佛祖統紀 48.12

48.12

天台沙門思廉。致書於杜清獻公曰。佛囑國君大臣護持佛法。而反破壞佛法者。有一事最為要。朝廷立法。許大臣為祖父以家財造寺乞額。所以薦福為先亡也。今昧者為之則不然。以祖父玉體之重。不能捐財買山。既已奪取僧藍之地以為墳。而又欲影占數寺稱為功德。舉寺中所有諸物而有之。今日發米明日發茶筍。又明日發柴炭。又明日發竹木。甚至於月奉水陸之珍。一有亡僧則必掩取其物。歸之私帑。嘗聞時貴之言曰。請過功德一鍼一草皆我家之物。哀哉。彼誠不知常住物業亡僧財物皆屬三寶。侵奪之者。若主若僕必招苦報。其於安厝祖父之體魄。寧不貽三塗之惡報乎。吁占奪伽藍欺君也。葬父僧地陷父也。自為不法賊己也。以不法教子弟。累人也。欺君者不忠。陷父者不孝。賊己者不智。累人者不仁。如此以為人。是誠何人哉。今名勝道場效尤而奪取者幾遍諸郡。一屬功德則使庸繆之輩以居之。方竭力奉承之不暇。又寧能辨清供以安廣眾乎。以故尋師問道者。翩翩南北。但能嗟時事之不然而已。區區愚衷欲望大丞相明察積弊檢準舊法。凡宰執之家。除四明大慈七山。史氏自造請額合格外自餘占奪有額舊寺者。專令臺部置司行下諸郡從實供析悉與拘回。並從所屬州郡給帖住持。仍釐正在前侵占山林屋宇歸還各寺。子弟有敢與住持交通如前侵占者。許雜人密告臺部追捕幹吏斷刺。號令住持勒令罷道。清整法門申明朝憲。誠有在於大丞相奉行之力。不為物論動搖為可耳。云云。

The Tiantai śramaṇa Silian sent a letter to Duke Du Qingxian, saying: 'The Buddha entrusted the rulers and ministers of the state to protect and uphold the Buddha-Dharma, yet among those who conversely destroy the Buddha-Dharma, there is one matter of the utmost gravity. The court established laws permitting ministers to build temples with their own family wealth for their ancestors and petition for plaques, in order to offer merits for the deceased ancestors. But today, unenlightened people do not act this way. Out of regard for the precious bodies of their ancestors, they cannot bear to spend money to purchase mountain land; having already seized the land of a monastic cloister for a tomb, they further wish to shadow-occupy several temples, claiming them as merit-cloisters, and taking possession of all items within the temples. Today they requisition rice, tomorrow tea and bamboo shoots; the next day firewood and charcoal, and the next timber and bamboo; they even expect monthly offerings of delicacies from water and land! Whenever a monk dies, they inevitably seize his belongings and turn them over to their private treasury. I have heard the words of high nobles of our time saying: "In the merit-cloister I petitioned for, every single needle and blade of grass is my family's property!" How lamentable! They truly do not know that the permanent property of the saṃgha and the belongings of deceased monks belong entirely to the Three Jewels. Those who usurp them, whether master or servant, will inevitably incur bitter retribution. In laying to rest the physical remains of their ancestors, how could this fail to bequeath evil retribution in the three destinies? Alas! Seizing a saṃghārāma is deceiving the sovereign; burying a father on monastic land is plunging the father into ruin; committing unlawful acts oneself is harming oneself; teaching unlawful acts to sons and younger brothers is burdening others. One who deceives the sovereign is disloyal; one who ruins a father is unfilial; one who harms oneself is unwise; one who burdens others is unbenevolent. To act as a human in this manner—what kind of person is this really? Today, the practice of following this precedent to usurp renowned sanctuaries has spread to nearly every commandery. Once a monastery belongs to a merit-cloister, mediocre and foolish persons are put in charge of it; when they barely have time to exhaust their efforts in catering and flattering, how could they prepare pure offerings to settle the broad assembly? For this reason, those seeking teachers and inquiring into the Way wander back and forth between north and south, only able to sigh over the deplorable state of current affairs. Your humble servant's foolish hope is that the Grand Councilor will clearly examine these accumulated abuses and verify them against the old statutes. For all households of councilors and ministers—with the exception of Daci Mountain and seven other mountains in Siming, where the Shi family built them themselves and petitioned for plaques in accordance with regulations—as for all others who have occupied and seized old temples that already possessed plaques, let special orders be given to the Censorate and Ministries to establish an office, issuing directives to the commanderies to conduct truthful investigations, and recover them entirely. Abbots should be appointed by certificates issued by the subordinate prefectures and commanderies. Furthermore, rectify previously usurped mountain forests and buildings, restoring them to each temple. If any sons or younger brothers dare to collude with abbots and commit encroachments as before, allow common folk to secretly report them to the Censorate and Ministries to arrest the managing agents and inflict tattoo-branding punishment, issue orders to the abbots and compel them to defrock. To purify and reform the Dharma gates and make clear the court's statutes truly depends on the Grand Councilor's power of execution, without being swayed by public gossip. And so forth.'