No. 1179-A省庵法師遺書敘
Preface to the Posthumous Letters of Master Sheng'an
省庵法師遺藁。向有流通本。其弟子際本所錄而正因刻之者也。其淨土詩。勸發菩提心文。涅槃會發願文。別為一錄。余從吳趨龍興寺得一鈔本。亦本公所錄。中多詩偈。乃刻本所未及。寺僧安公屬余會三為一。稍有芟汰。擇其切要者登之。既卒業以授安公。刻行于世。而以師所注雲栖發願文。東海若解附之。余讀師勸發菩提心文。未嘗不汗浹背。涕沾衣也。昔我世尊始成正覺。歎曰。奇哉奇哉。無一眾生而不具有如來智慧。但以妄想顛倒執著。不能證得。若離妄想。一切智自然智無礙智則得現前。吾壹不解此諸眾生于妄想執著。何苦而不離。于如來智慧。又何憚而不證。卒乃舍父逃逝。長劫漂流。甘為客作賤人。而不知反此無他故。不覺而已矣。菩提心者。即覺之異名。才覺則現前妄想執著。全是如來智慧。葢如來智慧。無體。以眾生妄想為體。眾生妄想無體。以如來智慧為體。如水成波。全波是水。從本以來。畢竟當住無餘涅槃故。然而覺與不覺之分。斷不可以自瞞自昧者也。于此瞿然而思。𥒐然以解。則菩提心之發。自有沛然莫禦者。此心既發。一切智自然智無礙智。又何用他求哉。師生當像季之餘。因瞻舍利。頓發大心。其生平行在梵網。志在西方。發而為言。披肝露膽。一片血誠。救焚拯溺。不足為喻。真末法之精進幢也。昔善財童子徧參知識。首于文殊所得根本智。繼見德雲復聞念佛法門。其卒也。普賢以十大願王導歸極樂。觀師之志事。抑何與華嚴大士。不謀而合轍歟。或言菩提心者徧一切處。何有智者。願東願西。答。大心凡夫。初入法界。未證無生忍。一經胎獄。便昧夙因。何如託質蓮臺。永離分段。聞法得果。分身普應。上事諸佛。下度眾生。直至泥洹。更無退轉。其為利害。較若天淵矣。且汝謂菩提心者徧一切處。然則自東而西。譬如一臂之伸屈。顧于一體之中。樂其屈。不樂其伸也。可謂智乎。嗚呼。師今往矣。虗空有盡。我願無盡。師之心其何窮已矣。讀斯錄者有能志師之志。行師之事者乎。即謂師現身說法可也。余當布髮承足。以諸香華而散其處。
A manuscript of Master Xing'an's collected works once circulated among the people. It was recorded by his disciple Ji Ben and published by Zheng Yin. His Pure Land poems, essay on awakening the Bodhi mind, and vow text for the Nirvana assembly were compiled into a separate volume. I obtained another handwritten copy from Longxing Temple in Wuqu, also recorded by Master Ben. This copy contained many verses not included in the printed edition. The temple's monk, Master An, asked me to merge the three texts into one. After some selection and trimming, I chose the most essential pieces. Once completed, I gave the work to Master An for publication, appending Master Xing'an's commentary on Yunqi's vow text and "The Explanation of Donghai Ruo."
When I read Master Xing'an's essay on awakening the Bodhi mind, I could not help breaking into sweat and shedding tears. In the past, our World-Honored One, having just attained enlightenment, exclaimed, "Marvelous, marvelous! Not a single sentient being lacks the wisdom of the Tathagata. But because of deluded thoughts, inverted views, and attachments, they fail to realize it. If they could abandon deluded thoughts, then all-knowing wisdom, natural wisdom, and unobstructed wisdom would manifest before them." I cannot understand why these sentient beings cling so bitterly to their delusions and attachments, refusing to let them go, and why they are so afraid of realizing the Tathagata's wisdom. In the end, they abandon their father and run away, drifting through countless lifetimes, content to be lowly servants, unaware of how to return. There is no other reason—they simply lack awareness.
The Bodhi mind is another name for this awareness. The moment we become aware, the delusions and attachments before us are entirely the Tathagata's wisdom. The Tathagata's wisdom has no substance; it takes the delusions of sentient beings as its substance. Likewise, the delusions of sentient beings have no substance; they take the Tathagata's wisdom as their substance. Just as water forms waves, yet all waves are water. From the very beginning, we are ultimately meant to abide in the nirvana without remainder. However, the distinction between awareness and ignorance must never be hidden from or deceived by ourselves. If we reflect deeply and suddenly understand, the Bodhi mind will naturally arise with an unstoppable force. Once this mind arises, what need is there to seek all-knowing wisdom, natural wisdom, or unobstructed wisdom elsewhere?
Master Xing'an lived in a degenerate age. Through contemplating the Buddha's relics, he suddenly awakened his great aspiration. Throughout his life, he based his practice on the Brahma Net Sutra and directed his mind toward the Western Pure Land. In his teachings, he spoke with utter sincerity, pouring out his heart and laying bare his innermost thoughts. His compassionate effort to save beings from suffering—like rescuing someone from fire or drowning—cannot be fully described by any comparison. He was truly a banner of diligence in the degenerate age.
In the past, the youth Sudhana visited countless spiritual teachers. First, he obtained the wisdom of fundamental reality from Manjushri. Then, he met Cloud of Virtue and heard the Dharma gate of mindfulness of the Buddha. Finally, Samantabhadra guided him to the Land of Ultimate Bliss through the ten great vows. When we examine Master Xing'an's aspirations and actions, how remarkably they align with the great beings of the Avatamsaka Assembly, as if by unspoken agreement!
Someone may ask, "The Bodhi mind pervades all places. Why would a wise person vow to go East or West?" The answer is: A practitioner of great resolve, having just entered the Dharma realm and not yet realized the patience of non-arising, will once again enter the womb of samsara and forget their past conditions. How much better to be reborn on a lotus pedestal, forever free from the cycle of birth and death. There, one hears the Dharma, attains fruition, and can manifest countless bodies to serve the Buddhas above and save beings below, advancing steadily toward nirvana without ever regressing. The difference between these two paths is as vast as heaven and earth.
And you say that the Bodhi mind pervades all places? So then, moving from East to West is like extending or bending an arm. Would a wise person prefer to keep their arm folded rather than extend it? That would be foolish indeed.
Alas! The master has now passed on. Though space may end, my vows are endless. How could the master's mind ever be exhausted? Among those who read this collection, if there are those who can make the master's aspiration their own and carry out the master's work, it is as if the master himself were teaching them in person. I would gladly spread my hair on the ground for him to walk on, and scatter fragrant flowers over his place.
乾隆五十一年元日淨業學人彭際清謹撰
On the first day of the fifty-first year of the Qianlong reign, the Pure Land practitioner Peng Jìqīng respectfully composed this.