廣弘明集 1.26

1.26

In the fourth year of the Chiwu reign of Sun Quan, the eldest son of the Grand Chancellor of the Kingdom of Kangju abandoned secular life and became a śramaṇa. His name was Senghui, with the family name of Kang. His bearing was upright and stern, and he took travel and conversion as his mission. At that time, the Three Kingdoms stood tripartite, each wielding authority. The Buddha’s Dharma had long covered the Central Plains, but had not yet reached Jiangbiao. Senghui wished to spread the teaching to those who had not heard it, carrying conversion to the southern state. First arriving at Jianye, he built a thatched hut, set up an image, and practiced the Way. When the people of Wu first saw him, they called it bizarre. The relevant officials reported it to the throne. The Lord of Wu asked: “What spiritual efficacy does the Buddha have?” Senghui said: “Since the Buddha hid his miraculous traces, more than a thousand years have passed; yet his remaining bone relics manifest according to conditions without limit.” The Lord of Wu said: “If you obtain a relic, I shall erect a stūpa for it.” After three weeks, he finally obtained a relic. Five colors illuminated the sky; struck, it became even harder; burned, it did not combust, and light emerged from the fire forming a great lotus flower, illuminating the palace halls. The sovereign and his ministers gasped in astonishment at this rare auspicious omen. Great faith arose in him, and on that account he built a stūpa, ordained monks, and founded a monastery, naming the neighborhood where [Senghui] resided “Buddha Village.” Also, because the teaching and Dharma had newly begun, it was named Jianchu Monastery. An imperial order was issued asking Director of the Chancellery Kan Ze: “Since the time of Han Emperor Ming, how many years have passed in all? If Buddhism entered the Han so long ago, on what account has it only now reached Jiangdong?” Kan Ze said: “From the tenth year of Yongping under Han Emperor Ming, when the Buddha’s Dharma first came, down to the fourth year of Chiwu, it is one hundred and seventy years. Formerly, in the fourteenth year of Yongping, when the Daoists of the Five Peaks competed in power with Mātaṅga, the Daoists were inferior. The Southern Peak Daoists Chu Shanxin, Fei Shucai, and others died of bitter regret at the assembly. Their disciples returned to bury them at the Southern Peak; not joining the renunciation, there was no one to spread it. Later, encountering the decline of Han rule and ceaseless warfare, it is only after many years now that it has begun to flourish.” He also asked: “Can Kong Qiu and Li Lao be compared with the Buddha?” Kan Ze said: “Your subject has heard that Master Kong of Lu possessed extraordinary talent and outstanding preeminence; his sage virtue was unexcelled, and his generation styled him the Uncrowned King. He instituted and expounded the classics, instructing and promoting the Zhou Way, converting future generations, and his style of master-scholar has enriched past and present. There were also recluses such as Xu Chengzi, Yuanyangzi, Zhuangzi, and Laozi, with their hundreds of schools of masters’ writings; all cultivated themselves for their own enjoyment, roaming freely in the mountains and valleys and giving rein to their minds. Their study returned to tranquil aloofness, but their deeds ran contrary to human relations. Their rules of senior and junior were also not a style to pacify customs and convert the people. Coming to Emperor Jing of Han, because the doctrines of Huangzi and Laozi were particularly profound, he changed the ‘masters’ into ‘classics’ and first established Daoist learning, commanding the court and countryside to recite them. If one compares the two teachings of Confucius and Laozi to the Buddha’s Dharma, they are far apart indeed! Why is this so? The two teachings of Confucius and Laozi model themselves upon Heaven to institute practice, not daring to oppose Heaven. In the teachings established by all the Buddhas, the laws of Heaven are put into practice without daring to oppose the Buddha. Speaking in this regard, they truly cannot be compared.” (Presently we see Daoist petitions and offerings practiced in imitation of secular wine, dried meat, chess, and zithers.) The Lord of Wu was greatly delighted and appointed Kan Ze as Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince. And so forth.