起信論疏筆削記 17.40

17.40

Below, the commentary states: "This is not..." Someone might ask: "The two wisdoms are pure; never having been attained before, their being newly unfolded now can be called the mark of generating the mind. The karmic consciousness of arising and ceasing has existed from beginningless time; why is it only upon reaching here called the mark of generating the mind?" Therefore this is explained to clarify that this bodhisattva is able to realize the real, able to penetrate the conventional, and also possesses arising and ceasing. Because they realize the real, they are distinguished from those before the bhūmis; because they have arising and ceasing, they differ from the Buddha stage. It is just like refining gold: its luster gradually manifests; the coarse ore has already fallen away, but the fine ore still remains. If one wishes to describe this state, one should say how many parts are gold and how many parts are ore. Thus it is not the same as coarse ore, nor is it pure gold; therefore, it is generally said that the gold has already been revealed. This is also like that.