法苑珠林 55.103

55.103

Emperor Wu, Gaozu of the Liang, ascended the throne at the age of thirty-eight and reigned for forty-nine years. Although the affairs of the myriad millions were burdensome, scrolls never left his hand. There was no inner scripture or outer classic that he did not keep in mind, and he composed commentaries and explanations running to several thousand fascicles. Moreover, he was frugal and disciplined himself, not wearing silks or brocades. Residing in quiet seclusion, he was untiring day and night, so that he used cloth quilts, rush mats, straw sandals, and kudzu-cloth caps. From the moment he first ascended the imperial throne, he practiced these things; eating only once a day, he permanently gave up pungent roots and meat. Since the time of kings and emperors, few have been able to equal this. Formerly, he had served Laozi and esteemed talismans and diagrams; but investigating their roots thoroughly, he found them to be akin to false concoctions. The Emperor thereupon personally wielded the divine brush, issued an imperial edict, and composed the Text on Abandoning Daoism (She dao wen), which said: