出三藏記集 12.41

12.41

Now, the sūtra collections are vast, and the records and chronicles are multitudinous. They are that whereby the path is conveyed to all quarters and instructions are revealed to later students. The circumstances under which the teachings were established are fully and brightly illuminated; the origins of the affairs that guide the worldly are richly and completely preserved. However, the eminent and virtuous lecturing masters sharpen their minds exclusively on profound doctrines, while novices and late learners dedicate their wills solely to chanting and recitation. As a consequence, concerning the ordinary practices of the Dharma gate, people practice them month by month without recognizing their origin; and regarding the constant rituals of the saṅgha, people make daily use of them without knowing their beginning. Is this not deeply lamentable? Following my own disposition, my achievements fall far short of broad learning, yet in the intervals between the six periods of devotion, I have preserved a habit of inquiring and perusing. Thereupon, examining and perusing the circumstances of affairs to investigate their roots, I took up brush and ink to indulge what I delight in. I hoped to illuminate the beginning so as to verify the end, and to clarify the ancient so as to attest to the present. As for assemblies for scripture chanting and guides, gatherings of the Dragon-Flower sacred assembly, procedures for bodhisattvas receiving precepts, and teachings on halting evil and cultivating good—some originated with emperors and monarchs, while others accumulated merit among the common populace. All are the foundational traces of the Eightfold Noble Path and the broad thoroughfares of the Ten Powers. Although matters depend on outward forms, their merit spans empty space. The flourishing of the Song and the Qi truly propagated this Dharma; when the Great Liang received the mandate, its guidance surpassed a hundred kings: its spiritual teaching pervaded everywhere, and its wise transformation secretly exerted its influence. From my youth to my old age, I have witnessed three successive dynasties. I have constantly wished that the precious instructions of the One Vehicle would remain ever-new with Heaven and Earth, and that the glorious deeds of the four assemblies would shine perpetually alongside the sun and the moon. Therefore, I recorded ancient affairs to manifest these supreme conditions. Because its items are mixed and manifold, it is called the Garden of Dharma (Fayuan); divided into categories, it forms ten fascicles in all. How could it be adequate to present to those of profound discernment? It is merely to be shared among my fellow companions.