北山錄 5.2.5

5.2.5

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...').