辯偽錄 4.2

The Present Emperor asked: "The Eighty-One Transformations Diagram and other writings defaming the Buddha fabricated by the Daoists—Li Zhichang had previously succumbed before Möngke Khan in the debate with [Elder] Shaolin, admitting defeat and having them burnt. Fearing that you masters were not convinced in your hearts, the Emperor specially issued an imperial decree entrusting the matter again, ordering you to conduct a detailed debate. If either the Buddhists or the Daoists lose, how should they be punished?" The Buddhists said: "According to the precedent in the Western Heavens (India), whoever is defeated in debate is beheaded by way of apology." The Daoists looked at one another and dared not give a clear answer. The Emperor said: "There is no need for this. Only, if the Buddhists have no proof, they shall grow hair and wear caps; if the Daoists lose the debate, they shall shave their heads and become Buddhists." At that time, the Daoist masters leapt like wild ducks and lined up like cranes in their blue robes and brocade sleeves, rolling up their sleeves to rush forward. A Buddhist monk said: "The disputes between Buddhism and Daoism originated from the 'conversion of the barbarians.' Now we shall discuss it thoroughly from the beginning. For instance, the title of your book says: Sutra of the Supreme Primordial Emperor of High Virtue on Manifesting Awe, Converting the Barbarians, and Becoming the Buddha. If we were to debate it in detail, it might become overly complicated; let us first bring up the general meaning to evaluate it. We ask: Does the present text of the Huahu jing truly and honestly come from Laozi's preaching?" The Daoists said: "It was spoken by Lord Lao." The Buddhists said: "If it was spoken by Lord Lao, the Huahu jing speaks of what our monks do in shaving their hair and receiving the precepts; you should know this. Explain the rites and norms of receiving the precepts in detail!" The Daoists said: "We do not concern ourselves with your affairs." The Buddhists said: "You do not even know a minor matter such as receiving the precepts; clearly the text of the Huahu jing was entirely stolen from Buddhist sutras!" The Daoists had no answer. [The Buddhists] asked again: "In 'converting the barbarians and becoming the Buddha', what is the meaning of 'Buddha'?" The Daoists said: "A Buddha is a top-grade good person in the world." The Buddhists said: "Since antiquity, how many good people have there been? Why are they not called Buddhas? You do not know the profound meaning of Buddha at all." The Daoists said: "Buddha has the meaning of 'awakened' (jue)." The Buddhists said: "Awakened to what?" The Daoists said: "Perceiving and awakening." The Buddhists said: "What is that which awakens, and what is that which is awakened to?" The Daoists said: "Awakened to heaven, awakened to earth, awakened to yin, awakened to yang, awakened to benevolence, awakened to righteousness, awakened to knowledge, awakened to trustworthiness—there is nothing not awakened to: this is the meaning of Buddha." The Buddhists said: "The Buddha is a Great Sage who exhausted the path of nature and life; how could he merely be awakened to benevolence and righteousness? The canons teaching the world about the Five Constants were spoken by Confucius. If a Buddha only knew these, why was Confucius not called a Buddha?" The Daoists had no answer. Elder Yuanfu asked Yao Gongmao: "Are words such as benevolence and righteousness the words of Laozi or the words of Confucius?" Yao Gongmao replied: "They are the teachings of Confucius." Yuanfu said: "The Daoists have always stolen our Buddhist sutras to alter them into Daoist books. The Confucian school only possesses the teachings of benevolence and trustworthiness, yet you failed to guard them securely, and they were also stolen right in front of you by the Daoists!" The Emperor asked the Confucians: "Were the words on benevolence and righteousness spoken by Confucius?" Yao Gongmao and others replied: "They are the sayings of Confucius." The Emperor said: "Since they are the sayings of Confucius, why bring them forward to explain the Buddha? It is obvious that the words of the Daoists are all lies." The Daoists, having failed to answer, thereupon presented books such as the Biography of Laozi, the Huahu jing, and historical records to the Emperor. The Emperor said: "There is no need for the Daoists to speak much; let us only take the writings as proof." The Emperor said: "Whose books are these?" The Daoists said: "These are historical records compiled by famous emperors of the Han land since antiquity, serving as evidence of past and present." The Emperor asked: "Since antiquity, have emperors only appeared in the Han land, or do they exist elsewhere as well?" The Daoists said: "Other countries also have them." [The Emperor] asked again: "Are the emperors of other countries and the emperors of the Han land all the same?" The Daoists said: "They are the same." [The Emperor] asked again: "Since they are the same, are the words of emperors of other countries and the words of emperors of the Han land equally usable?" [The Daoists] replied: "They are all usable." The Emperor said: "Since they are usable, Laozi never carried out conversions elsewhere, yet these historical records claim that Laozi converted the barbarians—are they not lying texts? Then such historical records all ought to be burnt and cannot be relied upon!" The Daoists had no reply whatsoever. State Preceptor Namo pointed his staff at the Daoists and scolded them, saying: "Such ass-like and horse-like people understand nothing of the hundred matters! What is the use of setting up [a debate] with such masters?" Imperial Preceptor Phags-pa asked: "What is the name of the fundamental scripture left behind by Laozi?" They replied: "There is the Daodejing, which is the genuine foundation." He asked again: "Aside from this scripture, is there any other fundamental scriptural teaching?" They replied again: "Only this Daodejing is the original scripture." He asked again: "Within this Daodejing, is there any matter of converting the barbarians?" They replied: "There is no such matter." He asked: "If it is not found herein, where is it spoken of?" They replied: "The historical records of the Han lands speak of the matter of converting the barbarians." He asked: "You stated above that the historical records of other countries and the historical records of this Han land are equally usable. In our Western Heavens, King Bimbisāra existed; can the words of his historical records still be relied upon?" They replied: "They are all historical records; how dare we not rely upon them?" He asked again: "Since you rely upon them, those historical records state: 'Above the heavens and below the heavens, there is none like the Buddha; throughout the worlds of the ten directions, he is peerless.' This is what the historical records of the Western Heavens say. Since above the heavens and below the heavens there is none like the Buddha, where could it ever be shown that Lord Lao converted the barbarians to become the Buddha? It is obvious that your words are all empty flatteries!" The Daoists had no answer. The Imperial Preceptor said again: "Those historical records also state: 'Laymen with hair throughout the world bow down to a single small novice monk.' Such words are spoken in those historical records, yet we have never seen it said that Lord Lao saved people. Have you ever heard of this?" The Daoists replied: "We have not heard of it." The Emperor said angrily: "How is it that you have not heard of these historical records in particular, but have heard only of the historical records of the Han land?" Yao Gongmao said to the Daoists: "It is difficult to discuss the great breadth with a petty man confined to a corner. It is simply because of clinging to the Han people's historical records that your own words contradict each other! Earlier you stated: 'They are all historical records; how dare we not rely upon them?' Since the historical records of the Western Heavens say this, then the Buddha is a sage! Now that you have already lost, why do you still argue back?" The Daoists remained silent. The Emperor said: "The name of Lord Lao is only heard of in this place."

The name of the Buddha is heard throughout the world. How could [the virtues of benevolence and righteousness] be equated with the Buddha? Since the Daoists' statements lacked foundation, their faces turned red and they were at a loss for words. Earlier, Shaolin had submitted a memorial to Möngke Khan arguing that Daoism was not genuine. Among [the Daoists] there was one who could not contain his indignation and spoke in a loud voice to Shaolin, saying: 'Your memorial slanders Lord Li Lao, claiming that he actually died, falsely citing Zhuangzi where Qin Yi mourned him. This was merely an allegory by Zhuang Zhou; how can it be relied upon?' Shaolin said: 'The book of Zhuangzi is revered by Daoists as primary. If it is an allegory, then the statements in the Daoist Canon contain nothing truthful.' The Daoist was again confounded. The Emperor asked Perfected Zhang: 'Do you wish to continue the debate?' Perfected Zhang said: 'I dare not continue the debate.' The Sovereign said: 'You often say that among the Daoists there are many who are thoroughly versed in the methods of prohibitions and spells: some enter fire without being burned, some ascend in broad daylight, some summon back the spirits of the deceased, some banish demons and sever ghosts, some ingest qi and never grow old, or retain the essence and live long. Display all such methods today!' Perfected Zhang made no reply at all. As the sun was setting and the pavilion grew dark, the Emperor said: 'The Daoists speak falsely and seize upon vacuity. According to the earlier agreement, take off their robes and remove their caps, and immediately shave their heads!' There were seventeen who were actively debating at the time. When the debate concluded, Master Nama dispatched Ming, General Supervisor of the Western Capital; Ding, Monastic Arbiter of Yanjing; Zhang, Administrative Supervisor of Yutian; Pang, Monastic Registrar of Dexing Prefecture; and the regional monastic officials to escort them under guard to Yanjing. Once they entered the capital gates, Master Tabi, Somaśrī, had the Daoists hang their starry caps and robes on long poles to make it known to all, and ordered that the four hundred and eighty-two monasteries, mountain forests, waters, and lands they had occupied be returned to the Buddhists. Furthermore, the Great Void Sovereign Pavilion occupied by the Changchun Palace of Fengfu Monastery in Yanjing was returned to Elder Jindeng. The aforementioned spurious scriptures such as the Eighty-One Transformations and their printing blocks were all ordered to be burned. As for stele inscriptions, sculpted statues, and painted images throughout the realm that had no basis in Daoism, they were all to be completely eradicated. The Shaolin Elder conferred with the monks, saying: 'If we take them all, people may criticize us for relying on power.' Thus they returned two hundred and eighty places and only took two hundred and two places. Both great and small praised this, lauding the Buddhist fold for its great deference. The reigning Emperor then issued an imperial edict: 'In accordance with the imperial edict previously decreed by Möngke Khan: Earlier, the Shaolin Elder reported that the Daoist masters headed by Perfected Li had carved and manufactured lying texts, such as the Huahu jing, the Treatise on Ten Anomalies and Nine Delusions, the Treatise on Restoring the Pure Transformation, the Treatise on Clarifying the True and Distinguishing the False, the Correction of Slander Against Daoism and Exposition of Scriptures, the Discussion on Expelling Heterodoxy and Returning to the Right, and the Illustrated Eighty-One Transformations. Upon receiving the imperial edict, we have been entrusted with this matter. We assembled everyone together, and the Buddhist monks and Daoist masters debated face to face. Because the masters' foundations were built on falsehoods, the many lying texts of the Huahu jing and the printing blocks carved for them, which the monks pointed out and explained, have been burned and destroyed. Having made this decree, we feared that others might not search them all out exhaustively. Perfected Zhang was ordered to personally dispatch his own men to retrieve the aforementioned scriptures and printing blocks from all places and gather them in Yanjing within two months to be burned and destroyed. Furthermore, wherever there are inscriptions on stelae or pillars, or sculpted or painted wall images derived from these lying texts, the masters in each place shall immediately grind them down and scrape them away. The masters must not conceal them. If anyone conceals them and someone reports it, that master will be guilty of a major crime.' This was promulgated on the eleventh day of the seventh month in the wuwu year. Having listened to the reading [of the edict], Perfected Zhang dispatched men to the Yuntai Daoist Monastery to seize the lying, spurious scriptures—such as the Huahu jing and the Illustrated Eighty-One Transformations—and their printing blocks, as well as the spurious scriptures in Daoist monasteries everywhere, and transported them by cart to Yanjing. To the southwest of the main hall of the Great Minzhong Monastery, in the presence of all the civil and military officials, they were all burned. Monk Jian of Wanshou stepped forward to apply the fire, saying: 'I have humbly heard that since the beginning of the Three Origins and Five Phases, among the writings of the hundred schools and various philosophers, there are none that do not speak of the norms of human relations, trustworthiness, and righteousness, or recount the way of Yao, Shun, the Duke of Zhou, and Master Kong. Yet grasping their essentials, they have not reached the source of the absolute and conventional; expounding their principles, they do not exceed the realm of being and non-being. How could they compare to the unimpeded knowledge of the three comprehending insights, which the hundred spirits cannot match, or the peerless honor of the Ten Powers, which a thousand sages cannot equal? Brahmā looks up to him; Śakra takes him as master. His Path delivers the four modes of birth, and his transformation permeates the trailokya. When his perfect voice sounds once, the heterodox paths lose their vanguard; when the Dharma drum is momentarily struck, the heavenly Māras bow their heads. Therefore the Buddha is called the Teacher of Gods and Men, the Unsurpassed Great Dharma King. How could he vie in virtue or contend in merit with Laozi of the declining Zhou? However, as the flow of the Dharma grew distant, demons and outsiders multiplied. Thereupon, the Quanzhen gathered Daoist canons that fill cases and overflow tables; yet in vain do they contain numerous recipes for cultivation. Piled on desks and packing trunks, they emptily speak of methods of guiding qi. Extending life and warding off old age have been baseless legends since ancient times; how many have there been up to now who ascended as feathered immortals with everlasting life? Helplessly, the Libationer Daoist Wang Fu, his aspirations falling short in canonical learning and his wisdom shameful as measuring the ocean with a conch shell, boasted of the wings of a small bird hoping to shock Mount Tai, and carried the glow of a torch to vie in radiance with the sun and moon. Venting his personal resentments, he spoke out in defiance, falsely uttering the conversion of the barbarians and erroneously proclaiming the 'ten anomalies.' His heterodox words confused the right, and his demonic eloquence resembled the truth. He plagiarized Buddhist scriptures and threw the sacred texts into chaos, entirely devoid of scruple, indulging in his wild madness. Walking on water to preach nirvāṇa had no basis whatsoever; treading on fire to speak of the wondrous Dharma was like the antics of actors. Using Sanskrit as Chinese, and placing the cap upon the feet, his writings contained many errors and the meanings were contradictory. Since his deceit and fabrication are self-evident, why bother to elaborate? Since they were not composed by Laozi, destroying them will benefit the living populace; furthermore, since they were spoken by a vulgar person, eliminating them will bring glory to the former sages. Humbly receiving our sagely dynasty's lord of the realm and the wise kings of the great state, who have met the destiny of a thousand years and settled the fortunes of the sovereign throne, their virtue in aiding the imperiled and rescuing the world surpasses Tang and Wu to stand singularly high, and their merit in pacifying the vicious and eliminating the violent exceeds the Han and Tang to shine uniquely prominent. Vast and majestic, their holy virtue is difficult to name. Moreover, they set their hearts on the Buddhist teachings and fix their intent upon the Buddhist gate; their aspiration is to restore purity and their sentiment is to remove falsehood. When principles are violated and affairs are aberrant, even those who are close will surely be eliminated; when righteousness is fitting and names correspond, even those who are distant will surely be promoted.'

"Recently, we have heard that Daoist abbeys everywhere have falsely circulated the apocryphal books on the Conversion of the Barbarians along with other chronicles. Their phrasing is base and vulgar, hardly bearable to hear. They utter malicious speech like owls and hawks, and vent bitter venom like scorpion stings. They narrate bewitching falsehoods to mislead people's minds, and spread licentious books to disrupt natural dispositions. They do little good and immense evil, dishonouring the canonical codes of the ancient worthies and corrupting the moral influence of human relations. When the imperial decree arrives, [these texts] shall be seized and brought forward, and in the presence of the gathered crowds in Yanjing, they shall all be incinerated to block the source of heterodoxy. If anyone privately conceals them, they shall be sentenced according to the regulations."
From this moment, leaves fell and branches snapped; clouds dispersed and mists cleared away. It resembled a great furnace consuming fine feathers, or a blazing sun melting thin ice; the side of defeat and victory could be seen here. Temporarily abiding in the samādhi of loving-kindness, the demonic hordes were already vanquished; lightly brandishing the sword of wisdom, the heterodox teaching was instantly eliminated. One may say this swept clean the realm and greatly promoted the profound tradition. The sun of the Buddha thereby increased its brilliance, and the clouds of Dharma therefore spread widely. Thanks to the imperial court opening the path of correct awakening, the common people were delivered from the confinement of heterodox views. Precisely on this day, since [the cart] is fully laden, let them all be promptly burned together! But tell me, after they are burned, what kind of matter will be accomplished? Do all of you understand yet? "The west wind also knows to detest the scattered mess / and blows away the Daoist ashes of that year." (On the seventh day of the ninth month of the jiwei year, a platform was built in front of Minzhong Temple in Zhongdu. Monks, Daoists, officials, and gentry and commoners in the city were assembled to burn all Daoist canonical scriptures and chronicles from every circuit, and the printing blocks for their publication were all destroyed and eradicated, sweeping away their heterodox traces. It was further decreed that Daoist abbeys in the defeated regions must not privately conceal them; violators would be punished.) Now, a platform was built on top to commemorate that place. The monasteries throughout the empire that had been occupied were also immediately rectified. All the star-crowns and robe-vestments were distributed widely among the Western Tibetans, the Muslims (Huihui), and the Kingdom of Dali, letting all hear and witness. The tonsured Daoists were dispersed throughout the monasteries without a single one escaping; if any fled, they were punished as thieves.

When the debate ended at that time, there was a Daoist who concealed his name and surname, unable to contain his wrath. He submitted a memorial claiming he was 380 years old, deceptively alleging longevity to disparage the Buddhist monks. The emperor summoned and asked him, "Since you have lived for so many years, back during the reign of the retired emperor of the Song, what fault did the monks commit that made them wear [Daoist] caps?" The Daoist said, "I lived in the mountains and do not know about this matter." The emperor said, "Since you claim to be three hundred, why do you say you do not know? Since you cannot know, you are a liar." He dispatched his subordinate, the Academician Zhang Zhongqian, to investigate his age thoroughly; he turned out to be in his thirties, originally a man of Xingzhou. The emperor was enraged by his dishonesty; initially he was sentenced to hard labor on the road, and in the end he was fed to leopards. Alas! When cultivating virtue, the mind is at ease and becomes daily more blessed; when manufacturing falsehood, the mind labors and becomes daily more clumsy. Jie and Zhou belonged to different eras yet were equal in wickedness; scoundrels live in different generations yet are equivalent in duplicity. How true this saying is!

Originally, when Master Qiu went west in the renwu year to meet Taizu, he was seventy-four or seventy-five, and by his passing he was barely near eighty. Yet Liu Wen deceitfully told Taizu that Master Qiu was more than three hundred years old; when Taizu asked him his age, he pretended he did not know. Therefore, Upāsaka Zhanran recorded these words in the Record of the Journey to the West to expose his deception of the sovereign. Now, this Daoist has followed in those footsteps again. Once a word has left the mouth, even a team of four horses cannot overtake it. Giving rein to stubbornness and wild talk, his corpse was ultimately buried in the belly of a leopard. An illness reaching the vitals cannot be treated; a mind like an obstinate rock is difficult to turn back. When the cart in front has overturned its shaft, the cart behind still does not change its tracks. Heterodoxies and fabricated falsities have constantly arisen through successive dynasties; let us briefly recount two or three to expose their villainy.

First, in the Later Han, Zhang Daoling, a man of Pei, traveled as a guest to Shu and resided on Mount Heming. He fabricated Daoist books and invented codes and rituals, tethering a crane to the mountain top to entice and deceive the indigenous people. Those who venerated his Dao gave five pecks of rice, and at the time they were called "Rice Thieves." Later he was swallowed by a great serpent, his body buried in a python's belly; his disciples falsely claimed he ascended to heaven in his whole body.

In the Later Wei, Kou Qianzhi, courtesy name Fuzhen, called himself Celestial Master. He flattered and misled Emperor Taiwu, building the Palace of the Pure Wheel Heaven on Mount Songgao. Taiwu personally received talismans and registers; the banners favoured green to match the color of the Daoists, aspiring to long life. Yet Taiwu fell ill with a pestilence, and Kou Qianzhi himself died early, toiling and harassing the myriad commoners without bringing the slightest benefit.

Lu Xiujing, a Daoist of Jinling, with his glib tongue and sharp speech, augmented and formulated talismans and chapters, falsely presenting the Three Registers to save the world and avert misfortunes. When Emperor Wu of Liang renounced the service of Laozi and issued an edict throughout the empire, the Daoist path could not thrive; he thereupon led his disciples north to take refuge with the Northern Qi, generously offering gold and silk to distribute among the princes and dukes in hopes of promoting Daoist methods. Exclusively relying on shallow arts, he wished to enhance his reputation. Emperor Wenxuan tested them, but not a single one proved effective: those who ascended into the sky fell beneath the terrace, and those who entered fire singed their eyebrows.

In the Tang, the sorcerer Ye Jingsheng disturbed the sovereign with bewitching arts, guiding Xuanzong by night to roam the Moon Palace; yet An Lushan brought about disaster, almost destroying the dynasty. The Daoist Zhao Guizhen skillfully sought praise with clever words and misled Emperor Wuzong, practicing filthy arts of harmonizing qi and consuming toxic elixirs of metals and stones; before longevity was verified, he died prematurely from the drugs' scorching heat.

Under the Song, Lin Lingsu showed off petty tricks, flattering the sovereign to gain glory. By night he led the retired emperor in a dream to roam the Divine Empyrean, bewildering ears and eyes, and was named Celestial Master. Soon after, the Bian River flooded and drowned commoners; the emperor ordered Lin to control it, but not the slightest result was achieved. The surging waves boiled up to the Tianjin Bridge; court and countryside were terrified, having nowhere to plead. The retired emperor burned incense, prayed to the Buddha, confessed his faults, and reproached himself. This moved the Great Sage Saṅgha of Sizhou to manifest his form; the cloudy billows naturally subsided, the myriad people rejoiced, and Lin fled into exile.

In the final era of the Jin dynasty, there was Master Wugulun, who always draped a hemp quilt over himself and roved the neighborhoods on foot. Shouting into the void and scolding the crowds, he falsely called himself an immortal. Among the base and foolish rabble, some even believed him. Emperor Aizong was misled by him and placed considerable trust in his vulgar arts, giving free rein to the Daoist's cunning nature to perform lewd and debauched practices in the world. The Daoist was ensnared in the legal net, and Emperor Aizong lost his life in Caizhou.

Such villainies have constantly occurred throughout the dynasties. At first, the calamity spread to the neighborhoods, and ultimately it overthrew the state. It is like an evil fox presenting itself as an omen of fortune, or vipers venting their venom. Using anomalies to breed anomalies, fabricating falsehood upon falsehood; listening to them fills the ears abundantly, but seeking them out is like grasping the wind and chasing shadows. They dissipate the purity of morality, fan the depraved winds of degeneration, defile human relations, and damage the imperial transformation. How much more do they display obstinate blindness, having no fear of the dynastic laws and devoid of supreme goodness!

Even if water has a capacity, it behaves with the basest gluttony: encroaching on the fertile lands of the common people, seizing the rich estates of the Buddhists, buying the favors of the powerful, and obstructing the correct Path of the Buddhist gate. This originated with Old Qiu and finally burst its banks with Zhichang. Though they indulged their treacherous hearts, they were ultimately laughed at by the wise. How excellent are the words of Secretariat Zhanran in his Xiyou lu, which state: 'A guest asked the Upāsaka: "Most people who leave household life nowadays merely evade corvée labor and scheme for food and clothing. If they shave their heads, it is difficult to return to secular life; hence few become monks, while many enter Daoism. Since the war and fires, fine monasteries and famous monastic parks have generally been destroyed. If Daoists did not occupy them, they would also be taken over by powerful families or torn down for firewood. What benefit would there be in that?" The Upāsaka replied: "A person of intelligence and exceptional insight would certainly not do this. If there are those who do, they are merely foolish and vulgar men—what value is there in taking them [as an example]? Having claimed the title of a home-leaver, they turn instead to the deeds of petty men: converting monasteries, destroying statues, and usurping mountain forests. This is why the noble person demands perfection of the virtuous. These fellows began by dwelling in cloisters that had no statues, and later destroyed monasteries that did; at first they seized hermitages in the mountain forests—did they not harbor designs on monasteries within city walls? Advancing from far to near, from few to many, they harbored profound cunning to take possession entirely, and what they plotted was no small matter. Suppose there is an ancient mound or old grave, and someone loves the majestic beauty of its hills and the lushness of its wooded foothills, saying: 'If I do not clear this grave, others will do so later; I shall dig up its bones, cast them into ditches and gullies, and bury my own parents here.' Compared with human sentiment, what would you say of this? The ancients praised the man who wore a sheepskin coat in midsummer and would not pick up lost gold; having become people of the Way, could they bear to commit acts of violent robbery? These fellows initially took the pretext of repairing monastery buildings and protecting holy statues; having resided there long, they gradually destroyed the venerated statues and soon changed the plaque names, thoroughly intending to obliterate the Buddha's teachings. Is this what those who repair and protect monastery buildings do? If they truly wished to propagate their own teachings, they ought naturally to have selected lands, established affinities, and founded temples and abbeys—would that not be the glory of the Daoist gate? For a great man to steal another's halls and dwellings and destroy another's ancestors, taking it as his own accomplishment—how does this differ from the deeds of petty thieves? Is it not shameful to accomplish one's ends through others? Matters of war and fire have seen rises and falls in every age, but there has never been a case of converting monasteries into Daoist abbeys. Did they despise the Imperial Court so much as to dare commit such unlawful acts? In former times, Lin Lingsu relied on the supernatural and deceptive power to gain employment under the Song; he may be called the chief villain and greatest monster, yet he did not dare convert monasteries into abbeys, or destroy statues to promote Daoism. Now the deeds of these fellows far exceed Lingsu! Was it not the wrath of the divine beings that shortened Master Qiu's life? Indeed, things quickly achieved swiftly perish; what is late to mature reaches a good end. Formerly, since the Buddhist teachings came to the west, for over two thousand years enlightened monarchs and worthy ministers have all revered them without exception; eminent monks and extraordinary masters have emerged in every age—in what era was there no National Preceptor? Fotudeng was National Preceptor to the Later Zhao; Wei Dao'an was deeply esteemed by Fu [Jian of the Former] Qin; Kumārajīva was revered as master by the Yao Qin; Fatuo was the house master of the Yuan Wei; Master Lang was venerated by all states; the Northern Qi reverently honored the Chief Administrative Monk; the Sui dynasty attached great weight to Tiantai; under the Great Tang there were Old An, Huizhong, Shenxiu of the Northern School, National Preceptor Qingliang, and Tripiṭaka Master Amoghavajra; the Great Liao had National Preceptor Zhu; the Great Jin had National Preceptor Yuantong Shan. Among such famous teachers, not one ever converted a Daoist abbey into a Buddhist monastery. Therefore, the Path of the Buddhas and Patriarchs is deeply rooted and firmly founded, unshakeable and solid. If Buddhists, gaining their ambition, were to seize Daoist abbeys, and Daoists, gaining power, were to destroy Buddhist monasteries, then the winds of dispute would not cease for a single day! Now, the laws of the realm and the ancient institutions of the Han and Tang are not the laws of a single generation; they are truly the laws of myriad generations. Rulers of the time and lords of the world all take them as models and use them; like the compass and square of a master builder, they cannot be abolished. The Miscellaneous Statutes prescribe severe penalties for destroying statues, and the imperial decrees record clear regulations prohibiting heterodoxy. Now these fellows have destroyed the temple of the Propagating Sage and torn down the statues of Śākyamuni; idle vagrants flock to them like a marketplace, and diners seeking food gather daily at their gates. Making no distinction between good and bad, they take in all alike; this is what is called a harbor and haven for fugitives. Surely they will collapse of themselves without being attacked! Alas, gentlemen of the forests and springs do not contend with worldly things; to obscure one's light and conceal one's traces—even this people find shameful. How much more so to arrogate talismans and seals, suppress the authority of the magistrates, seize the subjects of the magistrates, personally inspect tributes, and hang placards high and low to curry favor with the sovereign—how could they be tolerated in the world? Proved by this, their perverse, deceptive, and unlawful deeds are known to everyone; why wait for my chatter? In the beginning of Möngke Khan's reign, in the spring of the renzi year, an imperial edict was issued ordering the Present Sovereign to campaign against Tibet, Huama, Dali, and other states. The Sovereign obtained śarīra and a golden pagoda about two feet high in the state of Dali; morning and night he made reverent offerings to them and bore them in his vanguard. On his return to Mount Liupan, the present Hermitage Master Lord Wen was appointed Overseer of the Teaching, gathering famous monks from across the realm at Mount Qingliang to establish a hundred-day grand assembly and present offerings to the Great Sage Mañjuśrī. The officials supplied the necessities, and the extraordinary omens and auspicious signs were too numerous to record fully. Returning on the road to Qinchuan, the Sovereign saw a Hall of the Three Teachings in which Lord Lao sat in the center while the Buddha attended at his side. He said to his attendants: "Laozi was merely a worthy among worldly people; his teaching is of little use, he did not attain the principle of a sage, and he can hardly cross the ford of birth and death. For him to sit together with the Buddha is unbefitting in principle; how much worse to usurp the place of honor—this is all the more unacceptable." The following year, when he reached the Sun and Moon Mountain, he ordered Elder Zhi of Qianming Monastery in Zhongshan Prefecture to take the imperial edict and ride by relay courier to correct [these shrines] everywhere, totaling forty-nine places: statues were smashed and paintings were washed away, and all perversities were eliminated and changed. At Hezhong, Jingzhao, Jiangzhou, and Pingyang Prefectures, steles were erected in four places to manifest their falsity and deceit.' The compiler states: The ancients said that when the roots are deep, the fruit is abundant; when the source is distant, the stream runs long. Truly these words are trustworthy! Formerly, our Dharma King accumulated merit and amassed virtue across three incalculable eons; when his fruit was achieved and his Path was perfected, he then manifested his body simultaneously in a hundred billion worlds. Preaching the Dharma for forty-nine years, he delivered hundreds of thousands of myriads of koṭis of beings. Brahmā and Śakra bowed their heads with devoted hearts; heterodox outsiders and heavenly māras prostrated themselves and lost heart. He assembled myriad holy ones within the Bodhimaṇḍa and subdued the six masters beside the Hiraṇyavatī River. When the conditions for his conversion were complete, he returned to the Lotus Womb.

The eight great kings vied to divide the śarīra. The five hundred arhats compiled the subtle words. The teaching filled the human and heavenly realms, and the Dharma flowed through the sandy realms. The breeze of non-action fanned forth; the transformation without words was carried out. Coming down to the semblance age, this culture did not perish: Aśvaghoṣa and Nāgārjuna continued its fine voice; Asanga and Vasubandhu spread its bequeathed beauty, spreading their fame across the four seas and soaring with fertile reality in the eight directions. Dharmaratna and Saṅghavarman brought the palm-leaf scriptures and transmitted them east; Huiyuan and Daolin proclaimed the profound breeze in the southern lands. Fotudeng illuminated a thousand leagues in his palm; Amogha defeated the hordes of villains from his seat. Dao'an of Wei annotated the scriptures and set the texts in order; Zhiyi of the Sui distinguished the lineages and established the canons, rescuing sentient beings from dire misery, releasing them from the hanging-upside-down peril, pulling them out of the ford of birth and death, and placing them high upon the shore of nirvāṇa. Majestic and vast, without virtue that could be named; brilliant and harmonious, relied upon by living beings. Wise rulers protected it from without, and great virtues maintained it from within; through the successive dynasties, emperors and kings looked up to and promoted the holy standard. Therefore, Emperor Ming of Han sent envoys to seek it in the west, painting images and translating scriptures; Emperor Ming of Jin recited the golden texts with his mouth and painted Buddhist images with his hands; Emperor Jianming ever pondered the flavor of the Dharma; Emperor Xiaowu received the precepts; Emperor Wen of Song received instruction from Guṇavarman; Emperor Wu of Qi revered and respected Sengyuan; Emperor Wu of Liang lectured on scriptures and held precepts; Emperor Xuan of Chen humbled his mind at Dharma assemblies; Emperor Xuanwu widely made offerings to the Buddhist sangha; Emperor Wenchang of Qi relied solely on the power of the Buddha; Emperor Wen of Sui knelt before Tanyan; Xuanzong annotated the true text of the Prajñā; Suzong chanted the precious scripture of the Humane Kings; Dezong and Xianzong welcomed the relics and made offerings to them; Xuanzong and Yizong reopened the road to awakening so that it flourished; during the contest between the Later Liang and Later Jin, the fine tradition was never halted; the blazing Song received the mandate, not forgetting the entrustment; the Great Liao devoted the whole realm to honoring the Buddha; the Jin dynasty honored Buddhism from beginning to end; the Great Yuan began its royal fortune, directing its mind toward the Dharma gate: Taizu first issued clear edicts to propagate and protect this Path; Taizong tested scripts, built monasteries, and carved additions to the Tripiṭaka; Güyük Khan ordered monks to attend his retinue and constantly chant Buddhist scriptures; Möngke Khan made offerings to monks, copied scriptures, and built high precious stūpas; the present Emperor has fed monks, established monasteries, cast statues, and smelted gold, donating immense precious wealth and chanting the unsurpassed canon, appointing Phags-pa as the Preceptor of the State—this is fully known to ear and eye, by no means empty decoration. There was none who did not construct giant halls to enshrine the images, build long corridors to house the followers, savor its Path and cleanse their spirits, honoring its people and renouncing their physical bodies. Not only did this bring brilliance to the imperial way, it also aided and assisted the imperial foundation, returning frivolous customs to the pure source, raising the common people to the realm of longevity. Families knew the suffering of accumulating evil; people were inspired to seek the path of good. Beginning with a surge across the court, it ended by flowing through the common men and women. If it were not the most marvelous, how could it endure so long? In ancient times, Gongsun Long was skilled in the discourse on hard and white, and the disciples of Tian Ba sat on the mound of rent and discussed the Millet and the Xia, refuting the Three Sovereigns and eradicating the Five Constants. With forced words and clever sophistry, they silenced a thousand people with their mouths, yet their teachings were not passed down to posterity because they had no real path to transmit. The Buddha was born in the Western Regions, and his teaching arose in the East; the reason worthy ministers and wise kings successively guarded and maintained it was that his Path was worthy of emulation. Therefore, the monk Dadian said to Han Yu: 'From the Han until now, the dynasties have been this long; rulers, ministers, scholars, and commoners have been this many; heaven, earth, and the spirits have been this bright; yet the teachings of the Buddha have operated among them, and people have revered and believed in them, none daring to debate and discard them. This must be something that can match Heaven and Earth without shame, and face the hundred sages without blushing; the subtle truth resides within it, and only then could it reach this state. Why do you not think deeply on this?' This is indeed a solid discourse. The Daoists of today exclusively embellish deceit and force, blocking other gates from heaven, casually pursuing their treacherous hearts to shroud the path of awakening. Not grateful for the vast and broad grace of the state, they further indulge their private opinions and extensively compose slanderous texts. Their words contain no explanation for entering sagehood; their texts hold deception that confuses truth. Stealing the holy teachings of the Buddha, they falsely compose forged books, indulging their madness without thinking of tumbling down. Seeing the Lotus teaching, they claim to be within the lotus; seeing the Golden Radiance, they claim to sit upon the blazing flames. Utterly deluded regarding the ultimate truth, they cleverly patch together scripture names; their vile words resemble the cry of owls, their violence exceeds the biting of wolves. With rebellious words and corrupted virtues, through sorcery and deception they mislead the people, sullying the statutes and harming social mores. If not cut off, the evil seeds will sprout again. We respectfully look up to the present Emperor: his virtue harmonizes with Yu of Xia, his enterprise expands upon Wen of Zhou; continuing the grand design of the Three and Five, securing the precious position of the Nine and Five. His spiritual mind is clear within, his wise discernment bright without; one with virtue, though an enemy, is sure to be ennobled; one without merit, though the closest kin, is decisively punished. Brightly perceiving in all directions, obscure grievances are fully redressed; his majesty shakes the nine regions, and treacherous evil is subdued. Grasping the real truth of the monks, he saw through the empty claims of the Daoists, summoning both gates to debate and analyze their traditions. Yet the Daoists wished to show off fish eyes to seize the black dragon's pearl, being dazzled by water in a hoof-print to compete with the vast ocean. When the outlines were casually raised, their tongues were tied and they were speechless; when testing the source of their school, they came holding jade in submission. The commander fled the battlefield: Li Haoran was first defeated at the front; the sub-commanders turned their halberds: Zhang Zhijing kept his silence behind. Though they advanced like ducks and lined up like cranes, they ultimately crumbled like broken tiles and collapsed earth. Plucking off the star crowns, their faces showed shame; shedding the cloud cloaks, their hearts felt guilt. The Buddha's truth and Daoism's falsehood were thus revealed. The treacherous evils of foul years were exposed this morning. Thereupon clouds gathered and mats rolled up, leaves fell and branches snapped—like the blazing sun melting fragile ice, like a great furnace burning light feathers. How could a mantis blocking a chariot wheel be up to the task? An earthworm exerting its might ultimately ends in minced dust. In ancient times, Emperor Ming tested the truth and falsehood, and the philosophical writings all burned in the fire; the present Emperor dispelled the evil vapor, and the Daoist scriptures all turned to smoke and ash. The conversion of the barbarians beyond the border fell into emptiness; the slanderous tracts and perverse falsehoods dispersed with the wind. Fei Shucai at that time died of resentment; Li Zhichang's gall broke and he passed away earlier. The spiritual power of answering five thousand daily calls—where is it today? The miraculous transformations of flying talismans and raising corpses—not heard of at this juncture. The superior arts of hiding heaven and concealing earth have not the slightest proof; the secret arts of moving mountains and pulling the Big Dipper show not the faintest sign. The ordinary fellows of the streets laugh till they double over; the leaders following the phoenix feel ashamed. One public disgrace, hard to erase for a thousand years; though their clever words were like reed pipes, they ended up with thick faces of shame. Thus the Sage Emperor cast his favor, and the court ministers changed their views.