法界圖記叢髓錄 1.74

1.74

The Zhigui Yuantong chao says: 'In the three vehicles, phenomena are established in isolation, and therefore time is separated from phenomena. Since phenomena undergo transmigration, time also transmigrates. In the One Vehicle, phenomena are established in complete fullness, and therefore time is separated from phenomena. Since phenomena do not undergo transmigration, time also does not transmigrate.' Thus the Yingluo jing says: 'The Buddha told King Brahmadata: The dog lying before you is your past body, and stroke me, I am your future Buddha' (and so forth). Furthermore, the monk Jitong of the Silla Kingdom was one of the ten holy disciples of Master Xiang. Residing in a cave at Miri on Mount Taebaek, he cultivated the Avataṃsaka contemplation. One day he suddenly saw a large pig pass by the entrance of the cave, and when Tong, according to his regular practice, bowed with full sincerity before a carved wooden holy image, the image spoke to Tong, saying: 'The pig that passed the cave is your past body. I am the Buddha of your future fruition.' When Tong heard these words, he immediately awakened to the principle that the three periods are a single limit; later he visited Master Xiang to recount it. The Master knew he had become a vessel, and thereupon transmitted to him the seal of the Dharmadhātu Diagram. (End of quote). Thus, as with the matter of King Brahmadata, although in time there is the difference of true and semblance [Dharma], and in place there is the distinction of central and peripheral, their conditions are also analogous. In the three vehicles, the past is only the position of the dog, the present is only the position of the human, and the future is only the position of the Buddha; thus one goes from the past dog to the present human, and from the present human to the future Buddha. Therefore it says that in the three vehicles phenomena are established in isolation, and thus time is used to separate phenomena; phenomena are impermanent, and time is also impermanent. In the One Vehicle, the past dog contains the human and the Buddha, the present human contains the dog and the Buddha, and the future Buddha contains the dog and the human; thus one does not migrate from the past dog to the present human, nor shift from the present human to the future Buddha. Therefore it says that in the One Vehicle phenomena are established in mutual interpenetration, and thus time is used to separate phenomena; because phenomena are eternally abiding, time is also eternally abiding. Question: Although a phenomenon is one, do the nine periods form by mutual referencing? Or, just as the nine periods are distinct, are phenomena also distinct? Answer: As in the latter meaning. That is, taking one's own body provisionally: within one year, in terms of months, a year has twelve months, so one's body is also twelve. One month has thirty days, so the body is also thirty. One day has twelve double-hours, so the body is also twelve. One double-hour has eight quarter-hours, so the body is also eight. In this way, a year has three hundred and sixty days, and a day has a hundred quarter-hours, so the body is also thirty-six thousand. Therefore, just as the nine periods are distinct, phenomena are also distinct. Question: In discussing the nine periods in terms of the five positions, the day before yesterday is past; being past, it is only one. Yesterday, in terms of its own essence, is past-present, and looking toward today, it is present-past, so it possesses two. Today, looking toward yesterday, is past-future; in terms of its own essence, it is present-present; looking toward tomorrow, it is future-past, so it possesses three. Tomorrow, looking toward today, is present-future; in terms of its own essence, it is future-present, so it possesses two. The day after tomorrow is future-future, so it is only one. Therefore, the nine periods are formed solely by the mutual referencing of the five positions. Hence the phenomenon is only one, and through mutual referencing it also forms nine periods of phenomena. Why then say that just as the nine periods are distinct, phenomena are also distinct? Answer: Kangzang says: 'Because time and phenomena are not separated from each other.' Hence one knows it is so. In the three vehicles, form, mind, and so forth are phenomena, and time is established in terms of the meaning of antecedent and subsequent flux upon these phenomena; therefore time is merely provisional, and for this reason this meaning is not discussed. In the One Vehicle, because time and phenomena are not separated from each other, time is also real; therefore, just as time is distinct, phenomena are also distinct.