The Awakening of Mahāvairocana 1.6

1.6

爾時金剛手復白佛言：「世尊！誰尋求一切智？誰為菩提成正覺者？誰發起彼一切智智？」佛言：「祕密主！自心尋求菩提及一切智。何以故？本性清淨故。心不在內、不在外及兩中間，心不可得。祕密主！如來、應、正等覺，非青非黃、非赤非白、非紅紫非水精色、非長非短、非圓非方、非明非暗、非男非女非不男女。祕密主！心非欲界同性、非色界同性、非無色界同性，非天龍、夜叉、乾闥婆、阿脩羅、迦樓羅、緊那羅、摩睺羅伽、人非人趣同性。祕密主！心不住眼界、不住耳鼻舌身意界，非見非顯現。何以故？虛空相心離諸分別，無分別。所以者何？性同虛空即同於心，性同於心即同菩提。如是祕密主！心、虛空界、菩提，三種無二。此等悲為根本，方便波羅蜜滿足。是故祕密主！我說諸法如是，令彼諸菩薩眾菩提心清淨，知識其心。祕密主！若族姓男族姓女欲識知菩提，當如是識知自心。祕密主！云何自知心？謂若分段，或顯色、或形色、或境界，若色若受想行識，若我若我所，若能執若所執，若清淨若界若處，乃至一切分段中求不可得。祕密主！此菩薩淨菩提心門，名初法明道。菩薩住此修學，不久勤苦，便得除一切蓋障三昧。若得此者，則與諸佛菩薩同等住，當發五神通，獲無量語言音陀羅尼，知眾生心行，諸佛護持。雖處生死而無染著，為法界眾生不辭勞倦，成就住無為戒，離於邪見通達正見。復次祕密主！住此除一切蓋障菩薩，信解力故，不久勤修，滿足一切佛法。祕密主！以要言之，是善男子善女人，無量功德皆得成就。」

The Buddha said, “The bodhi-mind is its cause, compassion is its root, and expedient means is its culmination. Lord of Mysteries, what is bodhi? It means to know one’s mind as it really is. Lord of Mysteries, this is anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi (unsurpassed, perfect, and full awakening), and there is not the slightest part of it that can be apprehended. Why? [Because] bodhi has the characteristic of empty space, and there is no one to comprehend it, nor is there any understanding of it. Why? Because bodhi has no [differentiating] characteristics. Lord of Mysteries, all dharmas are without characteristics. That is to say, they have the characteristic of empty space.”

Then Vajrapāṇi again said to the Buddha, “World-honored One, who is it that seeks omniscience? Who is it that accomplishes perfect awakening on account of bodhi? Who is it that generates the knowledge of an omniscient one?”

The Buddha said, “Lord of Mysteries, it is in one’s own mind that one seeks bodhi and omniscience. Why? Because its original nature is pure. The mind is neither within nor without, nor can the mind be apprehended between the two. Lord of Mysteries, the Tathāgata, worthy [of worship] and perfectly and fully awakened, is neither blue nor yellow nor red nor white nor crimson nor the color of crystal, neither long nor short nor round nor square, neither bright nor dark, and neither male nor female nor neuter. Lord of Mysteries, the mind is not of the same nature as the realm of desire, nor is it of the same nature as the realm of form, nor is it of the same nature as the realm of non-form, nor is it of the same nature as the destinies of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, humans, or non-humans. Lord of Mysteries, the mind does not reside in the realm of the eyes, nor does it reside in the realms of the ears, nose, tongue, body, or mind, and neither is it visible, nor does it manifest itself.

“Why? [Because] the mind, which has the characteristic of empty space, is free from all differentiation and nondifferentiation. Why is that? That whose nature is the same as empty space is identical to the mind, and that whose nature is the same as the mind is identical to bodhi. In this manner, Lord of Mysteries, the three entities of mind, the realm of empty space, and bodhi are without duality. They have compassion as their root and are fulfilled by the pāramitā of expedient means. For this reason, Lord of Mysteries, I teach the dharmas in this manner so as to make the multitudes of bodhisattvas purify the bodhi-mind and know their mind.

“Lord of Mysteries, if a man of [good] family or a woman of [good] family wishes to know bodhi, they should know their own mind in this manner. Lord of Mysteries, how is one to know one’s own mind? It cannot, namely, be apprehended by seeking it in distinctions, or colors, or shapes, or external objects; or in form or sensation, ideation, volition, or consciousness; or in ‘I’ or ‘mine’; or in the grasper (i.e., subject) or the grasped (i.e., object); or in the pure; or in the [eighteen] elements [of existence] or [the twelve] sense fields; or in any other distinctions.

“Lord of Mysteries, this gateway to the bodhisattva’s pure bodhi-mind is called the path whereby the Dharma becomes clear for the first time. If a bodhisattva trains while dwelling therein, he will then without prolonged hardship attain the samādhi that removes all obscurations. If he attains this [samādhi], then he will dwell on a par with buddhas and bodhisattvas: he will generate the five supernatural faculties; obtain the dhāraṇī (retention)