釋氏稽古略 3.249

3.249

In the jiazi year, the fourth year of Huichang, in the third month, an edict appointed Daoist Zhao Guizhen as Master of Daoist Instruction of the Left and Right Streets. The Emperor was intent on seeking immortality, and Guizhen took advantage of this favor to repeatedly slander the Śākya lineage. The Emperor agreed with him. He further requested to debate with the Śākya lineage. An imperial decree summoned Buddhist monks and Daoist priests to debate in the Linde Hall. Dharma Master Zhixuan ascended the debate seat; his eloquence was nimble, refined, and powerful, and the Daoist stream could not defeat him. Xuan then memorialized, "Rulers take rites and music as their foundation and unify laws and regulations; breathing exercises and ingesting drugs are merely the private preserves of common men in mountains and forests. I hope Your Majesty will not dwell your mind on them." The Emperor's expression showed displeasure. The attending ministers advised Xuan to compose a poem to explain himself. Xuan immediately presented five pieces, containing the line: 'The crane's back is perilous, the dragon's back is slippery; may the Lord of Men dwell [in the human realm] for a thousand years.' The Emperor understood its satirical intent (Old History of the Tang).