梵網經古迹記 1.7

1.7

Regarding the central theme and purport: that which the words express is called the theme; that to which the theme returns is called the purport. This sūtra takes mental practice as its precise theme, and realising awakening and benefiting sentient beings as its purport. Regarding mental practice, there are briefly two gates: first, the gate of teaching correct practice; second, the gate of admonishing evil practice. Teaching correct practice refers to the inner realisation practices of the three classes of worthies and ten classes of sages spoken of at the beginning of the sūtra. Admonishing evil practice refers to the precept practices of the ten major and forty-eight minor [precepts] spoken of in the latter part of the sūtra. The sūtra itself explains these extensively, as should be understood later. That to which it returns also has two gates: first, the gate of the tathāgata-nature; second, the gate of the aspect of setting forth. That which is set forth towards and that which sets forth should be understood in sequence. The tathāgata-nature is the nature of suchness. As the sūtra says: "Serene extinction is named the One Mind; the One Mind is named the tathāgatagarbha." That is, the mind of sentient beings—its nature of seeming arising yet non-arising is profoundly the ocean of the One Mind; its aspect of seeming arising flows into the waves of the six destinies. As the Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśa says: "This very dharmakāya drifting in birth and death is named 'sentient beings'; this very dharmakāya cultivating the perfections is named 'bodhisattvas'; this very dharmakāya abiding on the other shore is named 'buddhas'." How is this so? The dream of birth and death is merely the deluded mind. Because false vasanās disturb and defile the mind, it appears either as eyes and so forth, or as forms and so forth, just like sky-flowers seen by an eye with cataracts. Though heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers are boundless, like what is seen in a dream they have no real location. Stirred by the wind of objects such as form, the waves of the pravṛttivijñānas rise in the ocean of the ālayavijñāna, surging into the six sense-bases and discriminating the six dusts. Yet form, sound, and so forth are merely like dream-dust; apart from the mental aspects of practice, nothing whatsoever can be attained. Since the object is identical with the mind, the mind is empty just like the object. Deluded, there is birth and death; awakened, there is nirvāṇa; therefore the empty nature is called the tathāgatagarbha. Second, the gate of setting forth: because one inwardly possesses the tathāgata-nature in this way, hearing that all sentient beings equally share the tathāgatagarbha yet are swept by false thoughts into the boundless wheel of suffering, one vows to become a boat and oar in the great ocean of birth and death; not fearing the great suffering undergone therein, one generates an indestructible, unobstructed aspiration, thinking: "If the great bodhi is a state that can be attained, I too am a hero! Though three great asaṃkhyeya kalpas are far beyond, those who resolve on it will surely be able to transcend them; though unexcelled, perfect, complete bodhi is distant, those who vow to reach it will certainly arrive." Truly breaking through the shell of ignorance, wielding the power that fuses the dharmadhātu, one draws near to good friends and listens to the correct Dharma; wisdom is one's mother, expedient means is one's father, broadly gathering sentient beings as one's own family, emptiness and quiescence as one's home, Dharma-joy as one's wife, a mind of kindness as one's daughter, and utmost sincerity as one's son. Though living at home, one does not cling to the three realms of existence; though outwardly enjoying desires, one constantly abides in pure conduct. Roaming upon the thoroughfares, benefiting living beings is one's mind; wishing to accomplish the aims of others, one can relinquish one's own life. Going to places of lecturing and debate, one guides them with the Mahāyāna; entering schoolrooms, one gently instructs and opens the minds of the young and naive. Making friends in the wind, one must select their teachers; forgetting worldly cares under the moon, one savours the Way amidst shadows. The merit of tethering the grass naturally has clouds and wind; associating with beautiful women, one also knows their emptiness. Aided and flanked by great compassion and prajñā, riding the unabiding path to arrive at the limit of reality of the mind, merely reflecting back upon the self-nature within all minds, because the stages of bright and dim establish buddhas and bodhisattvas. What is called the unabiding path? It is the wisdom that abides neither on the extreme of emptiness nor on that of existence. That is, conditioned by inverted views, there are worldly characteristics; since they exist through inverted views, they are free from existence and non-existence. As Āryadeva said: "Because existence is not true existence, non-existence is also not true non-existence." That is, appearing as if existent to deluded consciousness, to realising wisdom it is as if nothing can be attained. Yet in the ultimate truth it is not utterly non-existent, for if things were non-existent in the ultimate truth, they would also be non-existent conventionally. Since one is free from the nature of existence, prajñā realises emptiness; since one is also free from the nature of non-existence, great compassion uproots existence. Because one uproots existence, one does not abide in nirvāṇa; because one realises emptiness, one does not abide in birth and death. Abiding on neither extreme distinguishes one from ordinary beings and the two vehicles; distinguishing oneself from ordinary beings and the lesser vehicle, one naturally brings forth bodhi. As the Yogācārabhūmi says: "One who ruins the characteristic of emptiness ruins all of the Mahāyāna." Therefore, when bodhisattvas practice the six perfections, they all take non-apprehension as their expedient means; that which is non-apprehension is the unabiding path. If there were only emptiness of existence, non-existence could be apprehended; but since emptiness is also empty, nothing is apprehended. Because nothing is apprehended, the three wheels are pure; this is called the ultimate cultivation of bodhisattva practice.