景德傳燈錄 1.20

1.20

古佛應世。綿歷無窮。不可以周知而悉數也。故近譚賢劫有千如來。暨于釋迦。但紀七佛。案長阿含經云。七佛精進力。放光滅暗冥。各各坐諸樹。於中成正覺。又曼殊室利為七佛祖師。金華善慧大士。登松山頂行道。感七佛引前維摩接後。今之撰述。斷自七佛而下。

Ancient Buddhas appeared in the world across boundless spans of time; they cannot be completely known or fully enumerated. Therefore, recent discussions of the Bhadrakalpa hold that there are one thousand Tathāgatas, but down to Śākyamuni, only seven Buddhas are recorded. According to the Dīrghāgama Sūtra, it says: 'By the vigor of the seven Buddhas, / They emit light and extinguish darkness. / Each seated under various trees, / Therein they achieved right enlightenment.' Furthermore, Mañjuśrī is the ancestral teacher of the seven Buddhas. When the Great Being Shanhui of Jinhua climbed the summit of Mount Song to practice the Way, he moved the seven Buddhas to lead before him and Vimalakīrti to follow behind. The present compilation begins definitively with the seven Buddhas and continues downward.