起信論疏筆削記 3.25

3.25

Regarding the approach of returning to nature, the substance is brought forth with respect to the true mind. In "This consciousness..." and so forth, the previous approach already subsumed differentiated objects, leaving only the transforming conscious mind. Now it further subsumes that prior conscious mind to be merely the One Mind, and the One Mind is the nature of tathatā, which is called "returning to nature"; hence it says that this consciousness has no substance. It is like a person who falls asleep and dreams of seeing various things: the things do not depart from the dream, and the dream does not depart from the person. Tracing and seeking the true substance of the teaching step by step reaches its culmination here. The ancients said that "mind is the sūtra," which is precisely this meaning. When it says "all," this refers to material and mental dharmas; it is not merely so at present, hence it says "from the beginningless past." It exceeds and departs from the mark of names and words, and departs from the mark of mental cognition, hence it says "and so forth." Now, being apart from speech, it is not the former sound; being apart from names, it is not the former names, sentences, and phonemes; being apart from mental cognition, it is not the former vijñaptimātra; the One Mind of tathatā constitutes this approach of returning to nature. This also accords with the Commentary on the Yuanjue jing, which states: "Sentient beings and dharmas are fundamentally nonexistent; everything is vijñaptimātra. Consciousness is like an illusion or dream, being merely the One Mind." The Śūraṅgama states: "The seeing and the conditions of seeing, seemingly manifesting as the objective realm before us, are originally my enlightened clarity."