廣弘明集 2.37

2.37

It also said: "The Buddha formerly attained the Way in the Western Hu lands, and in the thirty-two heavens he is the Master of the Palace of Prolonging Truth. Because of his vigorous and arduous teaching, his disciples all shave their hair and dye their robes, severing human relationships. The clothing in heaven is entirely like this." In the middle of the Shiguang reign era, [Qianzhi] first offered these scriptures and presented them to Emperor Shizu. The emperor then ordered Qianzhi to stay at the place where Zhang Yao had practiced grain avoidance, supplying him with food. When the court and the public heard of it, they treated it vaguely, not fully believing it. Cui Hao alone regarded his words as extraordinary, and thereupon served him as a master, receiving his methods and arts. He submitted a memorial praising and clarifying the matter, saying: "Your servant has heard that when sage kings receive the Mandate, there are heavenly omens. But the charts and writings of the Yellow River and Luo River relied on expressions found in the patterns of insects and beasts; they are not like today, where human and spirit meet face to face, and the handwriting is brilliantly clear, with words and concepts profound and subtle. Since antiquity there has been nothing like this. In the past, though Han Gaozu was heroic and sagely, the Four White-Haired Elders of Mount Shang still felt it shameful and would not humble themselves before him. Now a recluse immortal of pure virtue has arrived without summons. This is truly an omen matching Your Majesty with the tracks of Xuanyuan and the Yellow Emperor in responding to Heaven. How could we overlook the command of the supreme spirit as mere vulgar talk? Your servant privately fears it." Emperor Shizu was delighted (he was then nine years old), and thereupon dispatched an usher carrying jade, silk, and sacrificial animals to offer sacrifice at Mount Song, welcoming the rest of Qianzhi's disciples remaining in the mountains. Thereupon, he revered the Celestial Master, erected Daoist altars to make known the new methods, and proclaimed it throughout the empire, so that the practices of the Way flourished greatly. Cui Hao served the Celestial Master with great reverence, bowing and performing rituals, which some people ridiculed.