Preface to "Heavenly Music Resounding in the Sky"

When I read the Book of Changes and came to the passage, "When Heaven and Earth are closed, the wise man hides," I could not help but close the book and sigh deeply. Since the golden deity appeared in a dream and the true Dharma spread eastward, countless great and virtuous teachers have emerged in their time. However, from the Song and Yuan dynasties onward, many have falsely claimed titles and positions, while few have attained true insight. Thus, Master Yunqi often lamented, "In the land of China, it is impossible to find even one Stream-enterer." I privately believe that seeking enlightened individuals among the well-known is indeed difficult, but if one searches among those who live in obscurity, perhaps they are not entirely absent. It is a regret that I cannot travel everywhere to seek them out. In recent times, the Zen school has become chaotic and excessive, making it unbearable to witness. Not only is genuine realization rare, but even those who follow the correct path are hard to find. Often, I weep bitterly in the middle of the night. That is why I deeply rejoice in Yuan Shigong's *Western Harmony Treatise*, considering it a rare and precious voice in a silent valley.

Last winter, I happened to meet the layman Wang Zhi'an from Zuili, who showed me the *Tianyue Mingkong Collection* compiled by Bao Xingquan. Xingquan, a native of Shanyin, made his living selling paper in Zuili—merely a common merchant. He first paid respects to Master Zibo, who encouraged him to recite the *Śūraṅgama Sūtra* and the *Lotus Sūtra* from memory. He then sought skilled calligraphers to transcribe these texts in fine small script, carved them onto printing blocks, and circulated them widely. Later, he devoted himself to studying the *Huayan He Lun*, *Mahāyāna Śamatha-vipaśyanā*, the *Transmission of the Lamp*, and the *Mirror of the Source*, among other records, and also corresponded with Chan Master Zhanran. Eventually, he took refuge under Master Yunqi, passed away in seated meditation, and was reborn in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss. Ah! Such a person is truly rare indeed.

This collection was originally the reading copy of lay practitioner Tao Shiliang. He entrusted it to his old friend Qian Yongming. As Yongming approached his passing, he passed it on to Zhian. Over ten years, it traveled with him, covering nearly ten thousand miles. He repeatedly sought to have it published with fellow practitioners Zhang Jucun, Wang Ertao, Xu Jiezhi, and Gao Nianzu, but the conditions were not yet ripe.

I had the opportunity to examine the original manuscript. Its main argument generally holds that practice and understanding are one, and that cultivation after awakening is the true path. It deeply grasps the essence of the *Combined Treatise* and also comprehends the gateway of the *Mirror of the School*. It serves as a crucial corrective for the reckless Chan of the latter age—no wonder those reckless practitioners resented it for exposing their faults and slandered it as a different path altogether.

Alas! When the teachings of Confucius could not find those who walked the middle path, they turned to the passionate and the principled, for they most despised the hypocrites of the village. When one cannot meet sages or noble persons, they long for good people of steadfast virtue, for they most detest those who pretend to possess what they lack, or feign fullness where there is emptiness.

Since I can no longer engage with Xingquan in conversation, I read his remaining writings, deeply moved by the thought of his hidden virtue that never sought fame, and sighing over the loss of a friend from the past. Therefore, I have selected the most refined and essential parts of his work, adding a few words of my own. Perhaps, in this way, Xingquan’s ever-flowing, lively spirit may still be felt here and now—and maybe this book will be a sign that his teachings will endure.

Written in the spring of the Guisi year, by the Buddhist monk Ouyi Daoren Zhi Xuan, at the Yingquan Meditation Hall.