釋氏要覽 3.45

3.45

This is the person who matches and responds to the Dharma master. Whenever Emperor Wu of the Liang lectured on the sūtras, he decreed that Fabiao of Zhiyuan Monastery act as dujiang. Fabiao would first raise a question, and only then would the Emperor begin speaking, inquiring and examining, replying to each question as it arose. When Zhi Dun of the Jin arrived in Yue, Wang Xizhi invited him to lecture on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra, employing Xu Xun as dujiang. Xu raised a question, and the assembly thought Zhi Dun would have no answer; Zhi Dun expounded a principle, and the assembly thought Xu Xun would have no objection. Nowadays, the dujiang merely recites the sūtra text aloud, and the role of raising challenging questions has been lost.”