大唐內典錄 9.3

9.3

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.