般若波羅蜜多心經幽贊 1.45

1.45

Second: discarding the conflated and keeping the pure. Although one contemplates that both phenomena and principle are not apart from consciousness, nonetheless this internal consciousness has both object and mind, because when mind arises it must depend on an object to be produced; but consciousness is called 'only', while the object is not called 'only'. Consciousness exists only internally, whereas objects also extend to the external; fearing conflation with the external, it is only called 'consciousness-only'. Furthermore, foolish persons are confused and grasp at objects, giving rise to afflictions and karma, sinking in birth and death, and do not understand how to contemplate the mind and diligently seek liberation; out of pity for them, it is called 'consciousness-only', causing them to contemplate their own minds and be liberated from birth and death, not meaning that internal objects are completely non-existent like external ones. Because the object involves conflation, it is discarded and not designated 'only'; since the mental substance is pure, it is kept and called 'consciousness-only'. Thus a sūtra says: 'The objects of cognition of citta, manas, and vijñāna are all not apart from their own nature; therefore I say that everything is consciousness-only and nothing else.' Other sūtras also say that the three realms are mind-only, [advising one to] restrain [mind] to one place, and so forth, which are all subsumed under this contemplation.