Book XIV 781
offering prayers for blessings even if anyone wants to interfere with them.
What goes on in our monasteries these days is that they all try to emulate the
ways of Chinese monks but fail to attain what they want. So it happens that
the picture of a tiger that they are drawing ends up being that of a dog.
“I respectfully believe that we should teach the legacy left by National
Preceptor Pojo of Songgwang Monastery, turning it into the rules we ought
to follow and, at the same time, have our monks practice them day and
night. Then we will be able to repay Your Majesty for greatly promoting
Buddhism among the people. Prostrating myself on the ground, I sincerely
urge you to proclaim the law both to the capital and the provinces, and if it
can be handed down to later generations permanently, how can it not be
greatly beneficial to the nation?” The king followed the advice.
14th Day (Kyŏngsin)
There was frost.
Ch’oe Nok, a retainer of our envoy Cho Sŏ who was detained in China
during his diplomatic mission, returned home from the Ming capital with a
letter from Zhang Bing, Ming minister of rites, as well as the depositions
separately made by Cho Sŏ and Kwak Haeryong. The letter from Minister
Zhang was as follows:
“Zhang Bing, minister of rites of the Great Ming, writes this letter to the
king of Chosŏn. Previously, Our Majesty ascended his imperial throne and
united China in accordance with the will of Heaven, replacing Yuan. Then
he quickly dispatched envoys to four neighboring states and informed them
of what had happened. The king of Koryŏ, in response, immediately sent an
envoy to China to establish a friendly relationship between the two coun-
tries. Though Koryŏ subordinated itself to be a vassal state and promised to
pay tribute to China, it in fact wanted to make its people comfortable by
securing peace.
“Since Our Majesty looks after the people by upholding the will of
Heaven, how can he be anxious to show his strength by displaying military
power to the world? This was the reason he admonished the king of Koryŏ
not to make trouble on the border. Thereafter, when Koryŏ sincerely requested
that it be allowed to observe and practice the rites and ceremonies of China,
our emperor again admonished, saying, ‘As to the rites and ceremonies, it is
advisable to follow one’s own customs, and as to the law, it is better to keep
the old one.’ This admonition was given several decades ago. Ever since the