Records of Buddha

Contents of this book: 1. The eight volumes of this chronicle (volumes 1 to 8) were initially called the "Benji of Sakyamuni". They start from the clarification of the original traces, the narration of the holy source, the division of relics, and the collection of the Tripitaka. They quote scriptures and teachings, arranged by year, and expound the Dharma of Sakyamuni's life from the perspective of Tiantai Sect. There are four volumes in total. 2. "The Records of the Twenty-Four Ancestors of the Western Land", from the Venerable Kassapa to the Venerable Shizi, they are all the masters who have passed down the generations. They are all narrated according to the "Fu Dharma Storehouse Sutra", every volume. 3. "Nine Patriarchs of the Eastern Land", from the Northern Qi Dynasty Zen Master Huiwen to the Jingxi Zen Master Zhanran, they are the teachers who founded the Tiantai Sect and inherited and promoted the Tiantai Sect from the Northern Qi Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty. Among them, six people following Zhiyi were posthumously honored by King Qian Chu of Wuyue, a total of two volumes. 4. "Records of the Eight Ancestors under Xingdao", from Master Xingdao (Daosui) to Master Fazhi (Zhili), there were eight people who spread Taiwanese religion after Jingxi, but none of them had master titles, so the author took their practices and gave them honorary titles, which were the same as their private titles, in one volume. General practice At the beginning of this book there is a chapter called "General Rules", which explains the structure, content, purpose and method of writing this book. Regarding the naming of this book, the author explained: "Who is the Buddha? The leader of this religion is connected to all the ancestors; who is the organizer? He is responsible for the teachings and receptions of the Buddha." This shows that this book is a historical record of the teachings of Sakyamuni and the following patriarchs. Regarding the official biographies of modern masters, the author puts forward three criteria: first, "observation of practice and cultivation of enlightenment", second, "lectures with purpose", and third, "writing of Mingzong". In addition, monks who "managed religious affairs and supported religious sects" as well as gentry, famous Confucian scholars and lay people who were proficient in Taizong were also included. Regarding the titles of the masters, the author marked eight examples including the name of the country, the name of the mountain, the name of the master, the place of birth, the name of the temple, the name of the master, the name of the county, and the name of the book. Regarding the books cited, there are seventy-two Tripitaka classics, twenty-one Tiantai teachings, twenty-four Buddhist books, forty-one Confucian books, and twenty Taoist books. In fact, the number of classics and articles cited is even more. As for the style of this book, there is a "preface" in front of each category, and a "praise" at the end of the chapter. Whenever there is a place in the book that needs to be debated or doubted, "state" is used to explain it. If you quote previous comments as a note, indicate your surname. If some names or facts need explanation, they should be noted in the text in double lines of small characters. The source of the information is noted at the end of the chapter. In some places, the source is not noted, which means "either due to deletion of old articles, or collection of other articles to supplement, or taking the writings of teachers and friends, or examining the writings of tablets, instead of annotating everything one by one, this is the way to compile history." From these examples, it can be seen that the author pays great attention to historical methods and has in-depth research and writing experience.