集古今佛道論衡 1.8

1.8

The Book of Wu states: In the fourth year of the Chiwu reign era of Sun Quan, there was the śramaṇa Kang Senghui, who was the eldest son of the grand chancellor of the kingdom of Kangju. His spiritual bearing was upright and stern, and he took traveling and converting as his duty. At that time, the Three Kingdoms stood tripartite like a tripod, each holding its own balance of power; the Buddhadharma had spread to the north, but had not yet reached the southern realm. Senghui wished to cause the Dao to cover those who had not yet heard it and to open the teaching in Jiangbiao. When he first arrived in Jianye, he built a thatched hut, set up an image, and practiced the Dao. When the people of Wu first saw him, they called it something uncanny and bizarre. The relevant officials submitted a memorial about it, and the Lord of Wu questioned him, asking, "What divine verification does the Buddha possess?" Senghui said, "The Buddha concealed his spiritual traces more than a thousand years ago, yet his relic śarīra manifests in response without fixed measure." The Lord of Wu said, "If you obtain a śarīra, I shall erect a pagoda for him." After three times seven days, he finally obtained a śarīra: its five colors illumined the sky; striking it made it ever harder, and burning it did not set it alight. Its radiance issued forth from the fire, forming a great lotus that illumined the palace halls. Ministers and sovereign were astonished and sighed in admiration, and faithful sentiment arose [within them]. Thereupon, he built a pagoda, ordained people, and erected a temple for him; because of his dwelling place, it was called Buddha Lane. The teaching and Dharma first arose [here], and so it was named Jianchu Temple ("Temple of the Founding of the First"). Soon after, he issued an imperial decree asking the Prefect of the Masters of Writing, Kan Ze, "Since Han Ming[di], altogether how many years have passed? Since Buddhism has entered the Han for so long, by what cause has it only now arrived east of the Yangtze?" Ze said, "From the tenth year of the Yongping reign era, when the Buddhadharma first came, until the present fourth year of Chiwu, it has been one hundred and seventy years. Initially, in the fourteenth year of Yongping, when the Daoist priests of the Five Sacred Peaks vied in power with [Kāśyapa] Mātaṅga, the Daoist priests were inferior. The Southern Peak Daoist priests Chu Shanxin, Fei Shucai, and others died of chagrin at the assembly. Their disciples returned to bury them at the Southern Peak; not partaking in pravrajyā, there was no one to disseminate it. Later, they met with the decline of the Han government and the non-cessation of military conflict; only after many years have now passed could it begin to flourish and spread." He further asked, "Can Kong Qiu and Laozi be matched against the Buddha or not?" Ze said, "Your servant has heard that Master Kong of Lu was exceptionally talented and remarkably gifted, a sage whose virtue was unmatched. The world called him the Uncrowned King; he authored and transmitted the classics, teaching and exhorting the Zhou Way, and converting future generations. The style of the teachers and Confucians has moistened past and present. There were also recluses such as Xu Chengzi, Yuan Yangzi, Zhuangzi, Laozi, and the other writings of the hundred masters, all of whom cultivated themselves and enjoyed themselves in leisurely abandon; in the mountain valleys, they indulged their minds. Their learning returned to indifference, their affairs contrary to human relations and the decorum between elders and youths; neither was it a style that brought peace to customs or transformed living beings. When it came to Emperor Jing of the Han, because the meaning and substance of Huangzi and Laozi were especially profound, he changed the 'masters' to 'classics' and first established Daoist studies, issuing a decree ordering both court and commoners to chant them. If you take the two teachings of Kong and Lao and compare them from afar to the Buddhadharma, the distance is great indeed! Why is this so? The two teachings of Kong and Lao model themselves on Heaven and regulate application, not daring to contravene Heaven; when the Buddhas set forth the teachings, Heaven models itself on them and practices them, not daring to contravene the Buddhas. Speaking in this way, they truly cannot be compared." The Lord of Wu was greatly delighted and appointed Ze as Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince (the rest is broadly set forth in Jin Zong Bing's Mingfo lun).