法苑珠林 55.38

55.38

The account says: On the first day of the first month in the fourteenth year of Yongping of the Han, while the Daoist masters of the Five Marchmounts and various mountains were attending the New Year court assembly, they said among themselves, 'The Son of Heaven has abandoned our Daoist teachings to seek the barbarian religion from afar. Today, taking advantage of the court assembly, we may present a memorial to challenge it.' Their memorial said in brief: 'The 690 disciples of the Supreme Three Caverns from the Abbeys of the Eighteen Mountains across the Five Marchmounts, including Chu Shanxin, are capable of all esoteric arts and methods. We wish to compete with the western monks to determine what is true and what is false. If we are inferior in the contest, we submit to whatever severe punishment may be decided; if we prevail, we beg that the falsehood be eliminated.' An imperial decree sent the Prefect of the Masters of Writing, Song Xiang, to usher them into the Changle Palace, and [ordered that] on the fifteenth day of this month they should assemble at Baima Temple. The Daoist masters then set up three altars, each altar having twenty-four gates opened. The Daoists of the Five Marchmounts each brought Daoist scriptures and placed them upon the three altars. The Emperor went in person to the traveling palace at the south gate of the temple. The Buddha's relics, scriptures, and images were placed to the west of the path. On the fifteenth day, when the fast was concluded, the Daoists, using firewood and reeds mixed with eaglewood and sandalwood incense as torches, circumambulated the scriptures weeping tears, prayed to the Heavenly Venerable for a verification, and set fire to burn the scriptures. Following the fire, the scriptures were transformed completely into ashes. The Daoists of the Five Marchmounts looked at one another and lost colour, seized by great dread. The Daoist Fei Shucai of the Southern Marchmount died of self-reproach. The Grand Tutor Zhang Yan said to Chu Xin, 'What you tested has yielded no verification; it is therefore false. You should submit to the true Dharma that has come from the west.' Chu Xin said, 'Mao Chengzi said that the Supreme One is the Heavenly Venerable of Numinous Treasure. The work of creation is called Grand Simplicity. How could this be false?' Yan said, 'Grand Simplicity has the reputation of prizing virtue, but no claim to having spoken teachings. Now you claim it has spoken teachings, which is itself false.' Hearing this, Xin remained silent and did not reply. At that time, the Buddha's relics emitted five-coloured light, rising straight into the air and whirling like a canopy, completely covering the great assembly and outshining the sunlight. Dharma Master Mātaṅga leapt high into the air, sitting and reclining in the sky, broadly manifesting divine transformations. At that time, heavenly jeweled flowers rained down upon the Buddha and monks, and heavenly music was heard, deeply moving people's hearts. The great assembly all rejoiced, marveling at what had never been before. They all gathered around Dharmaratna, listening to his exposition of the essentials of the Dharma and his intoning of Sanskrit sounds praising the Buddha's virtues. For the first time, a Buddhist temple was established, equal in the measure of Brahmā's merit. Liu Jun, Minister of Works and Marquis of Yangcheng, together with more than one thousand officials and commoners, left the household life. Over 620 Daoists of the Four Marchmounts, including Lü Huitong, left the household life. Lady Yin, the Handsome Lady Wang, and others, together with 230 palace ladies and women, left the household life. Thereupon, ten monasteries were established: seven outside the city to settle monks, and three within the city to settle nuns. From this time onward, [the Dharma] spread widely throughout the realm. The transmission consists of five scrolls, and is not recorded here in full. Some have doubted that this transmission appeared in recent times, and that originally there was no such contest. However, examining the History of Wu, it clearly states that Fei Shucai died of remorse; thus the transmission is an authentic record and not fictitious.