No. 978-A天台四教儀集註序
Preface to the Collected Commentary on the Tiantai Four Teachings
天台四教儀者。實教門之要道也。自昔至今。註釋者眾。或略而不備。或博而太繁。矧又節去正文。但標初後。苟非精誦者。莫之能閱也。今集諸部之文。註於其下。將無便於披覽者歟。其間一二。與諸家有同異者。蓋述所聞於先德。非任胸臆也。若夫文末正修。初乘觀法。文雖簡約。理亦備焉。諸新學人。究心於茲。忘言忘思。筌罤俱擲。奚以是為然能爾也。則無適而不可。亦豈離是云乎哉。
The *Tiantai Four Teachings Manual* is truly an essential guide to the doctrinal gateways. From ancient times to the present, many have offered commentaries on it. Some are too brief and incomplete, while others are excessively broad and detailed. Worse still, some have removed the main text itself, only marking the beginning and end—unless one has already memorized the text, it is nearly impossible to read.
Now I have gathered passages from various related texts and placed them as annotations beneath the main text. Might this not make it easier for readers to browse? Here and there, my interpretations may differ from other scholars’—this is because I am transmitting what I have learned from the wise teachers of old, not giving free rein to my own opinions.
As for the final section on proper cultivation and the initial method of contemplative practice, although the text is concise, it contains the complete principles. Let newcomers devote their minds thoroughly to this. Let them forget the words and abandon conceptual thought, casting aside both the fishing net and the fish trap. But even if one can do this—what then? One will find that no approach is inappropriate, nor is there any need to depart from this teaching.
時元統甲戌夏五。南天竺白蓮華沙門蒙潤謹序。No. 978
In the summer of the first year of the Yuan統 era (1334), I, Meng Run, a monk of the White Lotus Order from Southern India, humbly write this preface.
天台四教儀科文
Tiantai Four Teachings Outline
南天竺沙門蒙潤排定
Arranged by Mengrun, Monk of Southern India