佛祖統紀 8.12

8.12

傳聖人之道者。其要在乎明教觀而已。上尊龍樹下逮荊溪。九世而祖之宜矣。至於邃修二師。相繼講演不墜素業。會昌之厄教卷散亡。外琇竦三師唯傳止觀之道。螺溪之世。賴吳越王求遺書於海東。而諦觀自高麗。持教卷用還於我。於是祖道復大振。四明中興實有以資之也。是諸師者。或顯或晦。述而不作稱之曰祖蓋傳授有所繼。正統有所繫也。撰興道下八祖紀。

For those who transmit the Way of the sages, the essential point lies simply in elucidating doctrine and contemplation. Looking upward to Nāgārjuna and downward to Jingxi, it is fitting that they are revered as patriarchs across nine generations. As for the two masters, Sui and Xiu, they successively lectured and expounded without letting the original enterprise fall to ruin. In the disaster of the Huichang era, the doctrinal scrolls were dispersed and lost; Masters Wai, Xiu, and Song transmitted solely the path of calming and contemplation. In the era of Luoxi, relying on the King of Wu-Yue who sought the lost texts from across the eastern sea, Diguan came from Goryeo bringing the doctrinal scrolls back to us. Thereupon the Way of the patriarchs was greatly revitalized once more, and Siming's revival truly relied on this support. These various masters, whether prominent or obscure, transmitted without inventing, and their being styled 'patriarchs' is because the transmission had continuity and the orthodox lineage had its succession. I have composed this 'Chronicle of the Eight Patriarchs from Xingdao Downward'.