宋高僧傳 17.4

17.4

The śramaṇa Weixiu: it is not known where he was from. Wide-ranging in learning and gifted with many abilities, he made expounding and propagating his endeavor; his mind was set upon bearing the burden of the Dharma, and he was courageous yet composed. In the eloquence of his writing, he was especially praised as brilliant and quick-witted. Before long, the Heavenly Emperor ascended the throne, and on the fifteenth day of the fourth month of the second year of Longshuo, an imperial edict commanded that both Buddhist monks and Daoist priests should pay customary worldly obeisance [to the emperor and parents]. At that time, the monastic community was terrified and perplexed, not knowing how to act. Xiu lamented the mid-term decline of the teachings and grieved over the sovereign's slighting of the Dharma; he then submitted a memorial stating that śramaṇas should not make obeisance. Citing the various dynastic histories, he showed how over successive dynasties attempts at repression had led to decrees issued in the morning only to be revoked by evening, none being farsighted strategies. He then cited the sūtras, vinayas, and treatises as standard authorities; his phrasing was refined and elegant, and his reasoning was profound and clear. For instance, he said: 'Therefore, one who leaves home does not retain the rites of family members, and one who departs from the worldly realm is not tainted by the customs of secular life; this principle is evident, an immutable canon for a hundred generations.' When the memorial was submitted, an imperial edict ordered the civil officials to assemble at the Department of State Affairs to deliberate on the matter. At that time, 539 court ministers requested that obeisance not be made, while 354 requested that obeisance be made. By the sixth month, the Great Emperor issued an edict stating that monks need not bow to the sovereign but should bow to their parents, and this too was soon abolished. In Xiu's service to the Dharma, he could truly be said to have forgotten his own person! At the time the memorial was presented, it was the twenty-first day of the fourth month of that year. At that time, over two hundred monks from the capital went to the Penglai Palace to submit a petition and make their request. The chief minister said to Xiu and the others: 'The imperial edict ordered a detailed deliberation; whether obeisance is to be paid or not has not yet been decided; you may await the next assembly.' Xiu and the others then withdrew. Thereupon, a great assembly gathered at Ximing Temple to consult and deliberate together; they submitted written petitions to high-ranking officials and imperial relatives, as if putting out a fire on their own heads. At that time, Vinaya Master Daoxuan submitted a petition to the Governor of Yongzhou, the Prince of Pei, and separately submitted a petition to the Grand Dowager Lady of Rongguo. Xiu's stroking of the dragon's scales was what is called committing one's person to the Dharma.