楞伽阿跋多羅寶經序
Preface to the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra
朝議大夫直龍圖閣權江淮荊淛等路制置鹽礬兼發運副使上護軍賜紫金魚袋蔣之奇撰
Preface by Jiang Zhiqi
之奇嘗苦《楞伽經》難讀又難得善本，會南都太子太保致政張公施此經，而眉山蘇子瞻為書而刻之板，以為金山常住。金山長老佛印大師了元持以見寄，之奇為之言曰：佛之所說經總十二部，而其多至於五千卷。方其正法流行之時，人有聞半偈、得一句而悟入者，蓋不可為量數。至於像法、末法之後，去聖既遠，人始溺於文字，有入海算沙之困，而於一真之體乃漫不省解，於是有祖師出焉，直指人心見性成佛，以為教外別傳，於動容發語之頃，而上根利器之人已目擊而得之矣。故雲門至於罵佛，而藥山至戒人不得讀經，皆此意也。由是去佛而謂之禪，離義而謂之玄，故學佛者必詆禪而諱義者，亦必宗玄二家之徒更相非而不知其相為用也。且禪者六度之一也，顧豈異於佛哉？
I once found the *Lengjia Sutra* both difficult to read and hard to come by in a reliable edition. It happened that Grand Guardian Zhang, retired from office in the Southern Capital, donated this scripture, which Su Shi of Meishan then transcribed in his calligraphy and had engraved onto woodblocks to become a permanent treasure of Gold Mountain Monastery. The Abbot of Gold Mountain, Chan Master Liaoyuan of the Buddha Seal, brought it to me. I remarked to him:
The Buddha's teachings are contained in twelve divisions of scriptures, amounting to over five thousand scrolls. During the age of the True Dharma, countless people awakened upon hearing just half a verse or a single phrase—such were beyond calculation. But in later ages, the Semblance Dharma and the Final Dharma, people grew distant from the Sage and began to drown in words, struggling like someone trying to count grains of sand on a vast beach. They lost all understanding of the one true essence.
Thus the Patriarchs arose, pointing directly to the human mind, enabling people to see their true nature and become Buddhas—a separate transmission outside the teachings. In the very act of moving or speaking, those of superior faculties could instantly grasp it. So Yunmen even went so far as to scold the Buddha, and Yaoshan forbade reading scriptures—all with this same intent.
Hence people distanced themselves from the Buddha and called it "Chan"; they departed from textual meaning and called it "Mysterious." Consequently, those who studied Buddhism would denigrate Chan, while those who avoided doctrinal meaning would revere the Mysterious. These two schools would criticize each other, unaware that they actually complement one another.
Moreover, Chan is simply one of the six perfections—how could it be fundamentally different from the Buddha's teaching?
之奇以為，禪出於佛，而玄出於義，不以佛廢禪，不以玄廢義，則其近之矣。冉求問：「聞斯行諸？」孔子曰：「聞斯行之。」子路問：「聞斯行諸？」曰：「有父兄在。如之何？」其聞斯行之，求也退故進之，由也兼人故退之。說豈有常哉？救其偏而已。學佛之敝至於溺經文、惑句義而人不體玄，則言禪以救之；學禪之敝至於馳空言、玩琦辯而人不了義，則言佛以救之。二者更相救，而佛法完矣。
Zhi Qi believes: Chan (Zen) originates from Buddha, while Xuan (mystical insight) originates from meaning. Do not reject Chan because of Buddha, nor reject Xuan because of meaning—then you will come close to understanding.
Ran Qiu asked, "Should one act upon hearing something?" Confucius replied, "Yes, act upon hearing it." Zi Lu asked the same question, and Confucius answered, "You have your father and elder brother—how can you act upon hearing it?" Ran Qiu was cautious, so Confucius encouraged him; Zi Lu was bold, so Confucius restrained him.
Teaching principles are not fixed—they simply correct one's biases. If students of Buddhism become so obsessed with scripture and attached to literal meanings that they fail to grasp the deeper mystery, then speak of Chan to correct them. If students of Chan become so lost in empty words and clever arguments that they miss the essential meaning, then speak of Buddha to correct them. These two teachings correct each other, and in this way, the Dharma is complete.
昔達磨西來，既已傳心印於二祖，且云：「吾有《楞伽經》四卷，亦用付汝。即是如來心地要門，令諸眾生開示悟入。」此亦佛與禪並傳而玄與義俱付也。至五祖始易以《金剛經》傳授，故六祖聞客讀《金剛經》而問其所從來。客云：「我從蘄州黃梅縣東五祖山來。五祖大師常勸僧俗，但持《金剛經》即自見性成佛矣。」則是持《金剛經》者始於五祖。故《金剛》以是盛行於世，而《楞伽》遂無傳焉。
In the past, when Bodhidharma came west to China, he had already transmitted the mind seal to the Second Patriarch and said, "I also leave you with the four volumes of the *Lankavatara Sutra*. This is the essential gateway to the Tathagata's mind, enabling all beings to open, show, awaken, and enter." Thus, both the Buddha's teaching and Chan were passed down together, with profound truth and meaning delivered as one.
It was only with the Fifth Patriarch that the teaching was changed to the *Diamond Sutra* for transmission. Thus, when the Sixth Patriarch heard someone reciting the *Diamond Sutra* and asked where it came from, the man replied, "I come from the East Mountain of Huangmei County in Qizhou. The Great Master, the Fifth Patriarch, often advises monks and laypeople alike that simply reciting the *Diamond Sutra* will allow them to see their own nature and realize Buddhahood." So it was that the practice of reciting the *Diamond Sutra* began with the Fifth Patriarch. For this reason, the *Diamond Sutra* became widespread throughout the world, while the *Lankavatara Sutra* gradually fell out of circulation.
今之傳者，寔自張公倡之。之奇過南都謁張公，親聞公說《楞伽》因緣。始張公自三司使翰林學士出守滁，一日入琅琊僧舍，見一經函發而視之，乃《楞伽經》也。恍然覺其前生之所書，筆畫宛然，其殆神先受之甚明也。之奇聞：羊叔子五歲時，令乳母取所弄金鐶。乳母謂之：「汝初無是物。」祜即自詣隣人李氏東垣桑木中探得之。主人驚曰：「此吾亡兒所失物也。云何持去？」乳母具言之，知祜之前身為李氏子也。白樂天始生七月，姆指之無兩字，雖試百數不差；九歲諳識聲律，史氏以為篤於才章蓋天稟，然而樂天固自以為宿習之緣矣。
The transmission of this scripture truly began with Minister Zhang. When I, Zhiqi, traveled to the Southern Capital to visit Minister Zhang, I personally heard him recount the circumstances surrounding the *Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra*. Back then, Minister Zhang was demoted from his posts as Commissioner of the Three Departments and Chancellor of the Hanlin Academy to become prefect of Chu Prefecture. One day, he entered a temple at Mount Langya. There he saw a scripture case. Opening it, he found the *Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra*. Suddenly, he realized it was a sutra he himself had copied in a past life: the brushstrokes looked exactly like his own. The signs were clear—it seemed divine influence had already guided him.
I, Zhiqi, also recall these stories: Yang Huzi, at the age of five, asked his wet nurse to retrieve the golden bracelet he used to play with. The nurse said to him, “You never had such a thing.” But Hu Zi went directly to his neighbor Li’s estate, reached into a mulberry tree by the eastern wall, and retrieved it. The surprised owner exclaimed, “This is my deceased son’s lost item! How did you take it away?” The nurse explained everything, and thus it became known that Hu Zi was the reincarnation of Li’s son.
When Bai Juyi was just seven months old, his nurse pointed to the two characters for “wu” and “zhi” (meaning “nothing” and “knowledge”). He recognized them correctly even after hundreds of tests. At nine, he was already well-versed in meter and rhyme. Historians attribute this to his natural genius, but Juyi himself believed these abilities were due to habits formed in past lives.
人之以是一真不滅之性，而死生去來於天地之間。其為世數，雖折天下之草木以為籌箸，不能算之矣。然以淪於死生，神識疲耗不能復記，惟圓明不昧之人知焉。有如張公以高文大冊再中制舉登侍從，秉鈞軸出入朝廷逾四十年，風烈事業播人耳目，則其前身嘗為大善知識，無足疑者。其能記憶前世之事，豈不謂信然哉。故因讀《楞伽》新經，而記其因緣於經之端云。
Though a person's essential nature—true, unchanging, and imperishable—flows through birth and death, coming and going within the heavens and the earth, the number of lives they have lived is so vast that even if all the world's grasses and trees were cut down and made into counting sticks, they could not tally them. Yet, because people sink into the cycle of birth and death, their spiritual awareness becomes exhausted and they can no longer remember these things. Only those of pure and unobscured wisdom know.
Take, for example, Zhang Gong: through his brilliant writing and grand works, he twice passed the imperial examinations, served as an attendant to the throne, and held high office in governing the court for over forty years. His outstanding reputation and achievements were known to all. That his previous life was that of a great virtuous master is beyond doubt. That he could recall the events of his past life is surely evidence of this truth.
Thus, upon reading the new translation of the *Lankavatara Sutra*, I record this account of causes and conditions here at the beginning of the sutra.