Preface to the Mind-Seal Collection Translation Series
The Mind-Seal School of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism, since its founding by Patriarch Dayu, has been passed down through successive lineage patriarchs including Acharya Renzhi and Acharya Yuanyin. Together, they established the foundational tenet: “Taking Mind-Seal as the Core Principle, Prajñā as the Function, Dhāraṇī as the Practice Method, and the Pure Land as the Ultimate Destination.”
The teachings handed down by the Patriarchs of the Mind- Seal School not only preserve essential instructions for practical cultivation, but also express profound Dharma truths in plain and accessible language, fully revealing the subtle pivots of the Mind-Seal school. They have therefore long circulated widely among both monastic and lay Buddhists.
Because this Dharma approach vigorously advocates realizing the mind and seeing one’s true nature, while remaining direct and easy to practice, it has attracted numerous practitioners. Among them, outstanding practitioners capable of serving as pillars of the Dharma have continuously emerged in every generation.
As a result, favourable conditions for the spread of the Dharma gradually flourished. Seekers of the Way in the West and throughout the world were delighted to hear of these teachings, and increasing numbers began studying their principles and seeking guidance in the essentials of the mind.
However, as the saying goes, "While the Buddha-Dharma knows no borders, language creates a barrier." Since all the Patriarchs’ works exist solely in Chinese, seekers from other nations have been constrained by the barriers of language and doctrinal understanding, desiring to enter the ocean of the Dharma yet lacking a vessel to cross it—a truly great regret for those who seek the Path.
Today, advanced technology and global connectivity have truly made the world a global village. As causes and conditions ripened, Mind-Seal practitioners from Canada, the United States, China, Malaysia, and elsewhere came together to establish the Heart-of-Heart Translation Society. Though separated physically by thousands of miles, their minds bear the same seal and share a common source. Linked at their fingertips, they collaborate day and night, circulating drafts and engaging in vigorous discussion. Together, they have formed a translation hall without walls, steadily rendering the patriarchs’ teachings into English. This undertaking has made it easier for international practitioners to hear, contemplate, cultivate, and realize the Dharma, while serving as a supportive condition to spread the Mind-Seal Lineage overseas.
Translating the writings of the Patriarchs concerns the transmission of the Dharma lineage and the practitioners’ very life of wisdom; its significance is far-reaching. May all those involved in this translation work take the patriarchs’ original intent as their own aspiration and contribute their respective strengths. We strive both to remain faithful to the Patriarchs’ original meaning without deviating from their intent, and to ensure the fluidity and clarity of the English rendering, so that practitioners in the West may likewise appreciate the profound and wondrous teachings of the Mind-Seal School.
Nevertheless, limited by our own modest abilities, oversights and imperfections are inevitable. As for what remains deficient, We therefore further invite wise and learned Dharma friends both at home and abroad will point out any flaws and correct whatever remains inadequate, so that this work may prove worthy of the patriarchs’ intent.
Finally, we pray that these English translations of the Patriarchs’ collected works will broadly benefit practitioners across the four seas, allowing Buddhists worldwide to cultivate and realize the Dharma according to these teachings, swiftly unfold their wisdom, together attain the Buddha Way, and bring benefit and joy to all sentient beings.
Respectfully written as a preface.
Qi Zhijun, Disciple of the Mind-Seal School
August 30, 2026
《印心文集译丛》序
汉传佛教印心宗，自 大愚祖师开山以来，历经 仁知阿阇黎、 元音阿阇黎诸祖薪火相传，确立了“以印心为宗，般若为用，总持为法，净土为归”之根本宗旨。印心祖师所留开示，不仅备载实修要诀，更将甚深法义化为平实言语，道尽心宗玄枢，故早已在缁素佛子间展转传诵，广为流布。由于其法力倡明心见性，兼简捷易行，故而修法者众。其中脱颖而出、堪作法门龙象者，代不乏人。
遂法缘渐隆，西方乃至全球慕道之士，闻风而悦，研习法义、请益心要者，日渐繁兴。然“佛法无国界，文词有障隔”。唯因著作皆以中文留世，他国人困于语言与义理障隔，欲入法海而缺舟楫，此诚为求道修学之一大憾事。
现值科技昌明，寰宇联通，地球俨然一村。因缘成熟，来自加拿大、美国、中国、马来西亚等地的海内外印心学人，共成“印心”译社，虽身隔万里，而心印同元。指端相触间，朝夕共译，稿本往还，议论激荡，俨然一座无墙译场，陆续将祖师开示译为英文。此举为国际学人闻思修证提供了方便，也为印心宗脉播扬海外增添了助缘。
翻译祖师著作，关乎法脉传承与学人慧命，意义深远。愿参与译事之诸位同仁，以祖师本怀为己怀，各展所长，既求忠实祖师原旨，不违本意，亦兼顾英文之畅达，务使西土佛子亦能领略心宗妙义。然学力所限，纰漏难免，未尽之处，再愿海内外诸善知识指其瑕疵，匡其不逮，庶几无愧祖师之意。三愿祖师文集英译本，广利四海学人，天下佛子皆可依教修证，速开智慧，同成佛道，利乐有情。
谨以为序。
印心宗弟子 齐志军
公元二〇二六年八月三十日
Afterword to the Mind-Seal Collection Translation Series
As the Buddha Dharma spreads westward and technology flourishes, the causes, conditions, and timing have fully matured. Practitioners of the Mind-Seal Lineage from Canada, the United States, China, Malaysia, and beyond have joined together to establish the Heart-of-Heart Translation Society, aspiring to render the teachings of the patriarchs of the Mind-Seal School into English.
Throughout the translation process, the translation team thoroughly studied the Buddhist sutras and Patriarchs’ discourses, referencing a wide array of English Buddhist scriptures and translations. The initial draft was produced with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI); thereafter, for difficult and obscure passages, the team engaged in repeated deliberation and discussion, completing two rounds of meticulous human revision prior to final approval for publication.
Although every effort was made to faithfully convey the original meaning of the Patriarchs, the Buddha Dharma is ultimately vast and profound in doctrine. Many Chinese Buddhist terms and experiential terms of realization lack exact equivalents in English; moreover, the subtle wonders of Chan encounters and responsive teachings cannot be fully captured through words alone.
Despite repeated deliberation and discussion, the translation team remains keenly aware that omissions and imperfections are inevitable. As translation can rarely reach absolute perfection, this rendering is not yet a definitive edition, but serves merely as a stepping stone, in the hope that future practitioners will continue to refine and polish it.
The sole wish of this translation endeavor is to utilize the convenience of this English rendering so that sincere practitioners in the West and across the globe who do not know Chinese may draw close to the Patriarchs’ Dharma words, deeply comprehend the true Dharma meaning of the Heart-of-Heart Dharma of the Mind-Seal School, and thereupon proceed from hearing and contemplation to practice, and from practical cultivation to direct realization—until the prison of birth and death is shattered with a single stroke, and the fetters of affliction melt away on the spot!
Here, we express our most heartfelt gratitude to Master Qi Zhijun for his meticulous guidance, encouragement, and invaluable suggestions. We are also deeply grateful to all fellow Mind-Seal School practitioners at home and abroad who participated in the translation, proofreading, review, text layout, and editing, as well as those who rendered their full support across all related endeavors.
We sincerely welcome virtuous and learned practitioners, spiritual friends, and readers at home and abroad to kindly offer their guidance and corrections. Should you have any comments, suggestions, or errata regarding this translation, or if you wish to participate in future translation, proofreading, and related Dharma propagation work, please feel free to contact the Heart-of-Heart Dharma Translation Society at:
Email:
yinxincanada@gmail.com
xmzjxt@126.com
Official Website:
https://www.heartofheart.org/
https://www.heart-of-heart.com/
May the True Dharma long abide, may the wisdom-life of the Patriarchs continue unbroken, may the great teachings spread westward, and may all sentient beings be universally benefited!
Respectfully submitted by
The Heart-of-Heart Dharma Translation Society
September 4, 2026
《印心文集译丛》后记
佛法西渐，科技兴隆，时节因缘成熟，由来自加拿大、美国、中国、马来西亚等地的印心学人，共同成立了印心翻译小组，发心将印心宗祖师开示译为英文。
在翻译过程中，翻译小组深入研读佛经与祖师开示，广泛参阅相关英文佛教典籍及译著，初译适当借助人工智能（AI）完成；再针对疑难之处，反复推敲、研讨，完成两轮人工校订，而审定付梓。
虽力求忠实传达祖师原意，但佛法毕竟义理深广，诸多中文佛教名相与修证用语，在英文中往往难有完全对应之表达；禅门机锋与应机示导之妙，更非仅凭文字所能尽传。
翻译小组虽经反复斟酌、讨论，仍深知必有疏漏或未尽妥善之处。译事难臻尽善，故此次译本尚非定本，权作引路之石，期后来者续为增润。
此次翻译所愿无他，惟愿借英文译本之便，使西方乃至全球不通中文的有缘学人，皆能亲近祖师法语，深入领会印心宗心中心法之真实法义，进而由闻思而起修，由实修而亲证，直至生死牢笼一锤粉碎，烦恼枷锁当下冰消！
在此至诚感谢 齐志军老师的悉心指导、鼓励与宝贵建议；亦感恩所有参与翻译、校订、审阅、文字排版与编辑，以及在相关工作中鼎力相助的海内外印心同修。
诚挚欢迎海内外大德善知识及广大读者不吝赐教、指正。若对本译本有任何意见、建议或勘误，或有意参与今后的翻译、校订及相关弘法工作，敬请随时与印心翻译小组联系：
电子邮箱：
yinxincanada@gmail.com
xmzjxt@126.com
官方网站：
https://www.heartofheart.org/
https://www.heart-of-heart.com/
愿正法久住，祖师慧命相续，大教西渐，普利群生！
印心（心中心）翻译小组 敬上
公元二〇二六年九月四日
