Preface to the Dharma Wheel of Wu

*The Dharma Wheel of Wu* in thirty volumes was compiled by Mr. Zhou Yongnian, styled Anqi, of Wujiang during the Ming Dynasty. Mr. Zhou was the great-grandson of Gongsu Gong (Zhou Yongyong) and the elder brother of Zhongyi Gong (Zhou Zongjian). In the late Chongzhen era, he was renowned for his integrity and diligent scholarship. From local officials and nobles to scholars across the land, many knew his name and vied to invite him, yet he remained indifferent, dedicating himself solely to writing. His works allow later readers to understand that over millennia, this floating world is truly a magnificent lotus treasury, and great causes and conditions flow like mighty dragons and elephants. Compared to those whose fame blazes brightly in their time only to vanish like flowing water, his vision and insight are simply incomparable.

Mr. Zhou authored many works. Among those spared from destruction by fire is *The Gazetteer of Sheng'en Temple on Dengwei Mountain*, which I edited and printed for the temple monks in previous years. Yet, I had long sought this book without success. In the year Bingyin, while searching for stone inscriptions at Tiger Hill in the Qingyi Prince’s Temple, I came across this old manuscript copy. Overjoyed, I negotiated with the head monk for a ten-day loan. Hastily, I hired twenty copyists, who worked day and night by candlelight to complete the transcription on time. I intended to have it carved and printed for wider circulation, but the task was immense and beyond my individual capacity. Moreover, life’s affairs were tumultuous, and I never found the opportunity.

Now, Yufu and other gentlemen have undertaken its printing. As the book nears completion, they wrote to inform me, saying, “This book shares a profound connection with you—it cannot go without a preface.” I am delighted that the light of awakening, having traversed the dust of kalpas, now shines again in the jeweled groves and Dharma gardens, obscured for centuries yet once more revealed. May we witness joyful lands and pure abodes restored to the ancient splendor of the four hundred temples of the Southern Dynasties. May the practice of Brahma conduct, inherently the fulfillment for all sentient beings in this very life, be upheld. I look up to the predecessors with reverence and admire their profound wisdom. May the sea of karma remain calm, and may the merit be immeasurable.

Written at the Qushi Study in Suzhou on the Cold Food Festival, in the year Bingzi of the Republic of China (1936), by Li Genyuan of Tengchong.