集沙門不應拜俗等事 4.35

4.35

Your servant [Wang] Xuance states: Your servant has heard that the hundreds of kings laid down their standards, yet their ritual regulations reached only within the realm; the Great Awakened One promulgated his teachings, and they serve as a ford and bridge beyond the borders. None did not rely on perfected persons to alter customs, or depend on eminent monks to transform folkways. Thus the waves of the four seas were calmed, and the dust and entanglements of the three realms were shed. Therefore the Han emperor did not bend [the Master] Heshang [Gong], and the cakravartin bowed everywhere to novice monks. This shows that the path of the Way and that of the mundane are different tracks; how could the inner and outer be placed on the same thread? The teachings permit those with yellow caps to roam along the One Way within the realm, and those in black robes to ride the five vehicles beyond worldly bounds. Having been followed for a long time, their aid to transformation has grown ever deeper; the grass bending as the wind blows has a long history indeed. Your servant has heard that the sage has no constant teacher, but takes whoever masters goodness as his teacher; the sage has no constant heart-mind, but takes the heart-mind of the common people as his heart-mind. In the past, the myriad commoners reverently had faith and took refuge; now it is deliberated to command [monastics] to bow to sovereign and father, which truly runs contrary to the mind of those who master goodness and of the common people. Furthermore, the kāṣāya differs from the attire of Chinese mundane customs, and shaving the hair is not the etiquette of wearing the Zhangfu cap. Honoring them gives rise to merit; debasing them accumulates offense. All know that bowing to the sovereign brings no benefit to the state, and bowing to the father brings no advantage to the parents. If your servant remained silent and did not speak, how could I be loyal and filial? Your servant hopes that we will follow the old regulations and requests that they not be altered, aligning with the precedent of Emperor Wen, Taizong, and maintaining as before that they do not bow. Respectfully submitted.