釋鑑稽古略續集 2.115

2.115

癸亥洪武十六年。吳沈等進精誠錄。先是上謂沈等曰。朕閱古昔聖賢其垂訓立教。大要有三。曰敬天。曰忠君。曰孝親。君能敬天。臣能忠君。子能孝親則人道立矣。然其言散在經傳。未易會其要領。爾其以三事以類編輯。至是書成上之。賜名曰精誠錄。五月二十一日早朝。僧錄司官於奉天門欽奉聖旨。即今瑜伽顯密法事儀式。及諸真言密呪盡行考較穩當可為一定成規。行於天下諸山寺院。永遠遵守。為孝子順孫慎終追遠之道。人民州里之間祈禳伸請之用。恁僧錄司行文書。與諸山住持并各處僧官知會俱。各差僧赴京。於內府關領法事儀式。回還習學後三年。凡持瑜伽教僧赴京試驗之時。若於今定成規儀式通者。方許為僧。若不省解讀念且生。須容周歲再試。若善於記誦無度牒者。試後就當官給與。如不能者發為民欽此。

In the gui-hai year, the sixteenth year of Hongwu, Wu Shen and others presented the Record of Sincere Devotion (Jingcheng lu). Previously, the Emperor had said to Shen and others: "In my examination of the ancient sages, the teachings and instructions they handed down have three essentials: reverence for Heaven, loyalty to the sovereign, and filial piety toward parents. When the sovereign can revere Heaven, ministers can be loyal to the sovereign, and children can be filial to their parents, the Way of humanity is established. However, their words are scattered across the scriptures and commentaries, and it is not easy to grasp their main points. You should compile them categorized by these three matters." At this time, the book was completed and presented, and the Emperor bestowed on it the title Record of Sincere Devotion. On the morning court of the twenty-first day of the fifth month, officials of the Central Buddhist Registry respectfully received an imperial decree at the Fengtian Gate: "Presently, the ritual ceremonies of both the exoteric and esoteric Yoga rituals, as well as the various mantras and dhāraṇīs, must all be examined and verified to be stable and proper so that they may serve as fixed regulations, to be implemented across all monasteries throughout the realm and observed forever, serving as the way for filial sons and compliant grandsons to be careful at the end and pursue the distant, and for the use of the people in prefectures and villages to pray for blessings and make entreaties. Let your Central Buddhist Registry issue official documents to notify the abbots of all mountain monasteries and Buddhist officials in all places, so that each sends a monk to the capital to receive the ritual manuals from the Palace Treasury. After returning and studying them for three years, whenever monks holding the Yoga teaching come to the capital for examination, if they are proficient in these now-established ritual regulations, only then shall they be permitted to be monks. If they do not understand, or read and chant crudely, they must be allowed another full year to be tested again. If they are good at reciting and memorizing but lack ordination certificates, these shall be issued by the officials immediately after the examination. If they are incompetent, they shall be demoted to commoners. Respect this."