《大方廣佛華嚴經》者，斯乃
The Mahāvaipulya Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra is thus...
諸佛之密藏，如來之性海。視之者，莫識其指歸；挹之者，罕測其涯際。有學、無學，志絕窺覦；二乘、三乘，寧希聽受。最勝種智，莊嚴之迹既隆；普賢、文殊，願行之因斯滿。一句之內，包法界之無邊；一毫之中，置剎土而非隘。摩竭陀國，肇興妙會之緣；普光法堂，爰敷寂滅之理。緬惟奧義，譯在晉朝；時逾六代，年將四百。[7]然圓一部之典，纔獲三萬餘言，唯啟半珠，未窺全寶。朕聞其梵本，先在于闐國中，遣使奉迎，近方至此。既覩百千之妙頌，乃披十萬之正文。粵以證聖元年，歲次乙未，月旅沽洗，朔惟戊申，以其十四日辛酉，於大遍空寺，親受筆削，敬譯斯經。遂得甘露流津，預夢庚申之夕；膏雨灑潤，後覃壬戌之辰。式開實相之門，還符一味之澤。以聖曆二年，歲次[A1]己亥，十月壬午朔，八日[A2]己丑，繕寫畢功；添性海之波瀾，廓法界之疆域。大乘頓教，普被於無窮；方廣真[8]筌，遐該於有識。豈謂後五百歲，忽奉金口之言；娑婆境中，俄啟珠函之祕。所冀：闡揚沙界，宣暢塵區；並兩曜而長懸，彌十方而永布。一窺寶偈，慶溢心靈；三復幽宗，喜盈身意。雖則無說無示，理符不二之門；[9]然而因言顯言，方闡大千之義。輒申鄙作，爰題序云。
...the secret treasury of all Buddhas, the ocean of the Tathagata's nature. Those who look at it cannot recognize its ultimate direction; those who draw from it can rarely fathom its boundaries. Those with learning and those beyond learning have given up any attempt to peek at it; those of the Two Vehicles and Three Vehicles can hardly hope to hear and receive it. The supreme wisdom is already magnificent in its adorning traces; Samantabhadra and Manjusri have fulfilled the causes of their vows and practices. Within a single phrase, it encompasses the boundless dharma realm; within a single hair, it places entire worlds without constraint. The kingdom of Magadha first gave rise to the conditions for wondrous assemblies; the Universal Light Dharma Hall first expounded the principle of extinction. Reflecting on its profound meaning, it was translated during the Jin Dynasty; time has passed through six dynasties, approaching four hundred years. Yet the complete scripture comprised only thirty thousand words, revealing only half the pearl, not glimpsing the entire treasure.
I [the Emperor] heard that its Sanskrit original was first in the kingdom of Khotan. I dispatched envoys to respectfully welcome it, and it has recently arrived here. Having seen its hundred thousand wonderful verses, I now unfold its hundred thousand proper texts. In the first year of Zhengsheng, in the year of Yiwei, in the month of Guxi, on the first day of Wushen, on the fourteenth day of Xinyou, at the Great Pervading Emptiness Temple, I personally received the editing and respectfully translated this sutra. Thus sweet dew flowed, anticipating dreams on the evening of Gengshen; nourishing rain sprinkled moisture, later reaching the day of Renxu. This opened the door to true reality, conforming to the benefit of one taste.
In the second year of Shengli, in the year of Jihai, in the tenth month on the first day of Renwu, on the eighth day of Jichou, the copying was completed; adding waves to the ocean of nature, expanding the borders of the dharma realm. The sudden teaching of the Mahayana universally covers the infinite; the true net of the Vaipulya extends to all conscious beings. Who would have thought that five hundred years later, we would suddenly receive the golden-mouthed words; in the Saha world, suddenly opening the secret of the pearl case.
What is hoped for: to expound throughout the world realms, to proclaim throughout the dusty regions; parallel to the two luminaries hanging long, pervading the ten directions and eternally spreading. Glimpsing the precious verses once, joy overflows heart and spirit; reviewing the profound teachings thrice, happiness fills body and mind. Although there is no speaking and no showing, the principle conforms to the door of non-duality; yet through words revealing words, now expounding the meaning of the great thousand worlds. I humbly submit this crude work, and hereby title it a preface.