法華傳記 2.22

2.22

On the tenth day of the eighth month in the seventh year of the Taikang era, the Yuezhi Bodhisattva of Dunhuang [Dharmarakṣa] exhausted his intelligence to dwell his mind [therein]. Yet the function of receiving and retaining is easy to maintain, while the labor of remembering and deliberating is difficult to control. Were it not for prajñā shining forth, hearing and wisdom possessing dhāraṇī, and engraving them in the treasury of thoughts, how could one cause the encounter with opportunities to remain unforgotten and the spiritual union to be undimmed? Therefore, with paper and ink we record the words beyond the text, relying on the assembly's hearing to assemble the account of accomplished events. Being detailed rather than concise is to avoid omitting the events; being plain rather than ornate is to give weight to the meaning. Its purport is subtle and graceful, its eloquence broad yet obscure; had it not been written down by brush, how could it be endured? Therefore, right in the sequence of lectures, we drafted this as a record, hoping that worthy persons of thorough discernment will not fault its detail and lack of conciseness.