僧人發展的歷程必須與社會結構相契合，也必須順著制度走。如果不明瞭唐宋僧侶從出家到成為高僧的歷程，以之論述佛教的學派及傳燈繼統的師承觀念必然陷於揣測想像居多，唐宋之時，政府所承認合法僧侶都是公度僧，都須通過考試取得資格，因此，沒有不讀書的僧侶。以宋朝僧侶生涯發展為例，首先在寺院當童行，通過考試之後得到一張度牒，這是僧侶的身分證明，之後才能剃度出家並受戒為沙彌，有志者再受大乘戒，從此就是選佛之路的開始了。童行參加考試被喻為選佛狀元，參與的法會則被喻為選佛場，從此在僧寺中，輾轉於各種僧職中去歷練，逐漸成為僧寺住持。由小寺經由公開選拔而遷住大寺，如能在最著名的五山官寺成為住持，並獲得紫衣及國師的稱號的殊榮，那猶如在朝庭中的封侯拜相。這即是選佛之路的標準歷程，在這條路上，既有標準的歷程，也有變通之道。如果不能明瞭這套制度的運作規則，那麼將會陷入龐大僧史資料的迷宮之中，只能看到表面的現象。通過僧傳、方志、官方文獻及僧人的文集中去鉤勒出其發展軌跡，只有清楚制度運作的規則，對於佛教史的論述才不會模糊及揣測之中。

The development process of the monks must be consistent with the social Structure and must follow the system. If you don’t understand the history of monks in the Tang and Song dynasties from becoming monks to becoming eminent monks, it is bound to fall into speculation and imagination to discuss the Buddhist school and the concept of inheritance. You must pass exams to obtain qualifications, so there are no monks who do not study. Take the development of the life of a monk in the Song Dynasty as an example. First, he was a Tong Xing(童行) in a monastery. After passing the exam, he got a copy of the monk's identity. After that, he could become a Shami(沙彌) and be ordained as a novice monk. The road has begun. Tong Xing took the exam and was hailed as choosing the Buddha champion, and participating in the ritual meeting was hailed as choosing the Buddha field. From then on, he went to various monastic positions to practice in the monastery and gradually became the abbot of the monastery. The small temple moved to the large temple through public selection. If they can become the abbot in the most famous Wushan Temple(五山官寺), and get the honor of purple clothes and the title of national teacher, it will be like a priest in the court. This is the standard course of choosing the Buddha's path. On this path, there are both standard courses and flexible ways. If you cannot understand the operating rules of this system, you will be trapped in a labyrinth of huge monk history materials and you can only see the superficial phenomenon. The development trajectory of the monk's biography, local chronicles, official documents, and monks' collections are drawn out. Only when the rules of the system's operation are clear, the discourse on the history of Buddhism will not be vague and speculative.