從容錄重刻四家語錄序
Preface to the Reprint of the Four Masters' Records in the Congrong Lu
自佛祖拈花。迦葉微咲。雖云默露宗風。殊覺渾淪透漏。更逢後來好事兒孫。不知重惜家寶。各各拚身失命。平地生塵。澄波動浪。亂散空華。欺搖揑目。訛傳眾口。公案多端。天童雪竇殘唾。既苦不收。圜悟萬松夢語。又多不醒。幸得清涼老人。久知祖禰不了之殃。今日門徒。古顏盡將骨董搬出。分化四家。從新翻刻。嗚呼賍私現在。真賊難逃。敢請寶劍金剛。便與一齊砍斷。然後將他零碎評詞。共四海蒼生。作個太平歌唱也。
When the Buddha held up a flower, and Mahākāśyapa faintly smiled—though it is said the ancestral teaching was silently revealed, it still feels like a complete yet subtly leaking vessel. Then came later generations of well-meaning descendants who, not knowing how to cherish their family treasure, each risked life and limb, stirring dust on level ground, churning clear waters into waves, scattering empty blossoms in confusion, deceiving eyes with false gestures, and passing down errors through countless mouths. Thus, public cases multiplied endlessly.
The leftover words of Tiantong and Xuedou were sadly left uncollected; the dream-talk of Yuanwu and Wansong mostly remained unawakened. Fortunately, the Elder of Qingliang, long aware of the unresolved calamity passed down from ancestors, today sees his disciples—with ancient faces—hauling out all these antiquities, dividing them among four schools, and carving them anew. Alas! The stolen goods are now exposed; the true thief cannot escape. I dare to invite the Vajra Sword to cut them all down at once. Then, we shall piece together the fragments, compose a commentary, and join all beings under heaven in singing a song of great peace.
南城近溪羅汝芳題
Inscribed by Luo Rufang of Nanchang, near the river.
丁未中龝長洲沈咸書
In the autumn of the year Dingwei, Shen Xian of Changzhou inscribed this.