三教至尊 The Three Teachings Upheld
太宗召太僕卿張道源、中書令張士衡，問佛事營福，其應何如。二臣對曰：「佛在清淨仁恕，果正佛空。周武帝以三教分次；大慧禪師有贊幽遠，歷眾供養而無不顯；五祖投胎，達摩現像。自古以來，皆云三教至尊而不可毀，不可廢。伏乞陛下聖鑒明裁。」太宗甚喜道：「卿之言合理。再有所陳者，罪之。」遂著魏徵與蕭瑀、張道源邀請諸佛，選舉一名有大德行者作壇主，設建道場。眾皆頓首謝恩而退。自此時出了法律：但有毀僧謗佛者，斷其臂。太宗召太仆卿张道源、中书令张士衡，问佛事营福，其应何如。二臣对曰：「佛在清净仁恕，果正佛空。周武帝以三教分次；大慧禅师有赞幽远，历众供养而无不显；五祖投胎，达摩现像。自古以来，皆云三教至尊而不可毁，不可废。伏乞陛下圣鉴明裁。」太宗甚喜道：「卿之言合理。再有所陈者，罪之。」遂著魏征与萧瑀、张道源邀请诸佛，选举一名有大德行者作坛主，设建道场。众皆顿首谢恩而退。自此时出了法律：但有毁僧谤佛者，断其臂。
逐句解 Line by line
Taizong summoned Zhang Daoyuan, Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud, and Zhang Shiheng, Secretariat Director, and asked what would come of pursuing merit through Buddhist rites.
太僕卿 is the Chief Minister of the Court of the Imperial Stud; 中書令 ('Secretariat Director') reads 中 as zhōng. 應 in 其應何如 ('what response, what would come of it') is yìng.
The two ministers replied: 'The Buddha abides in purity, benevolence, and forbearance; its fruit is upright, and Buddha-nature is emptiness.'
清淨仁恕 ('purity, benevolence, forbearance') names the ethical core the ministers ascribe to Buddhism; 佛空 ('the Buddha is empty') gestures at the doctrine of śūnyatā, emptiness of self.
'Emperor Wu of Zhou ranked the Three Teachings in order; the Chan Master Dahui offered praises profound and far-reaching; through all the offerings of the multitude, none failed to manifest its power; the Fifth Patriarch was reborn in the flesh, and Bodhidharma made his form appear.'
The ministers heap up a chain of Buddhist authorities and marvels — Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou, the Chan master Dahui, the Fifth Patriarch (Hongren), Bodhidharma (達摩). The catalogue is loosely and anachronistically assembled (the historical Emperor Wu of Zhou in fact suppressed Buddhism), in keeping with the vernacular novel's free handling of doctrinal name-dropping. 教 in 三教 is jiào ('teaching'); 分 in 分次 is fēn ('to rank in order').
'From ancient times all have said that the Three Teachings are supreme, and may not be reviled, may not be abolished.'
The harmonizing doctrine of 三教 — that Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism are jointly to be honored — is the ministers' decisive appeal.
'We humbly beg Your Majesty's sage discernment and clear judgment.'
A formulaic close to a ministerial submission, referring the decision to the emperor's own wisdom.
Taizong, greatly pleased, said: 'Your words accord with reason. Should any again raise such objections, let him be punished.'
甚 in 甚喜 is the intensifier shèn. The emperor sides decisively with Buddhism and forbids further dissent.
He then charged Wei Zheng, together with Xiao Yu and Zhang Daoyuan, to invite the Buddhas and to choose out one of great virtue and conduct to serve as master of the altar and establish the place of ritual.
著 in 遂著魏徵 is the causative zhuó; 壇主 is the 'master of the altar,' the presiding officiant. This commission sets in motion the selection of the officiant — the eminent monk Xuanzang — in the passage to come. 行 in 德行 is xíng ('conduct').
All bowed their heads to the ground, gave thanks for the grace, and withdrew.
The court's formal assent, closing the debate.
From this time forth a law was issued: whoever should revile a monk or slander the Buddha would have his arm cut off.
A characteristically drastic vernacular flourish. 了 in 出了 takes the aspectual le; the punishment (斷其臂, 'to cut off his arm') marks the completeness of the imperial turn toward Buddhism.
The debate is resolved by a second pair of counselors who supply the harmonizing doctrine the chapter needs: the Three Teachings — Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism — are jointly supreme and may be neither reviled nor abolished. Their supporting catalogue of masters and marvels is cheerfully anachronistic (the Emperor Wu of Zhou they cite as a patron in fact persecuted the faith), which is entirely in the manner of the vernacular novel, where doctrinal authority is invoked by accumulation rather than accuracy. Taizong's ruling is unequivocal and enforced with a startling severity — an arm for a slander — that measures the distance the court has traveled from Fu Yi's memorial. With the Dharma secured and Wei Zheng deputed to convene the Buddhas and find a master for the altar, the way is open for the selection of the officiant on whom the whole pilgrimage will turn.