集沙門不應拜俗等事 4.34

4.34

Third: While in Tianzhu, your minister once bowed to the image of a deity. The king of that country laughed and asked: 'You envoys are all upāsakas; why do you bow to a deity?' Your minister asked the reason. He replied: 'It is the rule of upāsakas not to bow to deities. Formerly, King Kaniṣka received the Buddha's five precepts and also bowed to the image of a deity, whereupon the images all fell to the ground. Later he arrived at the Sun Deity's shrine. The attendants of the deity, fearing that when the king came to bow the image would fall, secretly placed a Buddha image inside the top of the deity's head. The king bowed three times and it did not fall. The king, surprised, ordered an inspection, and inside the deity's crown found a Buddha image. The king was greatly rejoiced, praised the divine virtue of the Buddha, commended their wisdom, and rewarded them with a large fief, which still exists today.' He also said: 'There was a non-Buddhist who received the Buddha's five precepts, but only made offerings at the shrine of a deity without prostrating. The king reprimanded him for the crime of not bowing. He reported to the king: "How could this humble person dare decline to bow? I fear bowing will damage the deity." The king said: "The damage to the deity is none of your concern." When he bowed down, the image of the deity shattered.' Even an upāsaka of five precepts is not permitted to bow to deities; how much more so for fully ordained monks and nuns to be ordered to bow to laypeople?