廣弘明集 6.46

6.46

北平人。元魏末為祕書監。見寺宇壯麗損費金碧。王公相競侵漁百姓。乃撰洛陽伽藍記言。不恤眾庶也。後上書述。釋教虛誕有為徒費。無執戈以衛國有飢寒於色養。逃役之流僕隸之類。避苦就樂非修道者。又佛言。有為虛妄皆是妄想。道人深知佛理。故違虛其罪。故又廣引財事乞貸貪積無厭。又云。讀佛經者尊同帝王。寫佛畫師全無恭敬。請沙門等同孔老拜俗。班之國史。行多浮險者乞立嚴勅知其真偽。然後佛法可遵師徒無濫。則逃兵之徒還歸本役。國富兵多天下幸甚。衒之此奏。大同劉晝之詞。言多庸猥不經周孔。故雖上事終委而不施行。而奕美之徹於府俞。致使浮遊浪宕之語。備寫不遺。斯乃曲士之沈欝。非通人之留意也。

A native of Beiping. Toward the end of the Yuan Wei, he served as Director of the Palace Library. Seeing that the temple buildings were magnificent and consumed gold and jade, and that princes and dukes vied to exploit the common people, he compiled the *Luoyang qielan ji*, stating that they did not pity the multitude. Later he submitted a memorial explaining: 'The Buddhist teachings are hollow and absurd; the conditioned is a futile waste. There is no taking up weapons to defend the state, while there is hunger and cold neglected in caring for parents. Those who flee corvée and are of the bondservant class evade bitterness and pursue pleasure; they are not cultivators of the Way. Furthermore, the Buddha said that the conditioned is empty and false, all being false thoughts. Monks deeply understand the Buddha's principles, so they intentionally make their crimes empty. Therefore, they broadly extract wealth, begging, borrowing, and greedily accumulating without satiety.' He also stated: 'Those who read Buddhist sutras are revered like emperors; artisans who paint the Buddha show no respect at all. I request that śramaṇas be made to bow to the secular just like [followers of] Confucius and Laozi, and that this be promulgated in the national histories. For those whose conduct is mostly frivolous and perilous, I request that strict edicts be established to discern their authenticity. Thereafter, the Buddhist Dharma can be honored and masters and disciples will not be disorderly; then those fleeing military service will return to their original corvée, the state will be wealthy, troops will be numerous, and Heaven and Earth will be greatly fortunate.' This memorial of Xuanzhi is largely identical to Liu Zhou's words; his language is mostly vulgar and base, not according with the classics of Zhou and Confucius. Therefore, although the matter was submitted, it was ultimately set aside and not implemented. Yet [Fu] Yi praised it as having reached the imperial approval, causing these wandering and dissolute words to be transcribed completely without omission. This is merely the brooding depression of a crooked fellow, not what an open-minded person pays attention to.