釋氏稽古略 3.35

3.35

In the fourth month of the ninth year of Zhenguan, the Retired Emperor passed away. In the eleventh month, an edict declared: "The three vehicles join their tracks, prioritizing deliverance; the eightfold correct path is taken as refuge, with compassion as paramount. It pours out the ocean of wisdom to enrich all living beings; it cuts down the forest of afflictions to bridge the myriad things. Entrusting to truth and realizing the principle, its doctrine accords with utmost benevolence; wondrous fruits and superior causes match in the accumulation of goodness. We revere the Golden Wheel and respectfully receive the precious mandate. In the teachings of supreme virtue, there is nothing distant we do not ponder; in the regulations of the Great Sage, there is nothing obscure we do not examine. We wish to cause people to be free from hindrances and bonds, and families to attain benevolence and longevity. Recently, due to disruptions and chaos, the monastic assembly has dwindled; before flowered terraces and jeweled stupas, no one gazes through the doors. Dark hair and blue lotuses are combed by the wind and bathed in the rain. Reflecting on this decline and ruin, we are truly dejected. Let the prefectures throughout the realm that possess monasteries ordain monks and nuns up to the limit of three thousand. Since prefectures are large or small and lands are Chinese or frontier, the authorities shall deliberate and determine the numbers to be ordained in each place, striving to select those of pure and illustrious virtuous practice. Those who in the past returned to lay life due to monastic reductions, as well as laymen who were privately ordained—if their conduct and practice are commendable, they may all be included within the quota. If there are indeed no qualified people to select, let their quota remain vacant. Recently, we have heard that many monks are drowned in vulgar habits: some falsely invoking ghosts and spirits to fabricate and spread strange portents; some erroneously claiming to be medical shamans and following heterodox paths to pursue gain; some scorching or piercing their flesh to shock the common folk and frighten the ignorant; some frequenting government offices to solicit bribes. All such kinds gravely undermine the sagely teachings. Our heart lies in protecting and sustaining [the Dharma], and there shall be no leniency. From now on, let the authorities be ordered to rely upon the internal monastic rules and cross-reference the golden statutes to establish clear regulations" (Tang shu, Jiu shi).