唐護法沙門法琳別傳 2.6

2.6

the imperial edict stating that the state’s original lineage derives from the Archival Scribe, and the practice of venerating ancestors is recorded in former canons. Proclaimed to all under heaven, it is beyond praise. Ordering Daoist priests and the like to be placed above monks and nuns, we receive it with reverent compliance; how would we dare resist the edict? Yet examining Lord Lao’s handing down of models for governing the state and governing the family, the robes and emblems he wore were never altered. With lofty ambition in purity and vacuity, he stood aloof from the world, establishing no abbeys or temples, and leading no disciples. Dwelling as the Archival Scribe, he preserved the real; concealing dragon-like virtue, he nourished his nature. When the wise saw him, they called him wise; when the foolish saw him, they called him foolish. None other than the Minister of Crime of Lu (Confucius) could recognize him. Today’s Daoist priests do not follow his teachings. The caps and robes they wear are all the remnants of the Yellow Turbans, not the descendants of Lord Lao at all. Practicing the defiled arts of the Three Zhangs, they discard the wondrous gate of the Five Thousand Words. Conversely, like Zhang Yu, they indiscriminately practice mere chapters and verses. From the Han and Wei dynasties onward, they have continually converted vulgar folk through the way of ghosts, falsely claiming descent from Lord Lao, when in reality they are the sprouts of heterodox paths. If their rank is placed above monks and nuns, I truly fear that the Jing and Wei rivers will merge into a single stream, bringing harm to the governance of the state. If we do not submit a memorial, how can we express the devotion of subjects and sons? Respectfully I have recorded Daoist scriptures and the various histories of the Han and Wei dynasties regarding matters where the Buddha preceded the Dao, as listed to the left. I prostrate myself in the hope that