法界次第初門 1.2

1.2

The monk Śramaṇa Zhiyi of Xiuchan Temple on Mount Tiantai, venturing to rely upon the sūtras and accord with the treatises, has compiled the Introductory Gate to the Sequence of the Dharmadhātu in three hundred items, arranged into seven fascicles, to circulate among beginners. There are roughly three purposes: first, for those reading sūtras and searching treatises who encounter teaching gates as they come and might be confused by their terms and numbers; second, for those who do not yet understand the sequence of shallowness and depth among the teaching gates established by the sacred teachings; and third, for those practicing the threefold contemplation, who ought to run through their minds and apply these names, marks, and doctrinal principles of the various dharmas one by one, so that their contemplative understanding will be unimpeded and they will not be deluded when encountering objects. If within a single thought-moment one thoroughly penetrates all Buddha-dharmas, then the threefold contemplation will naturally be completely clear. Therefore, setting forth the nominal teachings of these three hundred items, I have further distinguished their essence and characteristics in brief under each term, which so far amounts to three fascicles.