Master Yuanyin | 2018-06-10 | Download | AI assisted translation
| 伏以： | Respectfully submitted: |
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| 实际理地，了无生佛之名；修持门中，方有凡圣之差。心性本净，因执取而烦惑丛生；妄相原空，由觉照而真常绝待。随缘不变，十界之升沉迥异；不变随缘，一心之体用无殊。虽此心此理含生共具，然彻悟彻证非觉莫属。芸芸众生以执迷而未悟，故长劫轮回于六道之中，苦不堪言。 | At the level of ultimate reality, there are no names such as Buddha or sentient being; only within the gate of cultivation do distinctions between ordinary beings and sages arise. The nature of mind is originally pure, yet afflictions and delusions proliferate because of grasping and attachment; delusive appearances are originally empty, and through awakened contemplation, true permanence transcends all opposites. In adapting to conditions without changing, the ascent and descent through the ten realms differ vastly; in remaining unchanged while adapting to conditions, the essence and function of the one mind are no different. Although this mind and this principle are inherently possessed by all living beings, thorough awakening and realization belong only to the awakened. The multitude of sentient beings remain unenlightened because of their attachments and delusions; thus, for long kalpas, they revolve through the six realms, suffering beyond endurance. |
| 中天调御释迦世尊，尘点劫前早成正觉。泯三际而住寂光，常享四德；怜九界而示受生，频垂八相。依九界百八种心性，演三藏十二部妙法。 | Śākyamuni, the World-Honored One, Tamer of Beings in the Central Land, attained perfect awakening long ago, before kalpas as numerous as motes of dust. Abiding in the Land of Eternal Quiescent Light, beyond the three divisions of time, he constantly enjoys the four virtues. Out of compassion for the nine realms, he manifested birth and repeatedly displayed the eight aspects. In accordance with the one hundred and eight kinds of mind-nature within the nine realms, he expounded the wondrous Dharma of the Tripiṭaka and the twelve divisions of the teachings. |
| 大器，则直示一真法界，使之无住生心，以迄断惑证真；小根，则详谈三世因果，令其趋吉避凶，而为入道方便。小乘圣者，旧业已消，梵行已立，所作已办，住涅槃城而不受后有；大乘菩萨，深信不疑，切愿不退，力行不息，涉生死海以广度众生。 | For those of great capacity, he directly revealed the One True Dharma Realm, enabling them to give rise to mind without abiding anywhere, until they severed delusion and realized truth. For those of lesser faculties, he explained in detail the cause and effect of the three times, enabling them to pursue good and avoid misfortune, thereby providing expedient means for entering the Way. The sages of the Lesser Vehicle have extinguished their former karma, established the pure life, accomplished what had to be done, and abide in the city of nirvāṇa without undergoing further existence. Mahāyāna bodhisattvas possess deep and unwavering faith, earnest and unretreating vows, and tireless diligent practice; they cross the ocean of birth and death in order to liberate sentient beings extensively. |
| 东土福因成就，解脱缘熟，故感大教东渐，祖师西来。止观五曰：“元古混沌，未宜出世。边表根性，不感佛兴。我遣三圣，化彼真丹，礼义先开，大小乘经然后可信。真丹既然，十方亦尔。 | In the eastern land, the causes of blessing had come to fruition and the conditions for liberation had ripened. Therefore, the great teaching gradually spread eastward, and the patriarchs came from the West. The fifth fascicle of Calming and Contemplation states: “In primordial antiquity, when chaos still prevailed, it was not yet fitting for the Buddha to appear in the world. The capacities of those in the borderlands were not receptive to the Buddha’s arising. I sent three sages to transform that land of China; first, ritual propriety and righteousness were established, and only afterward could the scriptures of the Greater and Lesser Vehicles be believed. Since this was so in China, it was likewise so in the ten directions.” |
| ”《清净法行经》云：“月光菩萨，彼称颜回；光净菩萨，彼称仲尼；迦叶菩萨，彼称老子。”仲尼以敦伦尽分为怀，老子则掊击尔智；菩萨以普度众生为愿，如来则荡涤其心。先培植道德文明，开拓大乘气象；后摄入大圆觉海，咸令顿证无生。世尊以无量方便教化天下，善巧之至。复以无量方便传承付嘱，成就末世群生。 | The Scripture of Pure Dharma Practice says: “Moonlight Bodhisattva was known there as Yan Hui; Pure-Light Bodhisattva was known there as Zhongni; Kāśyapa Bodhisattva was known there as Laozi.” Zhongni was devoted to fulfilling the proper human relationships and carrying out one’s duties; Laozi, on the other hand, struck at worldly intellect. The bodhisattvas vow to liberate all sentient beings universally, while the Tathāgata washes their minds clean. First they cultivated moral and cultural civilization, opening up the vast vision of the Mahāyāna; afterward they gathered beings into the ocean of perfect enlightenment, enabling all to realize the unborn directly. The World-Honored One taught and transformed all under heaven through immeasurable skillful means—skillful indeed. He further transmitted and entrusted the teaching through immeasurable skillful means, bringing accomplishment to the multitude of beings in the latter age. |
| 太师公大愚阿阇黎，晚清示生于武汉李家。心地夙慧深植，尝饱读圣贤诸书，以才华横溢，曾问政事；目睹军阀不仁，而导致生灵涂炭，乃痛心疾首，愤而出家。 | The grandmaster Acharya Dayu manifested birth into the Li family of Wuhan during the late Qing dynasty. His mind-ground was endowed with deeply rooted wisdom from former lives. He once read widely in the books of sages and worthies and, with his exceptional talent, had served in public affairs. Witnessing the inhumanity of the warlords and the resulting devastation of living beings, he was grieved and indignant, and in anger left home to become a monastic. |
| 修净土法门于庐山东林，苦行般舟三昧，拼死打破幻里幻迷境；感普贤菩萨于定中现身，授以六印一咒，灌顶传付心中心密法。依菩萨指示，一检大藏，果获心密本续；持密法苦修，七年成就，开创印心法门。 | At Donglin on Mount Lu, he cultivated the Pure Land dharma gate and practiced the arduous Pratyutpanna Samādhi, risking his life to break through the delusive and bewildering realm within illusion. In samādhi, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva appeared before him, transmitted six mudrās and one mantra, and conferred empowerment in transmitting the Heart-of-Heart Dharma. Following the bodhisattva’s instruction, he searched the Buddhist canon and indeed obtained the root tantra of heart esotericism. Through arduous cultivation of the esoteric practice, he attained accomplishment in seven years and established the Mind-Seal Dharma Gate. |
| 为摄受当机众生，略示神通；以指归真如本性，尽扫玄妙。胸怀博大，太虚饮光消契阔；法门精深，幽谷回声话晚烟。后留诗归隐，至今不知所终。 | In order to gather in sentient beings suited to the teaching, he briefly displayed spiritual powers. By pointing directly to the true nature of suchness, he thoroughly swept away fascination with the abstruse and marvelous. His heart was vast: with Taixu and Yinguang, he dissolved the estrangement of long separation. His dharma gate was profound: like echoes in a secluded valley, he spoke amid the evening mist. Later, he left behind a poem and withdrew into seclusion; to this day, no one knows where he ended his life. |
| 师公仁知阿阇黎，姓王名宰基字骧陆。示生于海盐书香之家，宅心仁厚；泛游于道德文章之海，虔信佛乘。初广求各宗精义，念佛参禅，未敢自信有把鼻；后追随大愚祖师，修持心密，豁然开朗得明心。 | Acharya Renzhi, our teacher’s teacher, was surnamed Wang, given name Zaiji, and style name Xianglu. He manifested birth into a scholarly family in Haiyan and was compassionate and generous at heart. He ranged widely through the sea of moral philosophy and literature, and devoutly believed in the Buddha Vehicle. At first, he broadly sought the essential meanings of the various schools, practiced Buddha-recitation, and investigated Chan, yet did not dare to claim that he had found a sure grasp. Later, he followed Patriarch Dayu, cultivated heart esotericism, and suddenly awakened to realize the mind. |
| 承祖师心髓，深契无上密意；创印心精舍，接引有缘群生。熔禅、净、密于一炉，扫除门户分列之偏狭劣见；会宗、教、律为一体，开示众生本具之如来藏心。楷定印心宗旨：以般若为宗，以总持为法，以净土为归。一期化缘事毕，人天眼灭，般若舟沉，于本世纪五十年代圆寂。 | Receiving the patriarch’s essential marrow of mind, he deeply accorded with the unsurpassed esoteric intent. He founded Mind-Seal Vihara and guided the multitude of beings with karmic affinity. He fused Chan, Pure Land, and Esoteric Buddhism in one furnace, sweeping away the narrow and inferior views of sectarian divisions; he brought the schools, teachings, and precepts together as one whole, revealing the Tathāgata-garbha mind inherently possessed by sentient beings. He established the guiding tenets of the Mind-Seal school: prajñā as its principle, dhāraṇī as its method, and the Pure Land as its ultimate destination. When the work of his teaching affinity in this life was complete, the eyes of humans and devas were extinguished and the boat of prajñā sank; he passed into parinirvāṇa in the 1950s. |
| 师尊元音阿阇黎，名钟鼎，本世纪初示生于安徽合肥李家。幼读孔孟遗教，究生死恍失所在；少就现代学堂，读般若似曾相识。闻嘉祐禅寺一棒钟声，尘嚣顿失；受悟道高僧一椎木鱼，起灭随无。 | Our revered teacher, Acharya Yuanyin, whose name was Zhongding, manifested birth into the Li family of Hefei, Anhui, early in the twentieth century. As a child, he studied the legacy teachings of Confucius and Mencius and investigated birth and death, yet felt at a loss. As a youth, he attended a modern school; when reading prajñā teachings, they seemed strangely familiar. Upon hearing the sound of a bell at Jiayou Chan Monastery, the clamor of the world suddenly vanished; upon receiving a single strike of the wooden fish from an awakened eminent monk, arising and ceasing likewise vanished. |
| 因发心学佛，不事婚娶；为奉养老母，未能出家。礼兴慈和尚学天台，绵密持执弥陀圣号；随古农居士习唯识，深入研究台教纲宗。 | Having aroused the resolve to study Buddhism, he did not marry. Yet, in order to support his aged mother, he was unable to leave home and become a monastic. He paid homage to Venerable Xingci and studied Tiantai, continuously and attentively maintaining the sacred name of Amitābha Buddha. He followed the lay practitioner Gunong in studying Consciousness-Only and conducted an in-depth study of the doctrinal essentials of the Tiantai teachings. |
| 亲近应慈大德学华严参禅，忽感人身顿失，光明朗照；追随仁知上师修心密打坐，顿证虚空粉碎，大地平沉。蒙诸佛菩萨护念，瑞相屡现；参大愚祖师问答，妙语连珠。受金刚阿阇黎灌顶，尊列师位；应各地参学者敦请，开示佛乘。 | He drew near to the virtuous elder Yingci to study the Avataṃsaka Sūtra and investigate Chan. Suddenly, he felt that his human body had vanished, while luminosity shone brightly. Following Master Renzhi, he practiced heart esotericism in seated meditation and suddenly realized that empty space had shattered and the great earth had sunk level. Protected in mindfulness by all Buddhas and bodhisattvas, he repeatedly experienced auspicious signs. He engaged Patriarch Dayu in questions and answers, and wondrous phrases flowed forth one after another. He received empowerment from a Vajra Acharya and was honored with a place among the teachers. At the earnest invitation of students from many places, he gave teachings on the Buddha Vehicle. |
| 师尊以九十余岁高龄，力倡明心见性。东至黑吉辽，西到云贵川，南始湘粤闽，北迄陕甘青，足迹遍及全国各地。美、德、法、日本、加拿大等海外学子，亦多有慕名来归。 | Even in his nineties, the revered teacher vigorously advocated realizing the mind and seeing one’s true nature. His footprints extended throughout the country: east to Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning; west to Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan; south to Hunan, Guangdong, and Fujian; and north to Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai. Many overseas students from the United States, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, and elsewhere also came to him in admiration. |
| 不辞辛劳，代佛宣化，因弘法而忘我；岂避讥嫌，撰著论述，俾后学得明心。《略论明心见性》面世，启教界以悟入为根本，振聋发聩；《佛法修证心要》出版，示学人行真修之大道，刻骨铭心。 | He spared no effort in proclaiming and propagating the Dharma on the Buddha’s behalf, forgetting himself in the work of spreading the Dharma. Nor did he shrink from criticism and suspicion when composing treatises, so that later students might realize the mind. When A Brief Discussion of Realizing the Mind and Seeing One’s True Nature was published, it awakened the Buddhist community to awakening and realization as the foundation, like a thunderclap that rouses the deaf. When Essential Points of Buddhist Practice and Realization was published, it showed students the great path of genuine cultivation, leaving an indelible impression. |
| 般若乃修行之眼目，佛法三藏十二部皆在里许；心经是般若之精华，大典一函六百卷尽摄其中。十方菩萨，由此启扬根本大教；三世诸佛，从斯开示无上法轮。《般若波罗蜜多心经》乃佛法经典之核心，故得“心经”之名。 | Prajñā is the eye of cultivation; the entire Tripiṭaka and twelve divisions of the Buddha Dharma are contained within it. The Heart Sūtra is the essence of prajñā; a great collection of six hundred fascicles is fully encompassed therein. Bodhisattvas throughout the ten directions unfold the fundamental great teaching from this; all Buddhas of the three times reveal the unsurpassed Dharma wheel from this. The Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra is the core of the Buddhist scriptures; hence it bears the name Heart Sūtra. |
| 师尊应敦请而开示经义，有听者发心，录入磁带；学人听录音以翻成文字，经师尊审阅，整理成书。即本书《心经抉隐》所由来也。 | At the earnest request of others, the revered teacher explained the meaning of the sūtra. One listener aroused the resolve and recorded the teachings on cassette tapes. Students listened to the recordings and transcribed them; after the revered teacher reviewed them, they were edited into a book. This is how the present work, Uncovering the Hidden Meaning of the Heart Sūtra, came to be. |
| 后学弟子齐志军沐手敬书 | Respectfully copied by the later student-disciple Qi Zhijun, after washing his hands |
| 公元一九九七年岁次丁丑 | 1997, the Dingchou year |
