大乘起信論裂網疏 4.78

4.78

"When all Buddhas were on the causal stage" means when they were ordinary beings just like us. Through faith that one's own mind has the principle of tathatā, one is able to generate the great compassion of the four universal vows, practice the six perfections, the four means of embrace, and other practices, and universally save sentient beings through all kalpas—this is the cultivation of the approach of contemplation. Truly knowing the equality of self and other and yet not grasping at the marks of sentient beings—this is the cultivation of the approach of calming. The two approaches of calming and contemplation must be exercised together in practice. Later, in the cultivation of faith, because it concerns the efficacy of one's own cultivation, calming is explained first; here in this text, in order to display the function of transforming others, contemplation is explained first. Furthermore, here, "viewing beings as equal to oneself" corresponds in the Prajñā[pāramitā] to generating the vast mind. "Universally delivering them all" corresponds in the Prajñā[pāramitā] to generating the supreme mind. "Knowing the equality of self and other" corresponds in the Prajñā[pāramitā] to generating the lovingly embracing mind, also called the constant mind. "And yet not grasping at the marks of sentient beings" corresponds in the Prajñā[pāramitā] to the non-deluded mind. Merely having these four minds in accord from thought to thought is called the wisdom of great skillful means; hence one can realize the essence and give rise to function. However, as for this autonomous and differentiated functioning, in what ordinary beings see, it is called conventional truth because they have discrimination. In what is seen within the mind of the sages, it is solely the ultimate truth because they are without discrimination. Therefore it is said: What are called the two truths are in fact one. It is just like a drunkard falsely seeing the house spin around, claiming that there is a spinning house and an unspinning house. In reality, the spinning house seen by the drunkard is precisely the unspinning house seen by the sober person; there are not two houses.