Learn Rare Buddhist Teachings Firsthand!

OBJECTIVE
Translate the Commentaries and Subcommentaries to the Flower Garland Sutra.
TERMS

If we reach at least $791 by June 29, 2010, then We will translate the first fascicle of the Commentaries to the Sutra in one month.

Here is the preface to the Commentaries by a preeminent Buddhist monk who taught seven Chinese emperors:

大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義序

　　　唐清涼山大華嚴寺沙門澄觀述
至聖垂誥。鏡一心之玄極。大士弘闡。燭微言之幽致。雖忘懷於詮旨之域。而浩瀚於文義之海。蓋欲寄象繫之跡。窮無盡之趣矣。斯經文理。不可得而稱也。晉譯幽祕。賢首頗得其門。唐翻靈編。後哲未窺其奧。澄觀。不揆膚受。輒闡玄微。偶溢九州。遐飛四海。講者盈百。咸扣余曰。大教趣深。疏文致遠。親承旨訓。彷彿近宗。垂範千古。慮惑高悟。希垂再剖。得睹光輝。順斯雅懷。再此條理。名為隨疏演義。昔人云。人在則易。人亡則難。今為解釋。冀遐方終古。得若面會。然繁則倦於章句。簡則昧其源流。顧此才難。有慚折中。意夫後學。其辭不枝矣。

The Preface to An Elaboration on the Meaning of the Commentaries to the Great Means Expansive Buddhas Flower Garland Sutra
By Sramana Cheng Guan of Tang Dynasty’s Avatamsaka Monastery, Qing Liang Mountain

The final teachings of the utmost supreme sage reaches the most ultimate and mystical in the singular mind’s mirror. By the candle, Bodhisattvas vastly and comprehensively proclaim the subtleties of these words. Though they may be forgotten in the zone of meanings interpreted, they are extensive like the sea of literary meaning. If you wish to know the elephant overall, you must begin by understanding its footprints; that way you will reach inexhaustible meanings. The principles to this text are said to be unattainable. Xian Shou grasped rather well the mystical intricacies contained in the Jing Dynasty version of the sutra translation; but those of latter generations were not able to peek into the profundity contained in the enchanting compilation of the Tang Dynasty edition o of the sutra translation. Cheng Guan does not accept superficial conjectures; instead he willfully expounds on its fine esoteric points which occasionally brim over the nine continents and soar above the four seas. There had been more than hundreds of speakers, I really do not mean much. The meaning of the great teaching is profound and the commentaries reach principles afar. By personally inheriting the instructions that are close to contemporary schools of thought, they become models who will last for millenia. Worried or confused over lofty awakenings, I hope that you will further dissect the principles so that we may behold its light and comply with their elegant intent. Furthermore, these principles are called the proclaimed meanings in the accompanying commentaries. People in the past said, “Things are easy when people are around; things are difficult when people are gone.” Hopefully these explanations today will reach those throughout lands and times. Though people come face to face with this text, they may grow weary of the passages due to their complexity or they may be blind to their source due to the simplicity of the text. Considering these difficulties, I shamefully compromised in the hopes that students in the future will not go astray in their understanding of the meanings.