[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [大唐內典錄](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2149) › 9.3 # 大唐內典錄 9.3 大唐內典錄 9.3 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [9.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2149.9.3) 序曰。觀夫大聖乘機敷說聲教。離惱為本不在曲繁。故半頌八字。號稱開空法道。一四句偈。喻以全如意珠。廣讀多誦。未免於生源。常不說法。乃聞於具足。是以法行比丘。形于大集之典。捨栰明況。備之般若至乘。斯道顯然由來不沒。會西明寺真懿律師。博見識機通鑒時俗。欲興法藏歲別轉持。然以重譯廣文多生倦怠。告余此致因而演之。然則頃代轉讀多陷廣文。識鈍情浮彌嫌觀博。此並在人勤惰。豈以卷部致懷。何以知耶。故心薄淡者。望卷大而眉顰。志專精者。見帙多而意勇。據斯以論。考性欲之康衢也。原夫五濁交運四惑現行。聖賢晦迹是稱遭命。不可約之以一揆。固得引之以殊途。故知天挺英靈不局言方。陶誘中流存學必假善說津梁。夫以廣略二教。無興極聖之言。知幾其神。已明恒俗之訓。今則去其泰甚隨務行藏。舉大部而攝小經。撮本根而捨枝葉。文雖約而義廣。卷雖少而意多。能使轉讀之士。覽軸日見其功。行福清信。開藏歲增其業。此則卷卷常度。無負施之譏訶。品品情欣。絕厭法之深咎。事不獲已觀機而立。此篇撫應長慨摧折。一何若此。豈不聞龍海藏錄。竟夏尋而不周。鐵圍結法。億象負之莫盡。沮渠巖窟。恒鎮十二寶乘。那伽幽寺。常住億千聖範。東流震旦萬不一來。而厚夜沈冥重於厭怠。無明障深。輕於博觀。自可悲哉。且生滅催切。命報泫露之光。心相不留。興言飛電之頃。隨聞教旨即用循身。略得時緣便依領觀。何暇廣尋聞海通覽法門。故論云。智者應修道剋獲解脫果。然後以多聞而作妙瓔珞。然則凡小使性互有不同。自慨不能靜坐思微。則須披讀經論開決耳目。分解性靈道揚理義。識邪正之方隅。陶化未聞。揚佛宗之位致。此則宅生推日不負遣寄。茲篇成樹同存有歸云爾。 > The preface says: > When we observe how the Great Sage unfolded and preached his audible teachings in accordance with the capacities \[of beings\], liberation from afflictions was the root, not elaborate complexity. Therefore, half a stanza of eight characters was praised as opening the Dharma-path of emptiness, and a single four-line verse was likened to a complete wish-fulfilling jewel. Extensive reading and abundant recitation do not save one from the source of rebirth; yet the constant non-preaching of Dharma is heard in its complete fullness. For this reason, the 'Dharma-practicing monk' is manifested in the canon of the Mahāsaṃnipāta, and the clear metaphor of abandoning the raft is fully set forth in the Supreme Vehicle of Prajñā. This path is manifest and has never been obscured. > > Now, Vinaya Master Zhenyi of Ximing Si is broadly knowledgeable, discerning of capacities, and well-versed in contemporary customs. Wishing to promote the Dharma-store through annual cycles of chanting and recitation, but seeing that voluminous texts from retranslations mostly engender weary negligence, he conveyed this purpose to me, and I accordingly expanded upon it. > > However, in recent times, chanting and recitation mostly become bogged down in voluminous texts; with dull faculties and superficial minds, people increasingly dislike extensive reading. This all depends upon a person's diligence or indolence—how could the mere number of fascicles and volumes cause such worry? How do we know this? Those of shallow and indifferent minds knit their brows upon seeing bulky scrolls, whereas those dedicated to single-minded cultivation feel bold in spirit upon beholding numerous wrappers. Judging from this, we examine the thoroughfares of human inclinations. > > Originally, when the five defilements run their course and the four delusions are active, the obscuration of the traces of the sages and worthies is called meeting with adversity. They cannot be constrained by a single rule, and thus must be guided along diverse paths. Therefore, we know that naturally gifted individuals are not confined by formal speech, while guiding ordinary people in their study inevitably relies on skillful expositions as a bridge. As for the extensive and abbreviated teachings, there are no spoken words of the supreme sage that arise \[in vain\]; knowing the incipient signs with spiritual insight has already made clear the ordinary instruction of the mundane world. > > Now, discarding excess and accommodating practical ministry, we select the great scriptures to subsume the minor sūtras, and grasp the root trunk while setting aside the branches and leaves. Though the text is concise, its meaning is expansive; though the fascicles are few, their purport is profound. This enables practitioners of chanting and recitation to see the efficacy of their scrolls day by day, and virtuous, faithful laypeople to increase their merit year by year as they open the canon. Thus, every fascicle is constantly recited without incurring the rebuke of wasting donations; every chapter brings joy of mind, ending the grave fault of reviling the Dharma. > > This compilation was established out of necessity, observing beings' capacities. Facing the present situation, I sigh deeply at such decline: how has it come to this? Have you not heard that the catalogue of the dragon's ocean-store could not be completely searched even at the end of a summer retreat? When the Dharma was compiled at Mount Cakravāḍa, a hundred million elephants could not carry it all. The rock caves of the Juqu clan forever enshrine the twelve precious vehicles, and the secluded monastery of the Nāga is the permanent abode of hundreds of thousands of sacred standards. When flowing eastward to China, not one in ten thousand arrived; yet in the deep darkness of the thick night, people are weighed down by weariness and neglect; with the veil of ignorance deep, they make light of broad learning. How lamentable indeed! > > Moreover, birth and death press urgently upon us; our karmic life is like the glistening light of morning dew. Mental states do not linger, and speech arises in the span of a flashing lightning bolt. As soon as one hears the doctrinal essentials, one should apply them to cultivate oneself; grasping the timely conditions in brief, one should immediately rely upon them for intuitive contemplation. What leisure is there to broadly fathom the ocean of hearing and survey all Dharma gates? Therefore, the treatise says: > 'A wise person should cultivate the path and attain the fruit of liberation, > and only afterward take broad learning as an exquisite necklace.' > > However, ordinary worldlings and Hīnayāna practitioners differ in their natural dispositions. If one sighs over one's inability to sit quietly and contemplate the subtle truth, one must open and read the sūtras and śāstras to enlighten the eyes and ears, illuminate one's spiritual nature, propagate principle and righteousness, discern the directions of heterodoxy and orthodoxy, transform those who have not yet heard, and exalt the rank and purport of the Buddha's tradition. Thus, as life progresses day by day, one will not fail what has been entrusted. This compilation has been established so that all may have a common refuge. > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 9.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2149.9.2) - [Next: 9.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2149.9.4) - [Up: 9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2149.9) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2149~en-mt.9.3) — English, machine translation --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2149.9.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2149.9.3) · Pramāṇa