佛祖統紀 39.59

39.59

九年十月。玄琬法師終於延興寺。遺表有云。聖帝方尊事三寶。不應使沙門與百姓同科。乞令僧有過者。並付所屬以內律治之。帝嘉納焉。乃遣皇太子臨弔。勅有司給葬具（敕葬沙門自琬師始）○十一月。詔曰。比緣喪亂僧徒減少。華臺寶塔窺戶無人。其令天下度僧尼三千人。有司詳定。務取德業精明者以聞。僧徒有假託醫巫左道惑眾。造詣官曹屬致贓賄者。朕在情持護必無寬貸諸犯過者。宜令所司依準內律明為條制○詔曰。老子李姓。是朕之祖。名位稱號宜在佛先。沙門智實法琳等詣闕申理。詔不許。駕幸洛陽。實等復抗辭固爭以道士雖冐宗老子其實遵三張符水醮籙之事（後漢張陵父子。教民悔過。今輸米五斗。其後有張修張角。效其法用符水以治病。故世稱五斗米道）不宜居釋氏上。勅宰相岑文本諭旨。實等固不奉詔。帝怒杖實於朝堂。民其服流之嶺表而終。有譏其不量進退者。實曰。吾固知已行之詔不復回。所以力爭者。使後世知有僧耳。聞者愧服。

In the ninth year, in the tenth month, Dharma Master Xuanwan passed away at Yanxing Monastery. His testamentary memorial stated: 'The Sage Emperor is currently revering the Three Jewels; monks should not be subject to the same statutes as commoners. I pray that whenever a monk commits a transgression, he be handed over to his respective authorities to be dealt with according to the monastic Vinaya.' The Emperor approved and accepted it. He then sent the Crown Prince to offer condolences and ordered the officials to provide funeral implements (an imperial order for the funeral of a monk began with Master Wan). In the eleventh month, an edict stated: 'Lately, on account of war and turmoil, the monastic assembly has dwindled; in magnificent terraces and jeweled stupas, no one peers through the gates. Let three thousand monks and nuns be ordained throughout the empire. Let the competent authorities deliberate carefully and make sure to select and report those of bright and refined virtue and deeds. If there are monks who falsely rely on medicine, witchcraft, and heterodox ways to delude the masses, or who frequent government offices to offer bribes, I am personally committed to protecting [the Dharma] and will show no leniency; all those who commit transgressions should be ordered to have the competent authorities draw up clear regulations in accordance with the monastic Vinaya.' An edict stated: 'Laozi had the surname Li; he is Our ancestor. In title and rank, he should precede the Buddha.' Monks Zhishi, Falin, and others went to the palace gates to present their case, but the edict did not grant it. When His Majesty visited Luoyang, Shi and the others again firmly contended with resolute words, arguing that although the Daoists falsely claimed Laozi as their ancestral founder, in reality they followed the matters of talismans, holy water, and sacrificial registers of the three Zhangs (in the Later Han, Zhang Ling and his son taught the people to repent of their transgressions and pay five pecks of rice; thereafter Zhang Xiu and Zhang Jiao followed their methods of using talismans and water to treat illness; hence the world called it the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice), and should not be placed above the followers of Śākya. An edict instructed Prime Minister Cen Wenben to explain the imperial intention, but Shi and the others firmly refused to accept the edict. In anger, the Emperor had Shi caned in the imperial court, reduced him to commoner's clothing, and exiled him to Lingnan, where he died. When someone mocked him for not measuring when to advance and retreat, Shi said, 'I certainly knew that an edict already enacted could not be rescinded; the reason I fought vigorously was only so that later generations would know that there were monks!' Those who heard this were shamed into submission.