佛祖統紀 34.3

34.3

The preface says: The Way of the Buddha is originally eternal, yet it has never departed from the shifting vicissitudes of worldly appearances. Since Śākya[muni] at the Crane Forest, the various patriarchs have appeared in succession, whereby they transmitted and preserved this Way, which flowed east to Cīnasthāna and down to the present day without ceasing. In general, sage rulers and worthy ministers, having formerly received the Buddha's entrustment, have constantly revered it, whereas those of Confucian lineage and Daoist current whose faith was incomplete have occasionally denounced and attacked it; yet in the end they could never eradicate it, because this Way is originally eternal. Now, the world speaks of the 'three teachings,' maintaining that all are sufficient to educate the world, yet all experience prosperity and obstruction—this is also caused by the times. By detailing the traces of the three teachings and exploring the convergence of the single Principle, appended in chronological order, one may observe the signs of their prosperity and obstruction.