Translated by Wen Gu
The scripture of Vidyadhara (Knowledge-Holding) has been passed down in various branches and traditions through translation for a long time. Scholars of this world tend to cling to concrete forms and rarely grasp the Middle Way. Its practice of Mahayana Yoga has remained obscure and unilluminated. When the flow of the Dharma is obstructed, it becomes a concern for those who spread the path.
This Mahāvairocana Sūtra is the ultimate esoteric teaching of the Perfect School, deeply entering the true nature of reality, and serves as the source of all teachings. There was a master from Central India, whose ordained name was Śubhakarasiṃha, known in Chinese as Shanwuwei (善無畏). He mastered all eight canons and was renowned throughout the Five Regions of India. He personally transmitted this sutra and was a true authority in this tradition.
Recently, an imperial decree welcomed him, and he often served as an attendant to the emperor. The meditation master Yixing (一行, Yi Xing) was a sage born into this world—clear in insight, penetrating in wisdom, and versatile in understanding. The current emperor honored him and often kept him at court, as recorded in the national histories. Hearing that the Indian master held the treasure of Dharma in his mind, Yixing sought to bring out its meaning and was authorized by imperial decree to translate this sutra together with him, acting as the recorder.
The translator-monk Baoyue (寶月, Precious Moon) was well-versed in various teachings and skilled in understanding local languages. Without Master Yixing, no one could unlock its profound gate; without the Indian master, no one could expound its ultimate depth.
This sutra clearly explains the practices of the Three Vehicles and the supreme Vidyadhara practice of the Highest Vehicle. It aims to help practitioners understand that the nature of all worldly phenomena is inherently unborn. Therefore, by relying on the conditioned, it extensively reveals the unconditioned. Each point is examined thoroughly, exhausting the full scope of reality's dependent origination.
Know that all its countless teachings and words ultimately converge into one guiding principle—the secret treasury itself. Although divided into thirty-one chapters, there was concern that those reciting it might become attached to the words and miss the meaning. The meditation master Yixing then asked the Indian master to explain the sutra's meaning. He recorded these explanations, leaving nothing unexplored and no teaching incomplete. Drawing on both straightforward and esoteric interpretations, Master Yixing brought together the subtle words of many scriptures. Whenever doubts arose in the subdivisions, he revisited and clarified them through repeated study. Diagrams of practices and positions were appended at the end. After editing and supplementing the text, he compiled the Commentary on Meaning (義釋, Y) in fourteen volumes. Because the Sanskrit text had one or two missing sections, there were subtle gaps.
In the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era (727 CE), the meditation master (Yixing) passed away in the capital. The Dharma Preceptor Zhiyan (智儼), who had also studied under Śubhakarasiṃha and knew Sanskrit, was entrusted by Master Yixing on his deathbed to seek out the Sanskrit manuscripts and ask the Indian master to review them again. Before he could retrieve the texts or find the manuscripts, the Indian master also passed away. There was no one left to consult. How tragic!
On his deathbed, Meditation Master Yixing lamented that the profound teaching of this sutra had not yet been fully expounded and propagated. He felt regret. Indeed, the right time is hard to meet. How true!
The sutra's text contains hidden meanings that become clear only when earlier and later passages illuminate each other. Events and principles are interwoven; this is the Buddha's skillful means. Without a teacher's transmission and without consulting the Commentary on Meaning, it is impossible to enter its gate.
I, Wengu (溫古), have been fortunate to accompany these great masters and was present from the start to hear this sutra. However, as for its ultimate, transcendent practices, I dare not presume to fully comprehend. Setting aside my own ignorance, I have focused my mind on veneration and offered these humble, unpolished thoughts to narrate its origins and history.