Respectfully submitted:

At the level of ultimate reality, there are no names such as Buddha or sentient being; only within the gate of cultivation do distinctions between ordinary beings and sages arise. The nature of mind is originally pure, yet afflictions and delusions proliferate because of grasping and attachment; delusive appearances are originally empty, and through awakened contemplation, true permanence transcends all opposites. In adapting to conditions without changing, the ascent and descent through the ten realms differ vastly; in remaining unchanged while adapting to conditions, the essence and function of the one mind are no different. Although this mind and this principle are inherently possessed by all living beings, thorough awakening and realization belong only to the awakened. The multitude of sentient beings remain unenlightened because of their attachments and delusions; thus, for long kalpas, they revolve through the six realms, suffering beyond endurance.

Śākyamuni, the World-Honored One, Tamer of Beings in the Central Land, attained perfect awakening long ago, before kalpas as numerous as motes of dust. Abiding in the Land of Eternal Quiescent Light, beyond the three divisions of time, he constantly enjoys the four virtues. Out of compassion for the nine realms, he manifested birth and repeatedly displayed the eight aspects. In accordance with the one hundred and eight kinds of mind-nature within the nine realms, he expounded the wondrous Dharma of the Tripiṭaka and the twelve divisions of the teachings.

For those of great capacity, he directly revealed the One True Dharma Realm, enabling them to give rise to mind without abiding anywhere, until they severed delusion and realized truth. For those of lesser faculties, he explained in detail the cause and effect of the three times, enabling them to pursue good and avoid misfortune, thereby providing expedient means for entering the Way. The sages of the Lesser Vehicle have extinguished their former karma, established the pure life, accomplished what had to be done, and abide in the city of nirvāṇa without undergoing further existence. Mahāyāna bodhisattvas possess deep and unwavering faith, earnest and unretreating vows, and tireless diligent practice; they cross the ocean of birth and death in order to liberate sentient beings extensively.

In the eastern land, the causes of blessing had come to fruition and the conditions for liberation had ripened. Therefore, the great teaching gradually spread eastward, and the patriarchs came from the West. The fifth fascicle of Calming and Contemplation states: “In primordial antiquity, when chaos still prevailed, it was not yet fitting for the Buddha to appear in the world. The capacities of those in the borderlands were not receptive to the Buddha’s arising. I sent three sages to transform that land of China; first, ritual propriety and righteousness were established, and only afterward could the scriptures of the Greater and Lesser Vehicles be believed. Since this was so in China, it was likewise so in the ten directions.”

The Scripture of Pure Dharma Practice says: “Moonlight Bodhisattva was known there as Yan Hui; Pure-Light Bodhisattva was known there as Zhongni; Kāśyapa Bodhisattva was known there as Laozi.” Zhongni was devoted to fulfilling the proper human relationships and carrying out one’s duties; Laozi, on the other hand, struck at worldly intellect. The bodhisattvas vow to liberate all sentient beings universally, while the Tathāgata washes their minds clean. First they cultivated moral and cultural civilization, opening up the vast vision of the Mahāyāna; afterward they gathered beings into the ocean of perfect enlightenment, enabling all to realize the unborn directly. The World-Honored One taught and transformed all under heaven through immeasurable skillful means—skillful indeed. He further transmitted and entrusted the teaching through immeasurable skillful means, bringing accomplishment to the multitude of beings in the latter age.

The grandmaster Acharya Dayu manifested birth into the Li family of Wuhan during the late Qing dynasty. His mind-ground was endowed with deeply rooted wisdom from former lives. He once read widely in the books of sages and worthies and, with his exceptional talent, had served in public affairs. Witnessing the inhumanity of the warlords and the resulting devastation of living beings, he was grieved and indignant, and in anger left home to become a monastic.

At Donglin on Mount Lu, he cultivated the Pure Land dharma gate and practiced the arduous Pratyutpanna Samādhi, risking his life to break through the delusive and bewildering realm within illusion. In samādhi, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva appeared before him, transmitted six mudrās and one mantra, and conferred empowerment in transmitting the Heart-of-Heart Dharma. Following the bodhisattva’s instruction, he searched the Buddhist canon and indeed obtained the root tantra of heart esotericism. Through arduous cultivation of the esoteric practice, he attained accomplishment in seven years and established the Mind-Seal Dharma Gate.

In order to gather in sentient beings suited to the teaching, he briefly displayed spiritual powers. By pointing directly to the true nature of suchness, he thoroughly swept away fascination with the abstruse and marvelous. His heart was vast: with Taixu and Yinguang, he dissolved the estrangement of long separation. His dharma gate was profound: like echoes in a secluded valley, he spoke amid the evening mist. Later, he left behind a poem and withdrew into seclusion; to this day, no one knows where he ended his life.

Acharya Renzhi, our teacher’s teacher, was surnamed Wang, given name Zaiji, and style name Xianglu. He manifested birth into a scholarly family in Haiyan and was compassionate and generous at heart. He ranged widely through the sea of moral philosophy and literature, and devoutly believed in the Buddha Vehicle. At first, he broadly sought the essential meanings of the various schools, practiced Buddha-recitation, and investigated Chan, yet did not dare to claim that he had found a sure grasp. Later, he followed Patriarch Dayu, cultivated heart esotericism, and suddenly awakened to realize the mind.

Receiving the patriarch’s essential marrow of mind, he deeply accorded with the unsurpassed esoteric intent. He founded Mind-Seal Vihara and guided the multitude of beings with karmic affinity. He fused Chan, Pure Land, and Esoteric Buddhism in one furnace, sweeping away the narrow and inferior views of sectarian divisions; he brought the schools, teachings, and precepts together as one whole, revealing the Tathāgata-garbha mind inherently possessed by sentient beings. He established the guiding tenets of the Mind-Seal school: prajñā as its principle, dhāraṇī as its method, and the Pure Land as its ultimate destination. When the work of his teaching affinity in this life was complete, the eyes of humans and devas were extinguished and the boat of prajñā sank; he passed into parinirvāṇa in the 1950s.

Our revered teacher, Acharya Yuanyin, whose name was Zhongding, manifested birth into the Li family of Hefei, Anhui, early in the twentieth century. As a child, he studied the legacy teachings of Confucius and Mencius and investigated birth and death, yet felt at a loss. As a youth, he attended a modern school; when reading prajñā teachings, they seemed strangely familiar. Upon hearing the sound of a bell at Jiayou Chan Monastery, the clamor of the world suddenly vanished; upon receiving a single strike of the wooden fish from an awakened eminent monk, arising and ceasing likewise vanished.

Having aroused the resolve to study Buddhism, he did not marry. Yet, in order to support his aged mother, he was unable to leave home and become a monastic. He paid homage to Venerable Xingci and studied Tiantai, continuously and attentively maintaining the sacred name of Amitābha Buddha. He followed the lay practitioner Gunong in studying Consciousness-Only and conducted an in-depth study of the doctrinal essentials of the Tiantai teachings.

He drew near to the virtuous elder Yingci to study the Avataṃsaka Sūtra and investigate Chan. Suddenly, he felt that his human body had vanished, while luminosity shone brightly. Following Master Renzhi, he practiced heart esotericism in seated meditation and suddenly realized that empty space had shattered and the great earth had sunk level. Protected in mindfulness by all Buddhas and bodhisattvas, he repeatedly experienced auspicious signs. He engaged Patriarch Dayu in questions and answers, and wondrous phrases flowed forth one after another. He received empowerment from a Vajra Acharya and was honored with a place among the teachers. At the earnest invitation of students from many places, he gave teachings on the Buddha Vehicle.

Even in his nineties, the revered teacher vigorously advocated realizing the mind and seeing one’s true nature. His footprints extended throughout the country: east to Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning; west to Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan; south to Hunan, Guangdong, and Fujian; and north to Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai. Many overseas students from the United States, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, and elsewhere also came to him in admiration.

He spared no effort in proclaiming and propagating the Dharma on the Buddha’s behalf, forgetting himself in the work of spreading the Dharma. Nor did he shrink from criticism and suspicion when composing treatises, so that later students might realize the mind. When A Brief Discussion of Realizing the Mind and Seeing One’s True Nature was published, it awakened the Buddhist community to awakening and realization as the foundation, like a thunderclap that rouses the deaf. When Essential Points of Buddhist Practice and Realization was published, it showed students the great path of genuine cultivation, leaving an indelible impression.

Prajñā is the eye of cultivation; the entire Tripiṭaka and twelve divisions of the Buddha Dharma are contained within it. The Heart Sūtra is the essence of prajñā; a great collection of six hundred fascicles is fully encompassed therein. Bodhisattvas throughout the ten directions unfold the fundamental great teaching from this; all Buddhas of the three times reveal the unsurpassed Dharma wheel from this. The Prajñāpāramitā Heart Sūtra is the core of the Buddhist scriptures; hence it bears the name Heart Sūtra.

At the earnest request of others, the revered teacher explained the meaning of the sūtra. One listener aroused the resolve and recorded the teachings on cassette tapes. Students listened to the recordings and transcribed them; after the revered teacher reviewed them, they were edited into a book. This is how the present work, Uncovering the Hidden Meaning of the Heart Sūtra, came to be.

Respectfully copied by the later student-disciple Qi Zhijun, after washing his hands

1997, the Dingchou year