集沙門不應拜俗等事 4.26

4.26

Your minister has heard: The ultimate Way is empty and profound; prajñā is dark and quiescent. In a person, that person is revered; in a place, that place is honored. Therefore, the Immortal Elder Heshang lowered the haughtiness of Emperor Wen of the Han, and the renowned monk of Cock's Foot Mountain bent the majesty of the cakravartin. From this, one knows that this wind has blown for a long time and been followed uniformly for a thousand years. Respectfully examining sūtras such as the Brahmājāla Sūtra, the rule for renunciants is not to pay homage and bow to kings or parents. As for those who transmit the Confucian vocation, they even treat the ruler as an equal in courtyard etiquette. A grandson serves as the corpse representative for his grandfather; when the legitimate heir is capped and mounts the throne, the parents still bow to their son, because he carries on the heavy ancestral line. The present sagely lord models himself upon the yielding of Yao and Shun, allows Chao and Xu not to serve as subjects, surpasses the broad benevolence of the Han emperors, and gives free rein to the Four Whiteheads beyond the realm. How much more so for those who receive the entrustment to broadly propagate and illuminate the mysterious teaching? Once renunciation is permitted, in principle they should be separated from the worldly. To suddenly order them to bow at court is truly a cause for astonishment and doubt. To discard the law because of individuals, I foolishly deem inadmissible. Furthermore, the Rites say: 'An armored person does not bow down,' because he would lose proper decorum. Those who leave the worldly wear the armor of forbearance on their bodies; now, to make them kneel like worldly folk would, on the contrary, demean the court's decorum. Unworthily serving in the highest academy and mistakenly placed among the hall of worthy scholars, having bathed deeply in imperial favor, I dare exhaust my meager learning. Respectfully deliberated.