敬讚祖傳　林鈺堂

自讚毀他乃世態，大師自傳非凡響；
證量著述啟景仰，老實誌瑕永垂範！

跋

一般之自傳、回憶錄難免淪為自讚毀他，令人不忍卒睹。近閱英譯之蔣貢康楚大師（一八一三─一九○○）自傳，除了領教其證量之深廣及著述之宏偉外，最敬仰其中之真實陳述，對種種缺失無有隱瞞。真誠行者之典範，於斯永垂不朽！

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　二○○三年七月一日
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　養和齋　　　於加州

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In Praise of Patriarch's Autobiography　Yutang Lin

Common in the world is self-praising with others-blaming;
Great patriarch's autobiography transcends worldly vogue.
Attainments and writings so deep and wide to inspire awe;
Truthful accounts of imperfections set model forever more.

Comment:

Ordinary autobiographies or memoirs could hardly avoid deterioration into self-praising and others-blaming. Consequently, people would not care to read such writings. Recently I have been reading the English translation by Richard Barron of "The Autobiography of Jamgon Kongtrul." This Tibetan patriarch (1813-1900) was a great master. Through his autobiography we could gain some appreciation of the profound and extensive scope of his attainments and writings. In addition, to me the most venerable characteristic of this autobiography is its truthful presentation of various problems and faults. The model thus set by a sincere practitioner will shine the path of enlightenment forever!

Written in Chinese and translated on July 1, 2003
El Cerrito, California

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