佛祖歷代通載 9.3

9.3

（壬午）　高祖武皇帝衍改天監（字叔達。南蘭陵都里人。與齊同出。亦漢相何二十四代孫。父順之為丹陽尹。母曰張氏。生帝狀貌奇偉日角龍顏項有圓光身不映日。受齊禪後酷好佛法。降將侯景反叛舉兵圍帝于臺城。斷食而崩于淨居殿。壽八十六。在位四十八年○或問曰。梁武終身奉佛。然困殍于臺城。佛法之驗其在何也。答之曰。有是疑乎。有是誚也。且夫人之性命業性定焉。苟往世之業會矣。豈今生之善革哉。故文中子曰。齋戒修而梁國危非釋迦之罪也。緣行齊廢帝之愆。值侯景臺城之困業理既昭。惑疑遣矣）。

(Renwu) Emperor Wu, the High Ancestor, Xiao Yan, changed [the era name] to Tianjian. (Courtesy name Shuda; native of Duli in Nanlanling. Descended from the same lineage as the Qi; also a twenty-fourth-generation descendant of the Han chancellor Xiao He. His father, Shunzhi, was Governor of Danyang; his mother was Lady Zhang. When the Emperor was born, his appearance was extraordinary and imposing, with the 'sun horn' [forehead] and dragon countenance; there was a halo around his neck, and his body cast no shadow in the sun. After receiving the abdication of Qi, he was passionately fond of the Buddhadharma. The surrendered general Hou Jing rebelled, raised troops, and besieged the Emperor at Taicheng. He ceased eating and died in the Jingju Hall at the age of eighty-six, having reigned for forty-eight years. ○ Someone asked: "Emperor Wu of Liang reverenced the Buddha throughout his life, yet died trapped and starved at Taicheng. Where was the efficacy of the Buddhadharma?" To this it is answered: "Does such a doubt exist? Does such a reproach exist? Now, man's life and destiny are determined by the nature of karma. If past karma has converged, how could the good of this life change it? Therefore Wenzhongzi said: 'That his fasts and precepts were cultivated while the Liang state fell into danger was not the fault of Śākyamuni.' Because he committed the fault of deposing the ruler of Qi, he met the distress of Hou Jing at Taicheng. Once the principle of karma is clear, doubts and confusion are dispelled.")