大宋僧史略 2.38

2.38

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.