廣弘明集 12

English (machine translation) 12

Language: English

12.1

Compiled by the Śramaṇa Shi Daoxuan of Ximing Temple of the Great Tang

12.3

Refutations Responding to Fu Yi's Memorial on Abolishing the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha (with memorial)

12.4

Śramaṇa Shi Minggai of Zhenxiang Temple in Mianzhou

The monk Minggai states: Gai has heard that the Three Sovereigns ruled heaven and the Five Emperors governed the world. Their Way embraced greatness and reached far and wide; their virtue covered all equally and evenly. They spread benevolent teachings to guide the people, and extended compassionate hearts to nurture living things. Down to the Middle Antiquity, their Way did not diminish. Therefore Emperor Wu of the Han, reverent and perceptive, saw goodness yet felt he had not attained it; Emperor Xianzong, sagely and wise, embodied the Way yet made no claim to it. Thus he was able to bend his honored bearing, paying reverence at Ganquan to the auspicious golden figure, and yearning in dream at the Deyang Palace, which called down the portent of the bronze statue. Thereupon Qin Jing traveled westward, crossing shifting sands to seek the Way, and Kāśyapa Mātanga entered eastward, traversing the Onion Ranges to transmit the truth. Thus the transformation gradually took root in the Han court, with temples rising under the name of White Horse; the Way spread through the Jin era, with monasteries established under the title of Qinglong. In the intervening ages, people copied the revered forms in abundance and vied in exalting temples and stupas, raising clouds of benevolence above falling blades and releasing waters of Dharma from dried springs, driving sentient beings into forests of blessings and lifting the populace onto grounds of goodness, initiating and elucidating the Buddha's teachings to illumine and transform the foolish and benighted. Hence in the final years of Yongping, auspicious omens gathered: felicitous clouds shed moisture, sweet dews condensed in nectar, marsh horses galloped forward, divine sparrows flocked in flight, scarlet blossoms burst into outstanding ears of grain, and purple flowers grew upon entwined branches. These may be called extraordinary signs seldom seen in an age, remarkable and auspicious portents! Thereupon the Western Regions came to pay court, the Southern Yue submitted to benevolence, armor was laid aside and troops were stood down, metals were melted down and weapons ceased. How could this not be because the responsiveness of the sages brought down spiritual grace, and the upholding of precepts and practice of goodness showed a sincere dedication that reached throughout the seen and unseen realms? Therefore the Book says: 'Heaven produces spiritual things to assist the sage. Where there is no virtue they remain hidden; where there is the Way they appear.' Recorded in trustworthy histories, this may be known in detail. Only our Great Tang has responded to the age and opened the dynastic destiny, holding the pivot and steering the calendar, receiving the mandate and establishing the imperial house. When it first raised righteousness, its way harmonized with the hundred spirits; when it first mounted the chart of rule, its majesty extended over the ten thousand states. Thus Shichong and Huaji offered their heads in the Eastern Capital; Jiande and Wuzhou gave up their bodies in the northern wastes. Jing and Wu were subdued; Qin and Long were cleared. Now it is fitting to mount the seven treasures and fly aloft, to guide the thousand wheels and soar lightly. So lofty, none could equal it; so vast, who could name it? Its merit already accomplished, its affairs are likewise complete. Furthermore, your Majesty pays heed to the Buddha's teachings and turns your thoughts toward shielding and protecting them. Hence at Zhuangyan and Zongchi, the nine-tiered stupas were raised anew; among the śramaṇas and sons of the Śākya, another thousand were ordained. The religion of images flourished beyond the previous dynasties; temples and stupas rose anew in this sagely reign. Truly you crown the triratna on your head and widely protect the four refuges, clasping your hands and bowing your head, forgetting the nobility of emperors and kings, collecting your mind and bending your knees, fully exhausting the sincerity of supreme reverence. Gai rejoices in encountering this auspicious era, wishing only to rest his mind in pure monasteries and devote his purpose entirely to the profound gate, vigilantly exerting himself in the six periods to repay the virtue of this sagely age, and bowing fervently with the five limbs to requite boundless grace. Yet Fu Yi has suddenly unleashed mad words, making them heard at court, with frivolous phrases despising the sage and a glib tongue slandering the worthy. The words he utters are uglier than the owl's cry; the sounds he emits are more venomous than the screech of a zhen-bird. He wishes solely to destroy the Buddha's teachings, eliminate the community of monks, sever their robes and grain, and reduce their temples and stupas. What is the reason for this? Yi was once a Daoist priest; evil jealousy lodged in his breast. Thus he defames the sage to exalt the base, and praises the foolish over the wise, using the inferior to slander the superior, and employing shortcomings to overcome strengths. His violation of principle and outrage against human feelings have gone to such an extreme! Yet slanderous words harm virtue, and biased listening injures the worthy. Thus Song listened to the words of Zihan and imprisoned Mo Di; Lu believed the talk of the Jisun and drove away the Sage of Niqiu. Even the worthiness of those two gentlemen could not save them; the slanders of the eight articles may likewise implicate others. However,

12.6

our Sovereign is reverent and perceptive, and will not tolerate slander and malice. Even if presented with three faults, how could he harbor a single doubt? Yet when floating clouds drift across heaven, the bright sun is sometimes dimmed; when wandering specks brush across the eye, the solar essence loses its clarity. Fu Yi's deceitful words bewilder the sight and hearing; his principles are confounded and his speech is tangled. It must not be heard exclusively; how could it be believed biasedly? I request to confront him face-to-face, to distinguish preservation from destruction and accept whatever judgment may fall. Gai, unworthy though he is, is listed among the dark-robed assembly and takes part among the companions of the Dharma. Suddenly hearing such defamation, how could I not be deeply grieved? Even if a blade were turned to carve out my heart, I would not consider it painful; if a knife were drawn to gouge my marrow, how could I count it as injury? Yet the deep wound of this slander and defamation is vastly more cruel! A sutra says: 'Forfeit one's body to protect the Dharma; sacrifice one's life to propagate the Way.' This is indeed the time. Now I would draw out my entrails and pour forth my gall to repay this enemy of treacherous perversity, presenting this memorial to offer my sincerity and wash away the slanders and insults against my Master and Father. Brazenly offending your listening, I am subsequently overcome with fear and trepidation. Respectfully spoken.

12.7

Respectfully submitted: Eight articles refuting and demolishing Fu Yi's slander of the Buddha and destruction of the Sangha are set out as follows:

12.8

First refutation: On the matter of selecting monks and nuns aged sixty and under to serve as corvée laborers, so that the army may be strengthened and agriculture encouraged.

12.9

Gai has heard that the supreme principle transcends words, originally lying outside praise and blame; the profound doctrine is detached from speech, truly going beyond the bounds of talking and silence. Yet living beings' sentiments are not enlightened, so words are employed to express the deep and the shallow; the paths of the world are full of confusion, so designations are made to indicate the fine and the coarse. Hence there are differences between inner and outer paths, divergences between heterodox and orthodox discourses, distinctions between ordinary and holy ranks, and divisions into Great and Lesser Teachings. If they all converge in the One Vehicle, how could one cling to them to slander the Buddha? If they ultimately tend toward the ultimate fruit, one should not bind oneself to misjudge the truth. It is like the thousand streams heading toward the azure main, or the ten thousand currents returning to the great sea. The clear proof inside and out—how could it be empty words? Therefore the Lotus Sutra says: 'Regarding the past Buddhas, present ones, or those who have attained extinction, / if there are any who hear the Dharma, / not one will fail to become a Buddha.' Again, the Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'All sentient beings possess the Buddha-nature, and all will ultimately achieve the Buddha Way.' Again, the Daoist Falun jing says: 'If you see a śramaṇa, reflect on the immeasurable: wish soon to renounce worldly life to practice the truth of the Buddha. If you see a stupa, reflect on the immeasurable: you should wish that all people everywhere enter the Dharma gate.' Again, the Lingbao Dongxuan zhenyi jing says: 'The assembly of perfected ones and lofty immortals have already attained the Buddha Way.' Again, the Lingbao taishang miyao jing says: 'Each, in the present, equally attains the Buddha Way.' Therefore we know that into the non-dual marvelous gate all must ultimately enter together; upon the unique ultimate fruit all must necessarily ascend together. If one obstinately clings to heterodoxies, one brings upon oneself confusion and downfall. Recent scholars follow their own petty foolishness, stealing true words to insert into spurious canons. Thus the transmigration through the five realms is falsely presented as scriptures of immortals; the three thousand dignified demeanors are spuriously claimed as Daoist precepts; approaching the Buddha to receive the Dharma is changed into approaching the Celestial Worthy; exerting oneself to become a Buddha is converted into attaining the Golden Court; 'fundamental practice' is changed into 'fundamental sign'; and 'the Buddha said' is inscribed as 'the Dao said.' They imitate and rely upon the dignified demeanors of the Buddha's teachings; they mimic and study the rules and procedures of the monastic assembly. Some take the true to be false, hardly knowing right from wrong; turning the orthodox into the heterodox, how could they realize their inverted view? This is like a foolish thief stealing a fox-fur robe and wearing it inside out, or like a dunce snatching pearl necklaces and putting them on upside down. Such categories are very numerous; I briefly cite two or three, for they cannot be recounted in full. But Fu Yi was once a Daoist priest; he clothed his body in yellow robes, yet did not follow the non-action manner of Laozi, practicing instead exclusively the methods of the military officers of Zhang Ling. Either he himself acted as a 'rice bandit,' amassing goods without limit, or was called a 'demon soldier,' uttering curses without inhibition. In washing, bathing, combing, and styling hair, he was entirely identical to the secular; in indulging in lust and desires, how was he different from the common world? Moreover, harboring jealousy within, he unleashed wild words without, slanders spreading endlessly and abusive insults multiplying. If this can be tolerated, what cannot be borne? Now according to the points of his memorial, I will refute and demolish them in order. I pray that your Sagely Majesty deign to bestow your discerning gaze and examine them briefly.

12.10

Yi says: 'The monks shave their hair and dye their robes; they do not pay court to emperors and kings, and they separate from their fathers and mothers. They are neither loyal nor filial.' As for the Daoist priests of today, they wear headbands and caps; should they not bow to the sovereign of their time, and remain at home to serve and nurture their parents in order to be loyal and filial? Since they currently do not do so, why hold only [monks] to blame? Now in discussing loyalty: serving the sovereign requires exhausting one's life, and dying for righteousness requires forgetting oneself. As for filial piety: serving parents requires exhausting sincerity, and providing for their support in life and after death. Thus Dao'an offered direct remonstrances to assist the Qin; Fotudeng gave loyal words to rectify the Zhao; Maudgalyāyana raised the bowl to offer food to his mother; Śākyamuni carried the coffin to bury his parent. Rescuing the state and aiding the family—how could this not be loyalty and filial piety? It is not like the Daoist priest Zhang Lu causing chaos in the Han dynasty, Sun En rebelling in the Jin state, Chen Rui practicing Daoism and having his clan exterminated, or Gongqi studying immortality and suffering the destruction of his family. Bringing chaos to the state and ruin to the family—how could there be any loyalty or filial piety in that?

12.11

He also says: 'The monks secretly consort with spouses inside, while keeping their robes and outward forms separated; they abort fetuses and kill their children, violating propriety and opposing Heaven.' Now, since Daoist priests unite their qi in communal retreats and transmit teachings through mutual exchange, they should protect fetuses and give birth to children, according with propriety and harmonizing with Heaven. Yet in their case, though husband and wife have long been paired and yin and yang naturally joined, there are no births or pregnancies; this is truly destroying fetuses! They should be selected and ordered to become commoners, so that they may rear children, increase household registries, and supply soldiers. Would that not benefit the state and profit the people? He also says: 'There are one hundred thousand monks; if those aged sixty and under are selected and ordered to serve as corvée laborers, then the army will be strengthened and agriculture encouraged.' Now, in discussing military strength: if we examine the class of monks, they receive the teachings of the Tathāgata, eating only a vegetarian diet of rice and flour, relying for sustenance only on taro and konjac. Their bodies are emaciated and their strength is feeble; their minds are humble and their qi is weak. They do not break living grass; how could they trample insects? Practicing forbearance and cultivating compassion, they love life and hate killing. Facing an enemy, they would mostly be timid; striking a blow, they would surely hesitate. Laboring them in military ranks would be of no benefit to military strength. If we discuss Daoist priests, their numbers reach tens of thousands; they sacrifice to the Three and serve the Five, receive prohibitions, and write talismans. When presenting memorials, they must slaughter chickens and piglets; when making offerings, they demand wine and dried meat. Slicing mince and quaffing sweet wine, they indulge their drunken satedness. Their bodies are fat and their strength is robust; their minds are brave and their qi is vigorous. Callous and lacking affection, they hate life and love killing. Facing battle, they would surely be brave; striking a blow, they would never hesitate. Marshaled into military ranks, they would decisively strengthen the army. If one weighs physical strength, the Daoist priests are stronger; if one discusses virtue, the monks are superior. The appropriateness of what to discard and what to take can certainly be judged!

12.12

If he says that tilling in person and laboring diligently will encourage agriculture, this stems from narrow vision and is not an all-encompassing path. Common society cannot be regulated by a single rite; government cannot be ordered by a single way; gentlemen cannot be recruited through a single conduct; the people cannot be sustained by a single trade. Thus the 'Treatise on the Equalization of Transport' in the Book of Han states: 'In antiquity, the four classes of people were not permitted to live mingled together. Scholars discussed benevolence and righteousness together in the court and at feasts; artisans discussed craftsmanship together in government workshops; merchants discussed wealth and profit together in the markets; farmers discussed sowing and reaping together in the fields.' These four groups each rested content in their dwelllings and took joy in their trades; thus the resources suited to Heaven and Earth were brought to fruition, and used to support the interests of the state. Today, the monks likewise each have their trade. Regarding their interior: with compassion and forbearance they extend their minds, which is the benevolence and righteousness of the scholar. Speaking of their exterior: with expedient means they transform living things, which is the craftsmanship and skill of the artisan. Discussing their practice: by mutual requital of giving and reward, it is the marketplace of the merchant. Speaking of their Path: by bringing salvation to both oneself and others, it is the diligent plowing of the farmer. Thus supreme sincerity can move ghosts and spirits; only virtue can stir Heaven and Earth, moving compassionate minds to bring down rains, and spreading benevolence to moisten the season. Therefore under a benevolent government, sudden rain follows the carriage, and flying locusts avoid the territory; the wheat on the ridges bears double ears, and the millet yields nine stems. This is all due to the merit of benevolent governance, not merely the labor of diligent farming.

12.13

It is also said that one wishes to have the saṃgha pay homage to the emperor and have this recorded in the court statutes. This view is the most deeply confused and inverted: having already fallen into a pit oneself, one leads others to plunge into a well, wishing for them to sink together—how could this be permissible? In the past, when Huan Xuan committed treasonous rebellion with insane insolence and unprincipled conduct, this proposal had already been raised. The court discussion did not follow it, stating: 'Śramaṇas and sons of Śākya shave their hair and dye their robes; they are permitted to be men beyond the realm and are not bound by the etiquette within the boundaries. Therefore, the kāṣāya bare at one shoulder is not a garment for court audiences, and the alms bowl and tin staff are hardly implements for imperial halls.' Yet Xuan was perverse and rebellious, obstinately adhering to it without repentance. He disgraced the Three Honoured Ones and cast into turbulence the seven ancestral temples; the people bore grievances and the spirits were enraged, with the masses rebelling and intimates forsaking him. His army was routed at Dongling, and his person perished at Xipu. With this overturned chariot serving as a clear mirror of warning, who would not take heed? The August Emperor of our Great Tang, an ordained sage uniquely brought forth into the world, has answered the era of auspicious brightness and met the fortune of flourishing assembly. He puts an end to mire and stops the coals of suffering, pulling forth the drowning and rescuing the submerged. He propagates the sacred teaching to instruct the populace, and bestows consummate benevolence to nurture all beings. The years are harmonious, harvests abundant, vital energy plentiful, and the times prosperous. How could anyone fully record his utmost virtue and profound merit? In addition, internally he cherishes the four faiths, and externally he reveres the Three Honoured Ones; he dismounts the imperial carriage to take refuge, and lowers his crowned tassels to dedicate merit. Thus the eight directions touch their brows to the earth and the myriad states submit to the courtly breeze. How could one place the blame upon those who have renounced the mundane world and make them observe the etiquette of householders? At present, Daoist priests don coarse serge, hold court tablets, and wear headdresses and headbands; since they already wear the vestments of ministers and officials, they must perform the etiquette of court audiences. In antiquity, the noble gentlemen under the Heavenly Master still paid homage to the emperor; now these base fellows of ghostly soldiers ought to kneel before the chancellors and ministers. It is proper to order the Daoist priests to follow their master's model, paying audience to the emperor and bowing before officials, and to have this recorded in the court statutes. Would that not be fitting?

12.14

The discourse states: Examining from the Han and Wei onwards, the times have traversed nine dynasties. Among them, regarding Daoist priests who disrupted the court with heterodox ways and violated the state with monstrous talk, when perusing the charts and histories, what generation was without them? Under Emperor Xian of the Later Han, Zhang Ling and Zhang Lu deceitfully spoke words of ghosts and falsely made apocryphal texts, saying: 'After the Han mandate is extinguished, the yellow-robed will gain the realm.' Thereupon, together with Zhang Jue of Julu, they acted as external collaborators from afar. They fashioned yellow cloth headbands, wore yellow capes, gathered assemblies and followers, and deceived and enticed the foolish populace, plotting danger to the altars of the soil and grain; soon they were executed and destroyed. Thus the Book of Rites says: 'Those who throw the multitude into confusion through heterodox ways shall be put to death.' At present, the Daoist priests do not wear the attire of Old Lao paying court, but rather don the robes of Zhang Lu which threw the state into turmoil. Master and disciple transmit it from one to another, not altering their bandit ways. As their numbers are already numerous, they band together into bandit factions; perhaps giving rise to illicit ambitions, how could one not take precautions? Calculating their number, there are fifty thousand; if one screens them out to make them able-bodied commoners paying annual taxes and levies, and bearing sons and daughters each year, it will benefit the state, profit the populace, strengthen the army, and encourage farming. According to my humble view: let those who accord with the law be honored and revered, and let those who violate the prohibitions be dismissed and put to work. Thus once the weeds and tares are removed, the farm seedlings will grow luxuriant; once the treacherous and depraved are expelled, the disciples will be pure and orderly. Would that not be good?

12.15

The second refutation: [The claim that if] monasteries were made into thatched huts and earthen cottages, then the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han would be rulers of virtue.

12.16

I have heard that the Dharmakāya has no physical form, yet responds to beings with various expedients; thus it provisionally manifested a whole body, which was placed within the stūpa of Prabhūtaratna, and expediently divided its relics, which flowed into the shrines of Aśoka. Therefore, gathering and scattering accord with conditions, and presence and demise depend on living beings; the saintly power of expedient transformation is inconceivable. However, the Buddha was born in India, and according to its local customs, a burial necessarily entails cremation (jhapita), and the gathering [of relics] necessarily entails erecting a stūpa. A stūpa is indeed a shrine; a shrine means 'appearance' (mao), wherein sacrificial offerings and reverent service are carried out as if the appearance were still present. The ancestral temples and altars of soil and grain of the state today are all of this kind. Moreover, one hundred years after the Tathāgata's extinction, there was King Aśoka, who ruled the world with his iron wheel, employing ghosts and spirits through his august virtue and erecting spiritual shrines through the power of his merit. Thus eighty-four thousand stūpas were completed in no time, and halls of a thousand pillars and a hundred beams were accomplished before the morning was out. How could this have toiled human labor? It was naturally a divine feat. How could one doubt the deeds of sages and worthies with the sentiments of ordinary mortals? How would this differ from measuring the great ocean with a bucket, or gauging empty space with inches and feet? How could that be possible? When the relics flowed east, the King of Wu was the first to be moved; when Senghui prostrated and supplicated, as soon as his sincere devotion reached its peak, [the relic] suddenly arrived. When Sun Quan tested it, the anvil and hammer were dented while it became all the firmer. Thereupon its soaring light penetrated upwards, brilliantly illuminating the imperial screens; it emitted radiance that spread laterally, casting a luxuriant glow beneath the craggy galleries. At that time, [Seng]hui leaped with joy and broadly praised its majestic power; Quan and his court ministers, upon hearing it, all believed and submitted, forthwith constructing a stūpa and establishing a saṅghārāma for it. Because of this, Buddhist deeds were greatly propagated in the region east of the Yangtze. How could this be like the Supreme Lord's bones rotting in Guanzhong, where it is decided that there are no relics, or the Heavenly Master's body being buried in the belly of a serpent, where how could there be a preserved body? Having nothing to rely upon, they then produced bewitching falsehoods. Hearing that the Buddha had eight bushels of relics to signify his left-behind body, they subsequently kept two small stones to substitute for 'immortal eggs'. However, the 'immortal eggs' were originally the genitals of a mad boar, and the 'mystic altar' is merely the shrine of an old ghost. If one says relics are barbarian bones, in principle they still surpass the genitals of a mad boar; and how could a Buddhist stūpa—a 'barbarian mound'—be the same as the shrine of an old ghost? How could one equate high and low or express ranks in such terms? Therefore, when current Daoist priests see relics, they are like cinders in their eyes—how could they be willing to take refuge? When they behold stūpas, they are like thorns in their hearts, and they exclusively plot to destroy and demolish them, harboring evil in vain. How could this be permissible? The sovereigns and emperors throughout the dynasties have all planted good roots long ago and mostly cherished correct faith, expending treasures to construct stūpas and removing gems to venerate the true, all wishing to express their sincerity in pursuing the distant past and to convey their reverence as if [the Buddha] were present. Therefore, they renovated and raised nine tiers, exhausting all adornment; they constructed a hundred beams, exhausting magnificence. So it was that when a poor person offered an alms-bowl, a Brahmā palace was instantly formed; when an elder marked the ground with chalked cords, a heavenly hall immediately appeared. The way of cause and effect is completely clear in this principle; those of dim understanding cannot awaken to it.

12.17

The discourse states: Examining the Renwang jing, there are five kinds of worldly emperors: first, the millet-scattering king, whose majestic virtue is the most inferior; second, the iron-wheel king, who governs Jambudvīpa; third, the copper-wheel king, who holds two continents; fourth, the silver-wheel king, who transforms three continents; fifth, the gold-wheel king, who unifies four continents. Regarding these five kings, their positions are not the same in high and low, and their virtues differ in superiority and inferiority. Assessing the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han, within Jambudvīpa they were kings only in Cīnasthāna; among the five kinds of kings, they were millet-scattering kings. These were of inferior virtue yet dwelt in supreme palaces, of base rank yet occupied lofty terraces; they did not move people through grace and kindness, but exclusively drove beings through whipping and flogging. This caused spirits and deities to bear indignation and rebuke, and the common people to cry out in grief; thus the court historians disparaged them as unprincipled. Furthermore, after their deaths they lavishly constructed tombs and mounds, squandering myriad pieces of gold and toiling the common people with forced labor. Thereupon their flesh and bones dissolved and scattered, and their spiritual traces became nothing. As the ages grew solitary and silent, where was their authority and blessing? Our Śākya responded to the world with virtue and position uniquely exalted; his Way crowned the hundred spirits, and his spirit transcended the myriad billions. He was the utmost sage among sages, whose virtue surpassed all preceding thousands of sages; he was the Dharma King among kings, whose position stood above a hundred kings. How could one compare superiority and inferiority with the likes of the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han? The Buddha was exalted in virtue, so he dwelt in supreme palaces; his rank was ultimate, so he occupied lofty terraces. He moved people solely through the transformation of virtue, without using whipping and flogging to drive beings. Naturally, there were emperors who joyfully renounced wealth, and divine spirits that secretly assisted him. After his extinction, stūpas and shrines were raised for him; his relics do not perish, and his majestic spirit still remains. Destroying them immediately manifests evil omens; smashing them brings calamity before one's eyes. Thus Sun Hao, ruler of Wu, was extravagant, lustful, harsh, and cruel; disregarding sin and merit, he claimed there was no retribution. Having excavated a bronze statue, he ordered it placed before a privy. When the eighth day of the fourth month arrived, he urinated on the head of the statue, saying: 'Today is the eighth day, and I bathe your crown with this.' In an instant, he suffered from genital pain with agony difficult to endure. The Grand Astrologer divined it, saying: 'You have offended a great deity.' He prayed all around to the spirits and deities, yet none showed any miraculous response. Later, upon hearing about the Buddha, he was startled and terrified, sighing in regret over his past error; he immediately dispatched men to welcome the statue, bathed it with scented water, and kowtowed to apologize for his offense. He was instantly cured at his words; because of this, he generated faith and remained wary and fearful to the end of his life. Furthermore, Xie Hui, an official of the Song, was personally present in the city of Jingzhou; inside there was a five-storied monastery, and the monastery had a relic stūpa. Hui was violent and rebellious by nature, having had no sincere faith beforehand; he said: 'Monasteries and stūpas should not be inside the city,' and ordered them to be destroyed and cast out. Thereupon, he personally led soldiers straight before the stūpa; the multitude all trembled and none dared raise a hand. Hui then sternly beat the drums to drive and force the soldiers, crashing into the shrine doors and hacking the revered statue. Shortly, clouds and mist darkened the earth, and wind and dust veiled the sky. Hui and his soldiers were covered with ash and dirt; wiping it with their hands, skin and flesh fell off along with it. It then turned into an evil disease, with leprous sores over their entire bodies. Before long, he rebelled and was soon executed and destroyed. These matters are all as recounted in the Song Xuan yan ji. Briefly following the records and biographies, I have noted these entries merely to show those who are not yet awakened and make their minds and eyes clear. According to my humble view: Śākya responded to the world and all beings jointly revere him; in ancient times there were already monasteries and stūpas, so regarding those built today, I request that they be preserved. Old Lao abandoned the world and his mind valued emptiness and nothingness; during his time in the world, he had no lodgings or buildings at all, so regarding current extravagant rivalries, I request that they be curtailed.

12.18

The third refutation: [The claim that if] monasteries and stūpas are curtailed and reduced across the prefectures and counties, then the populace will be at peace and the state well governed.

12.19

I have heard that in antiquity, when enlightened kings held themselves in reverent modesty and faced south, their wisdom encompassed heaven and earth, yet they did not plan on their own; their eloquence shaped the myriad things, yet they did not speak on their own. Why was this? It was because they toiled in seeking worthy men, and rested at ease in employing them; as long as they obtained the right persons, the realm governed itself. Therefore, they inquired after the Way in the Xuan Room and pondered governance in the Bright Hall; they surveyed affairs and divided official departments, conferring offices in accordance with directions. The Eight Harmonious Ones stood in rank and the Ten Capable Ministers served at court; thus they were able to preserve and assist the country and achieve peace for the altars of the soil and grain. Thereupon they propagated the transformation of compassion, relaxing taxes to succor the poor; they practiced the teaching of consummate benevolence, reducing punishments and showing caution in judicial trials. They spread virtuous benevolence so that those far away arrived and those near at hand were at peace; they established achievements, instituted rites, and composed music. This was consummate governance, worthy of being praised. Thus the Book says: 'Governing the state takes pacifying the people as its foundation; pacifying the people takes good officials as its root.' If one obtains the right persons, the state will be at peace; if they are not the right persons, the people will be in disorder. Hence we know that loyal ministers and good officials are capable of governing the state and pacifying the people. Yet one must venerate good, establish merit, plant fruits, and cultivate causes; one must reverently serve the spirits and luminaries and attend upon the holy shrines. How could one demolish stūpas, abolish shrines, merge monasteries, and expel monks? The spiritual deities serve as omens; one must be cautious regarding calamity and blessing. Yet [Fu] Yi is violent and perverse, exclusively indulging in wild talk; before the clear mirror of the Sagely Court, in principle there is no cause for perplexity.

12.20

The treatise says: I have observed that marking a tree serves as a local shrine, and setting up a brick or stone is called a lord; piling earth makes an altar, and bundling reeds serves as decoration. When in urgent distress one prays, they possess a slight numinous efficacy; when beseeching with sincerity for rain or against drought, they confer a modicum of gracious blessing. How much more so is the Buddha’s divine demeanor towering and his numinous countenance dignified? Can one then wish to slight and destroy them? How could that be permissible? Since Emperor Ming of the Han was moved by a dream, the monastery took the name 'White Horse'; since Sun Quan verified an auspicious omen, the stupa was first designated 'Jianchu'. From then onward, they arose continuously one after another. If the divine Way were completely non-existent, how could emperors and kings revere and serve it? If numinous power were extinct, would rulers of states still follow and honour it? They all personally witnessed it with their own eyes and approached it in person, which caused them to take refuge and turn toward it. It is not like the Daoists, who have no grounding or authority whatsoever: in the days when Laozi served the Zhou, there was no mysterious altar; only on the morning when Zhang Ling schemed against the Han did Daoist abbeys begin to arise. Thus during the reign of Emperor Shun of the Later Han, there was Zhang Ling, a man of Pei, who traveled as a guest to the land of Shu. He heard an old tradition saying: 'In the past, Gaozu of the Han responded to the twenty-four solar terms and offered sacrifices to the twenty-four mountains, whereupon he came to rule the realm as king.' Ling, not measuring his own virtue, subsequently hatched this plot: he slaughtered oxen to sacrifice at twenty-four places, erected earthen altars, topped them with thatched roofs, and called them the 'twenty-four parishes' (zhi). The origin of parish abbeys began with this. Twenty-three places were located in the land of Shu, and Yin Xi's single place was in Xianyang. Thereupon he deceived and seduced the foolish populace, gathered evil cliques, collected taxes and rice, and plotted to use this as a ladder to rebellion. At that time, swallowed by a serpent, his treacherous offence was not realized. Down to his grandson Zhang Lu, disaster and rebellion then arose in Hanzhong, but he was exterminated by Cao Cao. From then until now, flocks of petty figures have succeeded one another, relying on the parish abbeys to constantly perform strange and sinister arts. Thus in the first year of the Zhongping era of Emperor Shun of the Han, Zhang Jiao, a man of Julu, proclaimed himself Master of the Yellow Sky Department, having thirty-six generals who all wore yellow cloth kerchiefs; from afar he coordinated with Zhang Lu. His multitude reached one hundred thousand, and they burned the city of Ye. The Han dispatched the Intendant of Henan, He Jin, who led troops and exterminated them. Again, in the second year of the Xianning era of Emperor Wu of the Jin, the Daoist Chen Rui deluded the masses with heterodox ways, styling himself Celestial Master; his followers numbered several thousand, and after years had accumulated, he was exterminated by Wang Jun, Regional Inspector of Yizhou. Again, in the first year of the Taihe era of Emperor Wen of the Jin, the Daoist Lu Song of Pengcheng styled himself Libationer of the Great Way; he deluded the masses with heterodox arts, gathered his clique, and toward dawn attacked the Guanghan Gate, declaring that they were welcoming the Duke of Haixi into the palace. Huan Mi and others realized this, joined battle with them, and soon executed and decapitated them all. Again, in the fifth year of the Datong era of Emperor Wu of the Liang, the Daoist Yuan Jin deluded the masses with strange words and practiced binding paces on the ridges; the government troops trapped them, and they were soon slaughtered and destroyed. In the tenth year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui, the Daoists Pu Tong and Zuo Tong of Changlong County in Mianzhou were at the Bengxi Abbey. They falsely claimed to have attained holiness and deceived the people, stacking couches up to the roof and sitting atop them, saying that only fifteen maidens were fit to receive the teachings. They made the maidens climb the couches, surrounded them with curtains, and then secretly committed illicit acts with them. This went on for months; the maidens violated were calculated to exceed several hundred. Later, the matter was exposed, and they consequently fled. Again, in the eighteenth year of the Kaihuang era, the Daoist Han Lang of Yizhou and the Daoist Huang Rulin of Mianzhou incited and deluded the Prince of Shu to commit treachery, saying: 'If you wish to establish a great undertaking, you must rely on superior conditions.' They then taught the Prince of Shu to empty the granaries and exhaust the treasuries, construct a thousand-foot Daoist statue, and hold a grand retreat of a thousand days. They painted the image of the late emperor with head and hands bound backward, uttering incantations to curse him. Zhao Zhongqing, Duke of Hebei, investigated and found the truth, sending them under escort to the imperial ministry in the capital. Upon interrogation they confessed their crimes and were executed in the public marketplace. Now, under the great Tang's mandate, such demonic delusions still arise. In the past third year of the Wude era, Li Wang, a commoner of Changlong County in Mianzhou, had previously served the Yellow Emperor and Laozi and constantly practiced demonic sorcery. In the late years of Daye, there was a Daoist named Pu Zizhen who was slightly versed in Daoist arts; he was sent to the Eastern Capital, and having reached Liang and Han, he died and was buried there. Li Wang falsely claimed: 'Zizhen has recently returned.' Moreover, by the mountain of that county was a stone chamber, dark and secluded in a cliff cave, where no one dared to peer. Wang thereupon relied on this to perpetrate his demonic frauds: in the light, he would stretch his throat and speak in a loud voice to receive and pass on communications; upon entering the dark, he would choke his breath and speak in a small voice, falsely discoursing on misfortune and fortune. He thus led upright dānapatis almost to turn their minds, while crooked and foolish folk naturally believed him implicitly. Daoists spread the report, reaching the county and coming to the hearing of the prefecture. When the officials initially investigated, they all believed and accepted it. Later, Regional Inspector Li Dali said: 'This matter is not light; it must be memorialized to the throne. One must personally verify it before determining truth from falsehood.' Thereupon, together with over a hundred mounted riders consisting of prefectural officials and Daoists, riding saddles and horses together and vying to adorn their clothing and kerchiefs, with abundant supplies on sacrificial trays and doubled allotments of jiao offerings—wine, dried meats, and assorted flavors, whichever was required—they went together to the front of the cave and bowed twice in prayer. At that time Wang gave deceitful replies, and those who heard him were captivated. Only the Magistrate of Baxi County, Yue Shizhi, deeply grasped the human temperament; knowing his deception, he secretly waited inside the dark, and seeing Wang choking his voice, Shizhi immediately rebuked him. Wang forthwith confessed his guilt and was confined in the prefectural prison. Just as they were about to determine his punishment, before a few days had passed, he swallowed poison and died. Looking back into histories and charts, and broadly examining past and present, throughout recorded accounts of what has been heard and witnessed with one’s own eyes, there have always been people in the world who threw the government into disorder with heterodox arts. I have briefly brought forth a few cases as a mirror and warning, hoping you will deign to examine them and properly eliminate such practices. In my humble view, if they practice the pure and vacuous Way of Laozi, rely on it and preserve it; if they practice the impure and defiled arts of Zhang Ling, investigate and abolish them. This will sweep away those demonic heresies and remove those noxious bandits; it can truly be called stopping violence and quelling chaos—how is this not governing the state and pacifying the people?

12.21

Fourth: Decisive refutation of [the claim that] 'if monks and nuns wear cloth and reduce their vegetarian feasts, silkworms will suffer no untimely deaths and the poor will not go hungry.'

12.22

I have heard that by receiving the harmonious combination of breaths, this false and illusory body is formed. What external life requires relies on food and clothing for nourishment; what internal retribution depends upon relies on physical form and spirit to be established. Form and spirit cannot stand alone, but rely on food and clothing to sustain them; food and clothing must not be excessively wasted, but regulated through a sense of integrity and shame. Therefore, the Sutra of the Buddha's Bequeathed Teaching says: 'A monk receives food merely to support the body.' It also says: 'Wear dyed robes of ruined colors in order to abandon adornment and finery.' These are luminous instructions; who would not comply with them? However, the Tathāgata established precepts according to different capacities. People have higher and lower faculties, and regulations have strictness and leniency. For the superior, he regulated with strictness, causing them to cultivate suddenly; for the inferior, he conferred with leniency, allowing them to advance gradually. For those with strict regulations for the superior, they take only one meal a day, the meal is limited to vegetables, the body is limited to three robes, and the robes are made only of discarded rags. For those with lenient regulations for the lower, food is permitted at two times, flavors may include ghee and milk, robes may be of ten extra lengths, and silk and cotton are allowed to be worn. Or there are old and sick monks whose bodies endure both freezing and starvation, or men with chronic illnesses whose physiques are distressed by hunger and cold; they must be provided with clothing and furs, and sustained with medicines and stone broths. Thus those of superior capacity do not rely on manifold requisites and naturally realize the truth; those of lower rank must depend on material conditions before they can awaken to the Way. To wish to impose a single standard—how could that be possible? If one restricts the monks and nuns to wearing coarse cloth and reduces vegetarian feasts to relieve the poor and keep them alive, one should calculate that for a single vegetarian feast, a monk or nun consumes merely a single bowl, and for one outfit, wears merely a few bolts of silk. Yet Fu Yi claims this harms ten members of a farming household and slaughters one hundred thousand silkworms. Consider that for a single Daoist jiao offering, there are a hundred trays of wine and dried meat, and each year a thousand bolts of patterned damask are commissioned; this must consume the food of a thousand soldiers and kill tens of billions of silkworms! Yet Yi knows that Daoists cause great damage and feigns ignorance without calculating it, while monks and nuns incur little expense, yet he analyzes them in fine detail with partiality. This is entirely partisan talk, which an exemplary person does not heed. In my humble view, one should ban Daoist jiao sacrifices and their commissioned damask; this will benefit the state without harming the people and creatures. If one is indulgent and does not prohibit them, it harms the state and injures the people.

12.23

With the Sacred Sovereign's discernment and brilliance, would he not reflect upon this?

12.24

The treatise says: Examining the Daoists' covenant scriptures, they first receive the ten precepts, next the eighty precepts, later the one hundred and eighty precepts, up to the three hundred great precepts, and even the three thousand deportments of sitting, rising, lying, and resting; all are said to be secret essentials not conferred recklessly on others. Examining the Upper Chapter of the Wisdom of Lingbao, at the very beginning of the ten precepts it states: 'Do not be lustful or sensual, and keep the mind free from dissoluteness.' Furthermore, the Sutra on Eliminating Delusion through Wisdom states: 'Seeing other people's wives and children, vow to escape the prison of attachment.' Daoists, having received this transmission, should by principle comply with and apply it. Yet right at the start they do not practice it, devoting themselves entirely to transgression. Why is this? Wearing kerchiefs and holding tablets, they appear to follow the scriptures; yet keeping wives and raising children, they end up breaking the precepts. This is openly practicing sensual desire without feeling any shame whatsoever. Since they willfully violate scriptural precepts, how could they have any remorse? How does this differ from chickens and sparrows mating before doorways without shame, or dogs and pigs copulating in the thoroughfares without disgrace? Drinking much salt water, they lose subtle mindfulness; indulging their six passions, they violate the ten precepts. Since the very first precept is broken and not upheld, the subsequent three thousand are in principle obsolete and useless; what application can their talismans, registers, codes, and prohibitions have? Furthermore, according to Laozi’s Scripture of the Golden Elixir and the Rules for the Perfected Morning Audience, at the sacrifices of the new and full moons, they attend the master in his private chambers, affections drawing them close, and males and females engage in intercourse. They make the four eyes and two noses correspond above and below, and the two mouths and two tongues face one another; once yin and yang join, the essential qi merges. This fulfills the rites of husband and wife and accords with the way of male and female. If one cultivates the Way with this, the Way cannot be cultivated; if one leaves home with this, how can home be left? How extreme is their inverted delusion! Furthermore, he claims that the Buddha is a cunning youth whose principles abound in clever wisdom, and Guanyin is a performer truly full of expedient marvels, unlike the Libationers who throw the court into chaos, being foolish and devoid of wisdom, or the Celestial Master stung by a serpent, having no supernatural powers. Now, pardoning prisoners and freeing convicts is the great compassion of all Buddhas; pulling beings out of suffering and eradicating harm is the supreme practice of Guanyin. When people pray for grace, they give of their own accord; it is not through deceit and seduction that wealth is sought. Repaying virtue comes from the heart; how could goods be taken through coercion? If Guanyin's compassion in delivering people from prison were merely abducting prisoners, then the Celestial Master's use of prohibitions to kill his enemies should be considered executing soldiers. Yet when the Buddha sees good, he encourages it; when he hears of evil, he pities it. His compassion is impartial, treating foes and friends alike. Laozi also said: 'Those who are good I treat with goodness; those who are not good I also treat with goodness.' This is unlike the Celestial Master, who serves the Five Generals, the Three Spirits, the Four Directors, and the Nine Bureaus, receiving the methods of cursing and casting spells, and practicing talismans of prohibition and exorcism, causing those he resents to become demented and lose their minds, and making those he hates terrified and lose their lives. These are truly evil spirits of the mundane world and killer demons of the human realm! In my humble view, today's Daoists' 'smearing with charcoal', 'uniting qi', forbidden spells, and chapter talismans are none of them the correct words of Laozi; they are merely the heterodox methods of Zhang Ling, which bewitch with demonic delusion and deceit, harming the state and injuring the people. I request that they be strictly prohibited and their evil falsities put to an end.

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廣弘明集 — Classical Chinese