廣弘明集 10.7

10.7

At that time, an establishment of one hundred and twenty overseers was appointed, with varied staff and labor allotments. Both Buddhist and Daoist disciples who were famous in their day were selected; they wore caps, robes, held tablets, and wore shoes, and were titled Academicians of the Abbey of Universal Dao. There was a former śramaṇa of the capital district named Fan Pukuang, whose belly was swollen and whose demeanor was eccentric, who moved people with his jesting. The Emperor respected him considerably and summoned him to enter the Universal Dao [Abbey]. Although demoted [from the sangha], he always clipped his hair and kept his beard. The Emperor asked him why he shaved one and kept the other. Pukuang said: ‘Your subject emulates Your Majesty: although the two teachings have been abolished, the Universal Dao is still preserved. The beard is a worldly adornment, hence I kept it; the hair is not of worldly teaching, hence I discarded it.’ The Emperor said: ‘In worldly custom, one keeps the hair and tops it with a cap. How can you say it is not of the teaching?’ Pukuang said: ‘Can hairless gentlemen be part of the teaching? Since your subject removed it beforehand, what harm is there in adding a cap?’ The Emperor laughed at this. From then on he kept his head cleanly shaven while wearing a cap, tassels, and collar. When people asked him about it, he said: ‘I suffer from the heat,’ and so forth.