Author's Preface

The *Avatamsaka Sutra* says: "If any being has ever, even for a single moment, believed in and entered the realm of Vairocana Buddha, then even if they fall into the Avici Hell due to evil karma, Vairocana will emit light. When that light touches their body, their life in hell will instantly end, and they will be reborn in the Tushita Heaven, enjoying boundless bliss. In the midst of that bliss, suddenly a heavenly drum will sound from the sky, proclaiming: 'This bliss is empty and illusory; it will soon decay and vanish. Do not cling to it—remember impermanence. Moreover, all karmic retribution does not come from the east, south, west, or north, nor from the four intermediate directions, above, or below. It arises solely from delusion and exists due to causes and conditions.' Upon hearing this, the heavenly beings instantly realize the unborn nature of all phenomena and attain the fruit of the Ten Grounds."

The light of Vairocana blazes forth constantly, without interruption or distinction. Yet, not all beings in hell are liberated by it. Those who are freed are those who, in the past, have formed a connection with Vairocana and, in a single moment of faith, entered the Dharma realm. If there is no seed of connection, even though the light shines eternally, it is like a blind person standing beneath the bright sun—they cannot see it.

From this perspective, the light does not belong solely to Vairocana; it also depends on me. But if it depends on me, why are not all beings in hell liberated at once? Thus, we realize that this light does not reside in Vairocana, nor does it reside in me. It is neither mine nor his—it has no fixed location. I am Vairocana, and Vairocana is me. This is inconceivable, and it is through this understanding that suffering is transcended in an instant, leading to rebirth in the Tushita Heaven.

If one thinks this light has a fixed abode or an object to grasp, then the hells stretch endlessly—how could one ever escape them? Even if one leaves the hells, they may again become attached to celestial pleasures. Long enjoyment leads to confusion, and when impermanence suddenly arrives, signs of decline appear, and one sinks back into the sea of suffering—this is bound to happen. But when one hears the celestial drum proclaiming so stirringly, "The nature of karma is fundamentally empty; guilt has no master," one immediately attains the unborn and suddenly transcends the ten stages. And yet, this celestial drum has no origin; it is only sound, utterly without form or substance. Though without form or substance, it constantly resounds from emptiness. Therefore, it is called the Dharma Gate of the Unsupported Wisdom Seal. How wondrous is the Unsupported Wisdom Seal!

In my homeland, there is a mountain called Goose-Nose, also known as Great Rock. In ancient times, the thousand-year-old monk Bao Zhang once lived there. Those who climbed its peak often heard clear, melodious music in the air, and they all believed it was the music of the Heavenly Emperor. Thus, the region came to be known as Heavenly Music.

Ah! The Heavenly Music is the Heavenly Drum, and the Heavenly Drum is the Dharma Gate of Unattached Wisdom Seal—the light of Vairocana’s Dharma Realm. This light is never apart from our daily activities; in our daily lives, we encounter this light, and through this light, we enter the Dharma Gate of Unattached Wisdom Seal. Then the Heavenly Drum rumbles, the Heavenly Music resounds, ceaseless day and night, heard throughout the entire realm. If one tries to listen with the ear, how is that different from being deaf and blind? I strike it again to awaken the dull and confused. Though expressed in words and traces, its source cannot be found. If you seek it, you grasp at shadows and chase the wind. Therefore, I take the name Heavenly Drum Layman, and call this collection “Heavenly Music Echoing in the Void.”

In the spring of the year Gengxu during the Wanli era, two days before the Lantern Festival, Layman Tiangu, Bao Zongzhao, wrote this preface in the Wu'ai Pavilion.