No. 1645-B六道集序
Preface to Six Realms Collection
和尚本乘願力來。冲齡入道。辯才汜濫。文字縱橫。早年曲唱新豐。調高千古。中歲光韜韶石藏究三車。不欲出世為人。爭奈龍天。弗肯尋住鼎湖方丈。遂令聲價難醻然。卒不樂久居。旋臥象林深處。意謂。靈山會上。笑拈花者。不過一人。丁此末法時。中棒投機者。屈寧多指。矧諸方既富煉凡大冶爐。火方紅。我這裡不妨退步潛身。煙霞共老。與其一期說法。度有限之眾生。孰若多著要書。利無窮之後。學于是。始從韶石。終至象林。中間五十幾白。奚啻億萬餘言。龍也何幸受益良多。獨恨鈍根少領玄趣。然最愛其六道一集。痛醒羣蒙。夫影必隨形。谷必畣響。種瓜不得豆。結果定從因。此理勢之所必然。然俗漢恬不之覺。和尚不舍慈悲。悲夫。眾迷於六道。輪迴靡艾也。猛然拈出示之。昭昭然如揭日月而行。無幽不燭。普使人人。深知報應不爽。因果無差。皆能回光返照。各辦前程者。功不在菩薩下也。龍敢不服膺拳拳乎。僅再拜颺言。而序其上。 旹
The Master came propelled by his original vows. He entered the path of awakening at a young age, with eloquence flowing freely and literary brilliance spreading in every direction. In his early years, he sang a new tune on Mount Xinfeng, reaching a high pitch that would resonate through the ages. In middle age, he hid his radiance among the rocks of Mount Shaoshi, delving deep into the teachings of the three vehicles. He had no desire to emerge from the world to teach others, but the demands of celestial beings and dragons could not be denied. When he ended up as the abbot of Dinghu Temple, his fame became impossible to refuse. Yet he never enjoyed staying there long, and soon returned to the deep seclusion of Xianglin, thinking, "On Vulture Peak in the Assembly of the Lotus, only one person among those who smiled while receiving a flower truly awakened." In this final age of the Dharma, among those who critically examined circumstances through the presentation of a staff, they could barely be counted on several fingers. Moreover, with other masters of various directions already having established grand smelting furnaces to refine ordinary beings, their fires blazing brilliantly, here he could withdraw, remain in the shadows, and grow old amidst mist and clouds. Why preach in a single lifetime to save a limited number of beings, when it is far better to write many essential texts benefiting countless future students? So, he journeyed from Shaoshi this beginning to Xianglin at the end. In the fifty years between, he produced words numbering in the hundreds of millions. As his student, I, Long, have been fortunate to receive immense benefit, though I deeply regret my dull nature, unable to grasp his profound meanings. Yet I love above all his collection on the *Six Paths of Rebirth*, for it awakens the multitudes from their slumber. The shadow must follow the form; the valley must echo the sound. Plant a melon and you cannot harvest beans; the fruit must follow from its cause. This is the natural necessity of things. Yet common folk grow complacent without realizing it. The Master did not abandon his compassion, grieving that sentient beings are lost in the cycles of the six paths, with no end to their revolving. Then, suddenly, he took up this teaching and showed it to them—clear and bright as if raising the sun and moon to walk through the sky, illumining every darkness without exception. Thus he enabled* the multitudes to deeply understand that retribution never fails, that cause and effect are without error. Every person could now** turn their own light inward, striving toward their own future. This merit is not inferior to that of a Bodhisattva. How could I, Long, not respectfully accept this teaching with wholehearted devotion? Again and again, I bow respectfully and utter these words, writing this preface to the text.
康熈二十一年壬戌東莞弟子李龍標頓首拜題
Respectfully inscribed by Li Longbiao, a disciple from Dongguan, in the renxu year, the 21st year of the Kangxi reign.