涅槃經遊意 1.220

1.220

第一靈味寶亮：生死之中已有真神之法，但未顯現，如蔽黃金。《如來藏》經云：如人弊帛裹黃金像墮泥中，無人知者。有得天眼者，提淨洗則金像宛然。真神亦爾，本來已有常住佛體，萬德宛然，但為煩惱所覆，若斷煩惱佛體則現也。

The first is Baoliang of Lingwei: within saṃsāra, there already exists the dharma of the true spirit, yet it is not yet revealed, like hidden gold. The Tathāgatagarbha Sūtra states: like someone who wraps a golden statue in dirty rags and drops it into mud, unknown to anyone. If someone who attains the divine eye pulls it out and washes it clean, the golden statue appears vividly. The true spirit is also like this: originally, there already exists the eternally abiding Buddha essence, with all myriad virtues vivid, but it is covered by afflictions; if afflictions are severed, the Buddha essence then appears.