廣弘明集 25.32

25.32

In Shu, there were two rulers over forty-three years; at that time, amid military and state strategies, nothing was heard of faith or disparagement concerning the Buddhist teachings. The Sima clan of Jin established rule in the east and west over twelve rulers and one hundred and fifty-six years. The four emperors of the central court revered and believed in it to the utmost, and no dissent was heard. Only in the sixth year of the Xiankang era under Emperor Cheng of Eastern Jin, after the Chancellor Wang Dao and the Grand Defender Yu Liang had died, Yu Bing assisted in the governance. Because the emperor was young and tender, [Yu Bing] issued an edict on his behalf ordering monks to render homage. At that time, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing He Chong and the Master of Writing Xie Guang, among others, argued that it was improper to render homage. Arguments were exchanged back and forth three times, and the matter was subsequently dropped at that time. Sixty-two years later, in the Yuanxing era of Emperor An, the Grand Defender Huan Xuan, relying on the awe-inspiring authority of one who shakes his lord, issued a directive ordering [monks] to render homage. The Prefect of the Masters of Writing Huan Qian, the Palace Secretariat Wang Mi, and others remonstrated against it, saying: 'Now, although the śramaṇas have profound reverence in their intentions, they do not make bodily bowing their ritual. Their footprints may spread throughout the land, but their aspiration transcends the mundane world. For this reason, among the sovereigns of foreign lands, none fail to humble their etiquette (such as King Aśoka and others paying homage to bhikṣus). This is truly because where the Way resides, there it is noble, not because a person makes it light or heavy (such as King Wen of Wei leaning on the crossbar for Duanmu Gan, or Emperor Guangwu of Han's treatment of Yan Ziling). Indeed, the eastward transmission of the Great Dharma has lasted for a very long time. Although customs have shifted and regimes have changed, the propagation [of the Dharma] has remained unchanged. Is this not because its unique and peerless transformation is daily employed in gradual edification, and its pure and simple ways do no harm to flourishing peace?' Huan Xuan also sent a letter to Master Yuan of Mount Lu, stating that Laozi ranked kings and lords equally among the three greats. Yuan replied that the etiquette of that which is beyond the world is not subordinate to the rites of the Chinese realms. He then composed the 'Treatise on Śramaṇas Not Paying Homage to Kings' in five essays, and because of this the matter subsided. When Emperor An was restored to the administration, he returned to revering and upholding [the Dharma] until Emperor Gong. Under the Liu clan of Song, there were eight monarchs across five decades; although in the sixth year of the Daming era of Xiaowu, paying homage to the ruler was briefly instituted, they soon returned to the earlier policy. Under the three dynasties of Qi, Liang, and Chen, for more than one hundred and ten years, their devotion and respect were undivided, and their faith and veneration grew increasingly profound. In the Central Plains, under the Wei clan, there were more than ten monarchs over one hundred and fifty-five years; the Buddha-Dharma flourished greatly, as fully seen in the fine history by Wei Shou. Only in the seventh year of the Taiping Zhenjun era did [Emperor] Taiwu heed slanders and extinguish the Dharma; after five years had passed, he contracted a plague and died, and the Buddha-Dharma was restored again until Emperor Jing. Since the Jin lost control over the Central Plains and emperors were declared south of the Yangtze, the realm was divided into sixteen (meaning the Five Liang, Four Yan, Three Qin, Two Zhao, Xia, and Shu); among all these illegitimate regimes, faith in the Dharma did not diminish. Only Helian Bobo occupied Xia Prefecture; ferocious and insatiable, he delighted in killing, strapped images to his back, and ordered monks to pay homage to them. Later he was struck dead by thunder, and his land was soon swallowed up by Northern Dai; the execution and mutilation of his wives and children are fully detailed in Xiao Zixian's Book of Qi. The Gao Qi were at Ye for six emperors over twenty-eight years; their faith and reverence surpassed what came before, and within the state there were not two conflicting matters. Under the Yuwen clan of Zhou, there were five emperors over twenty-five years. At first, Emperor Wu had deep faith in and revered the Buddha-Dharma; later, he accepted the proposal of Zhang Bin, thereupon received Daoist teachings, and intended to eliminate Buddhism. Master Daoan composed the 'Treatise on the Two Teachings' to resist it. The treatise stated: 'The teachings of the Nine Schools teach only moderation of one's person, and are called outer teachings. The teachings of the Three Vehicles teach the pacification of the mind's delusions, and are called inner teachings. Laozi is not a teaching-lord; he is subsumed by the Modesty hexagram of the Yijing.' When the emperor heard this, since the principles of preservation and abolition were at odds, he consequently eliminated both together. In less than five years, his person perished and governance shifted. The Sui clan received the mandate for two emperors over thirty-seven years; Emperor Wen revered, believed in, and extensively revived the Buddha-Dharma. Throughout the realm, pagodas were erected across more than a hundred prefectures, and all produced auspicious omens, as fully recorded in the illustrated accounts. Emperor Yang succeeded to the throne and reformed the previous dynasty's ways; although he ordered monks to pay homage, the monks ultimately did not yield. From the gradual eastward spread of the Great Transformation for over six hundred years, three times it suffered extermination, and five times it was ordered to pay homage. These both violated the canonical statutes of statecraft and were not the governance of an auspicious and enlightened era. The cruelty of disemboweling and hacking was inflicted during chaotic courts; the ritual of suppression was championed in doomed dynasties. Therefore, when matters and principles deviated from the ordinary, they soon returned to the ancient tracks. This is truly because the Three Jewels are the foundation of taking refuge and keeping the precepts, and the Five Assemblies dwell in the status of fields of merit. Although faith and slander alternate, and disasters and blame take their turn, these arise because humans have their declines and rises; based on the Way, it has never known flourishing or decay. Thus over a thousand Great Sages appear during the great period of the Bhadrakalpa; with a lifespan of sixty thousand years, the True Dharma of the Śākya clan abides. How much more so when the sixteen venerable ones work transformation in the three continents, and nine hundred million worthy of offerings protect the fourfold assemblies! Judging from this, the calculated span has not yet ended; how could it be arbitrarily decided to conform to Confucian canons? Furthermore, the Gu hexagram of the Yijing speaks of not serving kings and princes; the 'Conduct of the Scholar' in the Liji speaks of not submitting as a minister to the Son of Heaven. Even among the four ranks of worldly life, there are still people who do not bend; how much more so for those who have abandoned the mundane to follow the Way, that they should be demanded to observe the rituals of ministers and concubines? Furthermore, to Sovereign God of Vast Heaven, the spirits of the sacred peaks and waterways, and the rulers of humankind, none fail to make sacrificial offerings and prostrate themselves in worship. Now monks have received the Buddha's precepts and their forms are complete with the Buddha's deportment. The devas, dragons, and eight classes of beings uphold their Path and look up to their appearance; none among them do not bow down in homage before the monks. Therefore, they obtain unseen assistance, manifest proofs, and abundant auspicious omens; hearing of these from earlier records, how could they ever again conform to Laozi's ranking of kings and lords equally among the three greats? Thus, the dwelling of a śramaṇa in life is such that he does not look back at wealth and sensual pleasure, nor is he entangled by glory and emoluments; he views the worldly realm like floating clouds and understands his bodily life to be like a mirage. For this reason, he is called 'one who has left home'. Therefore, one who has left home does not maintain the etiquette of a family member, and one who has transcended the mundane has no share in the rituals of living in the mundane. His Way is manifest and plain, a constant canon unchanged through a hundred generations. Its currents are extremely vast, and therefore I have only briefly recounted it.