Each of our contemporary scholars, nevertheless, adheres to one school of the (above mentioned) teachings.  And there are some (even) among the Buddhists who mistake the temporary for the eternal doctrine.  In consequence they are never successful in tracing Heaven, Earth, Man, and other things back to their First Cause.  But I am now (going to show how) to infer an Ultimate Cause for thousands of things, not only from the Buddhist, but from outsiders’ teachings.  First I shall treat of the superficial doctrines, and then of the profound, (in order to) free the followers of the temporary faiths from those (prejudices that prove to be) obstructions in their way to the truth, and enable them to attain to the Ultimate Reality.  Afterwards I shall point out, according to the perfect doctrine, how things evolved themselves through one stage after another out of the First Cause (in order to) make the incomplete doctrines fuse into the complete one, and to enable the followers to explain the phenomenal universe.[FN#291]

[FN#291] A.  ‘That is, Heaven, Earth, Man, and other things.’

This essay is entitled ‘Origin of Man,’ and it consists of the (following) four chapters:  (1) Refutation of Delusive and Prejudiced (Doctrine); (2) Refutation of Incomplete and Superficial (Doctrine); (3) Direct Explanation of the Real Origin; (4) Reconciliation of the Temporary with the Eternal Doctrine.

CHAPTER I

Refutation of delusive and prejudiced (doctrine)[FN#292]

According to Confucianism[FN#293] and Taoism all sorts of beings, such as men and beasts, were born out of and brought up by the (so-called) Great Path of Emptiness.[FN#294] That is to say, the Path by the operation of its own law gave rise naturally to the primordial Gas, and that Gas produced Heaven and Earth, which (in their turn) brought forth thousands of things.  Accordingly the wise and the unwise, the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the happy and the miserable, are predestined to be so by the heavenly flat, and are at the mercy of Time and Providence.  Therefore they (must) come back after death to Heaven and Earth, from which (in turn) they return to the (Path) of Emptiness.  The main purpose of these[FN#295] (two) outside teachings is simply to establish morals with regard to bodily actions, but not to trace life to its First Cause.  They tell of nothing beyond the phenomenal universe in their explanation of thousands of things.  Though they point out the Great Path as the origin, yet they never explain in detail (what is) the direct, and (what) the indirect cause of the phenomenal universe, or how it was created, or how it will be destroyed, how life came forth, whither it will go, (what is) good, (what) evil.  Therefore the followers of these doctrines adhere to them as the perfect teachings without knowing that they are merely temporary.