廣弘明集 10.10

10.10

周武帝。以齊承光二年春東平高氏。召前修大德並赴殿集。帝升御座序廢立義云。朕受天命寧一區宇。世弘三教其風逾遠。考定至理多愆陶化。今並廢之。然其六經儒教文弘政術。禮義忠孝於世有宜。故須存立。且自真佛無像遙敬表心。佛經廣歎崇建圖塔。壯麗修造致福極多。此實無情何能恩惠。愚人嚮信傾竭珍財徒為引費。故須除蕩。故凡是經像皆毀滅之。父母恩重沙門不敬。悖逆之甚國法不容。並退還家用崇孝治。朕意如此。諸大德謂理何如。于時沙門大統等五百餘人。咸以王威震赫決諫難從。關內已除義非孤立。眾各默然下勅催答。並相顧無色。俛首垂淚。有慧遠法師。聲名光價。乃自惟曰。佛法之寄四眾是依。豈以杜言謂能通理。遂出對曰。陛下統臨大域得一居尊。隨俗致詞憲章三教。詔云。真佛無像。誠如天旨。但耳目生靈。賴經聞佛藉像表真。今若廢之無以興敬。帝曰。虛空真佛咸自知之。未假經像。遠曰。漢明已前經像未至。此土含生何故不知虛空真佛。帝時無答。遠曰。若不藉經教自知有法者。三皇已前未有文字。人應自知五常等法。當時諸人何為但識其母不識其父。同於禽獸。帝又無答。遠曰。若以形像無情。事之無福故須廢者。國家七廟之像。豈是有情而妄相尊事。帝不答此難。乃云。佛經外國之法。此國不須。廢而不用。七廟上代所立。朕亦不以為是。將同廢之。遠曰。若以外國之經非此用者。仲尼所說出自魯國秦晉之地。亦應廢而不行。又以七廟為非將欲廢者。則是不尊祖考。祖考不尊則昭穆失序。昭穆失序則五經無用。前存儒教其義安在。若爾則三教同廢。將何治國。帝曰。魯邦之與秦晉封域乃殊。莫非王者一化。故不類佛經七廟之難。帝無以通。遠曰。若以秦魯同遵一化。經教通行者。震旦之與天竺國界雖殊。莫不同在閻浮四海之內輪王一化。何不同遵佛經而今獨廢。帝又無答。遠曰。詔云。退僧還家崇孝養者。孔經亦云。立身行道以顯父母。即是孝行。何必還家。帝曰。父母恩重交資色養。棄親向疏未成至孝。遠曰。若如是言。陛下左右皆有二親。何不放之。乃使長役五年不見父母。帝曰。朕亦依番上下得歸侍奉。遠曰。佛亦聽僧冬夏隨緣修道。春秋歸家侍養。故目連乞食餉母。如來擔棺臨葬。此理大通。未可獨廢。帝又無答。遠抗聲曰。陛下今恃王力自在破滅三寶。是邪見人。阿鼻地獄不簡貴賤。陛下何得不怖。帝勃然作色大怒。直視於遠曰。但令百姓得樂。朕亦不辭地獄諸苦。遠曰。陛下以邪法化人。現種苦業。當共陛下同趣阿鼻。何處有樂可得。帝理屈。言前所圖意盛更無所答。但云。僧等且還。有司錄取論僧姓字。帝已行虐三年。關隴佛法誅除略盡。既克齊境還准毀之。爾時魏齊東川佛法崇盛。見成寺廟出四十千。並賜王公充為第宅。五眾釋門減三百萬。皆復軍民還歸編戶。融刮佛像焚燒經教。三寶福財簿錄入官。登即賞賜分散蕩盡。帝以為得志於天下也。未盈一年。癘氣內蒸身瘡外發。惡相已顯。無悔可銷。遂隱於雲陽宮。纔經七日尋爾傾崩。天元嗣曆。於東西二京立陟岵寺。置菩薩僧用開佛化。不久帝崩國運移革至隋高祖方始大通。如後所顯。近見大唐吏部尚書唐臨冥報記云。外祖隋文僕射齊公。親見文帝問死者還活人云。初死見周武帝云。為我相聞大隋天子。昔與我共食倉庫玉帛。亦我儲之。我今為滅佛法極受大苦。可為我作功德也。文帝出勅。普及天下人。出一錢為之追福焉。

In the spring of the second year of Chengguang of the Northern Qi, Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou pacified the Gao clan in the east. He summoned previous eminent monks of great virtue to assemble at the palace. The Emperor ascended the throne and laid out his reasoning for abolishing and maintaining teachings, saying: "We have received the mandate of Heaven to bring peace and unity to the realm. The three teachings have been propagated in the world, their traditions reaching far and wide. Yet upon examining their ultimate principles, they largely err in transforming and civilizing people. Now We shall abolish them all. However, as for the Confucian teaching of the Six Classics, its writings broaden statecraft, and its propriety, righteousness, loyalty, and filial piety are suitable for the world; hence it must be preserved and maintained. Moreover, the true Buddha has no image; one may venerate him from afar to express one's heart. Buddhist scriptures lavishly praise the construction of images and pagodas, claiming that magnificent construction produces boundless blessings. Yet these are truly inanimate; how could they bestow grace? Foolish people harbor faith in them, exhausting their precious wealth and spending it in vain. Therefore they must be eliminated. Thus, all scriptures and images shall be destroyed. The kindness of parents is profound, yet the śramaṇas do not pay them respect. This is the height of defiance, intolerable to the law of the state. They shall all be returned home to promote governance through filial piety. This is Our intention. What do you, Virtuous Ones, think of this reasoning?" At that time, the Monastic Prefect and more than five hundred others all thought that the royal awe was terrifying and an opposing remonstrance would be hard to heed; since the teaching had already been eliminated in Guannei, it could not survive alone. Everyone fell silent. An imperial decree was issued urging an answer, and they all looked at each other, their faces drained of color, bowing their heads in tears. There was the Dharma Master Huiyuan, renowned for his shining prestige. He reflected to himself: "The custody of the Buddha-dharma relies upon the four assemblies. How could holding one's tongue be considered penetrating the truth?" He then stepped forward to respond, saying: "Your Majesty presides over the great realm and has attained oneness to dwell in the highest seat. Accommodating common customs, you deliver words and take the three teachings as a model. The edict says: 'The true Buddha has no image.' This is truly as Your Majesty decrees. But living beings who rely on ears and eyes depend on the scriptures to hear of the Buddha, and rely on images to manifest the truth. If you abolish them now, there will be no way to arouse veneration." The Emperor said: "The true Buddha of empty space is known naturally by all; he does not depend on scriptures or images." Huiyuan said: "Before Emperor Ming of the Han, scriptures and images had not arrived. Why did the sentient beings of this land not know the true Buddha of empty space?" The Emperor had no answer. Huiyuan said: "If, without relying on the scriptural teachings, people naturally knew that there is the Dharma, then before the Three Sovereigns, when there was no writing, people should have naturally known teachings such as the five constants. Why, then, did the people of that time only know their mothers and not their fathers, being the same as birds and beasts?" The Emperor again had no answer. Huiyuan said: "If, because images are inanimate and serving them yields no blessing, they must be abolished, then are the images of the state's Seven Ancestral Temples animate, that you vainly honor and serve them?" The Emperor did not answer this objection, but merely said: "The Buddhist scriptures are laws of foreign lands; this country has no need of them, so they are abolished and not used. The Seven Ancestral Temples were established by previous ages; We also do not consider them correct, and shall abolish them likewise." Huiyuan said: "If scriptures from foreign lands are not for use here, then what Confucius spoke came from the state of Lu; in the lands of Qin and Jin they should likewise be abolished and not practiced. Furthermore, if you deem the Seven Ancestral Temples wrong and intend to abolish them, then you do not honor your ancestors. If ancestors are not honored, the Zhaomu ancestral order falls into disarray. If the Zhaomu order falls into disarray, the Five Classics are of no use. What then was the meaning of previously preserving the Confucian teaching? If so, then the three teachings would be abolished together. How then will you govern the state?" The Emperor said: "The state of Lu and Qin and Jin were indeed different in territory, but they were all within the single transformation of the ruler. Therefore, they are not comparable to the objection regarding Buddhist scriptures and the Seven Ancestral Temples." The Emperor could not make his point hold. Huiyuan said: "If Qin and Lu both complied with a single transformation and their scriptural teachings were practiced everywhere, then although the borders of Cīnasthāna and India are different, are they not all within the four seas of Jambudvīpa, under the single transformation of the wheel-turning king? Why not equally comply with the Buddhist scriptures instead of now abolishing them alone?" The Emperor again had no answer. Huiyuan said: "The edict says: 'Return the monks home to promote filial care.' Confucius's classic also says: 'To establish oneself and practice the Way so as to make one's parents illustrious is itself filial conduct.' Why must they return home?" The Emperor said: "The kindness of parents is profound, requiring material support and physical care. Abandoning parents to go to strangers does not constitute utmost filial piety." Huiyuan said: "If it is as you say, Your Majesty's attendants all have parents. Why do you not release them, instead of making them serve long terms of five years without seeing their parents?" The Emperor said: "We also let them return to attend to their parents by turns." Huiyuan said: "The Buddha also permits monks to practice the Way according to circumstances in winter and summer, and return home in spring and autumn to care for their parents. Thus Maudgalyāyana begged for food to feed his mother, and the Tathāgata bore the coffin and attended the burial. This principle is widely unobstructed; it must not be abolished alone." The Emperor again had no answer. Huiyuan raised his voice and said: "Your Majesty now relies on royal power to willfully destroy the Triratna; this is the act of a person of wrong views. The Avīci Hell makes no distinction between the noble and the base. How can Your Majesty not be terrified?" The Emperor flared up in anger, looked straight at Huiyuan, and said: "If only the common people can attain happiness, We shall not refuse any of the sufferings of hell." Huiyuan said: "Your Majesty transforms people with wrong teachings, currently planting karmic causes of suffering; you will head together with them straight to Avīci. Where could any happiness be obtained?" The Emperor's reasoning was defeated. His previous ambitious intentions were spent, and he had nothing more to answer; he merely said: "The monks may temporarily return. Let the officials record the names of the monks who debated." The Emperor had already practiced cruelty for three years, and the Buddha-dharma in Guanlong was practically wiped out. Having conquered the territory of Qi, he destroyed it there as well. At that time, the Buddha-dharma was flourishing in the eastern rivers of Wei and Qi, with over forty thousand established temples and monasteries. All were bestowed upon princes and dukes to serve as residences. The monks of the five assemblies were reduced by three million, all being returned to the military and civilian registers. Buddhist images were melted down or scraped, and scriptural teachings burned. The blessed wealth of the Triratna was registered and taken into the treasury, immediately given out as rewards and completely dispersed. The Emperor thought he had accomplished his ambition throughout the world. Yet before a year had passed, pestilential qi boiled within him and sores broke out on his body. The signs of evil karma were already manifest, beyond any repentance to dispel. He then took refuge in Yunyang Palace; after only seven days, he quickly passed away. Tianyuan succeeded to the calendar, establishing the Zhihu Temples in the eastern and western capitals, appointing bodhisattva-monks to inaugurate the Buddhist transformation. Before long that Emperor died, and the dynastic fortune shifted until Emperor Gaozu of the Sui Dynasty, when it finally flourished broadly, as will be shown later. Recently I saw in the Mingbao ji by Tang Lin, Minister of Personnel of the Great Tang: His maternal grandfather, Duke of Qi, Vice Director of the Left under Emperor Wen of the Sui, personally saw Emperor Wen question a deceased person who had returned to life. The person said: "When I first died, I saw Emperor Wu of the Zhou, who said: 'Send word for me to the Son of Heaven of the Great Sui: Formerly we shared food, and the storehouses, jade, and silk were also accumulated by me. Now, because I destroyed the Buddha-dharma, I am enduring immense suffering. Please perform meritorious deeds on my behalf.' Emperor Wen issued an edict to everyone throughout the realm to contribute one coin to seek subsequent blessings for him."