集沙門不應拜俗等事 3.26

3.26

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.