廣弘明集 25.32

25.32

蜀中二主四十三年。于時軍國謀猷佛教無聞信毀。晉司馬氏東西立政。一十二主。一百五十六年。中朝四帝崇信之極不聞異議。唯東晉成帝咸康六年。丞相王導太尉庾亮薨後庾氷輔政。帝在幼冲。為帝出詔令僧致拜。時尚書令何充尚書謝廣等。議不合拜。往返三議。當時遂寢。爾後六十二年。安帝元初中。太尉桓玄以震主之威下書令拜。尚書令桓謙中書王謐等抗諫曰。今沙門雖意深於敬。不以形屈為禮。迹充率土而趣超方內。是以外國之君莫不降禮（如育王等禮比丘事）良以道在則貴。不以人為輕重（如魏文之軾干木漢光之遇子陵等）尋大法東流為日諒久。雖風移政易。而弘之不異。豈不以獨絕之化。有日用於陶漸。清約之風。無害於隆平者乎。玄又致書廬山遠法師。序老子均王侯於三大。遠答以方外之儀。不隷諸華之禮。乃著沙門不敬王者論五篇。其事由息。及安帝返政。還崇信奉終於恭帝。有宋劉氏八君五紀。雖孝武大明六年暫制拜君。尋依先政。齊梁陳氏三代一百一十餘年。隆敬盡一信重逾深。中原魏氏十有餘君一百五十五年。佛法大行。備見魏收良史。唯太武真君七年聽讒滅法。經於五載感癘而崩。還興佛法終於靜帝。自晉失御中原。江表稱帝。國分十六（謂五凉四燕三秦二趙夏蜀是也）斯諸偽政信法不虧。唯赫連佛佛據有夏州。兇暴無厭以殺為樂。佩像背上令僧禮之。後為震死。尋為北代所吞。妻子刑刻具如簫子顯齊書。高齊在鄴六帝二十八年。信重逾前國無兩事。宇文周氏五帝二十五年。初武帝信重佛法。後納張賓之議。便受道法將除佛教。有安法師。著二教論以抗之。論云。九流之教。教止其身。名為外教。三乘之教。教靜心惑。名為內教。老非教主。易謙所攝。帝聞之存廢理乖。遂雙除屏。不盈五載身歿政移。隋氏承運二帝三十七年。文帝崇信載興佛法。海內置塔。百有餘州。皆發休瑞。具如圖傳。煬帝嗣錄改革前朝。雖令致敬僧竟不屈。自大化東漸六百餘年。三被誅除五令致拜。既乖經國之典。又非休明之政。刳斮之虐被於亂朝。抑挫之儀揚於絕代。故使事理乖常尋依舊轍。良以三寶為歸戒之宗。五眾居福田之位。雖信毀交貿殃咎推移。斯自人有窊隆。據道曾無興廢。所以千餘大聖出賢劫之大期。壽六萬年。住釋門之正法。況乃十六尊者作化於三洲。九億應供護持於四部。據斯以述曆數未終。焉得情斷同符儒典。且易之蠱爻不事王侯。禮之儒行不臣天子。在俗四位。尚有不屈之人。況棄俗從道。而便責同臣妾之禮。又昊天上帝嶽瀆靈祇君人之主。莫不祭饗而下拜。今僧受佛戒形具佛儀。天龍八部奉其道而仰其容。莫不拜伏於僧者。故得冥祐顯徵祥瑞雜沓。聞之前傳。豈復同符老氏均王侯於三大者哉。故沙門之宅生也。財色弗顧榮祿弗縻。觀時俗若浮雲。達形命如陽焰。是故號為出家人也。故出家不存家人之禮。出俗無霑處俗之儀。其道顯然。百代不易之令典者也。其流極廣故略述之。

In Shu, there were two rulers over forty-three years; at that time, amid military and state strategies, nothing was heard of faith or disparagement concerning the Buddhist teachings. The Sima clan of Jin established rule in the east and west over twelve rulers and one hundred and fifty-six years. The four emperors of the central court revered and believed in it to the utmost, and no dissent was heard. Only in the sixth year of the Xiankang era under Emperor Cheng of Eastern Jin, after the Chancellor Wang Dao and the Grand Defender Yu Liang had died, Yu Bing assisted in the governance. Because the emperor was young and tender, [Yu Bing] issued an edict on his behalf ordering monks to render homage. At that time, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing He Chong and the Master of Writing Xie Guang, among others, argued that it was improper to render homage. Arguments were exchanged back and forth three times, and the matter was subsequently dropped at that time. Sixty-two years later, in the Yuanxing era of Emperor An, the Grand Defender Huan Xuan, relying on the awe-inspiring authority of one who shakes his lord, issued a directive ordering [monks] to render homage. The Prefect of the Masters of Writing Huan Qian, the Palace Secretariat Wang Mi, and others remonstrated against it, saying: 'Now, although the śramaṇas have profound reverence in their intentions, they do not make bodily bowing their ritual. Their footprints may spread throughout the land, but their aspiration transcends the mundane world. For this reason, among the sovereigns of foreign lands, none fail to humble their etiquette (such as King Aśoka and others paying homage to bhikṣus). This is truly because where the Way resides, there it is noble, not because a person makes it light or heavy (such as King Wen of Wei leaning on the crossbar for Duanmu Gan, or Emperor Guangwu of Han's treatment of Yan Ziling). Indeed, the eastward transmission of the Great Dharma has lasted for a very long time. Although customs have shifted and regimes have changed, the propagation [of the Dharma] has remained unchanged. Is this not because its unique and peerless transformation is daily employed in gradual edification, and its pure and simple ways do no harm to flourishing peace?' Huan Xuan also sent a letter to Master Yuan of Mount Lu, stating that Laozi ranked kings and lords equally among the three greats. Yuan replied that the etiquette of that which is beyond the world is not subordinate to the rites of the Chinese realms. He then composed the 'Treatise on Śramaṇas Not Paying Homage to Kings' in five essays, and because of this the matter subsided. When Emperor An was restored to the administration, he returned to revering and upholding [the Dharma] until Emperor Gong. Under the Liu clan of Song, there were eight monarchs across five decades; although in the sixth year of the Daming era of Xiaowu, paying homage to the ruler was briefly instituted, they soon returned to the earlier policy. Under the three dynasties of Qi, Liang, and Chen, for more than one hundred and ten years, their devotion and respect were undivided, and their faith and veneration grew increasingly profound. In the Central Plains, under the Wei clan, there were more than ten monarchs over one hundred and fifty-five years; the Buddha-Dharma flourished greatly, as fully seen in the fine history by Wei Shou. Only in the seventh year of the Taiping Zhenjun era did [Emperor] Taiwu heed slanders and extinguish the Dharma; after five years had passed, he contracted a plague and died, and the Buddha-Dharma was restored again until Emperor Jing. Since the Jin lost control over the Central Plains and emperors were declared south of the Yangtze, the realm was divided into sixteen (meaning the Five Liang, Four Yan, Three Qin, Two Zhao, Xia, and Shu); among all these illegitimate regimes, faith in the Dharma did not diminish. Only Helian Bobo occupied Xia Prefecture; ferocious and insatiable, he delighted in killing, strapped images to his back, and ordered monks to pay homage to them. Later he was struck dead by thunder, and his land was soon swallowed up by Northern Dai; the execution and mutilation of his wives and children are fully detailed in Xiao Zixian's Book of Qi. The Gao Qi were at Ye for six emperors over twenty-eight years; their faith and reverence surpassed what came before, and within the state there were not two conflicting matters. Under the Yuwen clan of Zhou, there were five emperors over twenty-five years. At first, Emperor Wu had deep faith in and revered the Buddha-Dharma; later, he accepted the proposal of Zhang Bin, thereupon received Daoist teachings, and intended to eliminate Buddhism. Master Daoan composed the 'Treatise on the Two Teachings' to resist it. The treatise stated: 'The teachings of the Nine Schools teach only moderation of one's person, and are called outer teachings. The teachings of the Three Vehicles teach the pacification of the mind's delusions, and are called inner teachings. Laozi is not a teaching-lord; he is subsumed by the Modesty hexagram of the Yijing.' When the emperor heard this, since the principles of preservation and abolition were at odds, he consequently eliminated both together. In less than five years, his person perished and governance shifted. The Sui clan received the mandate for two emperors over thirty-seven years; Emperor Wen revered, believed in, and extensively revived the Buddha-Dharma. Throughout the realm, pagodas were erected across more than a hundred prefectures, and all produced auspicious omens, as fully recorded in the illustrated accounts. Emperor Yang succeeded to the throne and reformed the previous dynasty's ways; although he ordered monks to pay homage, the monks ultimately did not yield. From the gradual eastward spread of the Great Transformation for over six hundred years, three times it suffered extermination, and five times it was ordered to pay homage. These both violated the canonical statutes of statecraft and were not the governance of an auspicious and enlightened era. The cruelty of disemboweling and hacking was inflicted during chaotic courts; the ritual of suppression was championed in doomed dynasties. Therefore, when matters and principles deviated from the ordinary, they soon returned to the ancient tracks. This is truly because the Three Jewels are the foundation of taking refuge and keeping the precepts, and the Five Assemblies dwell in the status of fields of merit. Although faith and slander alternate, and disasters and blame take their turn, these arise because humans have their declines and rises; based on the Way, it has never known flourishing or decay. Thus over a thousand Great Sages appear during the great period of the Bhadrakalpa; with a lifespan of sixty thousand years, the True Dharma of the Śākya clan abides. How much more so when the sixteen venerable ones work transformation in the three continents, and nine hundred million worthy of offerings protect the fourfold assemblies! Judging from this, the calculated span has not yet ended; how could it be arbitrarily decided to conform to Confucian canons? Furthermore, the Gu hexagram of the Yijing speaks of not serving kings and princes; the 'Conduct of the Scholar' in the Liji speaks of not submitting as a minister to the Son of Heaven. Even among the four ranks of worldly life, there are still people who do not bend; how much more so for those who have abandoned the mundane to follow the Way, that they should be demanded to observe the rituals of ministers and concubines? Furthermore, to Sovereign God of Vast Heaven, the spirits of the sacred peaks and waterways, and the rulers of humankind, none fail to make sacrificial offerings and prostrate themselves in worship. Now monks have received the Buddha's precepts and their forms are complete with the Buddha's deportment. The devas, dragons, and eight classes of beings uphold their Path and look up to their appearance; none among them do not bow down in homage before the monks. Therefore, they obtain unseen assistance, manifest proofs, and abundant auspicious omens; hearing of these from earlier records, how could they ever again conform to Laozi's ranking of kings and lords equally among the three greats? Thus, the dwelling of a śramaṇa in life is such that he does not look back at wealth and sensual pleasure, nor is he entangled by glory and emoluments; he views the worldly realm like floating clouds and understands his bodily life to be like a mirage. For this reason, he is called 'one who has left home'. Therefore, one who has left home does not maintain the etiquette of a family member, and one who has transcended the mundane has no share in the rituals of living in the mundane. His Way is manifest and plain, a constant canon unchanged through a hundred generations. Its currents are extremely vast, and therefore I have only briefly recounted it.