集沙門不應拜俗等事 2.41

2.41

During the Daye era, Emperor Yang of the Sui reformed previous policies and ordered śramaṇas to bow to the Emperor, officials, and chiefs, promulgating it among the miscellaneous statutes. In the fifth year, when the Emperor conducted an imperial audience at the southern suburb, displaying civil and military regalia on a grand scale and arranging ranks for all officials, the two assemblies of Buddhists and Daoists stood upright as before. An imperial decree was issued: "The regulations have been in effect for a long time; why do you not bow?" Hearing this, the Daoist masters and mistresses of Huang-Lao promptly offered homage, while only the monks and nuns remained dignified and unmoved. At that time, Śramaṇa Mingzhan of Xingshan Temple answered the Emperor: "We monks rely on the Buddha's precepts; we must not perform homage to laypeople." The Emperor said: "In the time of Emperor Wu of the Song, why did monks offer homage?" Zhan said: "Emperor Wu of the Song was狂妄 (mad and perverse); if one did not bow, there was severe execution. Your Majesty possesses the Way; if we do not bow, we have no fear of public execution." The Emperor ordered them to be interrogated, and the monks and nuns thereupon dispersed. The next morning, Zhan went to the palace gates to consult with the officials again, looking for someone willing to risk death to reply to the imperial decree and apologize. The palace secretariat reported the offense of not bowing the day before. The Emperor remained calm and did not pursue the matter; instead, he held a vegetarian feast for all the monks and nuns in the capital, giving each person money and silk. Later, when the Emperor visited the western suburb, he looked back and said to Su Wei: "I thought there were no real monks in the capital, but yesterday at the southern suburb, there was indeed someone after all." The matter of bowing was consequently dropped.