法苑珠林 12.87

12.87

Further, examining the *Spring and Autumn Annals*, in the seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu, in summer during the fourth month, the fixed stars were not visible, and the night was as bright as day. This was precisely the auspicious sign of the Buddha's birth. This truly comes about because the Buddha possesses the two bodies of truth and response, the two wisdoms of the provisional and the real, the three knowledges, the eight liberations, the five eyes, and the six supernormal powers. His spirit is called inconceivable, and his Dharma is named "the extinction of the place where mental activities occur." His Way transports the multitude of sages to nirvāṇa; his power gathers the lower mortals out of the sea of suffering. Majestic and vast, it can be only briefly stated. Thus *Liezi* says: In the past, Grand Minister Pi of Wu asked Kong Qiu, "Is the Master a sage?" Confucius answered, "Qiu possesses broad knowledge and a strong memory; I am not a sage." He asked again, "Were the Three Sovereigns sages?" He answered, "The Three Sovereigns were good at employing wisdom and valor; whether they were sages is not known to Qiu." He asked again, "Were the Five Emperors sages?" He answered, "The Five Emperors were good at employing benevolence and trustworthiness; whether they were sages is also not known to Qiu." He asked again, "Were the Three Kings sages?" He answered, "The Three Kings were good at employing timely affairs; whether they were sages is also not known to Qiu." The Grand Minister, greatly astonished, said, "If that is so, then who is a sage?" The Master's countenance changed, and after a pause he said, "Among the people of the West, there is a sage. He does not govern, yet there is no disorder; he does not speak, yet he is spontaneously trusted; he does not convert, yet it is spontaneously practiced. Vast indeed! The people are unable to name him." If the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors had surely been Great Sages, how could Kong Qiu have concealed it without speaking, thereby committing the fault of hiding a sage? Weighing it by this, the Buddha is acknowledged as the Great Sage. Furthermore, the *Xisheng jing* of Laozi says, "My teacher transformed and traveled to Tianzhu, being good at entering nirvāṇa." Judging from this, the superiority and inferiority may be known.