集古今佛道論衡 2.19

2.19

In the spring of the second year of Chengguang of Qi, Emperor Wu of Zhou summoned the former venerable and virtuous monks to assemble in the hall after pacifying the Gao clan in the east. The emperor ascended the throne and laid out the principles of abolition and establishment, saying: 'I have received the heavenly mandate to bring peace and unity to the realm. The world has promoted the three teachings, but their customs have drifted far astray. When examining their ultimate principles, they greatly err against educational transformation. Now I shall abolish them all. However, the Confucian teaching of the Six Classics has long promoted the arts of governance, and its propriety, righteousness, loyalty, and filial piety are suitable for the world; therefore, it must be preserved. Furthermore, the true Buddha has no image; honoring him from afar expresses the heart. Buddhist scriptures extensively praise the construction of images and pagodas, claiming that magnificent construction yields immense blessings. These are truly without feeling; how could they bestow favor? Foolish people look to them with faith, exhausting precious wealth and incurring futile expenses; therefore, they must be swept away. Thus, all scriptures and images are to be destroyed. The kindness of parents is weighty, yet śramaṇas do not pay them respect; this is the extreme of rebellion, which the law of the state cannot permit. All shall return home to exalt the beginning of filial piety. This is my intention. What do the venerable masters consider the principle to be?' At that time, more than five hundred people, including the Senior Controller of Śramaṇas, all felt that the royal majesty was terrifying and that remonstrance was difficult to heed; since it had already been eliminated within the Passes, its doctrine could not stand alone. The assembly was completely silent. An imperial edict was issued urging an answer, and they looked at each other, their faces pale, lowering their heads in tears. There was Master Huiyuan, whose reputation was shining and esteemed; he thought to himself: 'The Dharma has been entrusted, and the four assemblies rely upon it. How could remaining silent be considered understanding the principle?' He then stepped forward and replied: 'Your Majesty reigns over the great domain, having attained the One and occupying the honored position; following the custom, you deliver speeches and model yourself on the three teachings. The edict says: “The true Buddha has no image.” This is truly like the heavenly intention. Yet sentient beings with ears and eyes rely on the scriptures to hear of the Buddha, and depend on images to manifest the true. If they are now abolished, there will be no means to arouse respect.' The emperor said: 'The true Buddha of space is naturally known to all; there is no need for scriptures and images.' Huiyuan said: 'Before Emperor Ming of the Han, scriptures and images had not yet arrived; why did the living beings of this land not know the true Buddha of space?' At that time, the emperor had no reply. Huiyuan said: 'If without relying on scriptures and teachings one naturally knows that there is Dharma, then before the Three Sovereigns there was no writing, and people should have naturally known the Five Constants and other laws. Why did the people of that time only know their mothers and not their fathers, being the same as beasts?' The emperor again had no reply. Huiyuan said: 'If because images lack feeling, serving them yields no blessings and so they must be abolished, then are the images of the Seven Ancestral Temples of the state sentient beings, that they should be foolishly revered and served?' The emperor did not answer this objection, but said: 'Buddhist scriptures are the laws of foreign countries, which this country does not need and should abolish and not use. The Seven Temples were established by past generations; I do not consider them correct either, and intend to abolish them as well.' Huiyuan said: 'If because the scriptures of foreign countries are not of this land they should not be used, then what Zhongni taught came from the State of Lu, and should also be abolished and not practiced in the lands of Qin and Jin. Moreover, if you consider the Seven Temples incorrect and intend to abolish them, that is not honoring ancestors; if ancestors are not honored, then the generational order of zhao and mu is lost; if the generational order of zhao and mu is lost, then the Five Classics are useless. Where lies the meaning of previously preserving the Confucian teaching? If so, then the three teachings are all abolished; how will you govern the state?' The emperor said: 'The State of Lu and the lands of Qin and Jin had different territories, yet all fell under the single transformation of the king; hence they are not like Buddhist scriptures.' The emperor had no way to answer the objection about the Seven Temples. Huiyuan said: 'If Qin and Lu both followed a single transformation and their scriptures and teachings were circulated, then although the borders of Cīnasthāna and Tianzhu differ, are they not all within the four seas of Jambudvīpa under the single transformation of a Cakravartin? Why not equally follow the Buddhist scriptures instead of abolishing them alone now?' The emperor again had no reply. Huiyuan said: 'The edict says: “Monks are to return home to cultivate filial support.” The Confucian scripture also says: “Establishing oneself and practicing the Way so as to glorify one’s parents is filial conduct.” Why must they return home?' The emperor said: 'The kindness of parents is weighty, mutually relying on physical support; abandoning the intimate for the distant does not constitute utmost filial piety.' Huiyuan said: 'If it is as the sagely decree states, those beside Your Majesty all have two parents; why not release them instead of making them serve for five years without seeing their parents?' The emperor said: 'I also follow turns of duty, so that they may return to attend to them.' Huiyuan said: 'The Buddha also permits monks to practice the Way according to circumstances in winter and summer, and return home in spring and autumn to attend to and care for them. Thus Maudgalyāyana begged for food to feed his mother, and the Tathāgata bore the coffin and attended the burial. This principle is widely pervading and should not be abolished alone.' The emperor again had no reply. Huiyuan raised his voice and said: 'Your Majesty now relies on royal power to willfully destroy the Triratna; this is the act of a person with false views. The Avīci Hell does not distinguish between the noble and the base; how can Your Majesty not be afraid?' The emperor suddenly flushed with great wrath, glared directly at Huiyuan, and said: 'As long as the common people obtain joy, I will not refuse any of the pains of hell.' Huiyuan said: 'Your Majesty transforms people with heterodox methods and presently sows bitter karma; they will accompany Your Majesty to Avīci together. Where can any joy be found?' The emperor was defeated in principle, while his previous design remained firm; having nothing more to say, he merely said: 'The monks may withdraw for now. Let the officials record the names of the disputing monks.' The emperor had already practiced cruelty for three years; the Buddha's Dharma in Guanlong was nearly completely wiped out. Having conquered the Qi territory, he destroyed it in the same manner. At that time, the Buddha's Dharma in the Eastern Rivers of Wei and Qi was flourishing; the established monasteries and temples numbered more than forty thousand, and all were bestowed upon princes and dukes to serve as residences. The five groups of the Buddhist tradition, numbering nearly three million, were all returned to the ranks of military and civilian households. Buddha images were melted and scraped, and scripture teachings were burned. The fortune and wealth of the Triratna were inventoried and confiscated by the state, and immediately bestowed as rewards, scattered and exhausted. The emperor thought he had attained his ambition under heaven. Before a year had passed, pestilential qi boiled within, and sores broke out on his body; the evil signs having manifested, no repentance could dissolve them. He then retreated to Yunyang Palace, and in barely seven days he soon collapsed and died. Emperor Tianyuan succeeded to the calendar; in both the eastern and western capitals he established Zhigu Temples and appointed Bodhisattva Monks to open the Buddhist transformation, but soon the emperor died. The dynastic fortune changed. It was not until Emperor Gaozu of Sui that it began to open widely, as will be shown below. Recently, in the Record of Karmic Retribution by Tang Lin, Minister of Personnel of the Great Tang, it is said: His maternal grandfather, Duke Qi, Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs of the Sui, personally saw Emperor Wen ask a person who had died and returned to life. The person said: 'When I first died, I saw Emperor Wu of the Zhou, who said: “Convey a message for me to the Emperor of the Great Sui: formerly he ate together with me, and the storehouses, jade, and silk were also stored by me. I am now suffering extreme agony for destroying the Buddha's Dharma. Pray, make merit on my behalf!”' Emperor Wen issued an edict across the whole empire for each person to donate one coin to pursue blessings on his behalf.