大宋僧史略 2.38

2.38

論曰。鴻臚寺之任禮四夷遠人也。教法初來。須就斯寺。雖興白馬。終隷此司。古云僧尼係鴻臚寺者是也。及乎甞蒟醬以言美。服皮靴而稍佳。則曰四海一家。王者無外。故後魏置監福曹焉昭玄寺焉崇玄署焉。設官布局以攝僧尼。蒟醬而以生我土。皮靴而認作華裝。故唐朝勒歸祠部。既而因事釐革逐朝廢興故。立功德使以總之。中宗時以沙門廓清為修功德使。官至殿中監。土突軍容軍功莫賞。朝廷議以功德使榮之。非謂專其僧道也。于時尚書省司封先屬其中。由是不出中官。洎唐末行袁紹之誅。職歸宰執。皇朝盛重此職。亦僧道之幸事也。

Discussion: The responsibility of the Court of State Ceremonial is to show ritual hospitality to foreigners of the four frontiers. When the teachings of the Dharma first arrived, they had to go to this court; even though White Horse Temple arose, they ultimately remained subordinate to this bureau. The ancient saying that 'monks and nuns belong to the Court of State Ceremonial' is correct. But when people tasted the betel-pepper paste and praised its deliciousness, and wore leather boots and found them somewhat pleasant, they said, 'The four seas are one family, and the king excludes nothing.' Therefore the Later Wei established the Bureau for Overseeing Blessings, the Zhaoxuan Court, and the Chongxuan Office, setting up officials and arranging bureaus to govern monks and nuns. The betel-pepper paste was now treated as native to our soil, and leather boots were recognized as Chinese attire. Therefore the Tang dynasty ordered them to return to the Bureau of Sacrifices. Afterward, because administrative restructurings took place according to events and the abolition or revival under each reign, the Commissioner of Merits was established to oversee them. During the reign of Zhongzong, the śramaṇa Kuoqing was made Commissioner for Cultivating Merit, with an official rank reaching Chamberlain for the Palace Buildings. When the military merits of Tutu [Chengcui], the Army Supervisor, could not be adequately rewarded, the imperial court deliberated to honor him with the title of Commissioner of Merits; this was not intended solely for monastic and Daoist affairs. At that time, the Bureau of Fiefs under the Department of State Affairs had already been subsumed under it; for this reason it did not step outside the control of palace eunuchs. Until the late Tang, when Yuan Shao's massacre [of eunuchs] was reenacted, the office returned to the grand councilors. Our reigning dynasty values this office most highly, which is also a fortunate matter for monks and Daoists.