佛祖統紀 38.73

38.73

述曰。世謂文宣殘忍。果於刑戮。至欲比之桀紂。然觀其譯經修禪受戒禁殺尊禮國師罷黜道教。其敬佛為甚至。蓋由前身為聖寺沙彌。以智願力出現世間。居人王位行佛法事。而初年好殺。特其殘習之所為耳。非如桀紂不遇佛法行殺無悔者之比也。

The commentary says: People say that Emperor Wenxuan was cruel, decisive in execution, to the extent of wishing to compare him to Jie and Zhou. Yet observing his translation of scriptures, cultivation of dhyāna, reception of precepts, prohibition of slaughter, veneration of national preceptors, and dismissal of Daoism, his reverence for the Buddha was extreme. This was because in a former life he had been a novice monk in a sacred monastery; by the power of his wisdom and vows, he appeared in the world, occupied the throne of a king of mortals, and performed the affairs of the Buddha's teaching. His fondness for killing in his early years was merely due to residual habits, which is not at all comparable to the likes of Jie and Zhou who never encountered the Buddha's Dharma and killed without regret.