起信論疏筆削記 9.31

9.31

"Because the essence..." is second: revealing the efficacy of the arising of enlightenment. This refers to the aforementioned inner and outer perfuming powers being able to initiate actualized enlightenment. "The essences are identical" means the essence of the external condition and the essence of the internal cause have no duality of marks; that is, tathatā is identical with original enlightenment. "The functions fuse" means the external condition of the teaching and the internal aversion and seeking harmonize with each other without conflict or resistance. "Receiving that hearing and perfuming" directly shows the character of identity and fusion; if they were not identical and fused, there would be no receiving. Because it receives that, it is able to support and benefit, internally perfuming the enlightened nature and initiating the understanding of actualized enlightenment. When the power of understanding increases and the power of ignorance weakens, one can reverse the flow and gradually approach the mind's source. From "First ceasing the mark of cessation..." onward, it clarifies the meaning of gradually approaching. From the stage of initial faith, one halts the committing of evil; next one clearly realizes personal selflessness, gradually cuts off attachment to dharmas, awakens up to the fundamental consciousness, and exhausts the mark of arising. Once the fine dust is completely eliminated, the enlightened illumination alone remains; hence it says "lucidly and greatly awakens," which is the exhausting of the dream of ignorance and the realization of ultimate enlightenment. In "Realizes...", the mind's source is ever-placid and fundamentally immovable; since the mark of movement does not exist, against what could one speak of stillness? Below it says: "When the mind's initial arising is realized, the mind has no initial mark." It also says: "Like a person who is confused about east and takes it as west, the direction does not actually turn," and so forth. "Equality" means the mind has no duality of marks. Repeating it twice is because the mark of equality is itself also equal. Or it means the equality of root and branch, the equality of subject and object, the equality of self and other—in short, all mutually relative dharmas are completely equal.