Nan Huaijin Selected Works, Volume 8

Author: Nan Huaijin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-07-01
Features: Nan Huaijin, a renowned scholar with a high reputation both in China and abroad, was born in 1918 into a scholarly family in Leqing County, Wenzhou, Zhejiang. At 85 years old, he received early education at home and studied the classics in his youth. When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out, the young Nan Huaijin took up arms and served on the southwestern frontier. After returning to Sichuan, he taught at the Central Military Academy and Jinling University. With exceptional talent and detachment from worldly affairs, he often traveled to famous mountains and rivers with straw sandals and bamboo staffs, seeking wise monks and scholars. He once retreated to the Pingping Temple on Mount Emei for three years of seclusion, thoroughly reading the vast Great Treasury of the Mahayana Sutras. Later, he traveled to Tibet, studying with masters of Vajrayana Buddhism and gaining deep knowledge of its various schools of thought. After leaving Tibet, he moved to Kunming, initially teaching at Yunnan University and later at Sichuan University. After the war, he returned to his hometown. Soon after, he retired to Mount Tianzhu in Hangzhou and Mount Lu in Jiangxi, dedicating himself to scholarly pursuits. After moving to Taiwan, he was appointed to teach at Cultural University, Fu Jen University, and other universities and research institutes, spreading his knowledge to Japan, the United States, and Central and South America. In recent years, he has resided in Hong Kong, contributing significantly to cultural exchange between the Taiwan Strait regions. Nan Huaijin is well-versed in classics, history, and philosophy, bridging Eastern and Western cultures with his profound knowledge and extensive writings. Especially notable is his approach of combining classics and history to explain the teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. His explanations are rich in references, insightful, and engaging, making him a beloved figure among readers across all levels in both Taiwan and mainland China. Fudan University Press is the earliest publisher of Nan Huaijin’s works in China and the publisher with the most extensive collection of his writings. They have published a total of twenty-four works by Nan Huaijin, most of which are his representative works. With the author’s and original publisher’s authorization, these works have been compiled into ten volumes, bound in hardcover, to meet the needs of readers for reading and collecting. The contents of each volume are as follows:
Volume 1: The Analects Decoded
Volume 2: The Way of Lao Tzu and the Way of Mencius
Volume 3: Commentary on the I Ching and the I Ching Systematic Lectures
Volume 4: Zen and Taoism, Taoism, Esoteric Buddhism, and Eastern Mysticism, and Meditation for Self-Cultivation and Immortality
Volume 5: Exploring the Zen Sea, Zen Talks, A Brief History of the Development of Buddhism in China, and A Brief History of the Development of Taoism in China
Volume 6: Experiences from History, A New Generation Caught Between Tradition and Modernity, and General Remarks on Chinese Culture
Volume 7: How to Practice and Verify the Buddha’s Teachings, The Perspective of Compassion in the Sariputra Sutra, and Basic Beliefs of Buddhist Practitioners
Volume 8: What the Diamond Sutra Means and Interpretations of the Lingyin Sutra
Volume 9: A Brief Explanation of the Great Awakening Sutra, Initial Practices of Meditation and Wisdom, and Interpretations of the Lengyan Sutra
Volume 10: The Subtle Meaning of the Great Learning
Fudan University Press, July 3, 2003
The Diamond Sutra is one of the representative classics of early Mahayana Buddhism and a key text in the Prajnaparamita category. Its full title is the Sutra on the Heart of Perfect Wisdom (Hannya Shingyō in Japanese, where "hannya" is sometimes written as "hannya"). It is a single-volume text translated by the monk Kumārajīva in the sixth year of the Hongshi era (426 CE). After its publication, it quickly spread throughout society, with over one hundred commentaries, summaries, annotations, poetic verses, explanations, and other interpretations. The text primarily discusses the theory that "all spoken phenomena are not all phenomena" and the concept that all phenomena (both physical and psychological) are "empty yet illusory." This book is a lecture record by the renowned scholar Nan Huaijin on the Diamond Sutra. Based on the division by the (Liang Dynasty Prince Taizmi), Nan Huaijin divides the Diamond Sutra into thirty-two chapters and explains each one. Each chapter concludes with a verse summarizing his insights. The book provides a thorough analysis of the difficult passages in the Diamond Sutra. With the author’s and original publisher’s authorization, the revised edition (second printing, third impression, January 2001) of the Lao Gu Cultural Publishing Company is published for study.
The Lingyin Sutra is an important classic revered by the Chan and Pure Land schools of Buddhism in China. Since the Tang Dynasty, there have been over one hundred commentaries on it, and its recitation, study, and practice are widespread. The famous "Lingyin Dharma Assembly" is based on this text. The full title of the Lingyin Sutra is the Sutra on the Great Buddha’s Crown, the Profound and Secret Cause of Enlightenment for All Bodhisattvas, the Chief of Ten Thousand Practices for Attaining Enlightenment. It is a ten-volume text translated by the Tang Dynasty monk Pāramitī. The text primarily discusses the theory that "roots and dust are of the same origin, and liberation and bondage are not two" and the "twenty-five methods of perfect penetration." The Ming Dynasty monk Zhixu once praised it as "the guiding light of this religion, the essence of the nature and form of the teachings, the core of the Dharma for the generation, and the true seal for becoming a Buddha or a patriarch" (, Volume 11). This book is a comprehensive interpretation of the Lingyin Sutra by the renowned scholar Nan Huaijin, including the original text, annotations, translation, and commentary (marked in parentheses). The translation strives for accuracy, elegance, and clarity, presenting ancient wisdom in a modern context, making it a high-quality colloquial reading of the Lingyin Sutra. With the author’s and original publisher’s authorization, the revised edition (first printing, thirty-fifth impression, March 2001) of the Lao Gu Cultural Publishing Company is published for study.