Preface to the Collected Explanations of the Cheng Weishi Lun

The profundity of the *Cheng Weishi Lun* (*Demonstration of Consciousness-Only*) is difficult to fathom. It is not merely a matter of condensing a hundred doctrines into ten, with terse words and rich meaning. Although it is a direct commentary on the *Thirty Verses*, it actually encompasses the *Mahāyānasaṃgraha*, *Abhidharmasamuccaya*, *Nyāyānusāra*, *Vimśatikā*, *Śataśāstra*, *Madhyāntavibhāga*, *Ratnagotravibhāga*, *Ālaya-vijñāna-vikṣepa*, *Pravṛtti-vijñāna-vikṣepa*, *Pañcaskandhaka*, *Karuṇā-puṇḍarīka*, *Tarkajvālā*, *Buddha-nature*, *Buddhabhūmi*, *Abhidharmakośa*, *Sāṃkhya-kārikā*, *Vaiśeṣika-daśapadārtha*, and other treatises—amounting to several hundred volumes. Although the *Yogācārabhūmi* and **Mahāyānasaṃgraha* are extensive, they can only serve as evidence for this treatise, not encapsulate it completely. Alas, how profound and vast it is, beyond compare! Moreover, wherever it establishes correct principles and refutes false views, it regularly employs the three-part syllogism (*tri-rūpa-hetu*), which appears throughout. Yet among today's lecturers, very few are thoroughly versed in logic (*hetu-vidyā*). If one has not carefully studied these various treatises and integrated them in the mind, then rashly attempting to explain this *śāstra* will almost certainly result in misreading the text and spreading absurdities.

For example, in the first volume, it refutes the Vaiśeṣika school's three categories of substance, quality, and action with two syllogisms. According to that school, objects like pots and clothes are tangible by the body and visible by the eye—they are objects of the five senses, perceived directly (*pratyakṣa*). Thus, bodily touch and visual sight are the reason (*hetu*), direct perception is the proposition (*sādhya*), and forms and sounds are the example (*dṛṣṭānta*). The refutation uses the two properties of "having obstruction" and "having no obstruction" as a common reason for two different propositions, revealing the fault of uncertainty (*anaikāntika*). This reasoning does not come from the *Vaiśeṣika-daśapadārtha* but from the *Śataśāstra*.

Another example appears in the second volume, where it refutes the three conditioned characteristics (*lakṣaṇa*), then refutes them in terms of the three times. Because the Lesser Vehicle holds that arising occurs in the future, while in the past and present it has no function, the treatise refutes this by arguing that future arising is the same as past arising. This argument does not come from the *Śataśāstra* but from the *Abhidharmakośa* and the *Avataṃsaka* commentary. Instances like this are too numerous to list. If one's attention slips for a moment, hastily writing down an explanation can lead to errors that mislead both oneself and others. Alas, how can one not be cautious?

Having devoted myself to this treatise and consulted various texts, I have made some annotations, but many doubts remain. Later, I heard that Masters Chaosong and Yuandu had formed a study group at Jiaoshan and were examining the entire canon in order to explain this treatise. I sent a messenger to invite them. Both masters arrived one after another. I suggested, "Why not compose a supplementary commentary to guide later students?" They replied in unison, "That would require Master Yiyu to join us." I then sent for Master Yiyu, but he was detained by other matters and could not come. Time passed, and it became very difficult to bring everyone together. Eventually, I left the mountain. Now, nearly ten years have passed since that plan was made. Yuandu has already passed away, and I am old and ill, having been bedridden for two years with little sign of recovery. Yet I have never ceased studying and savoring this treatise.

This summer, Master Yiyu completed a new commentary and sent me the printed text of the first five fascicles. In his letter, he said: "In recent times, many people who explain Buddhist scriptures follow their own opinions. For the school of nature (*xingzong*), whose principles are all-encompassing, clever annotations may not cause great harm. But for the school of characteristics (*xiangzong*), whose principles are precise, even a single character's deviation leads to errors by a thousand miles. Though I have my own views, I have not included any explanation that I have not personally verified through textual evidence or discussed with others. What I have included is merely assembling ancient sayings into a coherent text. I wonder if this will meet with your approval."

Alas, this is exactly my own approach! I have always said that all beings like Bodhisattvas Dignāga and Dharmapāla are perfected saints destined among the thousand Buddhas of the Fortunate Eon. Their compositions flow directly from an enlightened mind. We, however, speculate with our discriminating minds, mistaking our conjectures for correct reasoning (*anumāna*), not realizing they are not true knowledge at all. How can we proceed without confirming them with the authority of scripture (*āgama-pramāṇa*)? This is why I named my own humble commentary *Evidence of the Meaning*, intending just this. Master Yiyu has truly understood what I hold in my heart.

When I read his work, I found that wherever there is a syllogism (*prayoga*), he clearly explains it. Even those unfamiliar with logic can read and fully understand it. The various treatises scattered throughout—everything my mind and eyes could reach, the master has already covered. Moreover, he has included things beyond my reach. I then realized how meticulously he crafted his work, and I understood that the praise from Chaosong and Yuandu was not unfounded.

I recall Master Zibai saying that the transmission of the school of characteristics had been lost for a long time. Master Lu'an Tai, while traveling, took shelter from rain under someone's eaves. Inside, he heard a voice expounding the Dharma—and it was the school of characteristics! He immediately entered and saw an old man teaching an old woman. The master bowed and asked for instruction. He stayed for over a month, fully mastering the teaching before leaving. I suspect that old couple was no ordinary pair but enlightened beings manifesting in human form. Master Xuelang En was the disciple of Lu'an's lineage. Yuandu, in turn, was a disciple in the same lineage. Masters Yiyu and Chaosong both received the Dharma from Xuelang and were regarded as his eminent disciples. Their transmission has a deep and authentic source.

I have benefited greatly even from a few words of guidance from Master Yiyu. However, his inclination to completely eliminate lengthy explanations and retain only the essential points of Dharmapāla's correct teaching perhaps reveals a tendency to avoid complexity and prefer simplicity. As a result, he authored very few works in his lifetime. But with his disciples, the lamp of Dharma has been passed continuously, and their writings fill the world—how can these not be considered his own works?

Prolonged illness has kept me away from brush and ink for a long time. But recently, inspired by this occasion, I hurriedly wrote this preface. I do not know if it truly reflects the master's mind.

On the fifth day of early autumn in the year Renzhi of the Wanli era, the layman Wang Kentang, also known as Nianxi, wrote this while battling illness.