御製重訂教乘法數序 辱一
Imperial Preface to the Revised Dharma Enumeration
佛法廣大如法界究竟如虛空不涉名言豈存數量苐以病脉千源醫方萬品欲詳對治之門湏設投症之藥所以乘分三五味辨異同瑜伽唯識窮百法五位諸識之宗龍𣗳馬鳴剖三細六粗一心之旨非緣逐末正為尋根且等覺菩薩尚遊幻網之門已極至聖必圓後得之智如所謂入海算沙執券數寶者亦偏持一邊之論也顧十二分教浩如淵海論䟽廣博名相糺紛非有明眼慧心讀破全藏者綜其領綱編其倫次何由使朝宗者識𣲖瞻斗者知星此教乘法數一書纘述者之苦心不容沒也釋典中是書行世已久繼有賢宗學者潛溪深為之釐定因名賢首法數其後台宗心源瀞重加詳訂旁及百氏名相與內典有涉者採摭續入目之曰教乘法數書經三刻屢進而彌詳雖盡善矣然猶未免彼此廣略之見尚需考訂刪補之功朕特命法師超海通理廣持等折衷性相持平台賢䔍信叅詳重加校定越期年而告竣呈朕覽閱其排列次第始自一心終之八萬四千法門𥁞一大藏教之開合總別同異稱謂不勞徧討瞭然心目視舊本實更為精括讀是書者當知從總出別因別成總理隨事現一多緣起之無邊事得理融千差涉入而無礙借數紀程因法明心演廣非多此是一中之多標略非一此是多中之一提綱則孔孔皆正牽衣而縷縷俱來正如牟尼百八珠循環總歸一貫大士千手眼收攝仍是一心非唯法數之統宗固亦教乘之金鑰所謂眼前佛法一切現成若乃執總滯理昧病迷方既違法門誓學之弘願復乘眾生普度之大心無邊煩惱寧有斷期無上菩提應無得理有志教乘者其勿忽諸是為序。
The Buddha’s Dharma is as vast as the realm of reality itself, as ultimate as empty space. It transcends words and concepts — how could it be confined by numbers or measures? Yet, just as there are countless origins of illness and myriad prescriptions to match them, to clearly describe the methods of cure, one must prescribe the right remedy for the symptoms. This is why the teachings are divided into three vehicles and five natures, and why the distinctions of meaning must be identified.
The Yogācāra school (Vijñānavāda) exhaustively analyzes the hundred dharmas and the eight consciousnesses of the five categories to reveal their essence. Nāgārjuna and Aśvaghoṣa dissect the three subtle and six coarse aspects of the single mind’s function. This is not a matter of chasing after details — it is precisely to trace back to the root. Even bodhisattvas at the stage of virtual enlightenment still wander within the net of illusion; even the most ultimate sages must fully realize the wisdom acquired after enlightenment.
In this sense, comparing the teachings to “counting the grains of sand in the sea” or “counting treasures with a deed in hand” — these are merely one-sided views.
The twelve divisions of the teachings are as vast as an ocean. Their commentaries and treatises are extensive, and their terminology is tangled and complex. Without a clear eye and a wise heart, one could never read through the entire canon and synthesize its key points, organize its order — how else could those seeking the source recognize the tributaries, or those gazing at the Dipper know the constellations? This is precisely the painstaking intention of the compilers of *The Numerical Catalogue of Doctrinal Teachings* — a work that should not be forgotten.
This book has circulated widely in Buddhist scriptures for a long time. Later, a scholar from the Xianshou (Huayan) school, Qianxi Shen, revised and clarified it, renaming it *Xianshou’s Numerical Catalogue*. Subsequently, a scholar from the Tiantai school, Xinyuan Jing, made further meticulous revisions, adding relevant terms from the hundred schools that intersected with Buddhist texts. He continued to collect and append them, calling it *The Numerical Catalogue of Doctrinal Teachings*. The book was thus edited three times, each version more detailed. Yet, despite being refined to near perfection, it still bore the traces of differing views on breadth and detail between editions, requiring further proofreading, deletions, and supplements.
Thus, I commanded the Dharma masters Chao Hai, Tong Li, Guang Chi, and others to reconcile the perspectives of nature and appearance, establish a balanced view between the Xianshou, Tiantai, and exclusive faith schools, deliberate on the texts, and submit the revised version for examination. It took more than a year to complete. They presented the finished work for my review.
Its arrangement begins with the single mind and ends with the 84,000 Dharma gates — perfectly encompassing the entire great canon’s teachings: their openings and closings, totalities and particulars, similarities and differences, and names. The reader need not search through the entire canon at all; it all appears clearly in the mind’s eye. Compared to previous editions, this one is truly more precise and concise.
Those who read this book should understand: from the totality arises the particular; because of the particular, the totality is established. Principle follows phenomena — the causes-and-conditions of one and many are without limit. Phenomena dissolve into principle — the thousand differences interpenetrate without obstruction. We use numbers to mark the journey, and through the teachings, we illuminate the mind. To expound the full extent is not truly “many” — this is the “one” within the many. To indicate the essential outline is not truly “one” — this is the “many” within the one. Lift the net, and every mesh comes back correctly; grasp the robe, and every thread follows in order.
It is like the 108 beads of Mañjuśrī — revolving, they always return to a single string. Like the thousand hands and eyes of Mahasthamaprapta — gathering, they are still a single mind. This work is not only the unifying thread of numerical teachings; it is, in fact, the golden key of the doctrinal teachings themselves. It is what is called: the present Dharma, right here, fully manifest.
If, however, one clings to the totality and gets stuck in principle, remains blind to illness and lost regarding the path, this not only betrays the great vow to study all Dharma doors, but also contradicts the compassionate mind of universally liberating sentient beings. Boundless afflictions — when will they ever be cut off? Supreme enlightenment — what understanding of attainment could there be?
Let those who are committed to the doctrinal teachings never neglect this book. So I write this preface.
雍正十三年乙邜七月望日
Finished on the night of the full moon, in the seventh month of the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng reign.