佛祖歷代通載 19.77

19.77

（四十七）　詔法師永道。還京復僧形服。六月奉旨住持昭慶崇化禪寺。七月御批右街顯聖寺釋迦院。特賜寶覺大師充廨舍。仍行住持。師諱永道。東頴沈丘毛氏子。弱歲厭世相。往依承天寺南羅漢院真戒大師安恭。學出世法。既納僧服趨京師業唯識百法通之。政和三年選補右街香積院住持。賜紫衣。五年賜寶覺大師。宣和元年改佛號。師與律師悟明華嚴師惠日。相向泣曰。佛法至此。幸生猶死也。亟詣政府陳狀謂。自漢永平佛法入中國。唯元魏宇文周唐會昌。曾廢佛。我國家法堯准舜。三武庸主安足為法哉。謂佛非中國之人。欲不存其法於中國。乞放歸田里。復士農之業。德士之稱。有死不敢奉詔。不納。翌日遂伏宣德門奏疏曰。（臣）永道幸生神考潛封之地。遭際陛下御㝢之時。三教鼎興萬方無事。（臣）因棄士農之業。削髮披緇講授佛書。助揚聖時無為之化。竊為三教聖人。壹是教人以為善。但為其徒者妄相睚眦。致使時君惑焉。蓋自三五以降。朴散淳漓。大道堙塞。周之柱下史迺著書五千言。發明道德。將使斯民守雌保弱。慈儉無為反刓於朴。屬周道陵遲。俗益浮偽而民莫之從也。仲尼氏出益倡仁義之道。修詩書定禮樂。以救世弊。不幸而繼之以戰國。處士橫議。以仁義為謬悠。其視道德何如也。漢興猶雜霸道。孝文之賢。議禮樂則謙讓未遑。孝武窮兵讟武。海內大困。於斯時也。非吾佛之教應冥數而來。則道德仁義幾乎熄矣。原夫佛之書也。苞羅精捔無所不統。玄微深遠難得而測。又明善惡報應通乎三世。身滅而神不滅。積善積惡各以其類報。不待爵賞而民自勸。不待刑威而民自化。其陰翊王度有功斯民。豈小補云乎哉。自漢以來。惟元魏宇文周唐會昌。甞下廢佛之令。其餘帝王罔不崇奉。若我藝祖皇帝。始受周禪首興佛教。累遣僧徒往西域益求其法。太宗皇帝。建譯場修墜典。製祕藏詮。述聖教序。真宗皇帝。製法音集崇釋氏論。仁宗皇帝。躬覽藏經撰寫天竺字。日與大覺師懷璉賡歌質問心法。英祖神考繼體守文。哲宗皇帝。在儲宮日。神考不豫。時讀佛經祈聖躬永命。使吾佛之道有一不出于正。則曷足以致歷代帝王之崇奉哉。雖遭前代之三廢。然皆不旋踵而復。其廢教之人。率皆不旋踵而及於禍。誰為陛下謀乃赫然下廢佛之令。（臣）甚為陛下危之。夫自漢以下歷代帝王。固無足為陛下道者。然我本朝之列聖。豈皆不足為陛下法哉。陛下必欲道士之盛者。宜嚴勅郡縣民之俊秀。悉與保奏披戴。不旬月之間道士自盛矣。陛下舍此而不為。迺迫脇佛者之徒。棄其所學而從之。傳曰。以力服人者非心悅而誠服也。以非心悅誠服之僧。驅而內諸道士之中。（臣）愚以為道士之禍自此始矣。未覩其為盛也。（臣）濫學於佛。食宋之粟。不容默已。諫而獲罪實甘心焉。書上。帝大怒。收付開封獄。當黥舂陵。監防卒謂。此去萬里蛇霧毒人。道人蔬食且不過中食。甚非自全計。宜茹葷血。師囅然曰。死則死耳。佛禁不可犯也。舂陵守一夕夢黥佛械而立庭下。旦視事遍以告僚屬。僚屬具對同夢。頃之師至。而貌惟肖。一府大驚。議免師役。辭以大君有命。守益賢而免之。居亡幾州人大疫。師為鑿池呪水。飲者輒愈。尋許自便。建炎南渡廷臣。薦師林堪恢復。詔赴臨安勉反初服。師力辭。帝知師不可奪。從容謂師。先帝惑於妖言。毀卿形服。朕欲為卿去其黥涅可乎。道對曰。先皇墨寶不忍毀。帝大笑。撫道背曰。卿到老倔彊。遂賜名法道。諡號寶覺圓通法濟大師。俾住大中祥符寺。國災眚咸委師祈榮。應若影嚮。紹興二年。詔住廬山之東林。從江州守臣請也。明年師因道士循習近例班居僧上。遂詣行在上疏曰。緣崇寧大觀問。道士王資息林靈素等。明冐資品紊亂朝綱。由是道壓僧班。切見靖康以來。道士官資已行追毀。乞依祖宗舊制。特賜改正。禮部議故事惟宣德門肆赦。道左餘並僧左。奏著為令。先是靖康之亂。甞與律師悟明誓。造三千化佛。為國永命。其在祥符時。方議經構。而金人再陷臨安。乘輿浮海。道亦扈從。至是乃移罷東林。勸施藏事。十七年七月二十一日。入寂于千佛閣新寺。是日講筵。法師百餘人。以自恣來謁。慰勞如平時。遽謂法門安危。繄公等是賴。吾其逝矣。索筆書偈。合掌而逝。闍維獲舍利無數。弟子寶護建塔九里松之原。世壽六十二。僧臘四十四。魏國公張浚譔塔銘。

[47] An edict ordered Dharma Master Yongdao to return to the capital and resume his monastic form and robes. In the sixth month, he received an imperial order to assume the abbacy of the Zhaoqing Chonghua Chan Temple. In the seventh month, an imperial rescript directed that the Śākya Cloister of Xiansheng Temple on the Right Avenue be specially bestowed upon Great Master Baojue to serve as official quarters, while he continued to act as abbot. The master's taboo name was Yongdao; he was a son of the Mao family of Shenqiu in Dongying. In his youth, he grew weary of worldly forms and went to rely upon Great Master Zhenjie, Angong, of the Southern Arhat Cloister at Chengtian Temple, to study the supramundane Dharma. Once he had taken monastic robes, he hastened to the capital, studied the hundred dharmas of vijñapti-mātra, and mastered them. In the third year of the Zhenghe era, he was selected to fill the post of abbot at Xiangji Cloister on the Right Avenue and was granted the purple robe. In the fifth year, he was granted the title of Great Master Baojue. In the first year of the Xuanhe era, the Buddhist titles were changed. The master, together with Vinaya Master Wuming and Avataṃsaka Master Huiri, wept facing one another and said: "The Buddhadharma has come to this! To be fortunate enough to live is no different from death." They immediately went to the administration to present a memorial, stating: "Since the Buddhadharma entered China in the Yongping era of the Han, only the Yuan Wei, Yuwen Zhou, and Huichang of the Tang ever abolished Buddhism. Our state models itself after Yao and conforms to Shun; how could the three Wu, those mediocre rulers, be worthy models? It is said that the Buddha was not a person of China and that his teachings should not be maintained in China; we beg to be released to return to our native fields to resume the occupations of scholars and farmers. As for the title of 'gentlemen of virtue' (deshi), we would die before daring to accept the decree." It was not accepted. The next day, he bowed at the Xuande Gate and presented a memorial, saying: "Your servant Yongdao has had the good fortune to be born in the territory of the late Emperor Shenzong's former fief and to meet with the time of Your Majesty's reign over the universe. The three teachings flourish like a tripod, and the myriad directions are free from trouble. Your servant thereupon abandoned the occupation of scholar and farmer, shaved his hair, donned the black robes, and expounded the Buddhist texts to assist in propagating the transformation through non-action (wuwei) of this sacred era. I humbly consider that the sages of the three teachings were entirely uniform in teaching people to do good. It is only their followers who have looked upon one another with delusion and resentment, causing the contemporary sovereign to be misled. Since the times of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, simplicity has scattered and purity has dissipated, while the Great Way has become obstructed. The Scribe Beneath the Pillar of the Zhou thereupon composed a work of five thousand characters to elucidate the Dao and its Virtue, intending to make this populace keep to the female, preserve weakness, maintain compassion, frugality, and non-action, and return from chipping away to simplicity. But as the way of the Zhou declined, customs grew ever more superficial and false, and the people did not follow it. Master Zhongni (Confucius) arose and further championed the way of humaneness and righteousness, edited the *Odes* and the *Documents*, and established the rites and music in order to remedy the evils of the age. Unfortunately, this was succeeded by the Warring States: retired scholars argued wildly, regarding humaneness and righteousness as false and absurd; how then did they view the Dao and its Virtue? The rise of the Han was still mixed with the way of the hegemon. Even with the worthiness of Emperor Xiaowen, when it came to deliberating on rites and music, he was modest and yielded, having no leisure for it. Emperor Xiaowu exhausted his troops and indulged in warfare, bringing great distress to all within the seas. At that time, had not the teachings of our Buddha arrived in accordance with the dark destiny, the Dao and its Virtue, humaneness and righteousness would have been all but extinguished. When examining the Buddha's texts, they encompass the essential and the detailed, leaving nothing ungoverned; subtle, profound, and far-reaching, they are difficult to fathom. Furthermore, they clarify that the karmic retribution of good and evil extends through the three times, that the body perishes but the spirit does not, and that the accumulation of good or evil brings retribution each according to its kind. Without waiting for ranks and rewards, the people encourage themselves; without waiting for punishments and awe, the people transform themselves. As for secretly assisting the kingly norms and rendering merit to this populace, how could it be called a mere minor aid? Since the Han, only the Yuan Wei, Yuwen Zhou, and Tang Huichang ever issued decrees to abolish Buddhism; the rest of the emperors and kings have all revered and honored it. As for our Great Ancestor, the Martial Emperor, when he first received the abdication from the Zhou, he gave primacy to reviving Buddhism, repeatedly dispatching monks to the Western Regions to further seek its teachings. Emperor Taizong established the translation court, repaired fallen classics, composed the *Secret Treasury Canon* (Mizang quan), and authored the *Preface to the Holy Teaching*. Emperor Zhenzong composed the *Collection of the Dharma Sound* (Fayin ji) and the *Discourse on Revering Buddhism* (Chongshishi lun). Emperor Renzong personally inspected the canon of scriptures, transcribed Indian characters, and daily exchanged poems with Great Master Dajue Huailian to inquire about the mind-dharma. Emperors Yingzong and Shenzong inherited the line and preserved cultural governance. When Emperor Zhezong was in the crown prince's palace and Emperor Shenzong was indisposed, he frequently read Buddhist sūtras to pray for the eternal life of the sacred person. If the Way of our Buddha were not entirely based upon correctness, how could it have earned the reverence and devotion of successive emperors and kings? Although it met with the three abolitions of previous dynasties, in each case it was restored before one could turn on one's heel, and the men who abolished the teaching without exception met with disaster before they could turn on their heels. Who has devised this strategy for Your Majesty, causing you to suddenly issue an edict to abolish Buddhism? Your servant is exceedingly alarmed for Your Majesty. Though the successive emperors and kings from the Han down are truly not worthy of being spoken of to Your Majesty, could the former sages of our own dynasty all be unworthy of serving as a model for Your Majesty? If Your Majesty definitely desires the Daoists to flourish, you should strictly command the prefectures and counties to guarantee and recommend all the talented and outstanding among the people to be ordained and wear the robes; within less than ten days or a month, the Daoists would flourish of their own accord. Instead of doing this, Your Majesty coerces the followers of the Buddha to abandon what they have learned and follow them. A tradition says: 'One who subdues people by force does not make them submit with gladness and sincerity of heart.' By driving monks who do not submit with gladness and sincerity into the midst of the Daoists, your servant foolishly believes that the disaster of the Daoists will begin from this! I do not see how it will bring prosperity. Your servant has presumptuously studied the Buddha and eaten the grain of the Song; I cannot allow myself to remain silent. If I remonstrate and incur punishment, I truly accept it willingly." When the letter was submitted, the Emperor was furious. He arrested him and delivered him to the Kaifeng prison, sentencing him to be tattooed and exiled to Chunling. The escorting soldiers said: "Going from here for ten thousand li, snakes and mists poison people; you, a man of the Way, eat vegetarian food and do not eat past midday, which is hardly a plan for self-preservation. You should eat meat and blood." The master smiled calmly and said: "If I die, then I die; the Buddha's prohibitions must not be violated." One night, the prefect of Chunling dreamed that a tattooed Buddha, bound in irons, stood beneath his hall. In the morning, when he attended to business, he told this to all his subordinate officials, and they all replied that they had shared the same dream. Shortly afterward, the master arrived, and his appearance was identical to the dream. The entire prefecture was astonished and deliberated over excusing the master from hard labor. The master declined, citing the decree of the sovereign. The prefect regarded him as all the more worthy and exempted him. Before long, a great pestilence struck the people of the prefecture; the master dug a pond and incanted over the water, and those who drank it were immediately healed. Soon he was permitted to do as he pleased. When the court moved south during the Jianyan era, court ministers recommended the master to Lin Kan for reinstatement. An imperial edict summoned him to Lin'an, urging him to return to his original robes. The master firmly declined. The Emperor, knowing that the master's resolve could not be shaken, said to him leisurely: "The late Emperor was deluded by monstrous speech and marred your form and robes; I wish to remove your tattooed brands for you—would that be acceptable?" Dao replied: "I cannot bear to destroy the late Emperor's ink treasure." The Emperor laughed heartily, patted Dao on the back, and said: "You are stubborn to your old age!" He then bestowed upon him the name Fadao and the posthumous title Great Master Baojue Yuantong Faji, appointing him to reside at Dazhong Xiangfu Temple. Whenever there were national disasters or anomalies, the master was entirely entrusted to pray for blessings, and the response was like an echo to a sound. In the second year of the Shaoxing era, an edict ordered him to reside at Donglin Temple on Mount Lu, complying with a request from the prefectural officials of Jiangzhou. The following year, because the Daoists followed recent precedents and took precedence over the monks in the court ranks, the master went to the temporary capital and presented a memorial, saying: "During the Chongning and Daguan eras, Daoists such as Wang Zixi and Lin Lingsu openly usurped ranks and official grades, disrupting the state's regulations, and from this Daoists came to take precedence over the ranks of monks. We note that since the Jingkang era, the official titles and ranks of Daoists have already been rescinded and abolished; I beg that according to the ancestral old system, you specially grant a rectification." The Ministry of Rites deliberated that according to precedent, only during the proclamation of amnesties at the Xuande Gate were Daoists on the left, while on all other occasions monks were on the left; they memorialized this, and it was established as a decree. Prior to this, during the turmoil of the Jingkang era, he had taken a vow with Vinaya Master Wuming to create three thousand transformation Buddhas to pray for the eternal life of the state. When he was at Xiangfu Temple, they were just planning the construction when the Jin troops once again captured Lin'an, and the imperial carriage fled by sea; Dao also accompanied the imperial retinue. At this point, he was relieved of his duties at Donglin and encouraged donations to complete the project. On the twenty-first day of the seventh month of the seventeenth year, he entered stillness at the new temple of the Thousand Buddhas Pavilion. On that day, at the lecture seat, more than a hundred Dharma masters came to pay their respects on the occasion of the pravāraṇā (mutual confession) ceremony. He consoled and greeted them as usual, and then suddenly said: "The safety and peril of the Dharma gate rely upon you gentlemen. I am about to depart!" He asked for a brush, wrote a gāthā, joined his palms, and passed away. The cremation yielded countless relics (śarīra). His disciple Baohu erected a stūpa on the plain of Jiulisong. His worldly age was sixty-two, and his monastic age was forty-four. Duke of Wei Zhang Jun composed the stūpa inscription.