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The
Heart Sutra
Preface
#1
When
four assemblies jointly invited the great master of Chan Sham to
expound the Heart Sutra at the Buddhist Library of China, the great
master made an all-out effort, although his lecture-series was to last
nine gruelling days and even though he was already eighty-four years
old; he enjoyed teaching Buddhadharma, and those who came to listen
were delighted. During those nine days, there was standing room only
every time he lectured, a clear sign of greatness of that Dharma
assembly in this five-kasaya period of turbidity. The old master
explained the sutra directly, eluding conventional restrictions. Though
he used traditional divisions of the Buddha's teaching into classes, on
many occasions he dealt broadly with the general idea. Initially, his
aim was to explain the Heart Sutra, but he commented likewise on the
Lotus Sutra, and while discussing the doctrine, broached the topic of
the world situation as well. Why? Because all dharmas are Buddhadharma,
all sutras are one sutra.
Buddhadharma
is never separated from the world. All phenomena are BuddhaDharma and
whoever understands completely does not have a single mote of dust
settle on him/her. All his/her words and all his/her thoughts are
thereby freed from obstacles. Each of his/her statements, may it be
harsh or delicate, is always exactly to the point. Sentient beings
receptive to Dharma will have their wisdom eye open upon hearing this
teaching, but those with distorted vision are bound to be bewildered
and most likely will miss the whole point. Some individuals excel in
knowledge of every rule and every convention and their words flow as in
catharsis; they may have acquired mastery over the divisions and
classifications of the Buddha's teaching, but not understanding its
meaning they cannot avoid getting entangled. Playing with words,
turning them around they get bewitched, and much as their speech is
systematic and orderly, they fail to understand the ultimate, and lose
sight of the truth. According to one of the early Buddhist sages, the
entire universe is one sutra of a sramana; the entire universe is the
eye of a sramana. Although an enlightened person might spend a lot of
time reading a sutra, he/she will not carry it around in his/her mind.
One might say one is reading sutras not with one's eyes, but with one's
wisdom - though reading all day long, there are no sutras to read.
My
great old teacher explained the Heart Sutra by highlighting its salient
points in a prologue: According to his explanation all is really
Buddhadharma, every single form and each tiny bit of color is the
Middle Way. Speaking naturally and freely, he received support from all
sides, precisely because all is Buddhadharma. The great old teacher
expounded the Heart Sutra every day for nine days, yet the Heart Sutra
was never mentioned. This is truly the way to expound the Heart Sutra.
The
master lectured in Mandarin and upasaka Wang Ka'i translated into
Cantonese, making the Cantonese people very happy. Because of these
lectures many of them now understand the Heart Sutra. Those who knew
both dialects praised him for the integrity of his translation. Having
read his notes he made while translating, I concluded in my turn that
Upasaka Wang Wai made every effort to retain the original meaning:
Every sentence, every word is exactly as it was used by the great old
master - only the dialect is different. The translator's descriptions
convey even the sounds and the nuances to such a degree that reading
them equals hearing them spoken.
Upasaka
Wang stood outside the adamantine door and eventually made a
breakthrough, using his superior knowledge and skills the way one would
use an axe to break down any ordinary door. People entered and
discovered what the Heart Sutra holds. I believe he understands what
his treasury is, what are his virtues; wouldn't you agree?
Disciple
NIEN AN
The year of Wu Hsu, June.
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