集沙門不應拜俗等事 3.26

3.26

晉司馬氏東西立政。一十二主一百五十六年。中朝四帝崇信之極。不聞異議。唯東晉成帝。咸康六年。丞相王導太尉庾亮薨。後庾氷輔政帝在幼沖。為帝出詔。令僧致拜。時尚書令何充尚書謝廣等建議不合拜。往返三議。當時遂寢。爾後六十二年。安帝元初中。太尉桓玄以震主之威。下書令拜尚書令桓謙中書王謐等抗諫曰。今沙門雖意深於敬。不以形屈為禮。迹充率土而趣超方內。是以外國之君莫不降禮（如育王等禮比丘事）良以道在則貴。不以人為輕重（如魏文之軾干木漢光之遇子陵等）尋大法東流。為日諒久。雖風移政易。而弘之不異。豈不以獨絕之化。有日用於陶漸。清約之風。無害於隆平者乎。玄又致書廬山遠法師。序老子均王侯於三大。遠答以方外之儀。不隷諸華之禮。乃著沙門不敬王者論五篇。其事由息。及安帝返政還崇信奉。終於恭帝。

The Sima house of the Jin established rule in the east and west for twelve rulers over one hundred fifty-six years. The four emperors of the Western Jin revered and trusted it to the utmost, and no dissenting opinion was heard. Only in the sixth year of the Xiankang era under Emperor Cheng of the Eastern Jin, after Prime Minister Wang Dao and Grand Commandant Yu Liang passed away, Yu Bing assisted in government while the emperor was young and issued an edict on the emperor's behalf ordering monks to pay homage. At that time, Prefect of the Masters of Writing He Chong, Master of Writing Xie Guang, and others proposed that it was improper to bow. The debate went back and forth three times, and the matter was finally dropped. Sixty-two years later, in the Yuanxing era of Emperor An, Grand Commandant Huan Xuan, wielding an authority that shook the sovereign, issued a decree ordering them to bow. Prefect of the Masters of Writing Huan Qian, Palace Secretariat Wang Mi, and others resisted and remonstrated: "Now, although the śramaṇa's reverence is profound in intent, he does not take physical bending as propriety. His traces reside throughout the land, but his aspirations transcend worldly bounds. For this reason, none among the rulers of foreign lands failed to humble their etiquette (as in King Aśoka's bowing to monks). It is truly because where the Way resides, it is noble, and it is not made light or heavy on account of persons (as when King Wen of Wei bowed from his chariot to Duan Ganmu, and Emperor Guangwu of Han accommodated Yan Ziling). When we examine the eastward transmission of the Great Dharma, it has indeed been long. Although customs have shifted and regimes have changed, the propagation of it has remained unaltered. How could this be, if not because this matchless transformation has daily utility in cultivating virtue, and this pure and restrained manner poses no harm to great peace?" Xuan also sent a letter to Dharma Master Huiyuan of Mount Lu, stating that Laozi placed kings and marquises on par with the Three Greats. Huiyuan replied that the etiquette beyond the realm is not subordinate to the rites of the Chinese realms, and he authored the Treatise on Why Śramaṇas Do Not Pay Homage to Rulers in five chapters, whereupon the matter ceased. When Emperor An was restored to power, he resumed venerating and believing in it, down to Emperor Gong.