Preface to the Commentary on the Diamond Samadhi Sutra

Enduring Student Wei Xuequ Compilation

When I read the Shurangama Sutra, Guanyin Bodhisattva said: "In the past, I made offerings to the Buddha Guanyin, and that Buddha bestowed upon me the Illusory Vajra Samadhi, through which I realized the perfect penetration of the ear faculty." It also states: "In this land, the true vehicle of teaching is purity in hearing." This means that in the Eastern lands, those who seek the Way must enter through hearing.

Since the Buddhist scriptures came from the West, the Tripitaka and the twelve divisions of teachings have shone brightly like the sun and stars, enduring like rivers flowing across the earth. Without these, how could one ascend the steps to sainthood or light the lamp that dispels darkness? The First Patriarch pointed directly to the mind, seeing one's nature to become a Buddha, transcending gradual stages and swiftly achieving perfect and sudden enlightenment. The lineage flourished, and the Mahayana had its practitioners. Yet when the two schools stood side by side, the Chan school prospered while the teaching school declined. With only partial understanding and without realizing the true reality, even the Chan school began to decline.

Those who practice Chan seek awakening through encounters and opportunities, while those who study the teachings seek it through the Buddha's words. Encounters can indeed lead to awakening, but how could the Buddha's words deceive anyone? To harmonize the teachings and the Chan practice, perfect and sudden enlightenment will naturally arrive. Master Zibo once said: "In studying the teachings, take the Buddha's words as the foundation; in clarifying the Chan lineage, take encounters as the foundation; in propagating the teachings and Chan, take virtue as the foundation, supported by precepts and broadened by learning." Otherwise, those who occupy the Dharma King's seat, don the Tathagata's robe, and transmit the Buddha's words are merely howling foxes.

I have long cherished these words but never met such a person. Then I heard of Master Renshan, a great master of our time, and privately yearned to meet him. In the midwinter of the Guihai year, while passing by the White Cloud Ancient Temple at Tianping, I unexpectedly encountered him. His dwelling was a simple hut of a few beams, his clothes worn, his food coarse—all in serene simplicity. During our conversation, he showed me his work, the *Commentary on the Vajra Samadhi*. Reading a line or two, I found the writing concise yet rich in meaning, the pointers brief yet comprehensive in principle. It was like taking a drop of water from the great ocean, which contains the taste of a hundred rivers.

Thus, he entrusted me with the sutra and commentary, asking me to write a preface. The general meaning of the sutra encompasses the essence of the Avatamsaka, Lotus, and Nirvana Sutras, while its subtle and profound phrases resemble those of the Shurangama. Is not the path of hearing, contemplation, and cultivation found here? The Buddhist scriptures were gathered from afar to guide all beings and help them understand the Buddha's Way. Yet, fearing attachment to existence, the First Patriarch faced the wall and established no words. Fearing attachment to emptiness, the Tiantai and Huayan schools composed commentaries and subcommentaries, tirelessly analyzing and explaining in detail.

Now, in composing this commentary, the master's compassionate heart is earnest, striving to revitalize the Chan lineage and pour down the rain of the teachings. He neither clings to existence nor emptiness, neither clings to the unattainability of existence nor the unattainability of emptiness, nor even to the unattainability of both existence and emptiness. Thus, the Buddha's words are here, and the encounters are here. How could perfect and sudden enlightenment be difficult to attain? Therefore, I write this preface and return it to him.