開元釋教錄 13.18

13.18

Regarding biographical accounts and records: they were compiled by sage and worthy disciples after the Buddha entered parinirvāṇa. Although they are not canonical scriptures of the tripiṭaka proper, they nevertheless assist in propagating the profound transformation. Among these, there are five general categories: first, praising the Buddha's virtues; second, elucidating the true principle of the Dharma; third, describing the exemplary conduct and rules of the Saṅgha; fourth, vanquishing heterodoxy and protecting the Dharma; fifth, non-Buddhist tenets and divergent doctrines. Those that praise the Buddha's virtues are such works as the [Buddhacarita-]kāvya, [Buddhacarita-]avadāna, and the Shijia pu. Those that elucidate the principle of the Dharma are such works as the Xiuxing daodi jing and the Jinglü yixiang. Those that describe the conduct of the Saṅgha are the biographies of Nāgārjuna, Aśvaghoṣa, Faxian, Xuanzang, and others. Those that vanquish heterodoxy and protect the Dharma are such works as the Bianzheng lun, the Hongming ji, the Poxie lun, and the Bianhuo lun. Those of non-Buddhist tenets and divergent doctrines are the two śāstras of Sāṃkhya and Vaiśeṣika. Classifying them by category, they do not exceed these five. What is expounded among the five categories applies to both Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna. Furthermore, within these, two additional subcategories are distinguished: those translated from Sanskrit originals come first, while those composed and propagated in this land follow after, so that east and west are not confused, and readers may resolve their doubts.