佛祖歷代通載 4.145

4.145

（二十六　壬申）　釋道比較焚經。是年正月一日。五嶽諸山道士褚善信等上表欲相比較。時南嶽道士褚善信等。西嶽道士劉正念等。北嶽道士桓文度等。東嶽道士焦德心等。嵩嶽道士呂惠通等。諸山道士費叔才祁文信等。一千三百一十人。表以奏聞。勅納表。遣尚書令宋庠引入長樂宮。以今月十五日可集白馬寺築壇火驗。時道士等將真元五訣符錄等五百九卷。茅成子等二十七家二百三十五卷。通計七百四十八卷。置之壇上。褚費之徒焚香呪已。遂使火之。諸子道書皆滅灰燼。褚費二人自感而死。次將梵本火然赫奕。宛如鼎新更增光潔。時摩騰法師神變凌空冷然偈曰。狐非師子類。燈非日月明。池無巨海納。丘無山嶽嶸。法雲垂世界。善種得開萌。顯通希有法。處處化群生。乃至弘宣法戒藏等神通勝事驚心。士庶投誠出家者眾。時有司空陽城侯劉善峻等一千餘人。出家慕道。四嶽道士呂惠通等六百二十八人。抽簪落髮。夫人王婕妤等與宮媛二百三十餘人。厭俗歸真。南嶽道士葬褚善信不蒙披剃。既而明帝設齋。親與下髮廣施衣鉢。大啟玄宗廣度僧尼。高崇十寺。城外七寺安僧。城內三寺安尼。寺之得名自斯而始。備如佛道論。

(26. Renshen [72 CE]) The contest between Buddhists and Daoists and the burning of the scriptures. On the first day of the first month of this year, the Daoists of the Five Sacred Peaks and various mountains, Chu Shanxin and others, submitted a memorial wishing to compete. At that time, one thousand three hundred and ten men—Daoists of the Southern Peak Chu Shanxin and others, Daoists of the Western Peak Liu Zhengnian and others, Daoists of the Northern Peak Huan Wendu and others, Daoists of the Eastern Peak Jiao Dexin and others, Daoists of Mount Song Lü Huitong and others, and Daoists of various mountains Fei Shucai, Qi Wenxin, and others—memorialized their petition. The emperor issued an imperial order accepting the memorial, dispatching Director of the Department of State Affairs Song Xiang to usher them into Changle Palace, and decreeing that on the fifteenth day of this month they should assemble at White Horse Monastery to erect an altar and test [the scriptures] by fire. At that time, the Daoists brought five hundred and nine fascicles, including the Five Secrets and Talismans of the True Origin, along with two hundred and thirty-five fascicles from twenty-seven masters such as Mao Chengzi, totaling seven hundred and forty-eight fascicles, and placed them on the altar. Chu, Fei, and their followers burned incense and recited incantations, and then set fire to them. The various philosophical and Daoist books were all reduced to ashes. Chu and Fei died of self-reproach and remorse. Next, they set fire to the Sanskrit texts; they blazed gloriously, appearing as if freshly minted and even brighter and cleaner. At that time, Dharma Master Mātaṅga performed supernormal transformations, soaring into the sky, and composed a cool and serene gāthā, saying: 'The fox is no kin of the lion; / A lamp has not the radiance of the sun and moon. / A pool cannot contain the great ocean; / A hill has not the towering height of a mountain peak. / The Dharma cloud descends upon the world; / The good seeds are enabled to sprout and grow. / Revealing the rare and wondrous Dharma, / Everywhere he transforms sentient beings.' Through his preaching of the Dharma, the precepts, the Tripiṭaka, and other astonishing supernormal feats, numerous gentlemen and commoners offered their sincere faith and took the pravrajyā. At that time, more than one thousand people, including Minister of Works Liu Shanjun, Marquis of Yangcheng, entered monastic life to pursue the Way. Six hundred and twenty-eight Daoists of the Four Peaks, including Lü Huitong, removed their hairpins and shaved their heads. More than two hundred and thirty women, including Lady-in-Waiting Wang and palace ladies, grew weary of worldly life and returned to the truth. The Daoists of the Southern Peak buried Chu Shanxin without receiving tonsure. Afterwards, Emperor Ming hosted a feast, personally participated in shaving their heads, and broadly bestowed robes and bowls. He vastly opened the profound lineage, extensively ordained monks and nuns, and elevated ten monasteries: seven monasteries outside the city walls to house monks, and three monasteries inside the walls to house nuns. The title of 'monastery' originated from this, as fully recorded in the Treatise on Buddhism and Daoism.