佛祖統紀 38.97

38.97

Yet the Yellow River Map and the Luo River Writing were the means by which the Way of Heaven delivered teachings down to the world; should they indeed be rejected as monstrous wonders? Thus the sage Laozi either served as sovereign in heaven or divided his form to deliver teachings below, in each case expounding transformation according to the times. When Laozi delivered teachings below to Lord Kou, bestowing upon him scriptures and methods and entrusting him as Celestial Master so that he might eliminate the abuses of the three Zhangs, his words were well worth adopting. As for his injunction that Kou should assist in bringing about Great Peace, it was on this basis that Kou was able to go to the palace gates to present his texts. Cui Hao introduced and promoted him, and Emperor Taiwu trusted and received him; this was not yet an error. But once Cui Hao, with a heart hostile to Buddhism, urged his sovereign on, the calamity of investigating and executing monks suddenly arose. How cruel it was! Was this not one of the dire fortunes in the destiny of the Dharma? Before long, Cui Hao's clan was executed, and Emperor Taiwu was assassinated; their ignominious ends were quite sufficient to display their guilt. When Emperor Wencheng issued an edict to restore the Buddha-Dharma and build stupas on a grand scale, the opening and closing of that single moment was hardly enough to obstruct the fundamental, constant Way. Some in the world hold that destroying Buddhism was Qianzhi's fault; however, Qianzhi merely received the teachings from Lord Lao in order to report them to the ruler of men. He never initially created arguments to destroy Buddhism; destroying Buddhism originated with Emperor Taiwu and Cui Hao. The prosperity and decline of the Dharma's destiny is a matter of ordained numbers; the predilections and aversions of human hearts are a matter of momentum. When momentum converges with ordained numbers, even the power of the Buddha cannot alter it. Thus we know that the destruction of Buddhism by Emperor Taiwu and Cui Hao was due to their grasping coinciding with the numbers; it was not Qianzhi's fault. Emperor Yang took Zhizhe as his master, yet when Zhizhe died, he murdered his father and usurped the throne, issuing an edict to defrock monks and destroy monasteries, though in the end he was thwarted in doing so. Could it be that Zhizhe taught him this? Wei Yuansong taught Emperor Wu of the Zhou, and Zhao Guizhen taught Emperor Wu of the Tang; these indeed truly taught them. That sovereigns and ministers alike suffered unseen retribution was no mere misfortune.