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Our compassionate teacher, the Venerable Master Hua, entered Nirvana on June 7 of this year, and living beings of the Saha world suddenly lost their harbor of refuge. In his life the Venerable Master extensively propagated the Dharma for the benefit of living beings. Even at the very end, his Nirvana bestowed a wordless teaching.
“I came from empty space, and to empty space I will return.” There is no place that empty space is not found. Although the Venerable Master’s physical manifestation has already left us, his spirit and his teaching are like empty space─there is no place they are not found. It is only that ordinary people are attached to appearances and cannot realize this. The Venerable Master’s monumental merit and virtue, his lofty resolve, his magnanimous spirit, and his every word, deed, and gesture are worthy examples for future generations to follow. Therefore, now that the sun of wisdom has suddenly fallen, we disciples in our deep grief have actively compiled the memorial publication In Memory of the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua in order to leave a record of the Venerable Master’s ageless merit to serve as a model of cultivation for generations to come and to repay the Master’s profound kindness.
After the Venerable Master completed the stillness, the Buddhist Text Translation Society of the Dharma Realm Buddhist Association began preparing a memorial publication on June 19. From that time until today it has been twenty-one days. Since we have planned to publish this bilingual (Chinese and English) memorial volume in such a short time, the soliciting, writing, and choosing of articles, as well as the editing, polishing, typing, translation, proofreading, layout, artwork, final details, and printing have all been very rushed. Although my fellow cultivators have worked day and night, pouring their full strength into the task, there are still many omissions and imperfections. We hope that all greatly virtuous ones will generously offer their criticisms for the second revised edition. In the past few days, many articles, photographs, and other materials commemorating the Venerable Master’s great deeds have been received for inclusion in the memorial volume. Since this volume will be published prior to the final memorial services and cremation ceremony, the articles and photographs covering those events, as well as the couplets written in mourning, and all other articles that, to our regret, could not be included in this volume will be published in a second memorial volume. We hope everyone will eagerly send their articles so that the Venerable Master’s virtuous deeds can be recorded in history and serve to transform people’s hearts for many generations.
July 10, 1995
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