In translating Chengguan’s masterpiece commentaries to The Huayanjing for an English speaking audience to experience and apply his wisdom, the quandary rests in retrieving accurate, fixed, and hidden meaning for a western, and particularly American, audience and the knowing that the ultimate truth is lost in such a search and presentation. The attempt to avoid reifying meaning and the attempt to show in a coherent manner the root of The Huayanjing and Chengguan’s commentaries on it may present an oppositional dichotomy. Finding a way to transcend this seeming paradox may be my practice as the translator. It is now my hope to offer a translation that allows the reader to grapple with that conundrum for herself. This translation of two commentarial literatures by Chengguan presents another unique challenge. The compilation contains an overwhelming quantity of intellectual material that is meant to present insights about one of the most voluminous Buddhist scriptures. To grapple with the size of The Huayanjing and Chengguan’s commentaries, hermeneutical tools had been developed and will be administered with this translation. In the following, I will trace the framework of the Four Dharma Realms in elaborating on my fourfold translation difficulties in approaching Chengguan’s commentaries. First, the Dharma Realm of Phenomena in translation. I will present concrete issues related to specific and tangible linguistic elements that are mostly common to the translation of Buddhist sacred texts from Chinese to English. Second, the Dharma Realm of Noumena in translation. I will present those translation guidelines and theories that I hold in mind simultaneously when faced with concrete translation issues since no systemic translation theory exists for Buddhist canonical translations presently. Third, the Dharma Realm of Phenomena and Noumena. In the western hermeneutical search for the same in the differences, I will offer my version of the essential or quintessential. Fourth, the Dharma Realm of Phenomena and Phenomena. Having presented the root of Chengguan’s commentaries, I proceed to deconstruct it then reconstruct it.
