後漢明帝感夢金人騰蘭入雒諸道士等請求角試事一
Emperor Ming of Han’s Dream of the Golden Man, and the Arrival of She Moteng and Zhu Falan
漢法本內傳云。明帝永平三年。上夢神人金身丈六。項有日光飛在殿前。欣然悅之。明日問群臣。此何為神。有通人。傅毅曰。臣聞天竺有得道者。號曰佛也。飛行虛空身有日光。殆將其神乎。於是上悟。遣郎中蔡愔郎將秦景博士弟子王遵等一十八人。於大月支中天竺國。寫佛經四十二章藏在蘭臺石室第十四間。又於洛陽城西雍門外為起佛寺。於其壁畫千乘萬騎繞塔三匝。又將畫釋迦立像。乃於南宮清涼臺及開陽城門上。圖佛儀像。時造壽陵。名曰顯節。亦於其上作佛圖像。廣如牟子所顯。時有沙門迦攝摩騰竺法蘭。位行難倫志存開化。承蔡愔使達天竺。請騰東行。不守區域。隨至洛陽曉喻物情。崇明信為本。帝問騰曰。法王出世。何以化不及此。騰曰。迦毘羅衛者。三千大千世界百億日月之中心。三世諸佛皆在彼生。乃至天龍鬼神有願行者。皆生於彼。受佛正化。咸得悟道。餘處眾生無緣感佛。佛不往也。佛雖不往。光明及處。或五百年。或一千年。或一千年外皆有聖人。傳佛聲教而化導之。廣說教義。帝信重之。暨永平十四年正月一日。五嶽諸山道士。朝正之次自相命曰。天子棄我道法遠求胡教。今因朝集可以表抗之。其表曰。五嶽十八山觀太上三洞弟子褚善信等。死罪上言。臣聞太上無形無名無極無上虛無自然大道出於造化之前。上古同遵百王不易。今陛下道邁羲皇德過堯舜。竊承陛下棄本追末。求教西域。所事乃是胡神。所說不參華夏。願陛下恕臣等罪。聽與試驗。臣等諸山道士多有徹視遠聽博通經典。從元皇已來。太上群錄太虛符呪無不綜練達其涯極。或策使鬼神。或吞霞飲氣。或入火不燒。或履水不溺。或白日昇天。或隱形不測。至於方術藥餌。無所不能。願得與其比挍。一則聖上意安。二則得辨真偽。三則大道有歸。四則不亂華俗。臣等若比對不如。任聽重決。如其有勝乞除虛妄。勅遣尚書令宋庠引入長樂宮。勅以今月十五日。可集白馬寺。道士等便置三壇。壇別開二十四門。南嶽道士褚善信。華嶽道士劉正念。恒嶽道士桓文度。岱嶽道士焦得心。嵩嶽道士呂惠通。霍山天目五臺白鹿等十八山道士祁文信等。都合六百九十人。各齎靈寶真文太上玉訣三元符錄等五百九十卷。置於西壇。茅成子許成子黃子老子等二十七家子書有百三十五卷。置於中壇。饌食奠祀百神。置於東壇。帝時御行殿在寺南門。以佛舍利經像。置於道西。十五日齋訖。道士等以柴荻和檀沈香為炬。遶子經而泣曰。臣等上啟太極大道元始天尊眾仙百靈。今胡亂中夏。人主信邪。正教失蹤玄風墜緒。臣等敢置經壇上以火取驗。欲使開示群心得辨真偽。便縱火焚經。經從火化悉成灰燼。道士等相顧失色大生怖懼。將欲昇天隱形者無力可能。禁効鬼神者呼策不應。各懷愧恧。南嶽道士費叔才。自憾而死。太傅張衍語褚信曰。卿等所試無驗。即是虛妄。宜就西來真法。褚信曰。茅成子云。太上者靈寶天尊是也。造化之作謂之太素。斯豈妄乎。衍曰。太素有貴德之名無言教之稱。今子說有言教。即為妄也。信便默然。時佛舍利光明五色。直上空中旋環如蓋。遍覆大眾映蔽日光。摩騰法師踊身高飛。坐臥空中廣現神變。于時天雨寶花在佛僧上。又聞天樂感動人情。大眾感悅歎未曾有。皆繞法蘭請說法要。蘭乃出大梵音歎佛功德。亦令大眾稱揚三寶。說善惡諸法皆有果報。六道三乘諸相不一。又說出家功德其福最高。初立佛寺同梵福量。時有司空陽城侯劉峻與諸官人士庶等千餘人出家。及四嶽諸山道士呂惠通等六百二十八人出家。陰夫人王婕妤等與諸宮人婦女等二百三十人出家。至月末以來日日供設種種行施。法衣瓶器並出所司。便立十寺。七寺安僧在城邑外。三寺安尼在雒城內。漢興佛法自此始焉。初摩騰西來。將畫釋迦立像。帝乃令圖出之。於陵園及洛門供養。
The Inner Record of the Han Dharma says: In the third year of Emperor Ming’s Yongping reign (60 AD), the emperor dreamed of a divine being with a golden body sixteen feet tall, with sunlight radiating from his neck, flying before the palace. The emperor was delighted. The next day, he asked his ministers, “What god is this?” A learned man named Fu Yi replied, “I have heard that in India there is one who has attained the Way, called the Buddha. He flies through the sky and his body shines with sunlight. This must be that god.” The emperor then understood. He sent Langzhong Cai Yin, General Qin Jing, Erudite Wang Zun, and eighteen others to Greater Yuezhi and Central India to copy Buddhist scriptures. They brought back the Sutra in Forty-Two Sections, which was stored in the fourteenth room of the Stone Chamber of the Orchid Terrace. Also, west of Luoyang’s Yong Gate, a Buddhist temple was built. On its walls were painted a thousand chariots and ten thousand horsemen circling a stupa three times, and a standing image of Shakyamuni was drawn. This image was placed on the Qingliang Terrace of the Southern Palace and on the Kaiyang City Gate. At that time, the emperor’s future tomb, called Xianjie, was also decorated with a Buddhist image. This is widely recorded in Mouzi’s writings.
At that time, the monks Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna, whose virtue and conduct were unmatched, were dedicated to spreading the Dharma. They received Cai Yin’s invitation and traveled from India eastward. They did not restrict themselves to one region but came to Luoyang, where they explained the nature of things and emphasized faith as the foundation. The emperor asked Matanga, “When the Dharma King appeared in the world, why did his teachings not reach here?” Matanga replied, “Kapilavastu is the center of the three-thousand great-thousand worlds, the center of a hundred billion suns and moons. All Buddhas of the past, present, and future are born there. Even devas, nagas, ghosts, and spirits who have made vows and practice accordingly are born there, receive the Buddha’s true teachings, and all attain enlightenment. Other beings lack the affinity to be inspired by the Buddha, so the Buddha does not go to them. Although the Buddha does not go, his light reaches everywhere. After five hundred years, or a thousand years, or more than a thousand years, saints appear who transmit the Buddha’s teaching and guide beings. He then explained the doctrines extensively. The emperor trusted and respected him.
On the first day of the first month of the fourteenth year of Yongping (71 AD), the Daoist masters from the Five Sacred Mountains and various other mountains gathered for the New Year audience. They said to each other, “The emperor has abandoned our Way and sought the barbarians’ teaching far away. Now, during this assembly, we can submit a petition to oppose him.” Their petition read: “Disciples of the Three Caverns of the Supreme, from the temples of the Five Sacred Mountains and eighteen other mountains—Chu Shanxin and others—respectfully submit this with reverence, though we deserve death. We have heard that the Supreme has no form, no name, is limitless, supreme, empty and natural, and the Great Way existed before creation. Since ancient times, it has been followed, and a hundred kings have not changed it. Now, Your Majesty’s virtue surpasses that of Fuxi and Yao and Shun. We have heard that Your Majesty has abandoned the root and pursued the branches, seeking teachings from the Western Regions. What you worship is a barbarian god, and what you teach does not accord with Chinese tradition. We beg Your Majesty to forgive our offense and allow us to test them. We mountain Daoists have many who can see through walls, hear over long distances, and are broadly learned in the classics. Since the time of the Primordial Emperor, we have mastered all the registers of the Supreme, the charts of Great Emptiness, and the incantations. We can command ghosts and spirits, swallow clouds and drink vapor, enter fire without burning, walk on water without drowning, ascend to heaven in broad daylight, or become invisible. As for magical arts and elixirs, there is nothing we cannot do. We wish to compete with them. First, this will ease Your Majesty’s mind. Second, it will distinguish truth from falsehood. Third, the Great Way will be restored. Fourth, Chinese customs will not be confused. If we are inferior in the comparison, we will accept severe punishment. If we win, we beg you to abandon this false teaching.” The emperor ordered the Minister of the Interior, Song Xiang, to lead them into the Changle Palace. He decreed that on the fifteenth of the month, they should gather at the White Horse Temple. The Daoists then set up three altars, each with twenty-four gates. Chu Shanxin from the Southern Mountain, Liu Zhengnian from the Western Mountain, Huan Wendu from the Northern Mountain, Jiao Dexin from the Eastern Mountain, Lu Huitong from the Central Mountain, and Qi Wenxin and others from eighteen mountains, including Huoshan, Tianmu, Wutai, and Bailu—totaling 690 people—each brought texts such as the *True Writs of Numinous Treasure*, *Supreme Jade Instructions*, and *Three Primes Talismans and Registers*, amounting to 590 scrolls, which they placed on the Western Altar. The works of Mao Chengzi, Xu Chengzi, Huangzi, Laozi, and twenty-seven other authors—135 scrolls—were placed on the Central Altar. Food offerings and sacrifices to the hundred spirits were placed on the Eastern Altar. The emperor, riding in his processional carriage, was at the south gate of the temple. Buddhist relics, scriptures, and images were placed to the west of the road. After fasting on the fifteenth, the Daoists took torches made of reeds and sandalwood and aloeswood, circled their texts, and wept, saying, “We appeal to the Great Way of the Supreme, the Primordial Heavenly Worthy, and all immortals and spirits. Now barbarians are confusing China, and the ruler believes in heresy. The true teaching has lost its path, and the wind of the profound has collapsed. We dare to place our scriptures on the altar and test them with fire, to enlighten all minds and distinguish truth from falsehood.” They then set fire to the scriptures, but they turned to ashes. The Daoists looked at each other, pale with fear and shame. Those who claimed to ascend to heaven or become invisible were powerless. Those who claimed to command ghosts and spirits called out but received no response. Each felt ashamed. Fei Shucai, a Daoist from the Southern Mountain, died of remorse. Grand Tutor Zhang Yan said to Chu Shanxin, “Your test has failed. This shows you are false. You should submit to the true Dharma from the West.” Chu Shanxin replied, “Mao Chengzi said, ‘The Supreme is the Numinous Treasure Heavenly Worthy.’ The act of creation is called the Great Simplicity. Is this false?” Zhang Yan said, “The Great Simplicity has a name of noble virtue but no teachings or words. Now you claim it has teachings and words—this is false.” Chu remained silent.
At that time, the Buddhist relics emitted a five-colored light that rose into the sky, circling like a canopy, covering the entire assembly and outshining the sunlight. Matanga leaped into the air, sat and lay down in the sky, displaying many miraculous transformations. Then, heavenly flowers rained down on the Buddha and monks, and celestial music was heard, moving everyone’s hearts. The assembly was delighted and said they had never seen such wonders. They all surrounded Dharmaratna and begged him to teach the essentials of the Dharma. He then spoke in the Great Brahma sound, praising the Buddha’s virtues, and urged the assembly to extol the Three Jewels. He taught that all good and evil actions have their respective retributions, that the six realms and three vehicles differ in appearance, and that the merit of renunciation is the highest. At first, establishing Buddhist temples equaled the merit of Brahma’s virtue. At that time, Minister Yangcheng Hou Liu Jun, along with over a thousand officials and commoners, renounced the world. Also, Lu Huitong and 628 Daoists from the four sacred mountains and various mountains renounced. Lady Yin, Lady Wang Jieyu, and 230 palace women also renounced. From the end of that month onward, daily offerings and almsgiving were made, with robes, bowls, and utensils provided by the authorities. Ten monasteries were established—seven for monks outside the city, and three for nuns inside Luoyang. Thus began the flourishing of Buddhism in Han China. At first, Matanga brought from the West a painting of a standing Shakyamuni. The emperor had it reproduced and enshrined in the imperial tombs and at the Luo city gates.