佛祖統紀 47.62

47.62

'...dynasty, they are exceedingly detailed. For instance, Wenying's Xiangshan lu records that at the beginning of the dynasty, boy postulants were tested on scriptures in Tanzhou; this was a prefectural examination. Ouyang [Xiu]'s Guitian lu records that the grand councilors Song Shou and Xia Song jointly examined postulants; this was a court-instituted examination. As the Seng shi lüe records, during the Zhu Liang era, private ordinations were not permitted, and those wishing to leave household life entered the capital for the examination. Reverently considering the import of these three books, the postulants of the realm must first pass the examinations in their prefectures, and then enter the capital, where the grand councilors open the examination hall to personally supervise the re-examination, ranking their names and reporting them to the throne; only then are ordination certificates issued from the Ministry of Rites. If there is a special imperial decree granting benevolence—such as the eight thousand monks of Jianlong or the universal ordination of one hundred and seventy thousand during Taiping [Xingguo]—then that is not limited by scripture examinations. Should someone say that this causes a loss to state revenue, I would reply: simply designate one thousand certificates each year for scripture examinations, and distribute the cost of those one thousand certificates among the remaining certificates, allowing those who cannot chant scriptures but have abundant wealth also to seek ordination. At present, the monks of the realm are redundant. By testing on scriptures, the ancient way is practiced; by making certificates valuable, ordinary people are restricted. This is truly sufficient to restore the established laws of the ancestors and rescue against the redundant abuses of the degenerate age.' The Emperor approved his memorial and committed it to the grand councilors to send down to the Buddhist Registry to prepare the format; because the report was not clear, it was ultimately blocked by the Secretariat. ○ The construction of the Xingfu Cloister was completed. Prior to this, Master Ne of Shangzhu had repeatedly requested retirement due to illness. The Emperor said: 'We shall first grant you land and build a hermitage. After a year or two, you and We will both become men of leisure, speaking together of non-arising on the stones beside the water.' At this point, it was bestowed upon the Master for his retirement, and he was appointed Registrar of the Two Streets. The Crown Prince wrote the plaque 'Returning to Reclusion' for his room. In the sixteenth year, the Emperor abdicated the throne to the Crown Prince, retired to live in the Chonghua Palace, and was titled Emperor of Longevity. ○ The Emperor of Longevity summoned Master Huiguang Ruone to the inner palace; the commentary on the Diamond Prajñā Sutra was completed as a book. The Emperor perused it for days on end and gained even more awakening and inspiration.