No. 558-A般若心經指掌序
Preface to the Heart Sutra Guide, No. 558-A
般若無知，諸法本寂，根由一真之妙體，影現二諦之浮名，似實似虗，非虗實之所能擬，亦離亦合，非離合之所能明，所以空而非空，有而非有，互成不妨互奪，並存亦可並亡，泯立無閡，隱顯自在，是謂般若之玄宗也。怎柰凡心易惑，智火難然，如舉網以張風，似從波而捉月，徒歷艱辛，翻成障礙，由是百苦交纏，千殃並集，都由此一念之執耳。茲般若心經者，文約而義寔豐，詞顯而理殊奧，首開空色兩門，專破有無二執，有無盡而實相可顯，色空合而妙義方圓，日用明此般若之道，思過半矣。嘗見諸家註釋，罕臻其奧，唯贒首、孤山二疏，果彌法壇老將，但廣摭經論，侈布筌罤，非初學之所可通，故茲特為指掌，使其易見，所以便初學也。然萬里之行，起於跬步，觀者幸毋忽焉。
Prajna is without cognitive activity, for all dharmas are fundamentally tranquil. Its root lies in the wondrous essence of ultimate reality, while its manifestations appear as the floating names of the Two Truths. They seem real yet illusory, yet cannot be grasped as either reality or illusion. They involve both separation and union, yet cannot be understood through separation or union alone. Thus, emptiness is not merely empty, and existence is not merely existent. Mutual support does not obstruct mutual negation; coexistence also allows for mutual cancellation. Abolition and establishment are unobstructed; concealment and revelation occur spontaneously. This is the profound mystery of Prajna.
Yet ordinary minds are easily deluded, and the fire of wisdom is hard to ignite. It is like spreading a net to catch the wind, or trying to seize the moon's reflection from rippling waves. One toils relentlessly, only to create further obstacles. Thus, a hundred sufferings intertwine, and a thousand calamities converge—all stemming from this single attachment to a thought.
Now, the *Heart Sutra of Prajna* is concise in words but rich in meaning; its language is clear yet its principle is extraordinarily profound. It first opens the two gates of form and emptiness, specifically dismantling the two attachments to existence and non-existence. When the extremes of existence and non-existence vanish, true reality becomes manifest. When form and emptiness merge, the wondrous meaning becomes perfectly realized. By understanding this path of Prajna in daily life, one has already grasped more than half.
I have observed that commentaries by various masters rarely reach its depths. Only the commentaries by Xianshou [Fazang] and Gushan [Zhiyuan] are genuine veterans of the Dharma realm. However, they broadly assemble scriptures and treatises, lavishly laying out snares and traps, making them inaccessible to beginners. Therefore, I have specially prepared this guide to make it easy to see—for the convenience of beginners. Yet a journey of ten thousand miles begins with a single step. May readers not take it lightly.
歲在甲午孟秋佛歡喜日鼓山比丘元贒稽首和南序
In the year of the Wood Horse, on the first day of autumn during the Buddha’s Joyful Season, the monk Yuan Xian of Mount Gu respectfully bows his head in reverence and offers this preface.
贊：
**Praise**
老漢行年今八十， 世間事事皆收拾。
唯這影子遍諸方， 敗露重重遮不及。
Though I have lived eighty years, and put all worldly things in order,
Still, this shadow of myself pervades all places — I can cover up, yet it slips through again and again.
會麼？
Do you understand?
有相身中無相身，低頭方見明歷歷。
Within this form-bound body lies the formless true self— Only by bowing low can you see it, clear and vivid.
永覺老人自題
Eternal Awakening Old Man's Self-Inscription