廣弘明集 25.56

25.56

From the Eastern Chancellery (Dongtai): As the ancient sages of both the Central Lands and distant peripheries trod different paths to arrive at the same destination, the customs established within and without embraced varied thoughts yet attained the same end. From the time when the light fell from the heavens during the Zhou dynasty, to when the Emperor Han Mingdi dreamt of the radiating brightness, the wondrous transformation shifted westward and its favour flowed to cover the East. Coming to the deep meaning of the Mysterious Female and the rare sound of the azure heavens, they fully opened the foundations of the six accords and harmonised the fundamentals of the five constants. Yet in matters of love and respect, they discarded the rites of bowing and prostrating. This has been the case for long, and this defect has not been reformed. We have ascended the throne to govern, promoting truth and guiding common customs, focusing our mind on the crossing of liberation, and nurturing our thoughts in the realm of the constant name. Precisely because the way of honouring parents is a standard maxim of the ritual classics, and the duty of filial piety and fraternal respect is a clear criterion for the poets: how could one, through lofty standards of severing worldly ties, forget the reverence due to one's parents, or through upright regulations of transcending attachments, discard the sequence of keeping parents warm in winter and cool in summer? Previously, We intended that Daoist priests, Daoist nuns, Buddhist monks, and Buddhist nuns should pay obeisance, but fearing it would startle ordinary minds, We had the matter deliberated and decided. The officials have all cited classical precedents and also set forth human feelings and principles; the two paths of following tradition and instituting reform are entangled equally. We have weighed the various deliberations and deeply investigated the subtle mysteries. Indeed, the legacy of Mount Ji and the Ying River made lofty their aloofness; recalling earlier eras, such precedents indeed existed. Henceforth, before the sovereign, there is no need to pay obeisance. But before their parents, whose loving nurture is exceedingly profound, if prostrations are omitted, how could this be permitted? From now on, they should pay obeisance [to their parents]. Let the authorities execute this. The eighth day of the sixth month, the second year of the Longshuo era (662 CE). Proclaimed by Grand Master of Light-Duty (Qingche Duwei), Scholar of the Hongwen Academy, and Vice-Director of the Western Chancellery (Xitai Shilang), Official Shangguan Yi.