大唐內典錄 8.3

8.3

Preface: Since the initial catalogue, the imperial eras have been clearly set forth. As for the entries, however, they were mixed and interlaced, and thus truly difficult to sort out. This was because, following the translators and the eras in which the treatises, sūtras, commentaries, and compilations were produced, they were not confined to an orderly sequence. Consequently, catalogues compiled on their basis had no way of obtaining distinct divisions. Now, following the distinction between Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna and according to whether the translations are single or retranslations, sūtras, vinayas, śāstras, and historical records are clearly differentiated. Still following older precedents, I have not dared to innovate radically, intending to instruct those who have not yet heard and let it be known that this was not done arbitrarily. Entering the canon according to these distinctions, they are arrayed on shelves facing one another; bundles, scrolls, labels, and tags clearly show their titles. When required, one can readily pull and inspect them, eliminating confusion entirely. Now, ordinary consciousness is dimmed and confused, and depends profoundly on the development of wisdom. "Teaching without distinction of class" is a common worldly saying. Yet talented minds of recent generations, endowed with uncommon intellectual penetration, have lapsed into scholarly indolence and neglected reading. With more than three thousand fascicles of scriptures currently entered into the canon, having never studied them through, where is their luminous wisdom to come from? They squander an entire lifetime, vainly exercising the six senses. Failing to distinguish the unorthodox from the orthodox, truth and falsehood are mingled in confusion. Drifting along with worldly ways, they have no means of returning to the origin. How regrettable! How can they comprehend the essential pathways of the Tripiṭaka, or penetrate the fundamental compass of the three trainings? Inwardly, they fail their initial resolve; outwardly, they have nothing to govern later minds. Nowadays, none of these [practices] are followed; instead, they claim the five sensory objects are the very foundation of the Path, indulging and clinging without letting go, as though truly holy. The parable of "stealing robes" has already been manifested in the Daśacakra, and the mockery of "birds and rats" is further revealed in the Buddhapiṭaka. Burdened by this physical body, one cannot avoid wearing clothes; strained by mouth and belly, one cannot avoid eating. The means of liberation are cut off, and calculations within the net of delusion grow deeper. Even a single cup of water was long ago restricted by the Sage; a single patch-robe was enjoined by scriptural passages to be worn. One has already whittled away one's footing in both the unseen and visible realms, and will reap suffering in the future. Before the spirit has transcended rebirth, where can one escape one's traces? Long ago, I heard that Xiao Li, a layman, read more than thirty thousand fascicles of books, while Huifei, a surviving monk of the Final Dharma, copied more than two thousand scrolls by hand. What manner of men were they, to be so superior? What manner of men are these today, to be so inferior? The decadent customs of a degenerate age are hardly worth discussing; yet by looking up to lofty mountains, one might hope to offer correction and admonishment. When have good spiritual friends of complete pure conduct ever been lacking? Standards for following the stream have been present in every dynasty. One should certainly always make the mind one's teacher and master sensory circumstances; one must rein in one's path, so how could one let oneself be driven by others? To read the sacred sūtras of the three quarters, to investigate the three thousand rules of the vinaya, to traverse the long journey of the three asaṃkhyeya kalpas, and to reach the enlightenment grounds of the three Buddhas—since this Path has not perished, how can one turn one's back on it and cast it aside? I have made these analogies for readers to examine thoroughly. Now, summarising the older sūtras already translated, they are detailed in the separate sections. As for subsequent translations from Yuhua whose new texts have not yet been inspected, they will be appended as they appear, naturally following subsequent records.