[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [唐護法沙門法琳別傳](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051) › 1.13 # 唐護法沙門法琳別傳 1.13 唐護法沙門法琳別傳 1.13 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [1.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051.1.13) 詔問皇儲曰。朕惟。佛教之興其來自昔。但僧尼入道本斷俗緣。調課不輸丁役俱免。理應盡形寺觀履德居真。沒命釋門清身養素。比年沙門乃多有愆過。違犯條章干煩正術。未能益國利化。翻乃左道是修。佛戒雖有嚴科違者。都無懼犯以此詳之。似非誠諦。今欲散除形像廢毀僧尼。輒爾為之恐駭凡聽。佇子明言可乎不可。皇儲對曰。臣聞。三乘啟轍。諸子免火宅之災。八正開元。群生悟無為之果。是故慈雲降潤不別艾蘭。慧日流輝寧分岸谷。且以立教垂範盡妙窮微。至理深難情量叵測。雖有周孔儒術莊老玄風。將欲方茲逈非倫媲。其有世代賢士今古明君。咸共遵崇無乖敬仰。當今時屬僥訛人多狡猾。出家者未能盡善。入法者無廢嬌婬。亦有規免賦租虛稱學道。偷安朝夕假號桑門。自有威儀具足志等明珠。戒行不虧心同潔玉。今欲並令還俗無別賢愚。將恐火縱崑山玉石同燼。霜飛柰苑蘭艾俱摧。指事為言恐傷皇化。今責如來降罰以息姦。非但佛性慈悲法門平等。無彼無此無我無人。絕愛忘憎情同巨海。厭之者不生悋想。患之者不發恚心。以此而詳昭然可驗。且商均生於舜舍。丹朱長自堯宮。二子雖復非人。猶不虧兩君之聖。今忽因愚僧之過。欲毀尊像之形。進退商量理為未可。 > an imperial edict questioned the Crown Prince, saying: 'We reflect that the rise of Buddhism originates from the distant past. However, monks and nuns entering the Way fundamentally severed worldly ties; they do not pay land taxes, and their corvée labor is entirely remitted. In principle, they should spend their entire lives in monasteries, treading in virtue and dwelling in truth, devoting their lives to the gate of Śākyamuni, purifying their bodies and cultivating simplicity. In recent years, however, śramaṇas have committed numerous offenses, transgressing the penal codes and troubling proper administration. Unable to benefit the state or assist the transformation \[of the people\], they instead practice heterodox ways. Although the Buddhist precepts contain strict prohibitions, those who violate them do so with utterly no fear; examining it through this, it seems not to be sincere and true. Now, We wish to dismantle the images and laicize the monks and nuns; yet doing so precipitously might cause panic among the common people. We await your clear assessment: is this permissible or not?' The Crown Prince replied: 'Your servant has heard that when the Three Vehicles opened their tracks, the sons were spared the disaster of the burning house; when the Eightfold Noble Path initiated its origin, living beings awakened to the fruition of the unconditioned. Therefore, the rain of the compassionate cloud brings moisture without distinguishing mugwort from orchid; the brilliance of the sun of wisdom shines forth, so how could it differentiate riverbank from ravine? Moreover, in establishing teachings and handing down standards, it reaches the utmost subtlety and exhausts the profound; its supreme principle is deep and difficult, beyond the measure of human comprehension. Although there are the Confucian arts of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, and the mysterious ethos of Zhuangzi and Laozi, if one seeks to compare them to this, they are far from being its equal. Whenever there have been worthy gentlemen through the generations or enlightened rulers of past and present, all have revered and honored it, without deviating from veneration. In the present age, however, circumstances are marked by trickery and falsehood, and people are largely deceitful. Those who have renounced household life are not entirely good; those who have entered the Dharma do not abandon arrogance and lust. There are also those who seek to evade taxes and corvée, falsely claiming to study the Way, stealing fleeting ease morning and evening under the pretext of being a śramaṇa. Yet there are certainly those endowed with proper deportment whose resolve is like a luminous pearl, and whose precepts and conduct are without blemish, their minds resembling pure jade. If you now intend to force them all to return to lay life without distinguishing the worthy from the foolish, We fear that fire sweeping Mount Kunlun will reduce jade and stone to ashes together, and frost descending upon the grove will destroy both orchids and mugwort alike. Speaking directly to the matter, We fear this will harm the imperial transformation. Now, to blame the Tathāgata for not meting out punishment to stop wickedness: not only is the Buddha-nature compassionate, but the Dharma-gate is impartial, lacking other and self, free of self-grasping and personhood; cutting off love and forgetting hatred, its state of mind is like the vast ocean. Toward those who abhor it, it harbors no thought of stinginess; toward those who trouble it, it generates no heart of wrath. Examining it in this light, it is clearly demonstrable. Furthermore, Shangjun was born in Shun's household, and Danzhu grew up in Yao's palace; though these two sons were unworthy, they still did not diminish the sagacity of the two rulers. Now, suddenly because of the faults of foolish monks, to wish to destroy the form of the venerable images: deliberating back and forth, in principle this is unacceptable.' > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 1.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051.1.12) - [Next: 1.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051.1.14) - [Up: 1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051.1) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051~en-mt.1.13) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (1) - [法苑珠林](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2122.55.4) — 道世, Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051.1.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051.1.13) · Pramāṇa