The Great Master Dayai Scours the Text for Flaws

original: "大厓士就文挑剔"; "Dayai" likely refers to a specific master or scholar. To "pick flaws" (挑剔) here is likely a humble or ironic way of saying he is editing or examining the text minutely.

Radiant and Brilliant Throughout All Antiquity

original: "亘千古光明燦爛"

Written in the winter of the Renzi year of the Chunyou era [1252] by Yude, the resident of the mountain

original: "淳祐壬子冬住山 愚得"; The Chunyou era (1241–1252) was during the reign of Emperor Lizong of the Southern Song Dynasty. "Resident of the mountain" (住山) is a traditional way for a monk to identify himself as the head of a monastery.

At the Hall of Direct Pointing

original: "書于直指堂"; "Zhizhi" (Direct Pointing) is a core tenet of Zen Buddhism, referring to "pointing directly to the human heart to see one's nature and become a Buddha."

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I have heard that the Sage Confucius original: "孔聖" said: "Shen! My Way is bound together by a single thread." Zengzi original: "曾子"; one of Confucius’s most influential disciples. replied: "Yes." After the Master had left, the other disciples asked: "What did he mean?" Zengzi said: "The Way of our Master consists of loyalty and empathy original: "忠恕"; "Zhong" (loyalty/integrity) and "Shu" (empathy/reciprocity), considered the essence of Confucian ethics., and nothing more."

I have also heard that when Shakyamuni original: "釋迦"; the historical Buddha. was at Vulture Peak original: "靈山"; a sacred mountain in India where the Buddha is said to have delivered many sermons., he held up a flower and Kasyapa original: "迦葉"; the Buddha's disciple. smiled. The World-Honored One original: "世尊"; a title for the Buddha. said: "I possess the Treasury of the True Dharma Eye original: "正法眼藏"; the essential, wordless teaching of Buddhism. and the Wondrous Mind of Nirvana original: "涅槃妙心". I entrust them to Mahakasyapa."

Though the practical applications of these two traditions differ, their underlying meaning is one and the same. Viewing it from this perspective, the principle of the "single thread" and the mind-to-mind transmission original: "以心傳心"; the Zen concept of transmitting enlightenment without relying on words or scriptures. has continued through thousands of years without the slightest break. The deep lineage of the study of the Way truly stems from within Zengzi's single "Yes"...