出三藏記集 12.4

12.4

Now, when the spiritual source opens its moisture, the myriad streams branch and scatter; when the profound root nurtures shoots, a thousand branches gather like clouds. Why is this so? It is because when the root is great, the branches flourish, and when the foundation is far-reaching, the lineage is long. Ever since the sacred texts were moved by the divine to stand out preeminent above worldly scriptures, from the Han down to the Liang, eras have witnessed enlightened sages; though dark monastic robes and plain lay garments differ in path, they converge on the same goal. Lecturing, disputing, praising, and analyzing grew ever finer with each generation; commenting, annotating, refining, and polishing saw every person vie in precision. Therefore, the abundance of records and treatises fills pavilions and packs chambers, and the proliferation of writings and prefaces fills carts and burdens axles. Emperor Ming of the Song set his mind upon the pure realm and repeatedly savoured the profound flavour. He thereupon ordered Palace Cadet Lu Cheng to compile and catalogue the Dharma collections. Lu, with broad knowledge and erudition, encompassed all writings, grading titles and categories and dividing them according to meaning, making sixteen cases and one hundred and three scrolls in all. His interpolations and emendations of ancient and modern works were indeed thorough. Now, relying on his original catalogue, they are appended here. Although not primary sūtras, they aid and extol moral transformation; they may truly be called the feathers and heralds of the sacred canons, the sentries and guards of the Dharma gate, sufficient to illuminate past lineages and instruct future students. Therefore they are appended at the end of the Tripiṭaka Collection to broaden the survey of its branches and leaves.