No. 474-A刻金剛決疑題辭
Inscription for the Engraved Edition of the Diamond Sutra Resolving Doubts
般若為諸佛母，菩薩之真因，眾生之佛性，生靈之大本也。由向背之分，故有聖凡之別。是知眾生日用現前，見聞知覺，皆般若之光，端在信不信耳。故曰：諸佛智海，以信得入；靈山一會，得度弟子。雖出生死，而不信此法無成佛之分。勞我世尊多方淘汰，種種彈呵，而劣解之徒，展轉生疑，以為非己智分。以疑根未拔，故本智不現。及至般若會上，如來以金剛智而決斷之，直使聖凡情盡，生滅見亡，而本有智光，豁然披露，始信自心清淨，了無一法為己障礙。此金剛般若，直拔疑根，為發最上乘者說，殊非淺識薄德所能解。故黃梅以此印心，以其一法不立，是為宗門正眼也。昔天親列二十七疑，解此一經，以疑潛言外。而此方義學，執筌失指，從前得意忘言者希。予自幼能誦，而長不解。每思六祖大師一言之下，頓了此心，何世無悟入之人？由正眼不開，返為性障。因住曹溪，偶為大眾發揮一過，恍然有悟，而言外之疑，頓彰心目。信乎此法離文字相，非思量分別所能解也。因拈示一斑，以當法施。初刻之嶺南，再刻於五雲，又刻於南嶽。門人方玉，見而信受。茲復刻於吳門。將廣願四眾，同開金剛正眼，的信自心，則成佛正因，將以是為嚆矢也。
Prajna is the mother of all Buddhas, the true cause of bodhisattvas, the Buddha-nature of all sentient beings, and the great foundation of living beings. Due to the distinction between turning toward it and turning away from it, there arises the difference between sages and ordinary people. Thus, we know that in the daily activities of sentient beings, in what they see, hear, know, and perceive, all is the light of Prajna—it simply depends on whether they believe it or not. Therefore, it is said: The ocean of wisdom of all Buddhas is entered through faith; the assembly at Vulture Peak consisted of disciples who were able to be liberated. Although they transcended birth and death, without faith in this Dharma, they would have no share in Buddhahood. Our World-Honored One toiled in various ways to refine them, employing all kinds of reprimands and admonishments, yet those of inferior understanding continued to give rise to doubts, thinking it was beyond their own capacity for wisdom. Because the root of doubt had not been uprooted, their innate wisdom did not manifest. Then, at the assembly on Prajna, the Tathagata used his diamond-like wisdom to decisively cut through it, directly causing the emotions of sages and ordinary people to be exhausted, the views of birth and extinction to vanish, and the innate light of wisdom to suddenly be revealed. Only then did they believe that their own minds are inherently pure, with not a single dharma obstructing them. This Diamond Prajna directly uproots doubt and is spoken for those who aspire to the highest vehicle; it is certainly not something that those with shallow understanding and meager virtue can comprehend. Thus, Huangmei used this to seal the mind, because it establishes not a single dharma—this is the true eye of the Chan school. In the past, Vasubandhu enumerated twenty-seven doubts to explain this sutra, with the doubts hidden beyond the words. Yet in our land, scholars of doctrine cling to the words and miss the meaning; from ancient times, few have grasped the meaning and forgotten the words. I was able to recite this sutra from a young age but did not understand it until I grew older. I often thought: With a single word from the Sixth Patriarch, this mind was instantly understood—why is it that in every age there are those who fail to awaken? It is because the true eye is not opened; instead, it becomes an obstacle to their nature. While residing at Caoxi, I once expounded it for the assembly and suddenly had an awakening—the doubts beyond the words instantly became clear to my mind. Truly, this Dharma is beyond verbal characteristics and cannot be understood through intellectual discrimination. Therefore, I offer a glimpse of it here as a gift of Dharma. It was first printed in Lingnan, then reprinted at Wuyun, and again at Nanyue. My disciple Fangyu saw it and received it with faith. Now it is being reprinted in Wumen. May it be widely wished that the fourfold assembly together open the true eye of the Diamond, truly believe in their own minds, and thus establish the true cause for Buddhahood—may this be the beginning.
丙辰長至月憨山清道人撰
Written by the Pure-Mountain Hermit, Hanshan Qing, in the Longzhi Month of the Bingchen Year.