Long ago, when Shakyamuni Buddha appeared in this world, he received the prediction from Dipankara Buddha and was born into the family of King Shuddhodana. As an infant, he pointed one finger to the heavens and one to the earth, revealing his true nature. Later, when he went out and witnessed birth, old age, sickness, and death, his worldly attachments were suddenly severed. He then taught the Dharma at the Vulture Peak and the Deer Park, spreading his fragrance far and wide. Boundless realms manifested within a single hair-tip; the sutras of the great thousand worlds all emerged from within a speck of dust. His teachings spread westward through India and eastward to China. Though the sacred teachings were compiled by Ananda, the true Dharma eye treasury was already transmitted to Mahakashyapa through the silent flower sermon.

I have received the Mandate of Heaven to uphold the great lineage of the state. With reverence, I recall how our founding emperor opened the gates of the Dharma across the land, how Emperor Taizong illuminated its profound meaning throughout the heavens, how Emperor Zhenzong transmitted the lamp of wisdom during the Jingde era, and how Emperor Renzong expanded this light during the Tiansheng era. Each of them propagated the true teachings, assisted in the divine transformation of the world, and thereby achieved a governance of effortless action.

My late father, the divine emperor, held a special reverence for the teachings of emptiness. In the third year of the Yuanfeng era, he decreed the establishment of two Chan monasteries within the Great Xiangguo Temple: Huilin Monastery in the eastern wing and Zhihai Monastery in the western corridor. Then, in the year Renxu, at the request of the Grand Princess of the State and the Military Commissioner and Consort Zhang Dunli, the Fayun Chan Monastery was built in the southern part of the capital. Thus, the ancestral seat of Chan shines brightly, and the monastic communities flourish. Monks from across the land, all who aspire to the joy of meditation, now gather like clouds in the capital.

Today, Dun Li presented the thirty volumes of the *Jianzhong Jingguo Xudeng Lu*, compiled by the abbot of his temple, the Chan Master Foguo Weibai, and requested a preface for it. Weibai has delved into the supreme vehicle and thoroughly grasped the ultimate truth. He has repeatedly entered the imperial court and ascended the high seat three times, expounding the profound teachings, which greatly aligns with my deepest aspirations. In the past, when the Buddha preached the *Lotus Sutra*, he emitted a white curl of light from between his eyebrows, illuminating eighteen thousand worlds in the east. Maitreya raised a question, and Mañjuśrī resolved the doubt, explaining that the Buddha of Sun, Moon, and Lamp Light had manifested such auspicious radiance. Those who uphold this sutra are like the Dharma Master Miaoguang, and those who attain its realization are like the Tathāgata Puming. The name *Xudeng Lu* signifies that lamps succeed one another, and lights interpenetrate, carrying profound meaning within this.