The origins of this collection are as follows. The initial teacher, the elder Yuanmu who served as an attendant to the Master, entered the path with a childlike purity. Through deep practice and secret cultivation, he attained signs of rebirth in the Tushita Heaven. Monastics and laypeople alike, having seen and heard this, were filled with admiration and sighs of wonder. At that time, the pure scholar Zeng Tongshao asked the Master, "I have heard that there exists a 'Collection of Rebirth in the Pure Land' popular in the Western tradition. But regarding rebirth in the Tushita Heaven, from ancient times to the present, there have been many eminent practitioners—why is there no such collection for them? I respectfully ask you to compile one, so it may serve as a mirror for all generations." The Master replied, "Excellent! Your question is truly a good medicine for saving beings and a compassionate ship for crossing the sea of suffering. Why? Because ordinary beings, in a single moment of delusion about their true nature, cling to illusions and shadows of causes and conditions, drifting through birth and death with no hope of return. They rise and fall through the six realms of existence; how can they escape the three realms? Before reaching the stage of the ten sages, how can they avoid the realm of separate birth and death? Especially in this degenerate age of arrogance, many mistake the shadows of discriminating consciousness for seeing their true nature and attaining enlightenment. They wrongly identify the fleeting spark of a flint or a flash of lightning as liberation from birth and death. They indulge in empty talk, deny cause and effect, criticize those who uphold precepts as clinging to forms, mock those who study scriptures as picking through old papers, and belittle those who seek rebirth as beings of small capacity and inferior wisdom. Do they not recall that Asvaghosa and Nagarjuna aspired to see Amitabha, and Asanga and Vasubandhu vowed to see Maitreya? What root or petty nature do they have? They foolishly criticize the noble ones, slander the scriptures and precepts—who can take their place in bearing this sin? Though they speak of sudden enlightenment, their habitual delusions are not yet removed. Once they enter another womb, the darkness of the intermediate state becomes unavoidable. The examples of the Five-Precept Preceptor, the Blue Cottage Monk, the Humble Elder Xun, and the Venerable Yan all stand as warnings. Their consciousness is in chaos and confusion; they try to rival the ancients. Their afflictions blaze like fire; they boast of surpassing the Buddha. Without having realized non-arising, they eventually drift with the flow of karmic consciousness. Maitreya and Amitabha are true great teachers, yet they refuse to attend them. Avalokiteshvara, Mahasthama, Tiantai, and Jingci are truly good friends—why do they not draw close to them? My awakened mother, née Zou, has already received the compassionate welcome of the Honored One and been reborn in the Inner Court. Her immense kindness is like a vast ocean, and I find no way to repay it. So I again earnestly asked my Master to quickly complete this collection, to serve as a precious raft for the fourfold assembly and provisions for future generations. Thus, the Master consulted various scriptures, treatises, and biographical records, along with things he had seen and heard, compiled them into a volume, and entrusted it to me for printing, to be made public throughout the world. With this in mind, I asked the Master, "Does Your Holiness's aspiration lie in the Western Pure Land or the Tushita Heaven?" The Master said, "Go ask the wooden peg." I said, "I do not understand the sound of the wooden peg." The Master said, "Heavens, heavens!" I said, "Pray, Your Holiness, out of compassion, explain clearly." The Master said, "My tongue is not feeling well today. Wait until another time to tell you." Thus, I prostrated and related the entire story from beginning to end.

(The Five-Precept Preceptor's later incarnation was Su Changgong; the Blue Cottage Monk's later incarnation was Zeng Lugong; the Venerable Xun's later incarnation was Minister Li; the Venerable Yan's later incarnation was Wang Guiling. The Yandang Monk's later incarnation was Qin Huai.)