北山錄 8

English (machine translation) 8

Language: English

8.2 — 5 parts
8.4 — 6 parts

8.1

Chapter 13: Discussion on the Principle of Karma (Activities across the three times are called karma; seeking and inquiring into its principle is called discussion)

The Enlightened Sovereign possesses the power of the knowledge of karma (The Buddha has untainted pure karma, the eight consciousnesses, the four wisdoms, and so forth. Furthermore, in the approach of manifesting marks, there are nine karmic retributions: first, the female brahmin Sundarī slandering the Buddha; second, the female Ciñcā tying a wooden bowl to slander the Buddha as having impregnated her; third, Devadatta pushing down a mountain to crush the Buddha; fourth, a splinter of wood stabbing the Buddha's foot; fifth, King Virūḍhaka slaughtering the Śākya clan and the Buddha also suffering a headache; sixth, accepting the invitation of the brahmin Agnidatta where the Buddha ate horse oats for ninety days; seventh, cold winds agitating the Buddha's back pain and entering into six years of asceticism; [eighth, ...]; ninth, entering a brahmin village to beg for food and returning with an empty bowl. Also, for eight days and nights around the winter solstice, feeling cold and asking for clothes; and suffering from heat and ordering Ānanda to stand behind and hold a fan, and so forth). Alas, living beings differ in appearance, vary in voice, experience misery or joy, are foolish or wise, noble or base, long-lived or short-lived. Therefore, he greatly illuminated the principle of karma in order to dispel human delusions (This truly stems from giving rise to diverse views, creating diverse karma, and receiving diverse retributions). Lesser sages cannot reach it, how much less those who are not sages! Yet there are deceitful and resentful people (Zhourzhang means deceitful. Fenzhi means angry) who presume themselves to possess the insight of having attained the One, claiming, "No one is my equal; this is what is called destiny! It does not stem from karma" (There is a class of perverse individuals who do not believe in karmic retribution and all claim it is heavenly destiny). The Rites say: "What Heaven ordains is called human nature. Obtaining it comes naturally; not obtaining it comes naturally, according with heavenly destiny" (Outer scriptures refer to karma as heavenly destiny. Confucius said: "It is destiny!" Indeed, the nature and destiny of longevity or brevity are all naturally determined by Heaven). Zhongni said: "If the Dao is to prevail, it is destiny; if the Dao is to fall into disuse, it is destiny. What can Gongbo Liao do against destiny?" (Gongbo Liao was a man of Lu who slandered Zhongni to Shusun Wushu, hence the Master spoke these words). Zixia said: "Life and death have their destiny; wealth and honor reside with Heaven" (Life and death are collective retributive karma; wealth and honor are particular retributive karma). Duke Ping of Lu wished to see Mencius (Duke Ping of Lu was about to see Meng Ke because of his virtue and worthiness); his favorite, Zang Cang, slandered Mencius to the Duke, and so he stopped. When Mencius heard this, he said: "It is Heaven!" (Mencius said: "That the ruler did not see me is naturally because heavenly destiny had not yet converged; it was not that Zang Cang was able to prevent it"). From this, we know that because it stems from karma, it is not so (They take karmic conditions to be heavenly destiny). Moreover, the benevolent overcome themselves, while the unbenevolent harm others. The benevolent are in greater peril than a stack of chess pieces, while the unbenevolent are more secure than an overturned bowl (Accumulating good brings misfortune and blame, like the comrades of Bi Gan; doing evil brings success and harmony, like the likes of Cao Cao). Signs of fortune and misfortune are missing, right before our eyes and ears. Thus, the sagely virtue of Tang and Yu was confined to their own single persons (Extending goodness and transmitting the sagely: it is said Yao ended it because Danzhu was unworthy; benevolence and sageliness were flourishing and bright: it is said Shun ended it because Shangjun could not carry on the succession). Li and You were dark and licentious, yet their reign lasted seven hundred years (Cruel and unloving is called Li; obstructive and blocked is called You; both were kings of the Zhou. Though benighted, they still prolonged it for several reigns). The Three Huan clans encroached and usurped, holding the government of Lu for generations (Jisun was the upper minister, Shusun was the middle minister, and Mengsun was the lower minister). Yiwu rectified and assisted, but his lineage was cut off in the annals of Qi (Yiwu was Guan Zhong of Qi; he aided Duke Huan in uniting the feudal lords nine times and honoring the royal house, yet in Qi his voice left no descendants). The Sao poet composed "Heavenly Questions" (Qu Yuan was the Grand Master of the Three Royal Clans; he composed the Lisao Jing, hence he is called the Sao poet who had the "Heavenly Questions"); Ban Gu wrote the rhapsody "Penetrating the Obscure" (Ban Gu, styled Mengjian, composed the Rhapsody on Penetrating the Obscure, lamenting that the worthy and good were not employed; both are in the Wenxuan); Li Xiaoyuan inferred fortune and destiny—was it not on account of this? (Li Xiaoyuan had the Treatise on Fortune and Destiny). Therefore, among the gates of the Golden Immortal, who can distinguish this? From this, the multitude of discourses follow one after another, as if demons and wraiths were possessing their tongues (Earlier deceitful scholars narrated this, all stating it was destiny and not karma; later people accepted and believed it, like shamans transmitting demons and wraiths). If a gentleman or great person hears it, it is still like the dropping of the shuttle (Zeng Shen's mother was weaving. Someone told her Shen had killed a person. At first, the mother did not believe it. When told a second time, the mother doubted. When told a third time, the mother threw down the shuttle and ran. Because of Shen's benevolence and filiality, the reporters did not exceed three, and even his mother believed it. Now, with these unorthodox words, when transmitters do not exceed three, even enlightened men and gentlemen must come to believe them, how much more so the rest!). At that time, a scholar baring his right shoulder looked saddened and displeased; stepping forward with shoes and sharpening his blade, he was about to sever their doubts (At that time, there was a Śākya disciple baring his shoulder who thoroughly understood the principle of karma; seeing their confusion and error, he sharpened the blade of wisdom, about to resolve the net of their doubts). He said: If you speak of destiny and do not speak of karma, your obstruction is firm (Obstruction means obstinacy). Now, karma arises from movement and action (Movement and action refers to initiating deeds); action has conformity and opposition (Goodness conforms with goodness; evil opposes goodness); they consummate into good and bad (Meritorious karma is good; unmeritorious is bad). Good and bad are concentrated in retribution and dispensation (Charity and precepts correspond to good; killing and stealing converge in evil). Only thereafter are nature, destiny, failure, and success born from them (Apart from collective retribution, there are failure and success, poverty and wealth, long life and short, cleverness and dullness, uprightness and ugliness; all are named particular retributive karma). However, the karma of opportune workings has degrees of lightness and heaviness, and the retribution of nature and destiny has occurrence in the present or the future (Karma experienced in the present life is called present and heavy; karma experienced in the next life or subsequent lives is called future and light). If indeed it does not rely on karma and receiving destiny belongs solely to Heaven, then why would the Heavenly Dao confer destiny without equalizing its generosity and meagerness? (If all people are determined by heavenly destiny, why is its way not equal?). If indeed karma were only movement and action and could not summon destiny, then how could sacrifice bring blessing, or brutality bring injury? (Now, taking past actions that determinately summon retribution is named karma; good and evil actualized in the present is named destiny. If there were only karma, then conforming to past conditions, the actualization would have no alteration; how could one see in the present that those who sacrifice obtain blessings and the violent suffer misfortune? These are not what past karma has summoned; sacrifices are merely unseen assistance, and the violent also face particular retributions experienced in the present). The Odes say: 'Dense is the creeping kudzuvine, spreading over the branches and boughs. Joyful and courteous is the gentleman, seeking blessing without deviance.' Why was this statement made? (This is the final stanza of 'Hanlu' in the Daya of the Odes. Han is the name of a mountain; lu means its foot. It takes not violating the ancestors' way of seeking blessing; hui means violating). However, the karma of past lifetimes has the determinate and indeterminate, and the present lifetime's nature and destiny it influences has the changeable and unchangeable (Karma has determinate and indeterminate in terms of time and retribution; nature and destiny have the changeable and unchangeable).

8.2.2

If [karma to be experienced] in the present life turns one into a snake or the like, the individual retribution changes, but the collective retribution does not change.) If that karma is fixed, the destiny evoked by it is firm and unalterable. If that karma is not fixed, the destiny evoked by it can be diminished or increased. (As when, relying on the power of goodness, heavy [karma] is turned into light; evil is likewise.) However, karma of the present life may be fixed or unfixed, causing the nature and lifespan evoked by past lives to change or not change. If that karma is fixed, it can alter past causes. (As when good karma can alter the evil days of past lives.) An unfixed destiny brings about poverty or success. (An unfixed destiny refers to individual retribution. Originally, because of evil, one was in poverty; now, altered by the power of goodness, one achieves success.) If that karma is unfixed, it is simply a matter of adversity or prosperity. (Meaning that what is unfixed can be altered.) Indeed, Śāriputra and Aniruddha encountered the Buddha as a physician of the Dharma and Jīvaka as a worldly physician, yet this did not dispel their chronic past ailments. (Ailments mean illnesses. For instance, when Śāriputra suffered from bloody dysentery, a fine physician said he could eat lotus root; Maudgalyāyana was then sent to Lake Mandākinī to fetch lotus root for him to eat. Aniruddha lost his sight, and so forth; all were past karma.) Yan Hui and Min Sun encountered Kong Qiu and excelled in virtuous conduct, and encountered the feudal lords who prized worth and wisdom, yet this did not remove their poverty and early death. This is because the destiny evoked by past lives was fixed; therefore, practicing goodness in the present life could not augment it. (Yan Hui, courtesy name Ziyuan, was a disciple from Lu. He was the son of Yan Lu. His family was poor, and he died early at the age of thirty. Min Sun, courtesy name Ziqian, was also from Lu. He possessed filial conduct; his family was poor, and he suffered abuse from his stepmother. He served as magistrate of Bi for the Jisun clan.) Upananda was jealous and acquisitive, yet his blessings flourished. (The monk Upananda was wealthy and prosperous, possessing hundreds of millions in money.) King Aśoka was cruel and unrestrained, yet his majesty was formidable. (King Aśoka slaughtered without limit, establishing hells and the like, yet his majesty shook the coastal regions. Encountering the śramaṇa Upagupta, he was converted by him and erected eighty-four thousand stupas.) The Ji clan expelled their lord, yet died beneath his own window. (Ji Huanzi drove out Duke Zhao of Lu, who died in Qianhou; while Ji took charge of the sacrifices, he ultimately managed to die [peacefully] in the state of Lu.) Robber Zhi feasted on human intestines, yet lived to the highest old age. (Robber Zhi was a bandit; at Dongling he slaughtered travelers daily, taking their hearts and livers for food. Confucius could not convert him, yet he ultimately lived out his days.) This is because the destiny evoked by past lives was fixed; evil in the present life could not diminish it. (This is because when good karma from the past exists, present evil cannot eclipse it.) Mallikā offered food and became queen consort of the realm. (Lady Mallikā was of the Śākya clan, born of a concubine and extremely ugly; her royal father did not wish to see her. She then lamented and made offerings to the Buddha, chanting without cease. The Buddha manifested his body for her, and her appearance transformed to become dignified. King Prasenajit took her as his consort.) Relinquishing a ship's plank unto death, one was granted life by the sea deity. (The Great Treatise on the Adornment of the Sutras says that there was a monk who sailed the sea and met a wind that wrecked the ship. A young monk obtained a ship's plank; seeing a senior monk sinking, he thought: 'The Buddha now commands respect for seniors,' and thereupon yielded the plank to him. The sea deity saw this with delight, and pushed both of them out of the sea so they survived.) Zhao Dun showed pity at Yisang. (Zhao Xuanzi went out and saw a starving man at Yisang; when he questioned him, the man said he had not eaten for three days. He then fetched food to feed him. Later, Duke Ling of Jin set a ferocious dog to bite him; Ling Zhe of Yisang killed the dog, steadied the chariot wheels, and rescued him so he could escape.) The washerwoman showed compassion at Huaiyin. (Before Han Xin, the Marquis of Huaiyin, met his opportunity, he was utterly famished. Seeing an old woman bleaching silk floss, he went to her, and the woman fed him. Later, he aided the Han and was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Huaiyin; when the woman had already died, he opened her tomb and cast a thousand pieces of gold inside.) All of these are the fixed good karma of the present life. Because the destiny from past lives was not fixed, they could turn decline into prosperity. (From Mallikā downward, these are all good karma experienced in the present life.) A woodcutter pointed out a bear and his arm dropped off. (The Jinglü yixiang says that a woodcutter went into the mountains, encountered heavy snow and extreme cold, and a white bear took him into its den. When the snow cleared, he went down the mountain and saw a hunter. Drawing a knife, [the hunter] had him point out the bear's lair; as he raised his finger to point it out, his arm fell off.) A monk ate mutton and his intestines were pierced through. (Someone chasing a sheep ran to a monastery and saw a monk who pointed it out to him; he then slaughtered it and fed the meat to the monk. After the monk ate it, the meat spread beneath his skin, ran through and pierced his intestines, and he died. This comes from the Bianzheng lun.) Li Ke was executed for regicide. (Duke Xian of Jin doted on Li Ji, banished all the princes, and killed the crown prince Shensheng, setting up Xiqi. Li Ke killed him. The people of the state then established Zhuozi; Ke also killed him, and welcomed Yiwu to set him up. This was Duke Hui. Duke Hui arrived from Qin and said to Li Ke: 'You killed two lords and one grand master'—meaning Xun Xi. He then killed himself, which was Duke Hui's retribution against him.) Zhang Lu gave rein to his ambitions over the minister of Wei. (Zhang Lu was Fan Sui. He entered Qin with Xu Jia; Qin was pleased with him. Xu Jia returned and slandered him to Wei Qi. Wei Qi was drinking wine and subsequently beat him until his teeth were broken; he was thrown into a latrine, but survived and fled to Qin, changing his name to Zhang Lu. Qin appointed him chancellor. Later, plotting to capture Wei, Wei Qi sent Xu Jia as an envoy; Lu then made Xu Jia act as a donkey, and still demanded the capture of Wei Qi. Wei Qi fled into exile until death, ultimately perishing in Wei.) All of these are the fixed bad karma of the present life. (These are all retributions for bad karma experienced in the present life.) Because destiny from past lives was not fixed, it could transform survival into death. (The lifespan from the previous life was originally not exhausted, but karma of the present life brought it to an end, so they received present retribution.) Devadatta harmed the Sage and drew blood from his foot. (Rolling down a boulder, he injured the Buddha's foot.) Disrupting the monastic community, he was bound to suffer a kalpa in Niraya. This is the fixed nature of bad karma for the next birth. (This is also fixed bad karma experienced in the present life.) Ajātaśatru killed his father, yet upon seeing the Buddha and believing in the Dharma, he was spared the great torment of Avīci. (King Ajātaśatru killed his father, King Bimbisāra. When the torments of hell appeared on his body as malignant sores, he turned his heart toward and pleaded to the Buddha. The Buddha illuminated him with light and his sores healed; he then preached the Dharma for him, freeing him from the torments of hell. 'Wuze' is the name of a hell, so called because it does not distinguish good from evil.) This is the unfixed nature of bad karma for the next birth. (Because of repentance, his guilt was extinguished. This is because both time and retribution were unfixed.) Therefore, the poverty and early death of Yan Hui and Min Sun repaid the evil of past causes, while their virtuous conduct can become good retribution in future lives. The wealth and longevity of the Ji clan and Robber Zhi repaid the good karma of past causes, while their rebellious cruelty can become heavy suffering in future lives. There is truly no reason to doubt this. The salve for chapped hands is one and the same.

8.2.3

yet their honor and lowliness differed. (Chapping means skin cracking. There was someone who sold medicine to treat it, but his earnings were very meager. A southern traveler bought his formula, went back, and presented it to his ruler; when it was used during a winter military campaign, he received great emoluments. This comes from Zhuangzi.) Stripping the feudatories of their land was the same, yet their rise and fall differed. (The First Emperor of Qin stripped and confiscated the lands of the feudal lords without enfeoffing them; when the Han army entered Qin, no one came to their rescue, and they perished. When Li Yiji had an audience with the King of Han, he urged him to enfeoff the feudal territories; when Zhang Liang arrived, he hastily halted it, borrowing eating sticks within the tent to calculate and argue why it should not be done, and so they did not enfeoff them; Han indeed flourished.) Truly, this is because circumstantial fortune has skill and clumsiness, and endowed destiny has what can be changed and what cannot be changed. Therefore, the gentleman, knowing that circumstantial fortune and destiny cannot be altered, delights in Heaven and knows destiny; the petty man, not knowing this, exceeds his bounds and acts rashly. (Not knowing the Dao, one cannot be a gentleman.) Thus, fortune and misfortune, safety and peril, are naturally visible. Those who claim that good and bad fortune are a constant principle that depends on destiny and not on circumstantial fortune are insufficient to make judgments. (Circumstantial fortune has obstruction and prosperity, good and bad fortune, which involve human agency.) For when winter grass is covered and does not die, how is that not due to circumstantial fortune? (Through circumstance and application, one may escape.) Those who claim that an endowed nature's capacity leads to destiny's fulfillment entirely through circumstantial fortune and not destiny are also insufficient to make judgments. (One who simply relies on circumstance and application without believing in past karma is also mistaken.) For when a cold tree is irrigated but does not flourish (To flourish is to be moist and watered. For example, if you water an ancient cypress, how could it suddenly grow luxuriant? It is because its constitution is firm), how is that not due to destiny? Only when both beliefs are complete may one be called a person who has attained the profound. Therefore, believing that there is circumstantial fortune is believing in karma; believing that there is destiny is believing in retribution. (Circumstantial fortune is karmic causes; destiny is karmic effects.) Believing in circumstantial fortune and destiny without believing in karmic cause and retribution—how is that different from being angry upon hearing "three in the morning and four in the evening," yet delighted upon hearing "four in the morning and three in the evening"? (Zhuangzi says: When it was said to give "three in the morning and four in the evening," all the monkeys were angry; but when it was said to give "four in the morning and three in the evening," the monkeys were all delighted, not realizing that the names were different while the reality was the same.) Thus, although the ancient sage Ruists of this land did not openly speak of karmic retribution, they secretly determined it by means of circumstantial fortune and destiny. (Determined means fixed. This is because they covertly fixed the principle of karma through circumstantial fortune and destiny.) The names are different, but the meaning is one and the same. The Changes says: "To know the incipient triggers—is that not divine?" Master Zhuang says: "The ten thousand things emerge from incipient triggers." The Yin Fu Jing says: "The mind is born from incipient triggers and dies from incipient triggers." (The original has: seeing things, incipient triggers arise. The mind can initiate incipient triggers, and the eyes can see incipient triggers. The mind of birth and death resides in things; the incipient triggers of success and failure are seen by the eyes. Zhang Zhan says: "The incipient trigger is the beginning of all beings and the highest point of movement.") An incipient trigger is the subtlety of movement; this indeed refers to karmic fortune. Someone may ask: Since karma arises from movement, its principle of retribution is uniform—how then can there be light and heavy, fixed and unfixed? (The karma generated is the same; how can there be lightness, heaviness, and unfixed receipt of retribution?) I reply: The mind has joy and anger; actions have kindness and cruelty. (The minds that generate actions differ.) Hence, bodily form cannot bear distress on the face, yet in the mind one indulges in the punishment of burning pillars. (King Zhou's lack of Dao: he altered the punishment of burning pillars and practiced the cruelty of disemboweling and hacking people to pieces. This is heavy karma.) Moreover, the Book of Documents says: "Pardon offenses, no matter how great; punish deliberate crimes, no matter how small." (Pardon means release. It means not refusing to pardon simply because an offense is great, and not failing to execute simply because a fault is small.) A sūtra says: "If shaped into an iron ball, even a small piece will sink in water; if shaped into an iron bowl, even a large piece will float." Are they not all due to this? (Even if karma is heavy, through fierce repentance one may escape; even if karma is light, if one does not repent, one must suffer it.) Furthermore, if we combine and separate the three karmas and the three periods of time to make eight (A single one of body, speech, or mind is called separate; the three karmas occurring together is called combined. The two modes of separate and combined encompass the three karmas and the three periods of time to make eight; the three periods are the three lifetimes), then when combined they are heavy, and when disparate they are light. (When the three karmas arise together, it is called heavy; when they do not arise together, it is called light.) When light, it is unfixed; only when heavy is it fixed. For this reason, Bimbisāra starved because of a rebellious son (Bimbisāra is King Bimbisāra); the Śākya clan died at the hands of a ferocious king (King Virūḍhaka); Yao possessed clarity and wisdom yet encountered the deluge (The great flood swelled and rose to mount the hills and overtop the mounds, and the common people were submerged); Tang had benevolent virtue yet met a severe drought (Tang held the world through benevolent virtue, yet there was a great drought for seven years, and he prayed at the Mulberry Forest); Zhang Yi and Shan Bao sought life through regimen, yet neither could live (Zhang Yi of Qi was a timid and cautious man. Whenever he saw a high gate hung with curtains, he never failed to run. At age forty, he died of an internal febrile illness. This was an excess of agitation clinging to the external. Shan Bao was a man of Lu who lived in a cave, drank spring water, and did not share in material profits with the people. At age seventy, he still had the complexion of an infant, but unfortunately met a hungry tiger that ate him. This was clinging to the internal. Shan Bao nourished his internal, but a tiger ate his external; Zhang Yi nourished his external, but illness attacked his internal. Both sought life, but neither could live); and Vakkula and Houji of Zhou did not seek life through regimen, yet both preserved their lives. This is because their circumstantial fortune and destiny were fixed. (Vakkula means "Good Appearance" in Chinese. Having once offered a single harītakī fruit, for ninety-one kalpas he never suffered from a headache. His stepmother devised means to kill him, but he survived five perils without dying. After leaving home, his eyes did not gaze at women, his body did not enter a nunnery, and he never spoke a single sentence of Dharma for a woman. King Aśoka, knowing of his few desires, offered a gold coin at his stūpa, but it sprang out of the earth and would not accept it. Houji of Zhou was the son of Emperor Di Ku, borne by Jiang Yuan. When born, he was covered in hair, and so he was abandoned in deep mountains, on cold ice, and in a narrow lane. Thrice abandoned and not dying, he was named Qi, meaning "The Abandoned." He was skilled in sowing seeds and served Yao; by his fifteenth-generation descendant King Wen, they won the empire.) The black wind blew, yet they obtained salvation (There was a merchant who entered the sea; when a black wind blew him into the land of the rākṣasas, they all recollected the Buddha and all obtained escape); the proper phulla was worn, and it long declined (There was a monk who, seeing the majestic power of a wheel-turning king, loved it and day and night strove diligently to seek it. The Buddha, fearing he would not attain liberation and wishing to diminish his merit of a thousand wheels, had him wear a single proper phulla; a phulla is a leather boot, and the wheel-turning king's karma was thereby diminished); the mulberry and paper mulberry did not spell calamity for the Yin ancestor (Taiwu of Yin made Yi Zhi, the son of Yi Yin, his minister. A mulberry and paper mulberry grew together in the court, and in a single morning they grew to a span; in fear, he cultivated virtue. The mulberry and paper mulberry died, and three years later, sixteen states arrived with multiple interpreters, so he was named Middle Ancestor); and Mars retreated, averting the disaster of the Song capital. (Mars appeared in the asterism assigned to Song.)

8.2.4

[Duke Jing took fright and cultivated virtue, and Mars accordingly retrograded three lodges;) King Wen granted King Wu three years of life (a year meaning a year of age; King Wu dreamed of the Sovereign on High granting him nine years, and King Wen bestowed on him three of those years, so that he reached ninety-three); Duke Mu of Qin twice pardoned Mengming from death: these show the indeterminacy of fortune and lifespan (the Qin general Mengming attacked Jin twice and met with misfortune upon crossing the river; Duke Mu of Qin pardoned him, and later he burned his boats and marched against Jin, who did not dare emerge; thus he wiped away his former shame and returned). If one takes these principles and examples to examine human affairs, how could one say there is no karma? (These are all matters in which the principle of karma is manifest.) There are those who rely on Double Mystery and take the flight of geese in order, the suckling lamb kneeling, the crow being black and the silver pheasant white, thorns being sharp and the water-chestnut squarish, the orchid fragrant and the marsh-cabbage foul, to be numbers of nature (these are all the positions of external traditions regarding the meaning of nature); how could they derive from karma? A man of twofold emptiness smoothed his lapels and informed them, saying: "It is not so. What the ancient sage [Laozi] calls 'nature' is the Dao. The ultimate Dao is of the same substance with the myriad things; hence he says, 'The myriad things are naturally so' (the myriad things are neither identical with nor separate from the ultimate Dao). He also says: 'One yin and one yang: this is called the Dao' (the Dao is quiescent and without substance; the spiritual has no direction and the *Changes* has no substance; it brings about birth through yin and accomplishes completion through yang, so it is said: 'One yin and one yang is what it is called'). Master Zhuang says: '[The Dao] is in broken tiles, in weeds and tare,' which does not mean that the myriad things lack the principle of causes and conditions (it is because whatever strikes the eye is all the Dao). Those endowed with nature and lifespan take karma and fortune as their causes and conditions (sentient beings all rely on the habituation of past karma as their causes and conditions); what pertains to external things takes qi and numbers as its causes and conditions (insentient things rely on roots and seeds as their cause, and the qi and numbers of yin and yang as their condition). Therefore, the lamb and wild goose are verified by karmic habituation (the goose flock's order and the lamb's kneeling all stem from karmic habituation); the water-chestnut and thorn are sought in water and earth (they avail themselves of water and earth as sovereign conditions). That the crow regurgitates food to its mother and the owl devours its mother is the residual habituation of filial and unfilial conduct in former lives. That the sweet mandarin flourishes in the south while the bitter trifoliate orange thrives in the north is due to changes according to climate and soil (planted south of the Jiang it becomes an orange; planted north of the Jiang it becomes a trifoliate orange). Water moistens downward; fire flames upward; metal conforms and changes; wood bends and straightens; earth receives sowing and reaping. Water is salty; fire is bitter; metal is pungent; wood is sour; earth is sweet. Through the five qi the five substances are formed; they disperse into the five flavors, congeal into the five colors, and flow forth as the five tones. Thereafter they intermingle and blend, becoming hard or soft, strong or faint; what they receive is distinct, and the myriad phenomena arise from this. How does this differ from the meaning of causes and conditions? (The above are all the textual meanings of the 'Great Plan'.) If one further questions the origin of the creation and transformation—how yin and yang are deployed so that breeding and nurturing become so manifold, assigning dark-yellow for different sight and palace-minor tones for distinct hearing—then that would be excessive (if one scrutinizes them one by one, their categories are excessively numerous). The myriad things begin in the Great Ultimate (Taiji); without causes and conditions compounding one another and striking their kinds to form phenomena, they are born without being born (the myriad things fundamentally are unborn; they are born through the conjunction of conditions); they are born from the unborn (the Dao fundamentally has no birth; the myriad things rely on it to be born). Yin and yang have no mind (creating them does not depend on a self; the principle mysteriously responds of itself, so it is called 'without mind'). Heaven and Earth have no merit (Laozi says: 'Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat the myriad things as straw dogs'). The Sage does not rule (hence it is said: 'Abandon sageliness and discard wisdom, and great thieves will cease; cast away jade and shatter pearls, and petty thieves will not arise'). Through past and present, no one understands the principle of dreams and illusions; herein it is attained. Thus Old Master [Laozi] says: 'The nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth; the named is the mother of the myriad things' (the nameless is the root of the wondrous Dao, the origin of Heaven and Earth; the named nurtures the myriad things, hence it is called 'mother'). Master Zhuang says: 'The Great Clod puffs out breath, and its name is wind' (Wen Ruhai says: 'The Great Clod is nature; puffing out breath is the appearance of exhaling qi'). Hence, prior to the Sovereign of Forms, it cannot be conceived as having a beginning. If one further objects that since external things are stimulated by qi to stream into form, on what karma could inner lifespan depend? (The outsider says: if, due to insentient things colliding and striking, the inner lifespan gives rise to love and hate, how could that be karma?) this truly cannot be analogized. External things have no mind; without mind, where would karma be? Inner lifespan harbors feeling; harboring feeling, karma arises. Thus, between a blown tile and a thrown tile, when both hit a person, there is wrath in one case and not in the other. How could there be no distinction in this? (Liu Ling says: 'When a blown tile strikes a person or an empty boat bumps into oneself, even if one has an irritable mind, one does not get angry, because the other has no intention in the striking.') Someone may ask: 'Retribution for good and bad karma must inevitably arrive. Thus the *Changes* says: "A family that accumulates good will surely have an excess of blessings; a family that accumulates evil will surely have an excess of calamities." Why then did Gu-sou father Shun, Shun father Shangjun, and Gun father Yu?' (The stubborn Gu-sou fathered the sage Shun; the sage Shun fathered the unworthy Shangjun; the wicked Gun fathered the sage Yu: what is the meaning of this?) I reply: 'The Sages established their teachings by pointing to heavenly principle, speaking of what is frequent rather than what is rare, and speaking of what is compliant rather than what is contrary (when the Sages point to blessings for the good and calamities for the evil, this is the constant principle of Heaven and Earth; moreover, to speak of it this way complies with nature, for one cannot say that goodness invites evil, as how would that guide living beings?). Thus Duke Liu and King Ji were able to give birth to sage heirs, down to King Wen who made great achievements for the realm of Zhou (from Houji sowing crops, his virtue reached the common people; Duke Liu successively maintained his official duties and did not bend to the Western Rong; down to Jili giving birth to the sage son King Wen, and King Wen giving birth to King Wu, who gained the realm for thirty-seven emperors over eight hundred years, all because of the way accumulating goodness pours out blessings). Fufu He and Zheng Kaofu were able to advance in benevolence and virtue, down to Zhongni [Confucius] who gloriously established the cultural teachings (after Tang, Weizi Qi was enfeoffed in Song; down to Fufu He yielding the throne to Duke Li, he was accordingly granted the surname Kong; down to Zheng Kaofu, who was all the more deferential upon each of three appointments, his house cultivated benevolence and virtue for generations, down to Confucius who encompassed sageliness and multifaceted ability, gloriously displaying the cultural teachings). Therefore, those who examine celestial phenomena to impart the seasons to the people determine their stations and regularize their periods (to determine is to make upright and apply; celestial phenomena refer to the sun, moon, and five planets as the Seven Governings); if they are occasionally agitated, disordered, and change into baleful omens, these are truly anomalies and calamities. If someone further holds that just as a sound cannot substitute for its echo, and a form cannot exchange places with its shadow (to exchange is to trade; a form cannot exchange places with its shadow), how could an ancestor act and his descendants receive the retribution? (Each creates and each receives; they are not shared equally)—then the principle may be explained in detail. Good and evil assist one another according to their kinds, but do not substitute for one another."}

8.2.5

Therefore, ancestors act with blessings, and subsequent generations carry them on with blessings; none who lack blessings become their descendants. Ancestors act with calamity, and subsequent generations carry them on with calamity; none who lack calamity become their descendants. Thus dragons unite with clouds, and tigers unite with winds (when dragons croon, clouds arise; when tigers roar, winds are born). When the copper mountain collapsed, the palace bell reverberated (when the bell in the Han palace reverberated, it was because a copper mountain in Shu had collapsed; things of like kind respond to one another). When reed ash was dissipated, the lunar halo showed a gap (The Huainanzi says, “Following the ash, the lunar halo has a gap.” The commentary says, “Taking reed ash and making a ring representing the moon with one side missing, the halo of the moon will also be deficient”). These are indeed the principles of corresponding resonance (because like kinds stimulate each other). Common folk consider cruel lust, plunder, harm to life, and ruining households to be the only sins of the body (common folk are the vulgar populace; plunder means theft and robbery; thus lust, theft, and killing are all bodily karmic actions). They consider slanderous speech, deceitful outbursts, and transgressing against rulers and parents to be the only sins of the mouth (a collection of speech). They consider unscrupulous stratagems and harboring concealed malice and cruelty to be the only sins of the mind (mental karma). Little do they know that if one's myriad deeds contravene propriety and the Five Constants are neglected, if living in the secular world one falls short in loyalty and filial piety, or if having left home one is not profound in compassion—when offenses arise from the minute and accumulate to take form, they become sins (though water droplets are minute, they gradually fill a large vessel). Common folk consider sacrificing oneself for things and kneeling, prostrating, and clasping the hands (kneeling and prostrating mean worship; clasping refers to joining palms, and kneeling means sitting on the heels) to be the only blessings of the body. They consider reciting words, preaching the Dharma, pleasing others, and advancing oneself to be the only blessings of the mouth. They consider ending bias between love and hate and letting no envy or malice enter to be the only blessings of the mind. Little do they know that wherever hands and feet are placed, wherever words and discourse reach, and wherever thoughts traverse—arousing the intention to bring slight benefit, being sincere in a benevolent heart, and reflecting on guilt to confess faults (what is called repentance)—these are truly termed blessings. Thus the five grains do not alter their seed; the myriad actions do not fail their retribution. Confucius and Zhuangzi said that Boyi and Shuqi were benevolent yet died of starvation (Boyi and Shuqi were two sons of the Lord of Guzhu in Liaodong. Upon their father's death, they yielded the position and submitted to the Zhou. Hearing that King Wu was punishing Zhou, they clasped the reins of his horse and remonstrated, but were not heeded. Thereupon they secluded themselves on the southern slopes of Mount Shouyang, and refused to eat the grain of the Zhou until they starved to death); Weisheng was trustworthy yet drowned (Weisheng made a rendezvous with a woman under a bridge; she had not arrived when the water suddenly swelled, and fearing to break his trust, he did not move and drowned); Wu Zixu was loyal yet died falling upon his sword (Wu Yuan, styled Zixu, served as chancellor of Wu and remonstrated with Fuchai not to accept Xishi; the king did not listen, so he fell upon his sword and died. Yue subsequently captured Wu); taking these as instances where external affairs are not certain (certain means definite and fixed). These, in truth, were instances of clinging to reputations and harming virtue, straying from the Middle Way; it is not that good deeds invited calamity. Anciently, when the Mahāsattva sat at the Bodhi tree and battled the heavenly demons, it was through karma that it was so (when the Tathāgata attained awakening under the Bodhi tree, he broke the four māras, namely: heavenly māra, skandha-māra, kleśa-māra, and mṛtyu-māra). When he dwelt in a rocky cave and shed blood from his foot, it was through karma that it was so. When he arrived in Bāraṇasī and ate horse barley, it was through karma that it was so. Therefore, speaking of current retribution, good recompense does not extinguish past karma. The Rites say that when Zixia lost his son, he lost his sight (his pupils). Zengzi condoled with him, saying, “I have heard that when a friend loses his sight, one should weep for him.” Zengzi wept, and Zixia wept also, saying, “O Heaven! I am without guilt!” Zengzi said angrily, “Shang, why do you say you are without guilt? (Shang was Zixia's name.) You and I served the Master between the Zhu and Si rivers, and you retired to grow old upon the Xihe (the region of Huayin), causing the people of Xihe to suspect you were the Master: this is your first guilt. When you mourned your parents, the people heard nothing of it: this is your second guilt. When you mourned your son, you lost your sight: this is your third guilt (first, not matching the teacher; second, being slight in filial piety toward parents; third, being excessive toward one's son: these are guilts). How can you say of yourself that you are without guilt?” Only with one like Zengzi can one be said to perceive the mind of Heaven and Earth and know the sprouts of calamity and fortune. When Shi Daizhong died (a descendant of Grand Master Shi Que of Wei), he had no legitimate son but had six sons by concubines. They divined to determine who should be the heir (they would follow the auspicious one), saying that he who bathed and wore jade would receive the omen (cleansing and purifying to seek an auspicious omen). Five of them bathed and wore jade. Shi Qizi said, “Who, when observing mourning for a parent, would bathe and wear jade?” He did not bathe or wear jade (his mind held jade and moreover knew propriety). The omen fell upon Shi Qizi; the people of Wei regarded the tortoise as having awareness. From this we know that the principle of karma is profound and obscure: the Ruists discern this world, while the Buddhists penetrate the three times; the alternation of tension and relaxation comprehensively encompasses the realm under Heaven. Moreover, the scriptures also state that accidental killing brings accidental retribution. Once there was a mountain monk who accidentally stepped on an ant; the ant died, and later, when a wild boar struck a boulder causing it to collapse, the monk also met an accidental death there. Yet in the world, there are those whose outward countenance seems benevolent while their actions run contrary; whose words seem gracious while their minds are treacherous (treacherous means dangerous; what is called “stern of countenance but weak within,” and “deceitful of speech yet eloquent”). Flaunting reputation and coveting emoluments and gain, when they know the good they obscure it, and envious of evil they form factions; they neglect others and hurry for themselves, supporting the exalted and weakening the lowly, striving to usurp the worthy; fearing guilt, they dissemble their appearance, carrying out their affairs carelessly, yet broadly expecting great rewards. They do not at all see that their merits and faults grind against each other and that kindness and harm compensate one another. Superior wisdom examines this in oneself; mediocre wisdom seeks it in others; inferior wisdom is muddled and dark, all saying that loss and gain are merely natural. Now, Li Guang was never enfiefed as a marquis (Li Guang was a native of Longxi, known as the Flying General of the Han. He was an expert archer whose hands never missed their mark; once he shot a stone tiger, burying the fletching at the twang of his bowstring. In battling the barbarians his slaughter was extreme, and because of this he ultimately was never enfiefed as a marquis); Bai Qi died at Duyou (Bai Qi was a general of Qin, skilled in field warfare; he buried alive four hundred thousand surrendered troops of Zhao, and ultimately died at Duyou Post); Yu Xu was chancellor of Chaoge (in the Han, Yu Jing was skilled in deciding judicial cases; Xu was his descendant. Xu memorialized the emperor to establish military colonies in the three commanderies of Yongzhou to economize; ultimately he did not die a natural death). Although they preserved integrity and were loyal to their rulers, they all sought glory while harming living beings. Hence, only on the day of their approaching death did they begin to reflect upon their past faults.

8.3

Maintaining the Dharma, Chapter 14 (Clay niches and molded statues are the Buddha Jewel; yellow scrolls and red rollers are the Dharma Jewel; round-shaved heads and square robes are the Saṃgha Jewel: this is the way of maintaining the Dharma).

8.4.1

The square baskets, round baskets, meat stands, and offering chalices (all being ancestral temple sacrificial vessels), their systems and adornments, are the implements of propriety. Ascending, descending, going up and down, circling about, wearing coarse coats and outer robes (a coarse coat is an overcoat made of fur. The Liji says: 'When overcoating where one should not enter the duke's gate, one must add a coarse coat over it; fox-white fur robes and patterned garments are covered with a coarse coat, which is this') are the outer patterns of propriety. Bells, drums, flutes, and stone chimes (bells are metal, drums are hide, flutes are bamboo, and stone chimes are stone), pheasants' feathers, flutes, shields, and battle-axes (feathers are pheasant-feather standards; flutes are like pipes with three holes, these being the rites of the civil dance; shields are bucklers, and battle-axes are jade axes and broadaxes, these being the rites of the martial dance) are the implements of music. Bending and stretching, bowing and looking up, the positions and movements, slow and fast, are the outer patterns of music. Set these aside, and propriety and music fall into ruin. Copying scriptures, painting, carving, incense tables, and Dharma lecterns are the implements of the Way and Virtue. Shaving the head, baring the shoulder, prostrating, circumambulating, meditation, lecturing, fasting, and upholding the precepts are the outer patterns of the Way. Relax these, and the Way and Virtue wane (to relax is to abandon; to wane is to be hidden). When the Buddha ascended to Trāyastriṃśa for three months (seven days after the Buddha was born, Māyā was reborn in Trāyastriṃśa Heaven; the Buddha went there to pass the summer retreat and expound the Dharma for his mother), King Udayana (the king of the Southern Sea) cherished verses of lamenting his non-return. Maudgalyāyana, taking thirty-two craftsmen, went to behold his marks and signs, and carved red sandalwood into an image. The king and the people of his country felt as though they stood face to face with the divine. The arising of establishing images began from this. When the Buddha first attained awakening, he dwelt beneath the King of Trees. Merchants presented food (when the Buddha first attained awakening, the elders Trapuṣa and Bhallika brought five hundred carts trading goods to the foot of the mountain; wind and rain were severe; the mountain deity told them: 'The Tathāgata has attained awakening, you may go and make offerings,' whereupon they came to the mountain) and requested to be shown how to generate merit. The Great Sage bestowed upon them his hair and nail clippings, ordering them to return to their country and raise a stūpa. The arising of stūpas and shrines began from this. Over a year after attaining awakening, his transformative power spread like the wind. He descended upon Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa and entered the great city of Rājagṛha (translated here as 'Supreme Residence,' governed by Bimbisāra). King Bimbisāra led the officials, scholars, and commoners under his rule to greet him in the suburbs and fields, and consequently dedicated the Kalandaka Bamboo Grove as a jeweled dwelling for the Buddha (Kalandaka is translated here as 'sweet-sounding bird.' Long ago, a king went hunting and fell asleep beneath a tree; a great snake emerged from the tree about to sting that king; this bird cried mournfully to awake the king; consequently he gave away this grove for the birds to dwell in; now the king gave it away to build a monastery; some say Kalandaka is a squirrel, which is incorrect). The Buddha ordered that it be a residence for the saṅgha. The arising of saṅghārāmas began from this. The true Dharma has two aspects: namely, teaching and realization. Teaching relies on upholding and explaining; realization lies in cultivation and practice. If one does not uphold it, the true texts will be lacking. If one does not explain it, the ultimate principle will be obstructed. If one does not cultivate it, the noble lineage will be severed. Thus Vasubandhu said: 'The Dharma has no long or short duration; it abides in the world following three persons (the three persons are the masters of sūtra, vinaya, and abhidharma; also, the three persons of upholding, explaining, and realization).' When the persons are present, the Dharma is present; when the persons perish, the Dharma perishes. Some say that the periods of the true and semblance Dharma are a thousand years, and the final age ten times that; this merely raises the general limits to indicate its flourishing and ruin in the world. Others note that the Great Sage said: 'If there are assemblies that recite the precepts in accordance with the Dharma, then my Dharma will abide.' Because Vinaya masters maintain the Vinaya, the lifespan of the Buddha's Dharma abides for five thousand years (the Precept Scripture says: 'If one does not maintain the prohibitive precepts and perform the poṣadha as should be done, it is likened to the setting of the sun, when the whole world becomes dark and gloomy'). This is merely citing the benefit to manifest encouragement. Therefore, the sūtras, vinaya, and treatises are the root teachings for maintaining the Dharma, and the saṅgha's property and food are the meritorious deeds for maintaining the Dharma. When the teachings are pursued diligently, the Dharma assembly flourishes; when meritorious deeds are proclaimed, the Golden Realm is well-ordered. Thus the ultimate Way remains pure, noble, and consolidated in flavor without scattering, like the Great Broth in the cauldron (the broth used in sacrifices at the ancestral temple; it is not seasoned with the five flavors, hence the Zuo zhuan says: 'The Great Broth is not seasoned'), and the spiritual deities descend with blessings. These are the regulations for maintaining the Dharma. When the Three Learnings are greatly illuminated in heaven, virtue is as light as a wild goose feather (kong means greatly; you means light; this means the brilliance of what is practiced is lifted as lightly as a wild goose feather). When humans think to embrace the goodness of the Way, it can endure for a long time. To wish for the true wind and dark lineage to suffer decline throughout the world would likewise be impossible. The administrative monks in the Western Regions are collectively called karmadāna; in this land, they are the karmadāna (weina), and are also addressed as 'assembly gladdeners.' In that land, it is exceedingly difficult to fill this position; first, the sages summon the worthy, and the benevolent come next (the weina is the monk in charge of affairs; in the Western countries, seeking one is extremely difficult; they mostly appoint worthy men to it, and benevolent men are second to them). Yet as for the sages of the Central Realm, they do not make themselves manifest through sagehood; they rely solely on virtue and conduct, seeking it within themselves. If one relies on those without constancy or who make light promises, there will surely be deficiency (if one employs those who are inconstant and frivolous, faith will be deficient, and there will be neither beginning nor end). Not only does one fear overturning the cauldron's broth (su means broth-dregs), but they also indeed spoil their kind. Therefore, rather than assigning the duty to those who are unprincipled and causing the lower people to be influenced by them, it would be better to become a den of thieves (those who take charge of the saṅgha's fields, not having the talent and capacity, merely covet wealth and goods, and do not attend to repairs; it is like assigning an official position to the wrong person, so that provinces and counties are not governed; dwelling in a den of robbers is not worse than this). When the Buddha was in the world, Mahākāśyapa led the assembly at Vulture Peak, and Śāriputra oversaw affairs at the Bamboo Grove. Dabba Mallaputta attained arhatship at the age of sixteen; afterwards, reflecting that his physical body was not durable, he requested to take charge of saṅgha affairs. The Great Sage, pitying his sincere aspiration (yuan means prudent and sincere), ordered the saṅgha to appoint him. Being diligent in his duties, regarding clothing and food he was so untiring that he had no leisure; putting external matters first and himself second, he led and exhorted his dark companions (xu means harmony; 'dark companions' refers to the monks), and his fame spread throughout the eight directions. The August Awakened One praised his fine achievements and extolled him, saying: 'Among my disciples who oversee rooms, bedding, and assignments to invitations for meals for the saṅgha, Dabba Mallaputta is foremost.' In Jibin, there was the Elder Dharmatrāta, who cooked with his own hands in the saṅgha's kitchen. Two visiting monks, wishing to pay their respects from afar, did not know him at first. Approaching, they asked him, 'Where does the Great Sage of eminent virtue dwell now?' Dharmatrāta pointed and said, 'He resides in that topmost chamber.' The two monks followed his words and were about to go, but Dharmatrāta immediately used his spiritual powers to return first to his original seat. When the monks arrived afterwards, they silently realized he was the one they had seen before. After touching his feet in veneration, they asked: 'The Venerable One's name fills Jambudvīpa; why do you personally burn firewood and kindling (zhan means to burn; large pieces are called firewood, small ones kindling) and undertake such menial labor?'

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北山錄 — Classical Chinese