金剛經纂要刊定記 1.2

1.2

The transmission of the Śākya clan's teaching, the Diamond Sūtra, in the world is of ancient origin. From the Qin dynasty down to the present, several centuries have passed; those chanting and reciting it include both the humble and the noble, and its miraculous responses fill documents and tablets. Its benefits extend to the dark netherworlds and reach to the divine spirits; it is indeed a level road for heading toward the Great [Vehicle], and a grand strategy for shattering the Small [Vehicle]. Therefore, the Successor took up verses as the basis, the two treatises explained and linked them together, and various commentaries interpreted them with points of agreement and disagreement. Master Guishan gathered the essential blossoms and discarded the superficial and spurious, entitling it the Zuanyao (Essentials). He adopted the middle way, and further set forth an abridged commentary to prepare for transmission and study. Master Shibi, following the train of its intended meaning, separately composed an extensive record; fine though it was, its phrasing was perhaps verbose and lengthy, so that later students found it mostly inconvenient to use. Now I have newly made this definitive edition, pruning and cutting away the prolix and disordered, so that it may flow without obstruction, inspiring study and lectures, in the hope that our Way may be spared the peril of falling to the ground. Prefaced on the jiăzi day, the last month of winter, in the year following the inauguration of the Tiansheng reign of the Great Song.