佛祖統紀 44.42

44.42

述曰。真廟之在御也並隆三教。而敬佛重法過於先朝。故其以天翰撰述。則有聖教序。崇釋論。法音集。注四十二章遺教二經。皆深達於至理。一歲度僧至二十三萬。而僧眾有過者止從贖法。上元幸諸寺禮像百拜弗辭。復唐家天下放生池。以廣好生。皆本於宿願而發於聖性。非俟於勸也。至於繼世譯經大開梵學。五天三藏雲會帝廷。而專用宰輔詞臣兼潤文之職。其篤重譯事有若是者。當時儒賢如王旦王欽若楊億晁逈輩。皆能上贊聖謨共致平世。君臣慶會允在茲時。稽之前古未有比對。

The commentary states: When Emperor Zhenzong was on the throne, he exalted the three teachings together, yet his reverence for the Buddha and veneration of the Dharma surpassed that of previous reigns. Thus, among his imperial brush compositions were the Preface to the Holy Teachings, the Treatise on Venerating Buddhism, the Collection of Dharma Sounds, and commentaries on the two scriptures: the Scripture in Forty-Two Sections and the Bequeathed Teachings Sūtra; all of which deeply comprehended the ultimate principle. In a single year, he ordained as many as 230,000 monks, and monks who committed offenses were merely subjected to redemption penalties. On the Lantern Festival, he visited various monasteries to pay homage to the images, never declining to bow over a hundred times. He restored the ponds for releasing life throughout the realm established by the Tang dynasty to broaden love for living things. These were all rooted in past vows and arose from his sage nature, not waiting upon external exhortation. As for continuing the translation of scriptures across generations and widely opening Sanskrit learning, the tripiṭaka masters of the Five Indias gathered like clouds at the imperial court, while he exclusively appointed prime ministers and literary officials to concurrently hold the post of text-polishers. His profound reverence for the work of translation was like this! At that time, worthy Confucians such as Wang Dan, Wang Qinruo, Yang Yi, and Chao Jiong were all able to assist the sage's plans from above and jointly bring about a peaceful era. The felicitous encounter between sovereign and ministers was truly at this time; looking back at antiquity, there has never been any match for it.