佛祖統紀 40.45

40.45

In the first year of Zhide, in the first month, An Lushan, Military Commissioner of Fanyang, rebelled. In the fifth month, Emperor Xuanzong, the Crown Prince, and the civil and military officials departed Chang'an intending to take refuge in Shu. When they reached Mawei, several thousand commoners requested that the Crown Prince remain in the east to destroy the rebels. The śramaṇa Daoping of Jincheng forcefully urged deliberating military affairs at Lingwu to plan the restoration. Consequently, Ping was appointed Senior General of the Jinwu Guard. Reaching Linggao, he repeatedly fought with the rebels and heavily defeated them. When affairs were settled and enfeoffments were distributed, Ping firmly declined. An edict then ordered him to reside at the two monasteries of Chongfu and Xingqing, bestowing a purple robe, gold, and silk upon him. In the seventh month, the Crown Prince ascended the throne at Lingwu, honoring Xuanzong as the Retired Emperor. / While the Emperor was at Lingwu, because military provisions were insufficient, Chancellor Pei Mian requested the sale of ordination certificates for monks and Daoist priests, which were called 'incense water money' (the beginning of selling ordination certificates). / At that time, as the rebel turmoil was at its height, someone advised the Emperor that he should rely on the Buddha's protection. He summoned one hundred śramaṇas to enter the traveling palace to chant and sing hymns morning and evening. One night the Emperor dreamed of a śramaṇa with a golden body chanting 'Ratnaketu Tathāgata.' When he questioned his attendants, someone replied, 'In the Baicao Valley of Helan, there is a Silla monk named Muro who constantly chants this name.' He was summoned to an audience at the traveling palace. Soon after, Amoghavajra arrived, and both were retained and entrusted with praying for blessings. / Du Hongjian memorialized that Biancai be installed at Longxing Monastery; an edict appointed him Preceptor of the Shuofang Circuit. / When the Retired Emperor stayed at Chengdu, the eunuch Gao Lishi memorialized, 'In the market south of the city, there is a monk named Yinggan who distributes gruel on the broad thoroughfares to save the poor and starving, praying that the fortune of the dynasty be purified again and the realm recovered. He wishes to establish a monastery east of the superior prefecture to accumulate blessings for the state.' The Retired Emperor was pleased and personally wrote the plaque for the Dashengci Monastery, granting one thousand mu of land. An edict ordered Dhyāna Master Jeon of Silla to lay out the design, comprising ninety-six cloisters and eight thousand five hundred sections in all. Dhyāna Master Jeon later went to Mount Jiuhua in Chizhou, where he passed away while sitting; his whole body did not decay, and his bones were like linked golden chains; his age was ninety-nine. / In the twelfth month, the Retired Emperor returned from Chengdu to the capital. / An edict ordered the śramaṇa Yuanjiao to establish a Bhaiṣajyaguru ritual sanctuary at Kaiyuan Monastery in Fengxiang. Suddenly, forty-nine plum tree shoots sprouted within the assembly. Yuanjiao and others submitted a memorial offering congratulations. The imperial response said, 'The flourishing of the auspicious plums is an omen of the rising of the state; that they sprouted within the saṅghārāma shows that the Tree of Awakening also shares in this glory. Moved by this extraordinary auspicious sign, We rejoice together with you, Master.' / An edict ordered that the Buddha's bone from Famen Monastery in Fengxiang be welcomed into the palace to establish a ritual sanctuary, commanding śramaṇas to praise and pay homage to it morning and evening. An edict ordered that monasteries be built on each of the Five Sacred Peaks, selecting those of lofty conduct to head them. Laypeople who could recite one hundred sheets of scripture were granted ordination under the status of 'Clarifier of Classics.' At that time, the monk Biao passed as the top candidate. Alternatively, those who paid one hundred strings of copper coins were permitted to obtain certificates for tonsure. / The śramaṇa Huichang of Mount Luofu, entering a mountain cave while picking tea, saw an inscription in gold characters reading 'Holy Arhat Monastery.' After staying inside for three days, he emerged to find himself at Mount Mao, where five years had passed in the human world.