密呪圓因往生集 1.2

1.2

竊惟總持無文、越重玄於化表，祕詮有象、敷大用於域中，是以佛證離言、廓圓鏡無私之照，教傅密語、呈神功必効之靈，一字包羅、統千門之妙理，多言冲邃、總五部之旨歸，眾德所依、群生攸仰，持之則通心于當念、誦之則滅累于此生。妙矣哉！脫流幻之三有、拔險趣之七重，躋蓮社之淨方、掃雲朦之沙界，促三祇於頃刻、五智克彰，圓六度於剎那、十身頓滿，其功大、其德圓，巍巍乎不可得而思議也。以茲祕典方其餘教，則妙高之落眾峯、靈耀之掩群照矣！宗壽夙累所鐘久纏疾療，湯砭之暇覺雄是依，爰用祈叩真慈、懺摩既往，虔資萬善、整滌襟靈，謹錄諸經神驗祕呪以為一集，遂命題曰密呪圓因往生焉。然欲事廣傳通、利兼幽顯，故命西域之高僧、東夏之真侶，校詳三復華梵兩書，雕印流通永規不朽。云爾。時大夏天慶七年，歲次庚申孟秋望日，中書相賀宗壽謹序。

Reflecting in private: the dhāraṇī is without script, transcending repeated mysteries beyond worldly transformation; secret elucidations possess forms, displaying their great utility within the realm. Therefore the Buddha verified what is beyond words, expanding the impartial illumination of the perfect mirror; the teaching transmits esoteric words, manifesting the infallible efficacy of divine virtue. A single syllable encompasses all, governing the wondrous principles of a thousand gates; many words are profound and vast, integrating the essential import of the five families. They are that on which all virtues rely, and that which all living beings look up to. If one upholds them, one connects the mind in the present thought; if one recites them, one eliminates burdens in this lifetime. How wondrous! They liberate one from the illusory flow of the three realms of existence, pluck one from the seven tiers of perilous destinies, elevate one to the pure land of the Lotus Society, and clear away the cloudy obscurations of sands-of-worlds realms. They compress three asaṃkhyeya kalpas into an instant, clearly manifesting the five wisdoms; they fulfill the six perfections in a single moment, suddenly perfecting the ten bodies. Their merit is great, their virtue is perfect, so towering and magnificent that it cannot be conceived or discussed! Comparing this secret canon to the rest of the teachings is like Mount Sumeru looking down on all other peaks, or a divine brilliance obscuring all ordinary lights! I, Zongshou, burdened by lingering karmic entanglements from the past, have long been afflicted with illness. In the intervals between broths and acupuncture, I took refuge in the Hero of Awakening, thereupon praying to the true compassion, repenting past deeds, reverently cultivating ten thousand wholesome deeds, and purifying my mind and spirit. I have respectfully compiled the divinely verified esoteric mantras of various sūtras into a single collection, and thereupon titled it Esoteric Mantras as Perfect Causes for Rebirth. Desiring to spread it widely so that its benefits reach both the unseen and the manifest realms, I commanded eminent monks of the Western Regions and true companions of the Eastern Xia to carefully examine and repeatedly collate both the Chinese and Sanskrit texts, and carve printing blocks for its eternal transmission. Thus it is recorded. Recorded on the full moon day of the first month of autumn in the gengshen year, the seventh year of the Tianqing reign of the Great Xia (1200 CE), by He Zongshou, Grand Chancellor of the Secretariat, who respectfully writes this preface.