大宋僧史略 3.39

3.39

火祆（火煙切）教法本起大波斯國。號蘇魯支。有弟子名玄真。習師之法。居波斯國。大總長如火山。後行化於中國。貞觀五年。有傳法穆護何祿。將祆教詣闕聞奏。勅令長安崇化坊立祆寺。號大秦寺。又名波斯寺。開元二十年八月十五日。勅末尼本是邪見。妄稱佛教。誑惑黎元。以西胡等既是師法。當身自行。不須科罰。至天寶四年七月。波斯勅經教出自大秦。傳習而來。久行中國。爰初建寺。因以為名。將欲示人。必循其本。其兩京波斯寺宜改為大秦寺。天下諸州郡有者準此。大曆三年六月。勅迴紇置寺。宜賜額大雲光明之寺。六年正月又勅荊越洪等州。各置大雲光明寺一所。武宗會昌三年勅。天下摩尼寺並廢入宮。京城女摩尼七十二人死。及在此國。迴紇諸摩尼等配流諸道。死者大半。五年再勅。大秦穆護火祆等二千餘人並勒還俗。然而未盡根荄。時分蔓衍。梁貞明六年。陳州末尼黨類立母乙為天子。發兵討之。生擒母乙。餘黨械送闕下。斬於都市。初陳州里俗喜習左道。依浮圖之教。自立一宗。號上上乘。不食葷茹。誘化庸民。糅雜淫穢。宵集晝散。因刺史惠王友能動多不法。由是妖賊嘯聚。累討未平。及貞明中。誅斬方盡。後唐石晉時。復潛興。推一人為主。百事稟從。或畫一魔王踞座佛為其洗足云。佛止大乘。此乃上上乘也。蓋影傍佛教。所謂相似道也。或有比丘。為飢凍故往往隨之效利。有識者尚遠離之。此法誘人直到地獄。慎之哉。

The Zoroastrian teaching originally arose in the great country of Persia; [its founder] was named Zarathustra. He had a disciple named Xuanzhen, who practiced his master's teaching and lived in the country of Persia; the Chief Controller was like a fire mountain. Later it circulated and transformed [people] in the central kingdom. In the fifth year of the Zhenguan reign era (631 CE), there was the transmission master and magus Helu, who brought the Zoroastrian teaching to the imperial court and reported it to the throne. An imperial edict ordered the erection of a Zoroastrian temple in Chonghua Ward of Chang'an, called the Daqin Temple, and also named the Persian Temple. On the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the twentieth year of the Kaiyuan reign era (732 CE), an imperial edict [stated]: 'Manichaeism is fundamentally a heterodox view; it falsely claims to be the Buddhist teaching and deceives and confuses the common people. Since it is the ancestral teaching of the Western barbarians and their kind, they may practice it themselves in their own persons, without suffering punishment.' In the seventh month of the fourth year of the Tianbao reign era (745 CE), an edict regarding Persia [stated]: 'The scriptures and teachings originated in Daqin; they have been transmitted, practiced, and circulated in the central kingdom for a long time. When the temples were first built, they were named accordingly. Desiring to reveal this to the people, one must trace back to the source. The Persian temples in the two capitals should be changed to Daqin temples, and those in the prefectures and commanderies across the realm shall follow this.' In the sixth month of the third year of the Dali reign era (768 CE), an edict permitted the Uyghurs to establish a temple, which was bestowed the plaque "Temple of the Great Cloud and Radiant Light". In the first month of the sixth year (771 CE), an edict further ordered Jing, Yue, Hong, and other prefectures each to establish one Temple of the Great Cloud and Radiant Light. In the third year of the Huichang reign era of Emperor Wuzong (843 CE), an edict ordered: 'All Manichaean temples in the realm are to be abolished and confiscated into the palace.' Seventy-two female Manichaeans in the capital died. As for the Uyghur Manichaeans residing in this country, they were exiled to various circuits, and more than half died. In the fifth year (845 CE), an edict was issued again: over two thousand Daqin magi, Zoroastrians, and others were all forced to return to lay life. However, their roots were not entirely eradicated, and at times they spread like creeping vines. In the sixth year of the Zhenming reign era of the Later Liang (920 CE), the Manichaean faction in Chenzhou enthroned Mu Yi as the Son of Heaven. Troops were dispatched to suppress them; Mu Yi was captured alive, and the remaining conspirators were sent in fetters to the palace and decapitated in the city market. Initially, the local folk in Chenzhou were fond of practicing unorthodox ways. Relying on the teaching of the Buddha, they established a sect of their own, calling it the Supreme Vehicle. They did not consume meat or pungent roots, and they enticed and proselytized the common folk, mingling licentiousness and filth, gathering by night and dispersing by day. Because the regional governor, Prince of Hui, You-neng, acted mostly lawlessly, spectral bandits gathered and shouted in rebellion, and multiple expeditions failed to pacify them. It was not until the Zhenming reign era that they were completely exterminated. During the Later Tang and the Shi-Jin dynasties, they secretly revived again. They chose one person as master, and all matters were submitted to him. Sometimes they painted a demon king sitting on a throne, with the Buddha washing his feet, saying: 'The Buddha reaches only the Great Vehicle; this is the Supreme Vehicle.' This was an imitation of Buddhism, a so-called counterfeit path. There were even monks who, due to hunger and cold, often followed them for profit. Those with discernment should stay far away from it! This method lures people straight into hell. Be cautious of it!