法苑珠林 55.41

55.41

Emperor Wen of the Song was the third son of Emperor Gaozu. Intelligent, sagacious, heroic, and broadly learned, he had an elegant reputation for brilliance and perspicacity. He was on the throne for thirty years. Once, at leisure, he calmly asked the Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary He Shangzhi and Minister of Personnel Yang Xuanbao: “Since youth I have not read the scriptures much, and recently I have had no free time. I have not yet comprehended karmic causes and conditions across the three lives to settle my mind upon them; yet I dare not put forward dissenting views, precisely because you, the elite of our times, uniformly revere and believe in them. Fan Tai and Xie Lingyun used to say: ‘The texts of the Six Classics were originally meant for aiding mundane affairs and governing; if one must seek the true profundity of the spirit's nature, how can one fail to take Buddhist principles as one’s compass?’ ” The Emperor said: “The Buddhist fold having you is just like the Confucian school having Jilu; of him it was said that harsh words never entered his ears.” From then on, Emperor Wen devoted his attention to Buddhist scriptures, never setting the scrolls from his hand.