弘明集 12.95

12.95

侍中臣嗣之。給事黃門侍中臣袁恪之言。詔書如右。神道冥昧聖詔幽遠。陛下所弘者大爰逮道人奉佛者耳。率土之民莫非王臣。而以向化法服。便抗禮萬乘之主。愚情所未安。拜起之禮豈虧其道。尊卑大倫不宜都廢。若許其名教之外。闕其拜敬之儀者。請一斷引見啟可紀識。謹啟。

Memorial of Minister of the Palace Attendant Sizhi and Attendant Cavalier Policy Adviser Yuan Kezhi: The edict is as stated above. The divine way is dark and obscure; the sagely edict is profound and far-reaching. What Your Majesty propagates is vast, reaching even to the Daoists who worship the Buddha. Within the entire realm, who is not a king's subject? Yet relying on Dharma robes oriented toward transformation, they would contend as equals in etiquette with the lord of ten thousand chariots; in our humble view, we find no peace in this. How could the ritual of bowing and rising diminish their Way? The great bonds of noble and base should not be entirely discarded. If they are allowed to stand outside the moral teachings and dispense with the rites of bowing and respect, we request that audiences be entirely suspended, and that this be recorded and acknowledged. Respectfully memorialized.