Originally, everyone could become a priest if he had the approval of ten senior members of Buddhist society (sanshi-shichisho (three leaders and seven witnesses) and an oath to obey religious precepts, but because they were exempted from labors, tax payments, and military service in China and in Japan, many people became priests one after the other and developed into a situation threatening the national finances.
本来、僧侶になるには、仏教教団の10名の先輩構成員（三師七証）の承認があり、戒律を護る事を誓えば誰にでもなれるものであったが、中国や日本に於いては、労働、納税、兵役を免除されていたため、僧侶になる者が続出し、国家の財政を脅かす事態となった。