廣弘明集 24.12

24.12

From the Chancellery: Congealed enlightenment is pure and calm, its matters transcending the mundane world; its profound model is loftily abstruse, its principle resting in the forgetting of words. Yet without words, how could the teaching be explained? Without the secular, how could the truth be manifested? Therefore, for the wind of the Tripiṭaka to spread, it must rely on disciplinary standards; for the transformation of the six perfections to unfold, it truly depends on temporal measures. Since the teaching of images flowed east, a millennium is half gone; the customs of the Qin and Han were elaborate, and their prohibitions ever more dense. Thus eminent men of former generations established rules in accordance with what was fitting, adjusting between leniency and severity according to the times to assist the profound mystery. In the previous reign, prohibitions for the saṃgha were once formulated, but there were minor points not yet fully clarified, which ought to be revised and established. Recently We saw the report of Controller of Śramaṇas Sengxian and others, stating that they wished to edit and settle them once again. With Our shallow understanding, We have briefly examined the ultimate canonical texts alongside them. The undertaking arose in haste and has not been thoroughly investigated. For the time being, provisional measures may be enacted to broadly remedy the times; once finalized in the palace, they shall be reported so that the matter may be revised and brought to a sound conclusion.