[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) › 2.8 # 唐護法沙門法琳別傳 2.8 唐護法沙門法琳別傳 2.8 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [2.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051.2.8) 帝遣中書侍郎岑文本。宣口勅云。語諸僧等。明詔既下。如也不伏。國有嚴科。法師飲氣吞聲。顧謂諸僧曰。帝在九重聖顏難覩。縱欲牽衣折檻。亦乃無由。未若踵武屈原栖遑草野。結蘭為珮清白自居焉。後十三年秋九月。有黃巾秦世英者。薄閑醮禁粗解醫方。挾伎術以佞時。因得志於儲后。陰陳法師之論言訕謗皇宗。毀黷先人。罪當誷上。帝乃赫然斯怒。沙汰僧尼。勅遣緇徒並依遺教。其法琳既訕謗朕之宗系。宜即推繩。必也無辭國有刑憲。而法師鼓騰毛羽思奮雲霄。不待追徵自之衙府。群寮承主上之意。勘刻法師。囚禁州庭。縶之縲紲。司空毛明素。佇聆法師清閑。每常想見其人。既屬幽居。致詩於法師曰。冶長倦縲紲。韓安歎死灰。始驗山中木。方知貴不材。法師辱素詩而謝曰。貧道識性擣昧。輒不自涯。狂簡斐然。上忤 > The Emperor dispatched Cen Wenben, Vice Director of the Secretariat, to proclaim an oral edict, saying: "Say to the monks: an enlightened decree has already been promulgated; if you still do not submit, the state has severe statutes." The Dharma master held his breath and choked down his words, turned to the monks, and said: "The Emperor resides within the ninefold palace; the sacred countenance is difficult to behold. Even if one wished to pull at his robes and break the balustrade, there would be no way. It is not as good as following in the footsteps of Qu Yuan, wandering through the wild grasses, knotting orchids into a pendant and dwelling in purity." Later, in the autumn, the ninth month of the thirteenth year, there was a Yellow Turban named Qin Shiying, who was slightly versed in jiao rituals and spells and had a rough understanding of medical prescriptions. Harboring technical arts, he flattered the times, thereby finding favor with the Crown Prince. Secretly presenting the Dharma master's treatise, he alleged that it slandered the Imperial Ancestry and desecrated the royal forebears, a crime amounting to deceiving the Sovereign. The Emperor was blazing with wrath and purged the monks and nuns, issuing an edict ordering the dark-robed followers to all abide by the bequeathed teachings. \[The edict added:\] "As for Falin, since he has slandered Our lineage, he should be interrogated and judged at once. If indeed he has no defense, the state possesses penal laws." But the Dharma master, shaking his feathers with a mind to soar into the clouds, did not wait for a summons, but went of his own accord to the government office. The various officials, carrying out the Sovereign's will, harshly investigated the Dharma master, imprisoned him in the prefectural court, and bound him in cords and fetters. Mao Mingsu, the Minister of Works, had long wished to hear the Dharma master's untrammeled elegance and had always longed to see him. As \[the master\] was now held in confinement, he sent a poem to the Dharma master, saying: / Yezhang grew weary of bonds and fetters; / Han An lamented over the dead ashes. / Only now do we prove the timber in the mountains; / Only now do we know the worth of being useless. / The Dharma master was humbled by Su's poem and replied in gratitude: "This poor monk's capacity is dull and benighted, and I rashly failed to know my limits. With wild simpleness that made a display, I offended > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 2.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051.2.7) - [Next: 2.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051.2.9) - [Up: 2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051.2) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051~en-mt.2.8) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051.2.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2051.2.8) · Pramāṇa