佛祖統紀 46.49

46.49

The commentary says: Respectfully we reflect that the Daoist Emperor, the Retired Emperor, endowed with the disposition of sagacious intelligence and divine martial prowess, encountered an era when the realm was free of troubles. His modeling himself on the veneration of Buddhism by the ancestral emperors may be described as consummate. He conferred a preface on the Xudeng lu, granted posthumous titles to various ancestral masters of the Han and Tang dynasties, paid respectful homage to the tooth relic of Śākyamuni Buddha, and composed a hymn for it—such was his good heart during those sixteen years. Once treacherous men gained power, exalting Daoism and destroying Buddhism, the imperial mind was first led astray, and the Xuanhe decree abolishing Buddhism was carried out. Soon after, Heaven sent down a great flood, the laborers raised staves to drive off Lingsu, and he offended the faction of eunuchs and usurped the insignia of the Crown Prince. The Emperor began to detest him greatly, posted his crimes at the gate, and sent him off to his death on the road. Hastily he issued a decree taking the blame upon himself, fully restored the Buddhist Dharma, and abolished the study of Huang-Lao. Thus, the Emperor's good heart was still not lost. This was simply an adverse turn in the fortune of the Great Dharma, allowing māras and outsiders to indulge their villainy. How could it detract from the Daoist Emperor's sagacious intelligence and divine martial prowess?