辯偽錄 1.25

1.25

The refutation states: Formerly, when our Bhagavān first attained true awakening, without departing from the Bodhi tree he proceeded to the various heavens; without dividing his one body he pervaded all things. At once many and one, at once one and many, he was like the pale moon gliding through the sky whose reflection is cast across myriad waters, or the great earth blowing its breath so that myriad hollows roar fiercely. Grand and subtle alike are fully encompassed; far and near have no barrier. With no mind he responds instantaneously—how could it be limited to merely nine heavens? As an archivist of the Zhou, Laozi, and as an official of the Hangu Pass, Yin Xi, occupied humble stations; it was difficult for them to equal the saintly traces, yet they wished to make it their own virtue. He who is good at stealing is not noticed even by ghosts and spirits; once it is known to others, he is no master of his art. Abandoning desire, one attains the power of soaring flight; through dhyāna meditation, one evokes supernormal powers. Since Laozi possessed no such merit, how could he ascend into the heavens? In the past, Liezi lived in Zheng: husband and wife forgot each other; ears and eyes did not distinguish; serenely free of attachments, his mind solidified and his bodily form dissolved, his bones and flesh completely melted. Only then was his body like a withered leaf drifting east and west with the wind, traveling ten thousand li in an instant and returning only after ten days. Yet Zhuang Zhou criticized him, saying that he 'still depended on something.' How much more so for Lao Dan, who did not sever ties with his wife and child (Laozi's son was named Zong; Zong's son was named Zhu; Zhu's son was named Gong, who served Marquis Wen of Wei) and had not yet attained the dissolution of the physical form! Crossing the pass, he rode in a flimsy covered cart; his Daodejing laments the affliction of having a body. How could he ascend to heaven, tread the mist, ride a crane, and mount the clouds, mimicking Śākyamuni and vaunting it as his own superiority? Furthermore, by practicing generosity one attains great blessings, and by keeping the precepts one is reborn in heaven; when you do not even understand this cause, how can you preach the Dharma for the devas? The Desire Realm originally has six heavens, yet you falsely speak of nine heavens; the First Dhyāna consists purely of males, yet you speak of jade maidens. The words are hollow and proclaim falsehood; the clever speech is manifold. Moreover, from the First Dhyāna upward, beings take the joy of dhyāna as food, generating bliss and joy from samādhi, with pure awareness abandoned to equanimity. What use could they have for jade nectar, emerald wine, or the eight delicacies of orchid fragrance? You presume the heavens to be identical to the human realm, craving the rank stench of meat and wine, and scrambling after the foul impurities of fish. It is like an owl coveting a dead rat and assuming the phoenix eats the same. What was stolen and heard was not genuine; please put an end to such conjectural talk. 'Remote villages have many wonders; crooked learning has many debates'—how true this saying is!