禪源諸詮集都序 1.2

1.2

道不能自鳴。假人而鳴。鳴雖不同。道則未嘗不同也。苟不同不足以為道。如仲尼之一貫。老聃之無為。釋氏之空寂。人異道同。此其證也。況夫禪教兩宗同出於佛。禪佛心也。教佛口也。豈有心口自相矛盾者乎。奈何去聖時遙。師承各異。教者指禪為暗證。禪者目教為漸修。明暗未得其公。頓漸罔知攸定。迭為詆毀殆若仇讎。非但鼓之空言。抑且筆之簡冊。世道日下。弊將何如。昔圭峯禪師患之。遂將教禪諸祖著述章句旨意相符者。集為一書。名曰禪源諸詮。以訓于世。將使兩家學者知一佛無二道。四河無異味。言歸于好。永無敗盟。源詮之功。豈易量哉。予每見南方此弊尤甚。安得人有是書一洗舊習。咸與惟新興念至此。未嘗不廢食而歎也。今雪堂總統大師。若有所契。特捐衣長復新諸梓。以廣流傳。千里走書俾為序引。裴公相國既述于前。自視何人敢此凌躐以貽識者之誚。然而此書平生所愛慕者。何幸挂名其間。故不讓也。大德七年七月住崑山薦嚴無外惟大序。

The Way cannot make its own voice heard; it relies on humans to sound forth. Though the voices differ, the Way has never differed. If it were different, it would not suffice to be the Way. Like Zhongni’s single thread, Lao Dan’s non-action, and the Śākya clan’s emptiness and quiescence—persons differ, but the Way is one; these serve as proof. How much more so for the two schools of Chan and doctrinal teaching, which both issue from the Buddha! Chan is the Buddha's mind; doctrinal teaching is the Buddha's mouth. How could mind and mouth be mutually contradictory? Yet as the era of the Sage grew remote, lineages of masters came to differ. Those of the doctrinal teachings pointed to Chan as dark, blind realization; those of Chan viewed the doctrinal teachings as gradual cultivation. Light and dark failed to obtain their fair due, and neither sudden nor gradual knew where to settle. They disparaged each other, becoming almost like bitter enemies. Not only did they bandy empty words, but they committed them to brush and bamboo slips. As the ways of the world daily decline, what will become of these evils? In former times, Chan Master Guifeng was distressed by this. Thereupon he gathered into one collection the writings, chapters, and verses of the various patriarchs of doctrinal teaching and Chan whose purports agreed, entitling it Collected Writings on the Source of Chan, so as to instruct the world. He aimed to let scholars of both traditions know that one Buddha has no dual Way, and the four rivers have no different tastes, returning to harmony and never breaking the covenant. How could the merit of the Source of Chan be easily measured? I often observe that in the South this evil is especially severe. How can we ensure people possess this book, completely washing away old habits and renewing themselves? Whenever my thoughts turn to this, I never fail to forget my meals and sigh. Now Master Xuetang, the Chief Administrative Director, having had an accord [with its message], specially donated his extra robes to carve new printing blocks, spreading it far and wide. He sent a letter from a thousand miles away, asking me to write a preface. Since Prime Minister Pei has already composed one previously, who am I to dare overstep and invite the ridicule of the discerning? Yet this book is what I have admired all my life, and what fortune it is to have my name affixed to it! Thus I do not decline. Preface written in the seventh month of the seventh year of the Dade era [1303 CE] by Wuwai Weida, residing at Jianyan Monastery in Kunshan.