貞元新定釋教目錄 23.21

23.21

傳記錄者。佛圓寂後聖賢弟子之所撰集。雖非三藏正典。然亦助揚玄化。於此之中總為五類。一讚佛德。二明法真理。三述僧行軌。四摧邪護法。五外宗異執。讚佛德者佛所行讚傳釋迦譜等也。明法理者修行道地經經律異相等也。述僧行者龍樹馬鳴法顯玄奘等傳也。摧邪護法者辯正弘明破邪辯惑論等也。外宗異計者數勝二論是也以類科分莫過此五。五中所辯通大小乘。又於此中更開二例。梵本翻譯者居先。此土傳揚者於後。庶東西不雜覽者除疑焉。

As for records and biographies, they were composed and compiled by holy and worthy disciples after the Buddha entered parinirvāṇa. Although they are not canonical scriptures of the Tripiṭaka, they nevertheless assist in propagating the profound transformation. Among these, there are five categories in all: first, praising the Buddha's virtues; second, elucidating the true principle of the Dharma; third, narrating the conduct and rules of the Saṅgha; fourth, crushing heterodoxy and protecting the Dharma; fifth, divergent views of non-Buddhist traditions. Those praising the Buddha's virtues are such works as the Buddhacarita-saṅgraha and the Shijia pu (Genealogy of Śākyamuni). Those elucidating the principle of the Dharma are such works as the Xiuxing daodi jing (Yogācārabhūmi-sūtra) and the Jinglü yixiang (Different Marks of Sūtras and Vinayas). Those narrating the conduct of the Saṅgha are the biographies of Nāgārjuna, Aśvaghoṣa, Faxian, Xuanzang, and others. Those crushing heterodoxy and protecting the Dharma are treatises such as the Bianzheng lun, the Hongming ji, the Poxie lun, and the Bianhuo lun. Those on the divergent views of non-Buddhist traditions are the two treatises of Sāṃkhya and Vaiśeṣika. Classifying them by category does not exceed these five. What is explained within these five encompasses both the Mahāyāna and the Hīnayāna. Furthermore, within this section two patterns are further divided: those translated from Indic texts are placed first, and those transmitted and propagated in this land are placed after, so that east and west are not mixed and readers may dispel their doubts.