續高僧傳 1.3

1.3

Fundamentally, the ultimate Way is without words, yet without words, how could one regulate the world? Words serve solely to guide practice, and it is upon practice that words are established. Therefore, the five stations were arranged to elevate sages and worthies, and the four reliances were manifested to perpetuate human beings and the Dharma. The Dragon Chart inaugurated the gradual unfolding of the Great Changes; the Turtle Writings initiated the application of the constant norms. Coming down to the Uncrowned King continuing the precedent, the former masters set forth his four categories; Master Ban composed expressions, and later generations promoted his nine classes. All of these are the constant regulations of transforming through the Way, and the expedient aims of words and deeds. Now, as for the shining illumination of the Great Awakened One: his transformation spread across the western lands, and his traces succeeded in the eastern rivers. Surpassing the middle antiquity, it becomes ever fresher; traversing the Chinese lands, it grows ever more flourishing. Although responsive manifestations shift between existence and extinction, and the Dharma covers both the degenerate and the pure, this is indeed the broad highway for beneficial appearance, the grand strategy for remedying deficiency. Thus, it causes masters who embody the Way and admire his influence, as well as visitors who are stirred by resonance and shadow, to meet in right understanding and establish words, to tap the dark mystery and assume appellations. Their virtues fill the universe, and their spirits outshine the unseen and the manifest. Their painted images shine brightly in vermilion and cyan; their wisdom gleams upon oiled silk. Truly, details may be found in the scriptural collections, yet none have yet compiled their systematic rubrics. I submit that the Congling River marks the boundary of the Jambudvīpa continent, and customs diverge between China and India. When Hua-xu lists genealogies, none are grounded except on the sages—the texts of which are the Traditions of the Transmission of the Dharma through the Twenty-Four Reliances. That which is recorded in the Divine Land mixes the worthy with the foolish—the titles and references of which are the various catalogues compiled during the Six Dynasties. Yet, taking the main threads of these overall and synthesizing their ultimate import, none fail to stimulate the benighted mind and encompass the correct principles, enabling those of clumsy gait to reach all nine directions and discern the noble footprints that may be followed, and those whose eyes race everywhere to look up and rest at the towering mountains. Formerly, in the Liang, Śramaṇa Shi Baochang of Jinling composed the Mingseng zhuan, and Shi Huijiao of Kuaiji composed the Gaoseng zhuan. Initiating diverse classifications, they appraised continuous currents; their investigations were worthy of scrutiny, their florid and plain styles well grounded. Yet their compilations gathered from Wu and Yue, but were brief and omitted Wei and Yan. This was truly because their broad observations were not exhaustive, so they made selections merely according to what they heard. Furthermore, during the height of the Liang dynasty, illustrious virtues were abundant, but a meager few were recorded, their numbers by no means thorough. This is the mutual belittling among contemporaries, a state of affairs accumulated since long ago. The Central Plains remained concealed and summarized, without transmitting records; when the age lacked broad erudition, who could compile a register for them? Consequently, the lofty demeanor of successive generations was swept away into antiquity. In the years of my youth, I paid heed to these writings; though following ancestral traditions remained, comprehensive ordering was lacking. I therefore relied upon various eminent figures, awaiting the drying of the green bamboo slips. Yet minds were unsettled, each following partial rivalries; distant reports were turned into documents, and successive records followed one another. However, creation envies those who cry out first, and the boat hidden in the marsh swiftly slips away; vainly holding long-cherished intentions, one ultimately wastes time. Daring with my lack of talent, I have ventured to set down notes, collecting sparse things seen and heard, and binding bamboo and leather according to the events. It is hoped that the successive generations may thereby gain a crowning adornment. From Emperor Ming of Han's dream of the sun down to Emperor Wu of Liang's glorious possession, the histories of the Buddhist order across the various eras have all circulated. Examining and weighing them, I drew upon their ancient facts; editing and revising them, I abridged previous reports. Thus, I was able to compile following the pioneers and speak forthrightly of the Great Jewel. In this degenerate age, minds are fettered, valuing reputation and worldly fame heavily; as for gathering together exemplary winds, the continuation has almost completely broken off. Only at the beginning of the Sui was there the śramaṇa Shi Lingyu of Wei Commandery, whose exemplary bearing in compiling writings showed an intention to expand broad methods. He composed the Records of the Ten Virtues in one fascicle, but it selectively narrated only the preceptors of the Court of National Monastic Affairs and did not broadly propagate or illuminate the overarching tradition. The rest were merely isolated subsidiary texts and brief accounts of conduct, which ultimately did not attain a lofty perspective; this may truly cause one to sigh deeply. Hence, those writers who took up the brush all stopped upon gazing at the cliff—and was this not indeed so? Now, in what I have composed, fearing that the continuity of the former threads might be lost, I had no choice but to set it forth. Some parts were widely consulted with elder masters, some inquired of travelers, some described directly from what I witnessed, and some investigated and collated from collected biographies. The northern and southern dynastic histories furnished supplementary accounts of their fine reputations; suburban stone stelae displayed their admirable virtues. In all cases, I gathered their aspirations and conduct, and highlighted their capacities and methods. The wording abridges the verbose, while the accounts integrate both the unpolished and the refined, sufficient to let them succeed the former virtuous and truly instruct future listeners. Beginning with the early fortune of the Liang and ending in the nineteenth year of the Zhenguan reign of the Tang, covering one hundred and forty-four years, it embraces mountains and rivers and visits both China and abroad, comprising three hundred and forty primary biographies and one hundred and sixty supplementary figures. Arranging and expounding them, they are divided broadly into ten categories: first, Translation of Scriptures; second, Doctrinal Exegesis; third, Practice of Meditation; fourth, Exposition of the Vinaya; fifth, Defense of the Dharma; sixth, Spiritual Resonance; seventh, Abandonment of the Body; eighth, Cantillation and Recitation; ninth, Promotion of Merit; and tenth, Miscellaneous Categories. In all these ten categories, it is rare in the world for one to combine all excellences. Now, turning to the most outstanding among them, they are classified according to the chapters. Since the accounts of the former biography, the general precedents have already been promulgated; the balancing and adjustments truly comply with broad regulations. Furthermore, the two arts of scriptural study and the Way shine upon the fine shoots, while the single category of Defense of the Dharma serves as the main cord of the correct net. In appending them to the accounts, which achievement could not be considered merit? Selecting their grand models for lifting hindrances, they may surely be marked in their proper ranks. The rest establish headings in accordance with goodness, without competing with contemporary needs. Propagating teachings accommodates the sentiments of beings; regarding the essentials, resolving disputes and maintaining serenity are grouped together in the final categories to distinguish worldly affairs. As for those who concealed their light among towering peaks, worshipped by the hundred spirits, whose extraordinary spirit transcended mountains and rivers, and whose chaste integrity dissolved into thickets—causing their voices to echo in dark valleys and their spirits to roam among purple vapors, bidding lofty farewell to Song and Qiao, and looking down upon impoverished ruts—all of these are detailed in separate records; how could they be suppressed from mention? Or again, there were those who hid their traces in city walls and sank into floating vulgarity; their flourishing achievements were worthy of listing, yet they rarely met with praise. Therefore, gathering the records of their conduct and character, I have tentatively established ten categories, combining them into three sets, entitled the Continued Biographies of Eminent Monks. If one seeks to investigate the sources and branches, analyze the canons and rules, weave refined words, and polish conduct and practice, these are fully provided in the treatise that follows, where they are further discussed and cited. If events were continually appended throughout the regular chapters, it would ultimately become a waste of words; hence, they have been excised just as in the former biography. Still, I regret that reaching the period of the final Dharma, although renowned monks have emerged in the world, their fine models have not been witnessed, and some have been lost from the records. May future like-minded persons also sprinkle their thoughts upon this.