辯偽錄 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

1.1

Preface to the Record of Refuting Falsehoods

1.2

Composed by Zhang Bochun, Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy, Grand Master for Court Counsel, Drafter of Imperial Edicts, and Joint Compiler of the National History under the Yuan.

Heaven covers without partiality; Earth supports without partiality; the sun and moon shine without partiality. What is stated in the Record of Refuting Falsehoods indeed has good reason. With deep reverence we reflect upon our sacred dynasty, which has succeeded to Heaven, established the supreme ultimate, deliberated the Dao, and administered the state, nurturing all realms with the Buddha's mind like children and moistening the four seas with the correct Dharma. In the xindmao year of the Zhiyuan era, in the first month of spring, the Elder Mai Jixiang of Dayunfeng, having reverently received the bright decree of the Emperor, compiled the Zhiyuan Bianwei lu. He presented it in audience before the heavenly countenance; upon his sagacious review, it was promulgated, incorporated into the Tripiṭaka, and circulated. Tracing its origin: in the yimao year, the Daoists Qiu Chuji, Li Zhichang, and others demolished the Temple of Master Kong in Tiancheng of the Western Capital and made it into the Wencheng Abbey; they destroyed the śarīra precious stūpa of the white jade Avalokiteśvara and the image of Śākyamuni Buddha, and schemed to seize four hundred and eighty-two Buddhist monasteries. Inheriting the fraudulent text by Wang Fu and the Laozi bashiyi hua tu, they deluded and threw into turmoil the ministers and assistants of the court. At that time, Elder Yu of Shaolin led eminent masters of virtue to the palace gate to submit a memorial. The late emperor Möngke Khan proclaimed the jade decree, ascending the hall to debate the truth and falsehood of the conversion of the barbarians. His sacred person presided over the court to witness it directly. Li Zhichang and the others saw their arguments fall and their words fail. In accordance with the imperial decree, the spurious scriptures were burned, seventeen persons renounced Daoism to become monks, and thirty-seven Buddhist temples were restored. Yet their clique continued to occupy the remaining temples, and the harmful abuses grew even worse. In the autumn of the dingsi year, Shaolin memorialized again. Successive imperial decrees were issued and the spurious scriptures were burned a second time, with monks reclaiming their properties in two hundred and thirty-seven places. From yimao to xinyou, nine springs in all, their disciples lurked like rats, clinging to their perverse doctrines without repentance, behaving flatteringly in secluded quarters and still recklessly distressing and blaspheming the imperial mind. Because of this, in the winter of the eighteenth year of Zhiyuan, an imperial jade decree was reverently received and promulgated throughout the realm: apart from the Daodejing, the rest of the scriptures containing falsehoods were to be entirely incinerated; Daoists who loved the Buddhist scriptures were to become monks, while those who did not become monks or Daoists were to take wives and return to commoner status. At that time, Master Lianzhenjia of Yongfu, Supreme Controller of the Buddhist Religion in Jiangnan, greatly propagated the holy transformation. Over three years, from the twenty-second spring of Zhiyuan to the twenty-fourth spring, he restored more than thirty Buddhist temples. As for the Sisheng Abbey, which was formerly the Gushan Temple, the Daoist Controller Hu and others abandoned falsehood and returned to correctness, renouncing Daoism to become monks—numbering no less than seven or eight hundred men. They hung their caps between the beams and brackets of the Imperial Preceptor's Hall at Upper Yongfu, an ancient precedent like the contracts of Mount Nanyue, serving as a warning to those who engage in falsehood. If one examines the past: since the Great Teaching came from the west, when Emperor Ming of Han welcomed the two masters Kāśyapa Mātanga and Dharmaratna to Luoyang, the Daoist Chu Shanxin and others from the Five Sacred Peaks presented a memorial slandering the Buddhadharma. At that time, an altar was erected to burn the scriptures of both Buddhism and Daoism; the Daoist scriptures were entirely reduced to ashes, while the Buddhist scriptures emitted light and remained undamaged. The Venerable One leapt into the air and performed the eighteen transformations. Words of supreme truth were spoken: that a fox is not of the lion's kind, and a lamp has not the brilliance of the sun and moon. Daoists who became monks were beyond counting. Consider how Kou Qianzhi acted deceitfully and falsely, and Cui Hao deluded Emperor Taiwu of the Wei; yet Cui Hao was ultimately executed along with his clan. Tanmozui confounded and bested Jiang Bin, and Bin was banished to Mayi. Tanxian of the Qi put Lu Xiujing to shame. In the first year of the Zongzhang era of the Tang, Faming debated the falsehood of the conversion of the barbarians, and an imperial decree ordered the confiscation of all copies of the Laozi huahu jing throughout the realm; his books were indeed consigned to the flames. From ancient times to the present, can the regulations of successive emperors be disregarded? The Bhagavān regards the sentient beings of the trailokya equally, just like an only child. To abandon and turn one's back on the Great Awakened One is for a child to turn his back on his father; for a child to turn his back on his father is to blind oneself to one's own Heaven. Furthermore, those who take Laozi as their master uphold the two chapters of the Daode[jing], taking clarity, emptiness, calm detachment, renouncing the world, and abandoning cleverness as their fundamental tenets; they dwell in seclusion to fulfill their aspiration, untrammeled and non-acting. Now, those disciples who steal his name gather in flocks, form partisan factions, falsely put on the cap and coarse robes, erect tall and extravagant abbeys and palaces, and court worldly gain and offerings—how could this be the intention of Laozi? Moreover, Laozi said: "Great eloquence seems slow of speech; great skill seems clumsy"; "The eloquent are not good; the good are not eloquent"; "Do not boast, do not brag; hold fast to the One as a model for the realm." Yet they seize and destroy Buddhist temples, steal scriptures, and fan the falsehood of the conversion of the barbarians—is this being clumsy and slow of speech? Is this being good and not eloquent? Taking Laozi as their master while acting contrary to his methods, they also violate their own school. If one were a legitimate disciple of Laozi, one would not do this; the fault belongs entirely to the degenerate offshoots. Even so, the qilin is to walking beasts, the phoenix is to flying birds, the orchid and iris are to foul weeds, and sandalwood is to filthy soil: the world has never discarded the auspicious omen of the phoenix and qilin, or the fragrance of the orchid, iris, and sandalwood, to find satisfaction in the ordinary nature of walking beasts and flying birds, or the filth of foul weeds and impure soil. The affections and aversions of the human heart and the principles of Heaven are the same in this. Why is it that, unable even to distinguish beans from wheat, they willingly devote themselves to false, reckless, and untrue teachings, and further boast extravagantly with empty rhetoric, treating the Great Awakened One with contempt and slandering the Supreme Sage, without dreading sinking into the three wretched destinies? This Record of Refuting Falsehoods rectifies names and teachings, plumbs profound and subtle principles, and dispatches difficulties with precision and clarity. Awe-inspiring, it maintains an unyielding integrity that soars into the clouds; calm and broad, it treads the straight path of the Kingly Way, erecting dikes to protect future generations from drowning in the great flood. Its words are ultimate indeed! For when there is falsehood, one must refute it; when there is no falsehood, there is no need for refutation. How could one be fond of disputation? Is not the propagation of the four unhindered pratisaṃvids the virtue of the Venerable Mai? "He who speaks incurs no blame; he who hears may take sufficient warning." Therefore, the golden words and metaphorical sayings of our Emperor declared: "Like the five fingers which all emerge from the palm, the Buddhist gate is like the palm and the rest are all like the fingers." Truly, the royal word is like silk, yet when issued forth it becomes a great cord; brighter than the sun and moon, firmer than metal and stone, it serves as a mirror for myriad generations. How then could this record be merely of minor benefit?

1.4

Preface to the Record of Refuting Falsehoods

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I have heard that before the five movements took shape, there were originally no names for persons or things; once the three realms of heaven, earth, and humankind were established, the designations of noble and base were set in order. When the six lines were first differentiated, the eight trigrams were initially drawn, and writings and tallies came into being, determining the canonical texts. In the phoenix seal script, tortoise diagrams, gold-bound caskets, and jade inscriptions, there were the different paths of the hundred schools and the divided categories of the myriad fascicles. Although their principles investigated the subtle and their words exhausted standards for things, in recording passions and encompassing nature they never went beyond the mundane realm; in examining origins and pursuing ends, how could they encompass what lies beyond worldly transformation? How much more so does the dharmakāya transcend form, soaring high above the Primordial Ruler; and how much more does paramārtha-satya surpass all denomination, far exceeding the realm of thought and speech! In illustrious plans and flourishing realities, every age has had its masters. Ruyi's secular surname was Yan, a native of Taiyuan. He was a descendant of Yanzan. For successive generations his ancestors were wearers of the official cap and sash, and after migrating to Daijun they made it their home. At nine years of age he shaved his hair, followed his teacher, and received instruction. When jade leaves the Mount Jing, its precious worth becomes all the more apparent; when cassia leaves the secluded cliff, its fragrant breeze travels far. This venerable master inwardly plumbed the depths of the tripiṭaka, and outwardly investigated the origins of the nine philosophical schools. His fame stood foremost in China; his reputation was heard at court and across the realm. Exercising an eloquence that could discuss the heavens and displaying unmatched talent, his magnificent writings were interwoven like fine brocade, and his majestic spirit rose into the clouds. The gems and pearls of Ban Gu and Sima Qian could not be compared to him; how could the writings of Gu Kaizhi and Lu Ji even run abreast with his? As for the teachings of Master Zhuang and Master Mo, the texts of Huang-Lao and Lao Dan, the slanderous texts of the Three Clarities against the Way, the treatises on the ten anomalies and nine delusions, the secrets of the Primordial Concealing the Moon, and the rituals of the Lingbao Red Script, they shone brightly within his breast and were as clear to him as the palm of his hand. In addition, in Chan he practiced across the five lineages, and broadly examined the various books. Possessing both towering talent and a mighty brush, he devoted himself especially to writing. Beyond the exercise of his thought, his drawing from the source was inexhaustible. In repressing error, he had the power of the roaring stone; in upholding truth, he had the virtue of lashing the corpse. In talent he truly equaled Dao'an and Huiyuan; in learning he surpassed Sengzhao and Daosheng. He was truly a dragon scale in the ocean of awakening, a pillar and beam of the Buddhist gate. We have observed that the Quanzhen Daoists Qiu Chuji, Li Zhichang, Shi Zhijing, Linghu Zhang, and others, with shallow and vulgar learning and short-sighted understanding, have together produced coarse rhetoric to attack and ruin the correct Dharma, beating cloth drums in a futile attempt to rival the thunder gate, causing people of middling and lower faculties to give rise to perverse views. Having reverently received Sechen Khan, the Sage and Bright Emperor, who brought forth great compassion and pitied their blindness, fearing they would fall into niraya, his majesty ordered this treatise to be composed. It stirred the ocean of the Dharma and shattered their sharp-tongued eloquence: the sharpness of the Green Cock vied in racing, and the piebald form of the Yellow Horse contended in galloping. It was like the great furnace burning a slender wing, or the blazing sun melting fragile ice: the party destined to win or lose was plainly seen therein. Briefly returning to the meditative absorption of benevolence, he has already crushed the demon army. On the twentieth day of the tenth month in the eighteenth year of Zhiyuan, we further reverently received the sacred edict of the late emperor, decreeing that the spurious scriptures throughout the realm be completely incinerated at once. Because of this, the sun of the Buddha shone again across the blue skies, and the cloud of the Dharma spread broadly over Jambudvīpa. The above works composed by Ruyi, including literary rhapsodies, commentaries, prefaces to four scriptures, the Hanwen bietuan, the Xinghai fu, and others, are already circulating in the world. However, this treatise in five fascicles and over two hundred sheets exhausts the origins of Buddhism and Daoism and discriminates the merits and defects of the perverse and the correct. Truly, the loftier the song, the fewer who join in harmony—a matter of deep regret. My own writing is embarrassed by lacking elegance, and my learning is neither comprehensive nor perfect. Beholding the fine words of this treatise and revering the immense protection of our Emperor, I am overcome with joy and dancing, and have exerted myself to write this introduction, presumptuously using a wisteria cord to link these precious gems, hoping that broadly learned and refined gentlemen will scrutinize its import. Related by the wild old man of Xuexi, Gui Jixiang, Abbot of Dayunfeng, continuing the ancestral lineage of the śramaṇas.

1.6

True record compiled by imperial decree by the śramaṇa Xiangmai of the Yunfeng Chan Monastery on Mount Daozhe under the Yuan.

1.7

I have heard that when the Dharma King governs the world, he propagates the correct Path to deliver the age; when an enlightened ruler ascends the throne, he elucidates the sovereign ultimate to rescue living beings. They excise falsehood, support the right, exalt virtue, and distinguish delusions. Thus, Yao executed the four evils and the eight directions enjoyed peace; the Buddha subdued the six teachers' assemblies and the five regions of India submitted in their hearts. All of these were means to rectify chaos, rescue from combustion, and open the ears and eyes [of the world]. Now, our Buddha perfected merit in past kalpas and sent down his spirit for the sake of living beings. Manifesting birth where there is no birth, he beneficially appeared in the lands of the trichiliocosm; displaying forms where forms are transcended, he suddenly transformed hundreds of millions of regions. He is like the bright moon floating in the empty sky, to which a thousand rivers universally respond; like the sweeping wind exhaling its breath, through which the myriad hollows sound. He enticed foolish children onto the vehicle of the single ultimate; he guided those on lost paths onto the road of the Eightfold Noble Path. He pulled out the torments of the five turbidities; he dismantled the cage of the four inverted views. He pointed out the bright jewel beneath the garment; he split open the volume of scripture inside the speck of dust. Subduing the demon armies beneath the tree of enlightenment, he did not descend from his palace hall; crushing non-Buddhists at the Golden River, his repelling of adversaries was boundless. His grace flowed through the myriad nations; his benevolence extended to the four kinds of born beings. Compassionate clouds shaded the heaven of the Peak of Existence; the Dharma rain moistened realms without end. When living beings lost receptivity, the Great Sage returned to Truth; sages and philosophers succeeded him in brilliance to maintain the dark paradigm. Thus Aśvaghoṣa and Nāgārjuna expanded the net of teaching in the western heavens; Āryadeva and Gunamati erected the Dharma banner in South India. Vasubandhu possessed the virtue of whipping the corpse; Dignāga displayed the marvel of roaring at the rock. They crushed non-Buddhists at that time and broadcast their fine renown for myriad ages. Coming down to the golden visage appearing in the dream from the east and the jade horse arriving from the west, Kāśyapa Mātanga manifested the right at Luoyang, and Daoist scriptures were all consumed by fire; Sengrong refuted falsehood within the Pass, and the brahmacārins knotted their tongues in speechlessness. They suspended the Buddha-sun on the dark crossroads; they fanned the wind of compassion across the universe. Worthies and talents followed in one another's steps, outstanding men linked their fragrances. Thus Great Controller [Fashang], master of many talents, refuted Jiang Bin at the palace of the Wei; Falin, erudite in extensive knowledge, repelled Fu Yi under the Tang dynasty. They raised exalted virtue in their own time and made their fine renown resound in later generations. Yet, as the sage grows ever more distant, demonic falsehood closely resembles the truth. Purple indeed confuses red; counterfeit stone constantly blends with jade. Unless one possesses supreme wisdom, who could investigate and clarify it? Therefore, when an uncarved rat was fraudulently called jade, the people of Zhou treated the precious and the base as one; when the fowl and the phoenix had different forms, the customs of Chu mistook the right and the wrong. Thus, there are those of narrow learning who rejected [the Dharma] with heretical claims, and through artful words and deviant paths cited it to make it identical with their own doctrines. Although the supreme Way suffers not the slightest loss, false theories contaminate the ears and eyes [of the multitude]. This is why the obscure paths are easily fallen into, and why the gate of the sages is difficult to traverse. When our Yuan came to possess all under heaven, its felicity accorded with the golden wheel and its auspicious omens matched the jade calendar. Covering the six directions, it gloriously established its realm; commanding myriad nations, it defined their borders. To the east, it reached the bounds of the Coiled Peaches; to the west, it exhausted the [garrison of] Xiliu; to the south, it shifted the golden cauldrons; to the north, it reached the Jade Balance. Since Zunlu and Hexu, and after the Qin, Han, Sui, and Tang, there has never been an era as flourishing as the present dynasty. Taizu and Taizong promulgated luminous edicts to preserve and protect [the Dharma]; the Yuan Emperor and the Ming Emperor renounced golden treasures to cultivate and venerate it. All bore in mind the intention of entrustment; together they revered the instructions of compassion. They exempted taxes and corvée, and unfolded its transforming influence. The reigning emperor possesses deep benevolence and sagacious wisdom, embodying the Way with broad enlightenment. He bears the heroic foundation of the four sages and carries on the grand achievements of the hundred kings. In his leisure from myriad state affairs, he casts his regard upon the Buddhist gate: he recites golden texts of hundreds of thousands of canons, and hosts magnificent assemblies of tens of thousands of monks. Planting blessings in the garden of enlightenment, he constructs monasteries. His governance values clemency and benevolence, his benevolence extends to the common folk. He seeks out and promotes those from humble backgrounds, and distinguishes the worthy from the foolish. He understands the shallowness and depth of Buddhism and Daoism, and penetrates the excellence and inferiority of the heterodox and the orthodox. Yet the Daoists, lacking discernment, held the state in contempt; presuming upon their residence in the northern realm, they gave free rein to disputations born of their private notions. Qiu Chuji spoke recklessly to flatter the ruler; Li Zhichang feigned embellishments to curry favor with the times. They gathered delinquent criminals fleeing corvée, and compiled spurious texts slandering Buddhism. Linghu Zhang first composed the reckless discourses, and Shi Zhijing further broadened the heterodox writings. Imitating the Tathāgata's eighty-two niches, they compiled Laozi's eighty-one transformations. Indiscriminate regarding past and present, ignorant of scriptures and histories, they purloined Buddhist scriptures and incorporated them into the Daoist teachings. They took Buddhist auspicious portents to make them Laozi's portents; changing family and personal names, they altered Śākya's auspicious omens into Laozi's auspicious omens. Presuming upon these as their own virtues, they bred falsehood from falsehood and piled vanity upon vanity. They proclaimed that Li Dan emerged before the Great Void, and forced Śākyamuni to descend in the era of King Zhuang of Zhou. Establishing biographies and illustrations, they printed blocks for circulation, making Yin Xi become a Buddha and honoring Lao Dan as the ancestor of Śākyamuni. [They claimed] Fuxi received instructions from him, elevating Boyang as the teacher of Fuxi and Shennong; when the Xuan Emperor asked about the Way from Guangcheng, they identified [Guangcheng] as Laozi; when King Wen received transmission from Lü Wang, they twisted [Lü Wang] into Lord Lao; the Duke of Zhou bent his knees before his couch (Laozi instructing him with the Xuanji jing), and Confucius bowed his head below his seat (asking about propriety). Obliterating the three teachings to make their own alone manifest, surpassing the thousand sages to occupy the position of supreme honor, towering solitary before the Five Phases of Cosmic Change, and acting as master for a hundred generations thereafter—within this realm, as the sole sage, who else could there be? Artfully embellished with a hundred tricks, there was not a grain of truth. Examining these illustrations, their intention was to eliminate the hundred schools and solely dominate as a single school, obscuring the sage accomplishments of Fuxi and the Yellow Emperor and destroying the grand models of the Buddha and Confucius. This great atrocity and supreme wickedness was unknown to the people of the world; even Youqiong's disruption of the Xia government or Wang Mang's deception of the Han court could not surpass it. If our master were not brilliantly sagacious, reflecting with clear illumination without confusion, who could examine and distinguish the true from the false, and discern right from wrong with their own eyes? Thereupon, he specially issued an imperial edict to sort out and determine the empty from the real; the noxious plantings of ten thousand years were uprooted in a single moment. There was the Preceptor of the Doctrine, the Shaolin Abbot: foundation stone of the ancestral court, ridgepole and pillar of the Buddhist monasteries. His mind is upright and impartial; his nature is deep, clear, and vastly erudite. Pitying their foolish blindness, he swept away their deluded barriers; clearing the baleful vapors from the vast sky, he hoisted the Buddha-sun high and bright. Having overheard this debate, I, Xiangmai, felt it inappropriate to spare words. Praising the divine brilliance of the holy ruler and admiring the refined replies of the Shaolin [Abbot], I rely provisionally upon the orthodox scriptures to refute and shatter their frantic talk, plugging the source of their reckless doctrines and toppling the forests and swamps of their mountain of heresy. I shall make the Jade Emperor of the Great Net be shocked in his soul in the midst of the Nine Heavens; cause the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning to lose heart atop the Three Purities; make the Teaching Masters of the Myriad Heavens find their shame hard to endure; and leave the Grotto Immortals of the Nine Bureaus abashed with nowhere to hide. For the present, I lay out several articles, giving one example to imply the rest, so that gold and brass show their distinct colors and the Jing and Wei rivers take their separate streams. May the jade liquid drench their intestines, washing away and dispersing the deluded phlegm; may the golden probe scrape away the film, rendering the eye of wisdom clear and distinct. Let this serve as the night-shining pearl in a dark room, and as the morning mirror along obscure crossroads. Broad-minded and discerning scholars will understand this Way. In the second year of Zhiyuan, the year Zhanmeng, the dragon gathering at the Xingji station, the month of the return of the yang [eleventh month], completed at the Wanshou Hermitage.

1.8

Falsely Establishing Heavenly Worthies: Spurious [Item] No. 1

1.9

The first transformation states: 'The Dao is the father and mother of the myriad transformations, the supreme venerated one of spontaneity. Within this profound, dark, subtle, and wondrous [state], the Void was born. The Void is the True One. After the pneumas of the True One transformed and gave birth, nine hundred ninety-nine myriad billion, nine hundred ninety-nine myriad years elapsed, and then they transformed and gave birth to the Upper Three Pneumas. The three pneumas were separated from each other by nine hundred ninety-nine myriad billion, nine hundred ninety-nine myriad years. Combining their three virtues, they jointly gave birth to the Unsurpassed, who is the Heavenly Worthy of the Void Sovereign. Passing through the same number of years again, they gave birth to the Middle Three Pneumas. Combining their three virtues, they gave birth to Xuanlao, that is, the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning. Passing through the same number of years again, they gave birth to the Lower Three Pneumas. Combining their three virtues, they jointly gave birth to the Supreme, that is, the Supreme Dao Lord. Thereafter, one purna again gave birth to three pneumas, each pneuma separated from the other by eighty-one myriad billion, eighty-one myriad years. Combining their three virtues, they jointly gave birth to Li, Lord Lao. Although the four sages followed one another in sequence, each was not caused by the other; this is called independent transformation. After Lord Lao was born, he then gave birth to the Five Phases of Cosmic Change: namely, Taiyi (Great Change), Taichu (Great Beginning), Taishi (Great Origin), Taisu (Great Simplicity), and Taiji (Great Ultimate).' The fifth transformation states: 'Lord Lao is the ancestor of Chaos, the father and mother of Heaven and Earth. Therefore he was able to distribute the clear and the turbid, and open and cleave Qian and Kun [Heaven and Earth].'

1.10

Refutation: I have heard that in the texts of dragon charts and bird script, the classics of turtle writings and tadpole characters, the records of jade tablets and jade registers, the writings of golden cords and golden caskets, the compositions of the Qin, Han, Wei, and Jin, and the bamboo slips of the Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen, which chronicle events and record history with straightforward brushes and upright words, one never sees the name of the 'Emperor of the Void' (Xuhuang), nor does one hear the title of 'Primal Beginning' (Yuanshi). How could there be one holding a jade tablet, wearing a yellow robe, with white hair flowing from his crown, wearing a golden cap on his head, uniquely titled Heavenly Worthy, who with hands clasped in reverence perches high above the Three Clarities (Sanqing), solely claiming to be the Lord of the Teachings and presiding over the Palaces of the Nine Floras? Even if there is the name 'Heavenly Worthy' (tianzhun), it is entirely stolen from Buddhist scriptures. Ancient scriptures refer to the Buddha by the title of 'Heavenly Worthy'; it has nothing to do with the Daoist Lords. Stealing another's glorious epithet and arrogantly venerating oneself to win credibility among the learned—such claims are utter nonsense! Examining Liezi and the Yi gouming jue, both say: Before heaven and earth were born, there was the Supreme Change (taiyi), the Supreme Beginning (taichu), the Supreme Origin (taishi), the Supreme Pristine (taisu), and the Supreme Ultimate (taiji). Commentators all say: The Supreme Change is when pneumatic vapor (qi) has not yet appeared. The Supreme Beginning is the origin of pneumatic vapor. The Supreme Origin is the origin of physical form. The Supreme Pristine is the origin of substance. The Supreme Ultimate is when substance and form are already complete, but chaos is not yet divided. After the Supreme Ultimate, the two modes are born, which are called Heaven and Earth. Now, names arise from actualities, and actualities are made manifest by names. Once name and actuality are clear, their way operates. Before the Supreme Change, it was profoundly empty and cavernous, murky and indistinct, originally devoid of sound and form. How could they recklessly claim that nine breaths falsely gave birth to four people? Generating the void upon the void is like knocking on emptiness to seek an echo; raising falsehood out of falsehood is like chasing a shadow to find footprints. Have they not considered: once a name is established, it must have a substance; once a substance is established, it must have a clan and lineage? And tell me: by whom were the Emperor of the Void and Primal Beginning born? Where did their clan and lineage arise, and where did they dwell? If there is an ancestral lineage, in what book does it appear? If there is no origin, then it is a fabricated fiction. Furthermore, before the great cavernous void there were originally no year-counts; now marking years only further reveals its utter fabrication. For numbers originated with Fuxi, and the sexagenary cycle was initiated by the Yellow Emperor. Conflating the present to chronicle antiquity—how inverted can it be? Furthermore, do the three venerables above have form or are they formless? If they have form, they cannot be prior to the Supreme Change; born from parents, they must have dates, times, places, surnames, clans, and personal names. The preceding text said they were born from the conjoined virtues of three breaths; then that is using breath to generate breath, not different from breath—how could they have form and name? If they are formless, originally having no name or rank, then why does the seventh transformation below state: 'On the second day of the ninth month of the first year of Shanghuang, Lord Lao went out to travel the Western River, and met the Heavenly Worthy of Primal Beginning riding an eight-scenery jade carriage drawn by nine-colored dark dragons, guided and followed by a host of immortals holding floral banners, with lions and white cranes calling and singing harmoniously, meeting together above the Western River to bestow upon Lord Lao the Jade Talisman of the Cavern-Mystery'? Who is this? Seeking through both alternatives of form and formlessness yields no standard whatever; hence one knows that these empty tales of the sea-dates have names but no reality, and carving ice and chiseling snow are a waste of literary words. They are not contained in the Shanhai jing, nor recorded in the Dahuang jing; how could the clever embellishments of the foolish and ignorant be worthy of belief? Lord Lao was an archivist of the declining Zhou, yet they mendaciously claim he was the ancestor of Chaos; he fled the disorder of the Zhou and passed through Hangu Pass, yet they falsely claim he was the father and mother of Heaven and Earth. Since their own words contradict themselves, why do the cuirass-maker and arrow-maker attack each other? Covering one's ears to steal a bell only makes it more exposed the more one tries to conceal it. The chapter of the Daodejing says: 'I have three treasures; I treasure and maintain them. The first is compassion, the second is frugality, the third is not daring to take the lead in the world.' Lord Lao presented the barbarian king with his wife and children and engaged in fierce combat with barbarian soldiers—where is the compassion in that? Riding a jade-balance carriage and seated within golden gates, draped in garments of nine-colored pattern and shaded by canopies of nine-radiance perched cranes—where is the frugality in that? Born in the beginningless and arising without cause, being the vanguard of all Dao and the ancestor of primordial breath, observing Chaos before it was divided and discerning the pure and turbid before they separated, acting as the teacher of emperors and kings and the mother of Heaven and Earth—where is there 'not daring to take the lead in the world'? Gao Xian of Liaoyang, styled Zhongchang, visited the Baihe Guan in Dongjing. Seeing the statues of the Three Clarities, he pointed to the right and asked, 'Whose statue is this?' The abbey master replied, 'The statue of Lord Lao.' He asked, 'A person of which dynasty?' The master said, 'The time of King Ding of Zhou.' He pointed to the left again and asked, 'Whose statue is this?' The master said, 'The statue of the Daoist Lord.' He asked, 'A person of which dynasty?' The master was flustered and could not answer. Xian pointed to the central venerable and said, 'Let us let this Heavenly Worthy of Primal Beginning off the hook for now!' Those who heard it passed it on as a laughingstock.

1.11

Fabrication the Second: Falsely Establishing Kalpa Cycles and Reign Eras

1.12

The third transformation says: In the beginning there was the pneumatic vapor of the Great Void. Its vapors struck one another, shooting back and forth erratically. After a hundred billion vapors, the vapor gradually slowed, flowing back and forth to become the natural vapor (this steals the Buddhist account of the wind wheel whirling below when the world is first formed), also called the vapor of the pervasive net of myriad Brahmas. After another ninety-nine billion nine hundred ninety-nine million vapors, it congealed into an auspicious vapor, forming a single holy person who called himself Heavenly King of Primal Beginning. At the same time were born the Five Elders (masters of the Five Elements). His kalpa was titled Yankang, and the reign era was titled Longhan. After another span of vapors like the above, the Daoist Lord was born; at that time the kalpa was titled Chiming, and the reign era was also titled Chiming. At the same time were born the Nine Elders, divided into the Nine Heavens. After another span of vapors like the above, Lord Lao was finally born; the kalpa was titled Qingyun, and the reign era was titled Shanghuang. At that time the Eight Dukes were born. He also established the five cyclical turns: Supreme Change, Supreme Beginning, and so forth. Lord Lao then congealed the two breaths of yin and yang into Chaos, thereby deploying Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things, which then began to be fully prepared.

1.13

Refutation: I have heard of the 'Treatise on Pitch Pipes and the Calendar' by Ban Gu, the 'Book of Celestial Officials' in the Shiji, the Imperial Chronology by Huangfu Mi, and the Imperial Annals by Tao Yinju (Tao Hongjing); never have I heard that prior to the five cyclical turns there were already reign eras, or that within the three breaths they had falsely established kalpa names. Since the pure and turbid had not yet taken form and there was only the single breath of vast chaos, how could there be Lord Lao, Primal Beginning, the Five Elders, and the Nine Heavens? Though they stole the Buddhist term of establishing kalpas, they did not understand the calculations of formation and destruction. In Sanskrit it is called kalpa; here we translate it as 'time-span'. Whether the time is long or short, all are designated by the name kalpa. Erring in the Sanskrit term, they confused its essence and characteristics. Before the Buddhist teachings came to this land, there were only 'plunder and kill' (jie-sha) and 'plundering bandits' (jie-zei); thus Xu Shen's Shuowen says: 'To threaten someone with weapons is called jie.' Furthermore, the Lu general Cao Mo coerced (jie) Duke Huan upon the altar, demanding the territory that had been seized. This refers to coercion and seizure being called jie; how could there be any talk of 'kalpa cycles' (jieyun)? Presenting such words now reveals their fraudulent theft. Now, once titles and ranks exist, reign eras are promulgated, to be used to lead the myriad quarters, align the four seas, unify the nine realms, and standardize cart axles and scripts. Only the Son of Heaven, the most venerable, is entitled to establish reign eras; those without title and rank dare not establish them. Even though Confucius edited the Documents, fixed the Rites, and distinguished between ruler and minister, because he lacked noble rank he was only titled the 'Uncrowned King' (Suwang). How much less, then, could Lao Dan, a mere archivist of the Zhou in the ranks of ministers, improvise like a bandit to arrogate the role of emperors and kings and falsely establish reign eras? Moreover, prior to the Yellow Emperor (Xuanhuang) there was originally no sexagenary cycle (Danao, a minister of the Yellow Emperor, created the sexagenary cycle); reign eras were first established in the era of Emperor Wu of Han (Emperor Wu first established reign eras). Projecting antiquity upon antiquity—how can this be anything other than a forgery? Someone might ask: 'Laozi was born before Heaven and Earth; what contradiction is there in establishing separate reign eras?' I reply: Since he was prior to Heaven and Earth, he was before the Supreme Change. Worlds had not taken form, and ruler and minister had left no trace; in the dim and empty silence there was only a single murky vapor—for whom would he establish reign eras to govern? It is obvious that they stole the concepts of the Glorious Kalpa (Vyūhakalpa), the Auspicious Kalpa (Bhadrakalpa), and the Constellation Kalpa (Nakṣatrakalpa) from Buddhism, and invented these labels of Yankang, Chiming, and Qingyun. The former clarifies the three periods of time (past, present, and future), while the latter restricts it to a single period. This is just like a mountain Qiang barbarian stealing the king's robes, bewildered and confused, with upper and lower out of order. Furthermore, below it says: 'Laozi was born in Tiangang, Ligu, and his style was Guangming.' This was after the Three Sovereigns; how could Lord Lao then congeal the two breaths of yin and yang into Chaos to deploy Heaven and Earth? Contradictions from beginning to end and forced interpretations are clearly seen.

1.14

Fabrication the Third: Opening and Dividing the Three Realms

1.15

The fifth transformation says: Heaven and Earth are the greatest of physical forms. The Most High Lord Lao is the ancestor of Chaos and the father and mother of Heaven and Earth; therefore he was able to distribute the clear and turbid and open up Heaven and Earth. He mobilized the three breaths of Mystery (xuan), Origin (yuan), and Beginning (shi) to accomplish this. Above in Heaven are the Three Clarities and Three Realms: the Beginning breath became the Realm of Jade Clarity; the Origin breath became the Realm of Upper Clarity; and the Mystery breath became the Realm of Supreme Clarity. Furthermore, from the breaths of the Three Clarities each produced three breaths, combining into nine breaths to form nine heavens: the first is Yudan Heaven; the second is Shangchan Shou Wuliangshou Heaven; the third is Fanlan Xuyan Heaven; the fourth is Jiran Doushu Heaven; the fifth is Boluonimi Bujiaole Heaven; the sixth is Dongxuan Huayingsheng Heaven; the seventh is Linghua Fanfu Heaven; the eighth is Gaoxu Qingming Heaven; the ninth is Wuxiang Wu'ai Heaven. These nine heavens each produced three breaths, each breath forming one heaven, making twenty-seven heavens; together with these nine heavens, they make thirty-six heavens. Thus the three realms and the four classes of people, culminating above in the Three Clarities, constitute this number. The first six heavens below constitute the Desire Realm: 1. Taihuang Heaven, 2. Taiming Heaven, 3. Qingming Heaven, 4. Xuantai Heaven, 5. Yuanming Heaven, 6. Qiyao Heaven. The next eighteen heavens constitute the Form Realm: 1. Xuwu Heaven, 2. Taiji Heaven, 3. Chiming Heaven, 4. Gonghua Heaven, 5. Yaoming Heaven, 6. Huangjia Heaven, 7. Lingming Heaven, 8. Duanjing Heaven, 9. Yuanming Heaven, 10. Jiyao Heaven, 11. Yuanzai Heaven, 12. Tai'an Heaven, 13. Jifeng Heaven, 14. Shihuang Heaven, 15. Taihuang Heaven, 16. Wusi Heaven, 17. Ruanle Heaven, 18. Tanshi Heaven. The next four heavens constitute the Formless Realm: 1. Xiaoqing Heaven, 2. Yuantong Heaven, 3. Miaocheng Heaven, 4. Jinshang Heaven. These twenty-eight heavens are named the Three Realms. Above these are four more heavens, named the Seed-People Heavens: 1. Changrong Heaven, 2. Yulong Heaven, 3. Fandu Heaven, 4. Jiayi Heaven. These four heavens transcend the Three Realms. It also says: The upper three heavens are the Three Clarities Realms: the first is called Taichi Heaven, the second is called Yuyu Heaven, and the third is called Qingwei Heaven. The highest is called Daluo Heaven, which encompasses all the heavens and is supremely high with nothing above it. The Jade Capital of the Mysterious Metropolis sits enthroned upon it, and is where the Three Venerables dwell. Furthermore, the Taixiao yinshu says: The Great Daoist Lord governs within the Jade Capital in the fifty-fifth layer of the limitless Daluo Heaven, attended by golden youths and jade maidens upon a dark platform of seven treasures, with a golden couch and jade stool, dwelling outside the thirty-two heavens and the three realms.

1.16

The refutation says: When one examines the writings concerning the serpent-bodied (Fuxi) and the ox-headed (Yandi), the records of the Dragon Officials (Taihao) and the Phoenix Calendars (Shaohao), the discourses of "talking about Heaven" (Zou Yan) and "discussing Heaven" (Huang Liao), the maps of the *Kuodi zhi* and the regional atlases, Gan De's *Xingjing*, and Zhang Heng's *Lingxian*, none speak of the designation of the "Three Clarities," nor has anyone heard of the name "Daluo." All of this merely relies upon Buddhist scriptures, changing their heads and switching their tails, appropriating their terms and concepts to embellish Daoist books. Moreover, the ancestral origin of the Daoist tradition began with the Yellow Emperor; and as for what was discussed by the masters of the Daoist lineages—Laozi, Juanzi, Liezi, Zhuang Zhou, Heguanzi, and Yin Wen—none of them spoke of such matters concerning the heavens. It was only in the *Lingbao jing* compiled by Zhang Daoling that the thirty-two heavens were first mentioned, imitating Buddhist dhāraṇīs to make esoteric incantations. Thenceforth, Daoist scriptures echoed and amplified one another, putting forth barren branches and drawing out tangled vines merely to deceive the common vulgar folk. Before Buddhism arrived, why did they not speak of them? Only when the Buddhist scriptures were widely disseminated did they first chant these names. When the names were clarified, Lu Xiujing added more, and the Three Zhangs falsely expounded them. How could petty thefts like dogs and rats be considered noble? The *Erya*'s establishment of four designations was based on the four seasons; the *Taixuan*'s account of nine heavens was modelled on the nine realms of existence. They were not like the Daoists, who fabricated numbers out of nothing. Heaven originally has a fixed structure; how could it have more or fewer? Now that their various explanations are inconsistent, it is clear that they were falsely established. According to the Buddhist scriptures, the three realms are brought about by the three karmas, totaling twenty-eight [heavens]: the desire realm has six, the form realm eighteen, and the formless realm has four. Being endowed with exquisite desires, it is called the desire realm; with physical forms transcendent and refined, it is called the form realm; when both sense faculties and consciousness are forgotten, it is called the formless realm. Going beyond this is called transcending birth and death, abandoning the final body of fragmented existence, severing form and name without any place of attachment. How could there be the realm of the Mysterious Metropolis, the mountain of the Jade Capital, the intermingling of golden youths and jade maidens, and the ornaments of jasper carriages and azure curtains? That their false plagiarisms are unreal can be seen from this. If one tests and asks a Daoist: From whence did the three realms arise, and by what merits were they brought about? They are entirely unable to know the explanation of names or the discernment of characteristics. Furthermore, the ultimate goal of the Daoist school only goes as far as ascending to heaven; the subtle mystery of the *Lingbao* merely craves feathering into transcendence. Yet it is difficult to escape the four characteristics [of conditioned phenomena], and how could they avoid the five signs of decay? Floating on the waves of karma, they drift and sink; following birth and death, they transmigrate. Giving free rein to their vast karmic consciousness, they amass an immense source of suffering, departing forever never to return, which is truly lamentable! Is not Udraka Rāmaputra proof of this?

1.17

Refuting the Fourth Falsehood: Acting as the Master of Emperors and Kings Across the Ages

1.18

The eleventh transformation says: In the time of Fuxi, Laozi was named Yuhuazi; he preached the *Yuanyang jing* to teach Fuxi to arrange human relations and draw the eight trigrams. In the time of Zhurong, he was named Guangshouzi; he preached the *Anmo tongjing jing* and taught how to drill wood to produce fire and cast vessels from clay and metal. In the time of Shennong, he was named Dachengzi; he preached the *Taiyi yuanjing jing* and taught how to sow the five grains and gather and compound medicinal herbs. In the time of the Yellow Emperor, he was named Guangchengzi; he taught the way of embracing the spirit and guarding tranquility. In the time of Shaohao, he was named Suiyingzi; he preached the *Zhuangjing jing* and taught how to govern with bird-named officials, distributing the nine quail-officers to oversee the hundred departments. In the time of Zhuanxu, he was named Chijingzi and spoke subtle words. In the time of Emperor Ku, he was named Lutuzi and preached the *Huangting jing*. In the time of Emperor Yao, he was named Wuchengzi and preached the *Xuanhua jing*. In the time of Emperor Shun, he was named Yinshouzi and preached the *Tongxuan jing* in seventy fascicles, as well as the *Daodejing* in one thousand two hundred fascicles. In the time of Yu of the Xia, he was named Zhenxingzi and preached the *Yuanshi jing* in sixty fascicles. In the time of Tang of the Shang, he was named Xizezi and preached the *Changsheng jing* in twenty fascicles. In the time of King Wen of the Zhou, he was named Xieyizi and preached the *Chijing jing*, teaching the way of benevolence and filial piety. It even goes so far as to claim that the rulers of high antiquity all received teachings from Laozi, and only then fabricated all kinds of things.

1.19

The refutation says: Worthies and sages differ in title and position; ancient philosophers and modern people vary in their public appearances and retirements. Zhuang Zhou said: 'To meet a great sage once after ten thousand generations is still like encountering him between morning and evening.' This clarifies that when a sage appears in the world, he displays auspicious omens and conforms to favorable signs, answering the millennial period and meeting the timely fortune. Standing solitary and exceptional, he far transcends the ordinary stream; thus he is taken as the master of emperors and kings and esteemed with ritual courtesy by feudal lords. Meeting one once in ten thousand years is still considered like morning and evening; how could one appear in every successive generation? Now, Li Er was a retired and tranquil gentleman, whom the *Shiji* called a hidden gentleman. Escaping chaos, he crossed the pass and was buried in Huaili. Hiding his presence beneath the pillars, he was originally a subject of men; his rank did not step onto the upper stairs, and his name was not included among the grand ministers. Why then should he be promoted to the station of a sage and become the master of emperors and kings? Such treacherous and unorthodox fabrications startle people's ears and eyes! If an ant-hill demands to be equal to Mount Song and Mount Hua, who would rely upon it? If a puddle pretends to be as vast as the azure ocean, it is ultimately hard to believe. How could it be that in the more than ten thousand myriad years since the opening of the cosmos, not a single other outstanding individual arose in between, and only Laozi served as the master of emperors and kings? Across the Three Plans, the Five Canons, the Eight Chords, and the Nine Hills, Kongzi's *Chunqiu*, Zuo Qiuming's *Guoyu*, the divergent doctrines of the hundred schools, and the mixed discourses of the nine streams of thought, there are absolutely no words about Laozi acting as a master. It was merely the ignorant Daoists of later generations who falsely fabricated these words, wishing to make Laozi alone exalted above all sages. It may be fine in fancy, but it is utterly false in truth! Moreover, Fuxi and Shennong both possessed sage virtue; the Xuan Emperor (Huangdi), Yao, and Shun were all called enlightened rulers. Some could speak in infancy, while others were born with knowledge of the wondrous Way. How could they rely on Laozi to instruct them before creating the myriad things? Furthermore, as recorded in classical histories and clarified by ancient annals (the *Gushi kao* and the *Shiben* both clarify the origins of invented things): Sui Ren drilled for fire, Fuxi drew the trigrams, Yandi sowed and hoed, Nüwa created the reed pipe, the Yellow Emperor built palaces and mansions, created carriage canopies and caps, and his music had the *Xianchi*; Zhuanxu composed the *Liuying*; Yao had the *Dazhang*; Shun had the *Dashao* and made the board game of go; Yu had the *Daxia*; Tang had the *Dahu*; King Wen had the Piyong; King Wu had the *Xiawu*; Gun built city walls; Chiyou made weapons; Qibo founded medicine; Yu Fu wrote the *Maijing*; Ling Lun regulated the musical pitches; Li Shou created mathematics; Rong Cheng formulated the calendar; Da Nao created the sexagenary cycle; Xi Zhong made carriages; Cao Hu made robes; Bo Yu made skirts; Yu Ze made shoes; Gong Gu made boats and oars; Ju Hui made bows; Yi Lao made arrows; Huang Yongfu made mortars and pestles; Meng Zhuangzi made saws; King Wuling of Zhao made boots; Duke Suwei made transverse flutes; Bao Xin made ocarinas; Shu Jun, grandson of Hou Ji, made plows; Meng Tian made writing brushes; Cai Lun made paper; and Kunwu of the Xia made roof tiles. These all had their respective initiators, as clarified in the various books; how can [Laozi] arrogantly claim and seize them as his own creations? Furthermore, in the *Xici* commentary of the *Zhouyi* expounded by Kongzi, the inventions of the ancient sovereigns are clearly enumerated, such as: 'When Baoxi ruled the world, he looked up and contemplated the images in the sky, looked down and examined the models on earth, took examples from his own person near at hand, and took examples from things far away; he first drew the eight trigrams to connect with the virtue of the spirits and to classify the dispositions of the myriad things. He knotted ropes to make nets and snares for hunting and fishing, which he probably took from the hexagram Li. Shennong fashioned wood into plowshares and bent wood into plow-handles to benefit the world; he held markets at midday, exchanging what people had for what they lacked. Even up to the Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun, who let fall their robes and garments while all under Heaven was governed, which they probably took from the hexagrams Qian and Kun.' Thus, successively detailing the modelling on the *Changes* to create things, it never says they were created by Laozi. To steal the accomplishments of others and boast of them as one's own ability, showing off a false name to exalt oneself, is what an exemplary person cannot bear. It also says that Laozi was Wuchengzi in the time of Yao. However, according to Ying Shao's *Fengsu tong* of the Later Han: Dongfang Shuo was the essence of the Venus star; in the time of the Yellow Emperor he was Feng Hou, in the time of Yao he was Wuchengzi, in the time of Zhou he was Lao Dan, in the state of Yue he was Fan Li, and in Qi he was Chiyizi. This shows that Wuchengzi was Dongfang Shuo; it is clear that he had nothing to do with Laozi. How could they arbitrarily make false connections and claim that Laozi was a master to these men? According to Duke Ai of Lu asking Zixia: 'Did the Five Emperors and Three Sovereigns all have masters?' Zixia said: 'Yes. Your servant has heard that the Yellow Emperor studied under Taizhen; Zhuanxu studied under Lutu; Emperor Ku studied under Chisongzi; Yao studied under Yinshou; Shun studied under Wucheng Fu; Yu studied under Xiwangguo; Tang studied under Weizibo; King Wen studied under Jiaoshi Zisi; King Wu studied under Guo Zheng; and the Duke of Zhou studied under Grand Duke Lü Wang.' The above account is extremely clear; yet they say Laozi was the master of emperors and kings across successive ages. How wildly absurd is such talk! 'Skillful words like reed-organs'—how thick-skinned indeed! Moreover, Laozi was an archivist in the declining Zhou; the histories have clear records of this. He was originally a subject of men; yet conversely he is made the master of ancient emperors and kings. To wear shoes on one's head and a cap on one's feet—how extreme is such raving madness! Furthermore, the passage above says: 'The rulers of high antiquity all received teachings from Laozi.' If so, then the inhumanity of Jie and Zhou, the unprincipled rule of You and Li, the ferocity and cruelty of the First Emperor of Qin, and the usurpation of Wang Mang were also taught by Laozi! If it is so, then Laozi is the ringleader of treacherous rebellion and the master artisan of colossal cunning! Disloyalty and unfiliality were born of Laozi; unrighteousness and inhumanity were presided over by Laozi. As a master of men, should he not feel ashamed? Since Laozi is said to have been a master across successive ages, why is it that from the Qin and Han downwards to the present dynasty, not a single appearance has occurred? Since there are none now, the past is also fabricated. Moreover, Emperor Wen of Han was reverent and frugal; Emperor Wu was heroic and enlightened; Emperor Ming comprehended the sentiments of rites and music; Emperor Zhang favored the way of refined scholarship; Emperor Wen of Wei had romantic literary talent; Ancestor Shizu of Jin was discerning, broad-minded, and benevolent; Emperor Wen of Song achieved a peaceful and prosperous governance; Emperor Wu of Liang possessed both literary and martial virtues; Emperor Gaozu of Sui unified all within the four seas; and Emperor Taizong of Tang brought about unity of carriages and scripts. At these times, without waiting for Laozi's transformation, they all struck gold and resonated jade. Thus we know that such far-fetched matches and crafty concoptions are a useless waste of rhetoric, which can only deceive the alleyways and cannot be believed by enlightened scholars. When Momu applies powder, those who see her sneer all the more; when the neighbor girl imitates Xi Shi's frown, the villagers do not prize her. (Duke Ai's questioning of Zixia is also found in the *Lüshi chunqiu* and Liu Xiang's *Xinxu*, though Lü's text is not in that order).

First 19 of 27 passages. Read on

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辯偽錄 — Classical Chinese