起信論疏筆削記 9.8

9.8

Regarding "this text" and what follows: second, broadly discerning the treatise's intention. This is like a sound person becoming a sleeping person, and a sleeping person becoming an awakened person; this shows how they are established in successive stages. Regarding "actualized enlightenment identical with the original" and what follows: this clarifies how they are successively eliminated. It is like an awakened person being identical with the sound person: because of being identical with the sound person, there is no sleeping person. Because there is no sleeping person, there is no awakened person. Because there is no awakened person, there is no sound person. Because there is no sound person, there is equality; yet even equality is untenable. It is called "equality" because there is no difference between actualized and original. Stating it twice contains two meanings: first, actualized enlightenment and original enlightenment are equal, because the actualized is itself the original; and original enlightenment and non-enlightenment are equal, because non-enlightenment is itself original enlightenment. Second, actualized, original, and non-enlightenment are ultimately without distinction, being primordially equal, and distinction and equality are also equal. Regarding "transcending words": if one wishes to speak of actualized enlightenment, its essence is identical with the original; if one wishes to speak of original enlightenment, it has nothing to contrast with; if one wishes to speak of non-enlightenment, its essence is itself enlightenment. Words cannot reach it; hence it is called "transcending words". Because it transcends words, no mark can be grasped and the locus of mental activity is extinguished; hence it is called "terminating contemplation". This is the complete dissolution into identity with the gate of tathatā.