大唐內典錄 10.7

10.7

大智度論明十二部經中。乃至後代凡聖解釋佛語。斯即是第十二部優波提舍經。據唐言譯云論議也。深有所以名之為議。義取慧解通敏能之。非彼庸疎而得陳迹。故佛經東漸。自漢至唐。年過六百代經偏正道俗歸信森若繁雲。毘贊正理弘揚大化。世高創述於緣理。斖斖惟良。釋安甄解於持心。超然孤逈。㳂斯以降代有人焉。約准卷收將二千卷。今人澆薄多不鏡尋。致令前錄同所輕削。所以通法不能開俗。如不編次則相從埋沒。昔齊末梁初。有鍾山定林寺僧祐律師。弘護在懷。綜拾遺逸。纘述經誥。不負來寄。今敘其所綴為始。餘則附錄列之。

The Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa clarifies that among the twelve divisions of scriptures, even up to later generations, explanations of the Buddha's words by ordinary beings and sages constitute the twelfth division, the upadeśa scriptures. In Tang speech, this is translated as 'treatises and discussions' (lunyi). There is a profound reason for calling them 'discussions': their meaning requires penetrating acumen and agile wisdom to be capable of it; it is not something that the clumsy or mediocre can set forth. Thus, as the Buddhist scriptures flowed eastwards from the Han to the Tang, over more than six hundred years, through both legitimate and illegitimate dynasties, clerics and laypersons turned in faith as dense as gathering clouds, assisting the correct principle and propagating the great transformation. An Shigao first authored treatises on conditional principles, working tirelessly and solely for good; Dao'an discerningly explained the regulation of the mind, standing aloof and solitary. From then on, each dynasty has had its notable figures. Reckoned by fascicles, they amount to nearly two thousand fascicles. People of today are frivolous and shallow, rarely examining them thoroughly, which led earlier catalogues to belittle and eliminate them together. Consequently, those who understand the Dharma cannot open the minds of the worldly; if these works are not arranged in order, they will all be buried and lost. In the past, at the end of the Qi and the beginning of the Liang, there was the Vinaya Master Sengyou of Dinglin Si on Mount Zhong, who kept the propagation and protection of the Dharma in his heart, gathered the lost and missing, and compiled and transmitted the scriptural proclamations without disappointing the trust placed in him. Now I take what he compiled as the starting point, and append the rest in order.