廣弘明集 6.4

6.4

有唐太史傅奕者。本宗李老猜忌釋門。潛圖芟剪用達其鄙。武德之始上書具述。既非經國當時遂寢。奕不勝其憤。乃引古來王臣訕謗佛法者二十五人。撰次品目名為高識傳。一帙十卷。抄於市賣欲廣其塵。又加潤飾增其罪狀。至於張魯據於漢中黃巾反於天下。斯並李門勃逆。皆覆而不顯非。謂篤論之文乎。若夫城高必頹木秀斯拔。惟我清峻。故有異道嫉之。不足怪其鄙吝。未見廝徒。皂隷有加惱辱。明非目翳何事屏除。故因其立言仍隨開喻。此則古來行事釋判天分。未廣見者謂為新致。聊陳舊解略顯由途。資此神開可稱高識。又傅氏寡識才用寄人。集敘時事廢興。太半坑殘焚蕩之事。可號非政所。須沙汰括撿之條。斯寔王化之本。故僧條俗格。代代滋彰。此乃禁非豈成除毀。傅氏通入廢限。是謂披毛之夫終淪塗炭。可悲之甚矣。奕學周子史意在誅除。搜揚列代論佛法者。莫委存廢。通疏二十五人。大略有二。初則崇敬佛法恐有婬穢。故須沙汰務得住持。二則憎嫉昌顯危身挾怨。故須除蕩以暢胸襟。初列住持王臣一十四人。傅奕高識傳。通列為廢除者。今簡則是興隆之人。

In the Tang dynasty there was the Grand Astrologer Fu Yi. His ancestral tradition followed Laozi, and he was suspicious and jealous of the Buddhist sangha. He secretly plotted to cut it down and eradicate it to satisfy his vulgar ambitions. At the beginning of the Wude era, he submitted a memorial setting forth his views in full detail. Because it was not in accord with statecraft, it was shelved at the time. Fu Yi could not contain his indignation, and so he cited twenty-five rulers and ministers from antiquity down to the present who had slandered the Buddhist Dharma. Arranging them into chapters and headings, he titled it Biographies of Men of High Discernment, comprising one slipcase in ten fascicles. He had copies made and sold in the marketplace, seeking to spread his defilement widely. He further embellished and embellished their accusations. As for Zhang Lu occupying Hanzhong and the Yellow Turbans rebelling across the realm—all of these were instances of rebellion within the school of Li [Laozi]—yet he covered them all up without revealing them. Can this be called a text of sound discussion? Indeed, when a wall is high it will surely collapse; when a tree stands out from the forest, it will be uprooted. Only because our [tradition] is pure and lofty do other traditions envy it; one need not find their vulgar pettiness strange. One never sees kitchen servants or menial slaves subjected to annoyance or humiliation. When it is clear that one has no cataracts in the eyes, why should they be purged? Therefore, following upon his assertions, I provide explanations in sequence. These are ancient precedents, clearly distinguished by nature; those without wide learning consider them novel notions. I briefly lay out the old explanations to sketch their origins and courses. By relying on this spiritual illumination, one may truly be called a man of high discernment. Moreover, Mr. Fu had meager understanding, and his abilities relied upon others. In compiling and recounting the events and the rise and fall of the times, more than half concerned slaughter, destruction, and burning, which can be termed unprincipled governance. The measures of weeding out and inspecting [the monastic community] are truly the foundation of royal transformation. Thus the monastic regulations and secular statutes became increasingly manifest across the dynasties. These were to prohibit wrongdoing; how could they constitute destruction and abolition? Mr. Fu indiscriminately included them under the category of abolition, which is like a man who splits hairs only to sink into the mire—most pitiable indeed! Fu Yi studied the Masters and Histories of the Zhou, his intention being eradication. Searching out and extolling those who discussed the Buddhist Dharma through successive dynasties, he could not distinguish between preservation and abolition. In treating the twenty-five persons in all, there were roughly two kinds: First, those who revered the Buddhist Dharma and feared it might contain depravity and corruption, hence requiring weeding out to ensure the preservation of the Dharma; second, those who hated and envied its flourishing prominence, endangering themselves to harbor resentment, hence demanding total destruction to vent their minds. First, fourteen rulers and ministers who preserved [the Dharma] are listed. Fu Yi's Biographies of Men of High Discernment indiscriminately categorized them as destroyers; when examined now, they were in fact people who caused it to flourish.