佛祖統紀 48.12

48.12

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.'