辯偽錄 5.16

5.16

Shi Jie of the Song dynasty, whose courtesy name was Shoudao, composed his "Account of Strange Anomalies" (Guai shuo) to slander and disparage the Buddha and Laozi, blinding people's eyes and ears. A man of penetrating understanding is not deluded by it; it merely dupes fools. He said: "The Central Plains is what the Sages governed, where the four classes of commoners normally abide, and where official robes and caps gather. Yet the Śākyas shave their hair and fold their lapels to the left; they are neither literati nor farmers, and half of them act like barbarians. In the Central Plains, this is strange! The Central Plains is governed by virtue and the Way, where rites and music are dispensed, and over which the five constant virtues are spread. Yet unrestrained and non-canonical teachings circulate, and it is full of bewitching falsity and illusion. This is truly strange!" He also said: "When a ruler sees a single solar eclipse, a single falling star, unseasonable wind and rain, or herbs and trees failing to sprout, he regards it as an anomaly of heaven and earth. Yet those [monks] destroy the way of ruler and minister, sever the affection of father and son, abandon virtue and the Way, violate rites and music, tear apart the five constant virtues, displace the four classes of commoners, ruin the robes and caps of the Central Plains, and discard the sacrifices to ancestors; far from recognizing this as strange, people venerate them even more! When people of today see a single fox bewitching, a single owl crying, wild magpies chattering, or a field pheasant entering [a house], they take it as an anomaly; yet when people separate from father and son and practice the ways of barbarian ghosts for more than a thousand years, is it not, conversely, taken to be an anomaly?"
I respond to him, saying: It is ordinary human nature to cherish sameness and abhor difference. Failing to fathom the deep spring of the Way while debating differences in appearance and dress is to know jade from stone only in name—to know stone but not jade! When a Sage appears in the world, his benefit and succor are exceedingly deep; because capacities differ, the teachings set forth are also different. Either he clarifies the instruction within the phenomenal realm, speaking of the five vehicles; or he expounds the spirit beyond forms, uniquely marking the single ultimate. To refute naturalism, he speaks of cause and effect, arising through the assembly of conditions; for those fixated on existence, he expounds true emptiness, that all phenomena lack self-nature. Dispensing medicine according to the sickness, he therefore has many expedients; when one ultimately returns to the source, not a single dharma is preserved. Yet stubborn men and ignorant vulgar folk recklessly wag their tongues, failing to grasp right and wrong, and rashly raise debates, not reflecting that what is shared is the Way, while what differs is only dress! Furthermore, what Confucius discussed as benevolence and righteousness is what the Buddhist school calls compassion and love; what Laozi termed profound mystery is what the Buddhist school calls emptiness and quiescence. The ultimate principle is not different; it only slightly alters in expression. Moreover, when Yu entered the Country of the Naked, he took off his robes and cap to comply with their customs; when Taibo fled to Wu, he tattooed his body and cut his hair to accord with their rites. How could this be an anomaly? Altering customs in order to harmonize with the Way—thus casting aside the splendid dress of ruler and minister—is not a violation of ritual. Forsaking family in order to discard entanglements—thus renouncing love for wife and child—is not contempt for worldly ways. Ziling dealt on equal terms with Emperor Guangwu, and was all the more revered; untrammeled recluses do not serve kings and marquises, exalting their aspirations. Failing to understand the root, he erroneously decries it as barbarian; this is just like King Ling of Chu reviling Heaven—how could Heaven be angered? Zigong praised Heaven—how could Heaven be pleased? Heaven is not touched by pleasure or anger, while reviling or praising only brings disgrace upon oneself.
The Sage is in Heaven and seeks nothing from the world; he merely left his canonical teachings to spread throughout the Divine Continent. The transformation without words acts of itself, and the wind of non-action sways all of its own accord. Buddhist monasteries are scattered like stars and saṅghārāmas arrayed like chessboards; images are installed to pacify people, offering flowers and libating water. Kings and marquises pay deep respect, and scholars and commoners revere them. If there were no great efficacy, who would be willing to venerate and uphold them? Furthermore, from the Han until now, the years have been so many; the rulers, ministers, scholars, and commoners have been so numerous; heaven, earth, and spiritual beings have been so efficacious. Can they be deceived? It is definitively not false!
Generally, in the way of being human, one should recognize one's own capacity. Shi Jie was merely an ordinary scholar whose wisdom was equal to a mustard seed. Taking what he himself could not comprehend, he rashly disparaged the Sages, like the quail laughing at the Kun-fish and the Peng-bird, or the morning mushroom belittling the pine and cedar! The fire-proof cloth of Emperor Wen of Wei becomes brighter the more it enters fire; the Kunwu sword becomes sharper the more it cuts jade. How can one, having not seen it, immediately condemn it as error? Shi Jie's wisdom was lesser than Sun Chuo's; Shi Jie's talent was shallower than Prince Zhaoming's; Shi Jie's treatises could hardly match Wang Tong's; Shi Jie's prose could rarely equal Liu Zihou's; Shi Jie's rank and prestige were as far from Wei Zheng's as earth from heaven; Shi Jie's learning was as a puddle to Su Shi's ocean; Shi Jie's deliberations, compared to Lu Zhi's, were as a common beast to a qilin; Shi Jie's poetry, trying to reach Du Fu's, was as iron to gold! All the noble gentlemen above believed in the Buddha. Which of their talents and capacities did you surpass? Yet you recklessly demoted, refuted, mocked, and denounced the Great Sage! The Buddha is like the sun and moon—who can surpass them? Of old, Tian Ba, through aggressive sophistry, overcame men's mouths but did not convince their hearts; with his mouth he reviled the Three Sovereigns and sitting down condemned the Five Emperors. Hearing of it to this day, people still gnash their teeth. How much more so with the Buddha, whose six supernatural knowledges are suspended like a mirror, matchless throughout ten thousand ages! Yet out of envy of Sages and jealousy of the worthy, slave-like lips and maidservant-like tongues freely spew from his mouth; mostly this shows he did not know his own measure.
In the *Liutie* is recorded the handwritten prayer of Yu Shinan for feeding a thousand monks, which states: 'Disciple Yu Shinan bows his head in reverent homage to the Three Jewels of the ten directions. In my early years, I once suffered a severe illness; at that time I turned my mind and vowed to entrust myself to the Buddha's power, promising that on the day of recovery I would respectfully offer a vegetarian feast for a thousand monks. Today, in the place of the Way, I respectfully offer vegetarian food to one hundred monks. Assembled through the power of this vow, I hope that in life after life and birth after birth I may always be free from illness and distress, and that this may extend to the parents of seven lifetimes and to karmic foes and kin across the six paths, all sharing in this present vow.'
Furthermore, reading the imperial annals, I obtained Shinan's historical deliberation debating the event in the third year of the Jiande era of Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou, Yuwen Yong, when Buddhism and Daoism were abolished. An enquirer asked: 'Was Yong's abolition of the two teachings right or wrong?' The master said: 'It was wrong. Please let me discuss it. The teaching of the Śākyas does not stagnate in emptiness or existence, and forgets both self and others; it cuts off the root of birth and death, removes the burden of great peril, and with honor and gain unentangled, returns to quiescence and extinction. This is a discourse beyond forms. The meaning of Laozi is that the valley spirit never dies, the mysterious female endures forever, the subtle and the wondrous share the same mystery, and one mounts dragons and rides cranes. This is a teaching within the phenomenal realm. As for overcoming cruelty, doing away with slaughter, stopping contention, and exalting benevolence, both teachings are beneficial to the kingly transformation and do not violate the ancient canons and plans. Even if people have shortcomings, why cast out the teaching? Now, because followers of the Sangha violate the precepts or Daoist masters transgress their scriptures, to immediately say their teachings can be discarded and their paths extinguished—how is that different from discarding Yao because of Taowu, or banishing Yu out of resentment for the Youmiao? Seeing the Huzi Dike overflow, to immediately dam the source of the Yellow River; or beholding Mount Kunlun ablaze, to promptly throw away the burning-mirror? Never considering that the virtue of water flowing downward is exceedingly deep in its benefit and relief, and the utility of transforming foul odors is vast in its efficacy! A frog in a well gazing at the ocean mostly does not know itself; a cicada and a turtle-dove fluttering among elms are ashamed to encounter the wings of the Peng-bird. Confined by small capacity, darkened to the great expanse, wandering in the long night of saṃsāra, they bring upon themselves the suffering of drowning, and mislead later generations—truly lamentable!'
When I read this text, I knew Shinan was truly an extraordinary man! Emperor Taizong of Tang once praised Shinan for having four supreme qualities: first, virtuous conduct; second, loyalty and trustworthiness; third, literary composition; fourth, calligraphy. One who possesses extraordinary conduct must have extraordinary capability; one who possesses extraordinary capability must have extraordinary talent. Looking at Shinan's character: in serving the ruler he was loyal and generous; with friends he was upright and sincere; his virtue surpassed worldly bounds, and his learning exhausted all that a man could know. He plumbed the profound tenets of Śākya and Lao, and penetrated the mysterious purport of the Sages. His calligraphy was supreme for a whole era, and his conduct spanned the four subjects of learning. He ascended to the Yingzhou Isle of the Hanlin Academy and dominated the elegant mats of the literary arena. He believed in the Buddha with devout reverence, and honored and served Buddhist monks; taking Master Lin of Xiangyang as his teacher, he formed a bond as close as gold and orchids. How could he be compared with Han Yu or Shi Jie, who stubborny sought fame, viewing the sky from the bottom of a well, and uttering blind words to deny the Sages? They do not enter the discussions of men of penetrating understanding, but illegitimately mingle among the ranks of petty, uncultivated scholars. 'The lowest fools do not change'—these words are verified here!