集古今佛道論衡 1.27

1.27

The Yuan Wei ruled as monarchs for a total of seventeen emperors over one hundred and seventy-nine years; their promotion and glorification of Buddhism cannot be fully told. Only during the five or six years when Taiwu was on the throne was the Buddha-Dharma eliminated; all other glorious manifestations are recorded in detail in the History of the Wei. We briefly set forth the circumstances to confirm its reliability and weight. When Xianwen ascended the throne, in the first year of Xinghuang, statues were cast in the Great Five-Tiered Monastery for the five emperors from Taizu down; five figures, each sixteen feet tall, using 250,000 jin of gold. In the first year of Zhengguang, Emperor Ming donned the court robes, granted a general amnesty to the empire, and invited monks, nuns, Daoist priests, female officials, and others to a fast before the hall. When it concluded, Attendant Officer Liu Teng proclaimed an edict requesting the Dharma masters to debate with the Daoist priests in order to resolve the disciple's web of doubts. At that time Jiang Bin, a Daoist priest of the Qingdao Abbey, engaged in debate with Tanmozui, a Dharma master of the Rongjue Temple.