佛祖歷代通載 7.66

7.66

（十九　癸卯）　元興二年。太尉桓玄久懷篡奪。及升宰輔。以震主之威下書。令沙門致拜君親。玄與八座書。重申何庾議沙門不敬王者。以謂庾意在尊主而禮據未盡。何出於偏信遂淪名體。夫佛之為化。雖誕以范浩推乎視聽之外。以敬為本。此處不異。蓋所期者殊。非恭敬宜廢也。老子同王侯於三大。原其所重皆在於資生通運。豈獨以聖人在位而比稱二儀哉。將以天地之大德曰生。通生理物在乎王者。故尊其神器而禮實惟隆。豈是虛相崇重。義在君御而已。沙門之所以生生資存。亦日用於理命。豈有受其德而遺其禮。沾其惠而廢其敬哉。于時尚書桓謙中書王謐等。抗諫曰。今沙門者意深於敬。不以形屈為禮。如育王禮比丘足。魏文侯之揖干木。漢光武之遇子陵。皆不令屈體。況沙門之人也。於是亟其書咨于遠公。遠嘅然惜之曰。悲夫斯乃交喪之所由。千載之否運。懼大法之將淪。感往事之不忘。故著論五篇究敘微意。庶後之君子崇敬佛教者。或詳覽焉。

(19; year guimao) In the second year of the Yuanxing reign period, the Grand Commandant Huan Xuan had long harbored ambitions of usurpation. Upon rising to become prime minister, wielding an awe-inspiring authority that shook the sovereign, he issued a decree commanding monks to prostrate themselves before ruler and parents. Xuan sent a letter to the Eight Ministers, reiterating the earlier debate of He Chong and Yu Bing regarding monks not paying homage to kings, asserting that Yu's intention had been to honor the sovereign though his ritual justifications were incomplete, whereas He had acted out of biased faith and thereby degraded both status and reality. [Xuan claimed:] 'Although the transforming influence of the Buddha is wondrously vast and points beyond the realm of sight and hearing, it takes reverence as its root; in this it is no different [from worldly teachings]. Their ultimate aims differ, yet that does not mean deference and respect ought to be abandoned. Laozi ranked kings and lords together among the Three Greats; examining what he valued, it lay entirely in sustaining life and facilitating worldly fortunes. Could it be only because a sage occupies the throne that he is matched with Heaven and Earth? Heaven and Earth’s greatest virtue is called life-giving, and facilitating life and governing creatures rests with the ruler. Hence his sacred regalia are revered and the rituals [accorded him] are truly exalted. Is this an empty show of veneration? Its meaning rests solely in rulerly governance. The daily sustenance and life of monks also rely every day on ordered rule. How could they receive his virtue yet omit his rituals, or partake in his beneficence yet discard their reverence?' At that time, Minister of the Department of State Affairs Huan Qian and Palace Secretariat Director Wang Mi submitted remonstrances, stating: 'Present-day monks hold reverence deeply in their hearts and do not regard bodily bowing as ritual. Just as King Aśoka bowed at the feet of bhikṣus, and Marquis Wen of Wei bowed to Duan Ganmu, and Emperor Guangwu of Han treated Yan Ziling [with utmost honor], none forced them to bend their bodies—how much less so monks!' Thereupon they urgently dispatched this letter to consult Master Huiyuan. Huiyuan sighed with regret, saying: 'Alas! This is the cause of mutual ruin, the misfortune of a millennium. Fearing that the Great Dharma would perish and mindful not to forget past precedents, I have composed a treatise in five sections to investigate and explain this subtle intention, in the hope that future gentlemen who revere the Buddhist teachings may examine it in detail.'