佛祖統紀 1.9

1.9

Participating in the capacities of Heaven and Earth, presiding over the transformation of the ten thousand things, sharing equal merit while holding different stations—is this not the domain of humanity alone? Therefore, since living beings first existed, for the ignorant masses, great persons had to be established as their rulers and shepherds. Thus the four wheel-turning kings governed the four continents, and millet-scattered monarchs occupied the outlying domains. As for Cīnasthāna in the southern continent, it was truly the realm of gentlemen in the East. Fuxi was called Sovereign and first drew the eight trigrams; coming down to the Three Dynasties, culture and institutions shone brightly. When our Bhagavat arose in Tianzhu, about to bestow his teaching upon this land, he first dispatched the three sages to be fine guides for the world, using rites and music as the vanguard and the true Dao as the later teaching. When capacities matured and the time arrived, the Great Dharma could be practiced. Thereupon the Han emperor received the auspicious omen of a dream, and Mātanga answered the destiny of coming east. From the Wei and Jin onward, scriptures were extensively translated, and eminent masters vied in ascending the lecture seats. Although each established doors of doctrinal meaning and achieved fame in their era, they were still obscure concerning the Tathāgata's intent behind his lifetime of teaching. Then Tiantai was born, continuing and elevating the fortune of the Dharma. Taking the five periods and eight teachings, the four kinds of samādhi, and the doctrines of the inherent integration of phenomena and principle and the non-duality of object and contemplation, he made them the foundation for later students to enter the Dao. Masters across successive generations treasured this great instruction; down to the present, for seven hundred years, they have maintained it without decline. Hanlin Academician Master Liang said, "For those who discuss the Buddha-Dharma, if they take Tiantai as their compass, then divergent paths and opposing theories will often fall silent." How true this discourse is! Clutching the surviving writings and having long studied under his master, Zhipan constantly reflected: if the traces of the transmissions of the Buddhas and patriarchs are not chronicled, how will later generations hear of them? In the past, Liangzhu's composition of the *Zhengtong* roughly established the formal rules, yet its doctrinal meaning was flawed and its style coarse; Jing'an's compilation of the *Zongyuan* only arranged biographical texts, and its language was base and its details sparse. As for omissions left uncollected, all suffered from these defects. Thereupon, taking from both houses, excising and supplementing, and following the methods of standard histories, I composed a work of a single house. It begins with the Great Sage Śākya and concludes with Fazhi: one Buddha and twenty-nine patriarchs, all entitled Basic Annals, in order to clarify the matters of conversion and connect the lineage of the Dao. As for the collateral branches of the patriarchs, they form the Hereditary Houses; from Guangzhi onward, they form the Biographies. Renowned words and virtuous deeds are all included in this tradition. The accounts of the Tables and Treatises are not of a single category of meaning; they are fully presented in the General Principles, so they can be known by category. Furthermore, using the annalistic method, starting from King Zhao of Zhou down to our present dynasty, I separately created the Treatise on the Prosperity and Decline of the Dharma. The institutional establishments of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, and the founding of the schools of Chan, Teaching, and Vinaya, are unified and brought together, none failing to be fully recorded. It is titled the *Fozu tongji*, comprising fifty-four fascicles in all. The Annals, Biographies, and Hereditary Houses model themselves upon the Grand Historian [Sima Qian]; the Treatise on Prosperity and Decline models itself upon Duke Sima [Guang]. When the book was completed, I carried my book-boxes and went to the Baiyun Hall, respectfully requesting Dharma Master Foguang to collate and examine it; and fellows of like mind joined together to carve the blocks in hopes of circulating it, intending that every family possess a copy and everyone read this book, opening the spiritual nature of human minds and assisting the governance and transformation of the state. Could this not be said to be of great benefit to the world? Since the *wuwu* year of the Baoyou era when I first began drafting and editing, ten flowing years have passed, and it was transcribed five times to become a draft. Continuing night into day, the effort was truly doubled, reverently repaying the Buddha's kindness above, and requiting above the power of the Emperor, not falling short of what I have learned. My aspiration lies herein.