釋氏要覽序
Preface to the Essential Guide for Buddhists
功德主仙林住山壇主愚極宣德郎守尚書屯田員外郎上輕車都尉崔(育林)撰
Eulogy by Merit Donor Xianlin, Mountain Retreat Master Yuji, Imperial Secretariat Gentleman for Meritorious Service, Acting Vice Director of the Ministry of Public Works, and Supreme Light Chariot Commandant, Cui (Yu Lin) (Yulin)
昔我佛。妙正三身。圓成四智。不泥洹而自證。運漚和以度人。敷顯萬法。指真實際。導誨群性。了根本空。設三昧之門。嚴具足之相。盡有為之執。歸無生之忍。宗會覺海。實蕃淨徒。迨乎寂滅示往。結集垂言。經論以祖述。教法以摽闡。其為大也。至極含受而不可限量。其為小也。細而不遺視之弗見。窮無央之劫不可壞。終內有之識不能稱錯綜端緒。雖惟逮而莫周。恢博開解。非超越而不至。將不由徑儔為所依。則今要覽可由而致之也。靡涉西流知五竺之本末。不游法藏明萬行之節制。動息隨用而立軌。修習知趣而不迷。包括微著。詮乘諦以證之。昭灼品例。卷上下以勻之覽之者。猶若太陽升而萬境廓然矣。謂曰。真如非在句義。且夫一切之法。無礙相中。非學非知。應學應知。去聖彌遠。毛角差別。雖學雖知然後不足罔有行(去聲)向未臻而遠離於學可也。因地果位。繫之在功。今 誠公大師。博富於有聞。法施而留志。承佛威力。載集斯要。曰智曰慧。孰謂不敏。時 皇宋天禧四載李秋既望序而引之。
In the past, our Buddha, with his wondrous and true Three Bodies and perfectly realized Four Wisdoms, attained self-realization without entering Nirvana, and through skillful means, he saved beings. He expounded the myriad dharmas, pointing to the true reality, guiding and instructing all beings to understand the fundamental emptiness. He established the gates of samadhi, adorned the marks of perfection, exhausted all conditioned attachments, and returned to the patience of the unborn. He gathered and united the ocean of enlightenment, truly nurturing pure followers.
After his Parinirvana, the teachings were compiled and passed down. The sutras and treatises transmitted his legacy, and the Dharma was proclaimed and elucidated. It is vast, containing the ultimate and immeasurable; it is subtle, so fine that it cannot be seen, yet nothing is overlooked. Through endless kalpas, it remains indestructible; within the limits of consciousness, it cannot be fully described. Though intricate and profound, it cannot be fully encompassed; broad and expansive in understanding, it cannot be reached without transcending.
If one does not follow the path and rely on guidance, how can one attain the essential overview presented here? Without crossing the western streams, one can know the origins and ends of the Five Indias; without wandering through the Dharma treasury, one can understand the disciplines of myriad practices. Actions and rest are established according to their use; cultivation and practice proceed without confusion. It encompasses the subtle and the manifest, interpreting the vehicles and truths to verify them. It clarifies categories and examples, dividing them into volumes for balanced study. Those who read it will feel as if the sun has risen, illuminating all realms.
It is said: True Suchness is not found in words and meanings. Yet, within all dharmas, in the unimpeded state, there is neither learning nor knowing, yet one should learn and know. As we move further from the sages, distinctions and variations arise. Though we learn and know, it is still insufficient; without practice and aspiration, one may drift far from learning. The cause-ground and the fruit-stage depend on effort.
Now, the Venerable Master Cheng, rich in learning and devoted to the Dharma, relying on the Buddha's power, has compiled this essential guide. Who would say that wisdom and insight are not keen? In the fourth year of the Tianxi era of the Great Song Dynasty, on the sixteenth day of the seventh month, this preface is composed to introduce it.
釋氏要覽卷上
Essential Buddhist Knowledge, Volume 1
建康天禧講下聚公講主助緣錢塘月輪山居講經論賜紫沙門釋道誠 集
Collection by the Venerable Monk Shidaocheng of Yue Lun Mountain in Qiantang, Granted Purple Robes, Who Expounds Sutras
道誠自委講 京寺。東歸維桑。始寓龍華禪府。後住月輪蘭若。中間十年。寂絕外事。唯讀藏經日為常課酬昔志也。然則臨文昧義。猶渴夫飲河。但能滿腹。不知其深廣焉。或見出家人須知之事。隨便抄錄之。洎天禧三年秋。
Dao Cheng, having personally entrusted the lecture to the capital temple, returned east to his hometown. He first stayed at Longhua Chan Monastery, and later resided at Yuelun Hermitage. For the intervening ten years, he cut off all external affairs, devoting himself solely to reading the Buddhist canon as his daily practice, fulfilling his long-held aspiration. However, when faced with the texts, he often found the meaning obscure, like a thirsty man drinking from a river—able to quench his thirst but unaware of its depth and breadth. Whenever he came across matters that an ordained person should know, he would casually make a note of them. By the autumn of the third year of the Tianxi era,
皇上覃昭曠之恩。普度我天下童行。因是。讎文以類相從。兼益諸家傳記書疏節文。分為二十七篇。析為三卷。題曰釋氏要覽焉。且恤創入法門者。皆所未知苟或玩此典。言藏諸靈府。則終身免竊服之誚矣。或通才碩學。豈以誠之微而廢 聖人之言也云爾。
The Emperor has bestowed his vast and far-reaching grace, universally liberating all the novice monks across the land. For this reason, I have compiled related texts and documents, supplementing them with various biographies, letters, and excerpts from other sources. These are organized into twenty-seven chapters, divided into three volumes, and titled *Essentials for Buddhists*. Moreover, I have taken care to address what newcomers to the Dharma may not yet know. If one studies this scripture and internalizes its teachings, they will be spared the reproach of wearing the monastic robe in vain. Even those of great learning and talent should not dismiss the words of the sages as trivial.