots refer to the feudal lords of King Śuddhodana; in the age when the Buddha was born, all the kingdoms attained the fruits [of the path] and equaled the sages). The two teachings were born in a declining age, and the Great Way stumbled amidst gradual decay (from the time King You, the twelfth ruler of the Zhou, favored Baosi and lost control of the world, King Ping moved the capital to Luoyi, the feudal lords waged private campaigns, and rites and music collapsed and decayed; this is called the declining Zhou). Therefore, the Old Sage concealed his dragon virtue, hiding beneath the pillars; purple vapor floated over the pass, and he strode forth into the flowing sands (Laozi served as an archivist beneath the pillars for the Zhou; seeing the virtue of the Zhou decline, he went forth through the pass to the flowing sands, and for the Pass Guardian Yin Xi expounded the two chapters on the Way and Virtue). Zhongni transmitted the ways of Yao and Shun, and modeled himself upon Wen and Wu; returning from Wei to Lu, he compiled the Spring and Autumn Annals. Stirred by spiritual response, he covered his face with his sleeves and cried that his Way was exhausted—none of this was his original aspiration (in the eleventh year of Duke Ai of Lu, Zhongni returned from Wei to Lu; in the fourteenth year, the capture of the lin during the western hunt occurred, and he compiled the Spring and Autumn Annals). Those who understood the Way were Guan Yin; those who understood the Ruist Way were Yan Hui; those who practiced the two teachings were the hundred kings. Laozi became an exalted immortal; Zhongni became the Uncrowned King. The sage plans were vast and overflowing, boundless alongside heaven and earth. At that time, an indignant onlooker said (this is a hypothetical question between guest and host): 'If you do not deprecate the two teachings, that is already excessive; why then do you praise their virtue?' ('Hu' means 'why'; they are merely teachings, what virtue do they have?) I replied that he does not understand the spear and the shield (in ancient times there was one who sold spears and shields, praising the merits of both: speaking of the shield, he said no spear could pierce it; speaking of the spear, he said it could pierce ten shields. Someone said: 'Take your spear and pierce your shield, how about that?' and he was left speechless). Our scriptures take the two masters as ultimate manifestations; if we now despise them (referring to Mahākāśyapa as Laozi and the Youth Māṇava as Zhongni), then how could we contradict their meaning? In the fifty-second year of King Mu, the year renshen, on the fifteenth day of the second month, the Great Sage manifested extinction. On this day, black clouds arose on all four sides, and a great wind shook the earth. In the west there were twelve paths of white rainbows, piercing through from south to north, not vanishing throughout the night. The King asked the Grand Astrologer Heduo. Heduo said: 'A Great Sage in the west has passed into extinction; these are his signs of decline.' Earlier, when King Mu heard that there was a sage in the west and repeatedly beheld light and vapors ('ji' means 'repeatedly'), he feared this was unsuited to the Zhou Way (he feared that the sage would come and encroach upon his territory), and ordered the Marquis of Lü to assemble the feudal lords at Mount Tu (Mount Tu is in Kuaiji, the division of Wu and Yue; the Marquis of Lü was Lü Ji), in order to prepare for changes. When it came to this point, everyone was greatly relieved (now hearing that the sage of the west had passed away, all were joyful). Formerly, the Great Sage entrusted the Dharma treasury to Mahākāśyapa (the Mahākāśyapa clan is the surname of Mahākāśyapa; he received the Tathāgata's testament). His work accomplished, he went to the bodhimaṇḍa of the Twin Trees (namely, by the banks of the Hiraṇyavatī River at the city of Kuśinagara). With his final injunction upon the seven-jeweled couch, he lay down with his head to the north. In the quiet night, it was utterly serene and silent; the moon of the Correct and Universal Knower vanished into the mountain of Great Nirvāṇa (the Buddha's body is likened to the moon; complete extinction is likened to the mountain). The ten thousand creatures wailed and lamented; springs choked and mountains crumbled; baneful stars precipitously fell; the various rivers flowed backward. Ānanda's mind was submerged in an ocean of grief; Rāhula merely contemplated impermanence. Those with training and those beyond training sorrowfully and quietly departed. The devas exclaimed: 'How bitter!' Its śāla grove (in Sanskrit 'śāla', translated here as 'resolute'; it withstands the winter without withering)—the four pairs and eight trees merged into two trees, their hanging branches drooping downward, clustered together in pure white like the color of white cranes; for this reason it was called the Crane Trees. Its hardy leaves bore frost, withstanding the winter without withering, hence it was called the Resolute Forest. Earlier, when the Great Sage was about to return to the unconditioned (that is, before his extinction), he departed from Vaiśālī and arrived at the southern bank of the river. Stepping upon a large square stone, he looked back at Ānanda and said: 'This is the trace left by my final gaze upon the Diamond Throne and the city of Rājagṛha' (the kingdom of Vaiśālī is seven hundred li south of the Ganges in the territory of Central India; the place where the sages and worthies held the council is the kingdom of Viyali). Therefore, on the stone today there are the Buddha's two footprints, one foot and eight inches long and one third as wide (six inches wide), bearing underneath the mark of the thousand-spoked wheel, with svastika-flower designs, vases, fish, and the like at the tips of the toes, brilliantly radiant (even today these patterns can be seen upon the stone). From ancient times, heretics destroyed them, yet they returned to their original state. Here the Sage lodged his traces to manifest his teaching: while the teaching endures, the traces do not perish. When beholders weep at their enduring presence, their long-cherished yearnings are sustained. The second month of the Zhou is the present twelfth month (the Zhou dynasty took the eleventh month, the month containing the zi celestial branch, as the start of the year; thus the present twelfth month was the second month of the Zhou). The fifteenth day is the end of the month in the western land (in the western countries, within a month of thirty days, they divide the first fifteen days as the bright half and the latter fifteen days as the dark half; from the first day of the month is the new moon of the bright half, and the fifteenth day is the full moon/end of the bright half; from the sixteenth day is the start of the dark half, and the final day is the end of the dark half). Their twelve months are each called by the name of a constellation (the first month is Caitra; the second month is Vaiśākha; the third month is Jyeṣṭha; the fourth month is Āṣāḍha; the fifth month is Śrāvaṇa; the sixth month is Bhādrapada; the seventh month is Āśvina; the eighth month is Kārttika; the ninth month is Mārgaśīrṣa; the tenth month is Pauṣa; the eleventh month is Māgha; the twelfth month is Phālguna). When the constellation begins, it is the start of the month; when the constellation ends, it is the end of the month. Therefore, this sixteenth day corresponds to their first day of the month. Combining thirty days forms [a month] (the first fifteen days being the bright half).

1.11.5

the last fifteen days are the dark fortnight.) The first half of the month is called the dying of the dark shadow (meaning that at the beginning of the month the dark shadow gradually wanes), while the latter half of the month is called the waxing of the bright light (meaning that at the sixteenth day the moonlight is at its fullest). Dividing the twelve months into three seasons: beginning from the sixteenth day of the first month to the fifteenth day of the fifth month is the hot season (meaning the Xia calendar); from the sixteenth day of this [month] to the fifteenth day of the ninth month is the rainy season; from the sixteenth day of this [month] to the fifteenth day of the first month is the cold season. The winds of coolness and heat broadly tally with this astronomical calendar. In ancient times, the first months of the Three Dynasties each had what they adopted and discarded. The Xia lineage favoured black and established the yin month as the start of the year (Yu of Xia was of the Si clan, named Wenming; because of the auspicious omen of Heaven bestowing the dark jade tablet, he took the month of yin as the beginning of the year, calling it the Human Commencement; sacrifices, banners, and garments all favoured black, taking dawn as the new moon); the Yin people favoured white and established the chou month as the start of the year (Tang of Yin was of the Zi clan, named Lü, courtesy name Tianyi; he had the auspicious omen of a white wolf holding a hook; he took the month of chou as the beginning of the year, calling it the Earthly Commencement; sacrifices, banners, and garments all favoured white, taking the fifth watch as the new moon); the Zhou people favoured red and established the zi month as the start of the year (Zhou was of the Ji clan, named Fa; he had the auspicious omen of fire flowing onto the king's roof; he took the month of zi as the beginning of the year, calling it the Heavenly Commencement; sacrifices, banners, and garments all favoured red, taking midnight as the new moon). Now, the Great Sage lived during the Zhou era, and therefore one may speak of the eleventh month as the start of the year, which differs from today's world (since the Buddha was born in the Zhou era, all the months and years found in the scriptures follow the first month and new moon of the Zhou dynasty, which differs from the present Xia calendar that establishes yin). In this month, heaven and earth are shut and closed; dragons and snakes hibernate; the faint yang secretly spreads in the springs below; the budding shoots have not yet reached the soil above. Those born by means of this arrive in response to the movement of qi; those extinguished by means of this depart in response to the alternation [of seasons] (the Master of Beishan holds that the Buddha's extinction followed the Zhou calendar's nirvāṇa, differing from the present nirvāṇa of the fifteenth day of the second month; "hooked shoots" means that things newly sprouting are curved like hooks; "budding" means sprouting). Now, one who abides in the end and cannot die is not a sage (a sage has no obstruction with things; his birth shows marks identical to the ordinary, and his extinction shows transformation returning to the true; though manifesting birth, there is no birth; though displaying extinction, it is not extinction); one who, having died, cannot be born is not a sage (when conditions in this realm are exhausted, he is seen transforming other realms; he is not like the lesser sages who merely reduce their bodies to ash; therefore it says that he always resides on Vulture Peak and in truth does not undergo extinction). One who is neither dead nor born, yet is able to die and be born—this is called a Great Sage (one who originally does not pertain to birth and death, yet manifests identity with birth and death, is truly a Great Sage). And between the six directions, myriad kinds are under his charge; he does not discard saṃskṛta, nor does he grow indolent in wuwei; they are born and born again without ever having an end; and as for the Sage's responding births, what end could they have? ("Charge" means to master; "discard" means to abandon; "grow indolent" means to be lazy. The Buddha is the master of myriad kinds, yet does not abandon saṃskṛta, thus manifesting marks; he does not grow lazy in wuwei, thus his transformations end and he returns to quiescence. When conditions in this realm are exhausted, he transforms other realms, hence he never has an ultimate end). Therefore, the Great Sage is born into a world where birth is possible, and extinguished in a world where extinction is possible; birth and extinction reside in beings, certainly not in himself (displaying the marks of birth and extinction, the true origin originally lacks them; thus it says, "while beings see the end of the kalpa burned by great fire, this land of mine is safe and secure"). Being born on the eighth day signifies the initial blossoming advancing toward fullness (the Zhou fourth month when the Buddha was born is the present second month; things are just flourishing; the eighth day means the moon gradually approaches fullness); being extinguished on the fifteenth day reveals the turn from waxing to waning (since on the fifteenth day the moon's fullness is at its peak, fearing that sentient beings would give rise to eternalist views, he manifested impermanence; after the sixteenth, the moon gradually wanes). Fullness fosters flourishing; waning impairs plenitude (because on the eighth day it gradually waxes, it fosters flourishing; because after the fifteenth day it gradually wanes, it impairs plenitude). Calculating these days, one thereby sees the saṃskṛta of birth and extinction. Moreover, being born precisely at daytime and passing away contrary to daytime: this is because birth is manifest and death is obscure, a sign of daytime exertion and evening rest (the Buddha being born during the day and entering extinction at night: birth is bright and clear; death is dark and obscure; furthermore, birth abiding in dawn necessarily has the function of diligent labor; death abiding in evening is the meaning of leisure and rest). Alas, sentient beings in their profusion are as if in a dream: some see the Buddha born, extinguished, recent, ancient, with a body eternally abiding, or originally unborn (according to what their minds awaken to, there are differences; although the marks of transformation are manifold, the dharmakāya originally has no birth or extinction). It is like being in the same room yet having different dreams: those dreamers do not know what the others dream. Only after having a great awakening does one know what they dreamed (some sacred teachings say the Buddha was born on the eighth day of the fourth month, descended into birth on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, leaped over the city wall on the eighth day of the second month, attained the Way on the eighth day of the twelfth month, and entered extinction on the fifteenth day of the second month. Other sacred teachings say he was born on the eighth day of the second month, leaped over the city wall on the eighth day of the second month, and entered extinction on the eighth day of the second month. Still others say he was born on the eighth day of the second month, leaped over the city wall on the eighth day of the twelfth month, attained the Way on the eighth day of the tenth month, and entered extinction on the fifteenth day of the twelfth month. The records of the various traditions differ, like different dreams in one room). Truly, each has their share; those who differ cannot unite their sameness, and those who are the same cannot separate their differences (those who take the eighth day of the fourth month as his birth speak according to the Xia calendar; those who take the eighth day of the second month speak according to the Zhou calendar, which is what the Master of Beishan holds now; taking both as the eighth day of the second month is the reckoning of a particular Hīnayāna school in India). There are those who take the tenth year of King Zhuang as the time of the Buddha's birth, relying on the chronicles of Lu, forcibly twisting the meaning of the scriptures, displaying merely the craft of far-fetched fabrication (this is Fei Changfang: taking the tenth year of King Zhuang of Zhou, which is the fourth year of Duke Zhuang of Lu, when 'the fixed stars were not seen and stars fell like rain', he made this to be the Buddha's birth. This was wild fabrication based on the Spring and Autumn Annals. The Buddha was born in the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao, the fourth ruler of Zhou, on the eighth day of the fourth month; King Zhuang was the fifteenth ruler. Moreover, the 'fixed stars not seen' occurred on the fifth day of the fourth month, which was after the Buddha's extinction, when Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva converted five hundred immortals on the Snowy Mountains and returned to his native land, his radiance overshadowing the fixed stars so they were not seen). There are those who take the fifteenth day of the third month as the time of the Buddha's extinction, which is the statement of the Sthavira school of the Western Regions. As for the rest, they are not so.

1.11.6

When the Lao sage received the condolence of Qin Yi, it was as if he had returned to the Zhou (Zhuangzi says Qin Yi went in to offer condolences; Laozi wailed thrice and came out). Zhongni dreamed of libations placed between the two pillars (Zhongni said: "The people of the Xia lineage buried between the eastern pillar; the people of Zhou buried between the western pillar; the people of Yin buried between the two pillars. I am a descendant of the Yin people. Will I perish?" and then he died). Bending down to the myriad transformations, they perished alongside them. Their heavenly wisdom transcended the universe, yet their deaths were equal to the universe. Was it real or was it provisional? If real, then it was an image of a sage; if provisional, then they were indeed sages. If neither real nor provisional, then one merely sees a mind of arising and ceasing (the universe is heaven and earth. If a person's wisdom transcends heaven and earth, yet his birth and death are the same as heaven and earth and the myriad things, we ask: is this real or is this provisional? If it is real, then in appearance he is called a sage; if it is a provisional transformation, he also attains to being a sage. Apart from this, if it does not belong to the real or the provisional, there would be no way to comprehend the mind of birth and death).

Linked texts (1)

北山錄 — Classical Chinese