廣弘明集 6.46

6.46

A native of Beiping. Toward the end of the Yuan Wei, he served as Director of the Palace Library. Seeing that the temple buildings were magnificent and consumed gold and jade, and that princes and dukes vied to exploit the common people, he compiled the *Luoyang qielan ji*, stating that they did not pity the multitude. Later he submitted a memorial explaining: 'The Buddhist teachings are hollow and absurd; the conditioned is a futile waste. There is no taking up weapons to defend the state, while there is hunger and cold neglected in caring for parents. Those who flee corvée and are of the bondservant class evade bitterness and pursue pleasure; they are not cultivators of the Way. Furthermore, the Buddha said that the conditioned is empty and false, all being false thoughts. Monks deeply understand the Buddha's principles, so they intentionally make their crimes empty. Therefore, they broadly extract wealth, begging, borrowing, and greedily accumulating without satiety.' He also stated: 'Those who read Buddhist sutras are revered like emperors; artisans who paint the Buddha show no respect at all. I request that śramaṇas be made to bow to the secular just like [followers of] Confucius and Laozi, and that this be promulgated in the national histories. For those whose conduct is mostly frivolous and perilous, I request that strict edicts be established to discern their authenticity. Thereafter, the Buddhist Dharma can be honored and masters and disciples will not be disorderly; then those fleeing military service will return to their original corvée, the state will be wealthy, troops will be numerous, and Heaven and Earth will be greatly fortunate.' This memorial of Xuanzhi is largely identical to Liu Zhou's words; his language is mostly vulgar and base, not according with the classics of Zhou and Confucius. Therefore, although the matter was submitted, it was ultimately set aside and not implemented. Yet [Fu] Yi praised it as having reached the imperial approval, causing these wandering and dissolute words to be transcribed completely without omission. This is merely the brooding depression of a crooked fellow, not what an open-minded person pays attention to.