廣弘明集 6.26

6.26

Preface to his memorial. Shi Hu issued an edict inquiring: 'The Buddha is titled the World-Honoured One and is revered by the state. Should common people in the lanes and villages without official titles and stipends be permitted to serve the Buddha or not? Moreover, śramaṇas should all be loftily pure, upright, and correct. Only those whose conduct is refined and pure may become religious practitioners. Now śramaṇas are exceedingly numerous; among them are wrongdoers and evaders of corvée labour, many of whom are not the right sort of person. May they be vetted and screened?'

Having deliberated in detail, [Wang] Du memorialised: 'Because the ruler performs the suburban sacrifices to Heaven and Earth and offers sacrifices to the hundred spirits, the rites contain regular offerings. The Buddha was born in the Western Regions; he is not an object of worship for China. When the Han first received this teaching, they only permitted Western barbarians to erect temples in the capital and cities. The Wei inherited the Han regulations, and the Zhao followed previous rules. We request that the people of Zhao not be permitted to visit temples, and that those who have already become śramaṇas be sent back to lay clothes.' Most of the court officials agreed with this proposal.

Hu issued an edict stating: 'Du argues that the Buddha is a foreign deity and not an object of worship for the Chinese. We originate from the border Rong; it is proper that We follow Our native customs. Regulations originate from above and serve as norms for eternal generations. If the undertaking is appropriate and without harm, why be bound by former eras? Whether barbarian or Zhao, let all who wish to be Daoist practitioners and take pleasure in serving the Buddha be permitted to do so.'

As for the rest, [Fu] Yi embellished and abundantly stated falsehoods. Daoist texts have been fraudulent and spurious since ancient times: the 'Yellow Books' on merging qi promote licentious conduct between men and women, and the 'Red Talismans' for exorcisms stir up chaos in both the seen and unseen realms. From this we know that those who invent falsehoods bring calamity, and those who disorder customs deserve execution—their guilt is more than enough.

Why is this? Yi said: 'Fotudeng ordered his disciples to travel about persuading commanderies and states, and the likes of Zhi Dun acted as his right-hand men, turning the subtle tenets of the Three Mysteries to ornament a heterodox teaching.' These words slander and disparage in a way that Heaven and Earth cannot tolerate! Why? Because Fotudeng was a person who attained sagehood. Light streamed from his breast without reliance on lamps or torches; by looking at bells and gazing into his palms, he sat and observed the portents of success and failure. Two rulers served him like a spirit; the hundred ministers revered him like a Buddha. He forewarned of the succession of the Eastern Palace and prefigured the disaster of Shi Cong. When troubles arose and strange portents appeared, he remonstrated with Hu that excessive punishments and harsh laws would make his lifespan short. These words were profoundly urgent. Yet Yi claims that he made Hu kill his nephew to take his imperial throne—how can these words be so excessive!

He also claimed that Zhi Dun and his cohort were his wings. When the Jin moved south, Daolin was just one monk. Although they were contemporaries, rivers and mountains separated the northern barbarians from the southern Yue. How could he have split his body, rushed north, and served as the right hand of the Zhao court?

He also said that they 'turned the subtle tenets of the Three Mysteries to ornament a heterodox teaching.' This too is empty talk; how could it be falsely alleged? Furthermore, the writings of Daoism consist of only five thousand words; the remaining thousands of fascicles are entirely false and fraudulent. Are the details of the affair of Jiang Bin in the Wei era not fully known?

Yet, judging [others] by oneself, they claim that the saṅgha is the same. Moreover, the Buddha's teachings are comprehensive and have a coherent source; their texts and principles from beginning to end never contradict or conflict with one another. When tracing the Daoist scriptures, how grossly have they plagiarised! Unable to establish a single doctrine of their own, they lean entirely upon the Buddhist tradition—either transcribing the Buddhist scriptures wholesale into four fruits and ten stages, or recording the Buddha's teachings in full as hells and heavens. These are none other than the descent and ascent of karmic conduct and the grand norms of retribution and causation. If they are questioned about the ranks and stages of attainment, their claims exceed the Milky Way. How can they compile books and biographies to deceive the worldly and disorder the true? Without an iota of help to edification, they shoulder mountain-like offences, dying in vain throughout their lives. How lamentable!