釋門歸敬儀 1.64

1.64

余曰：「不可改也。發心畢竟，初後心齊，唯識四位，凡聖通學。今則在凡不學，何有剋聖之期？故須發足竝修，修明自然位聖。是知修道行人，常觀正理，不可執文，便乖義實。故四依撿失，念念準承，當須依智，不依於識。識俗所習，智是道筌，聖立正儀，無容輒濫。文明上地，止據階緣，覈其雙遊，終歸妙覺。故《經》云：『常在三昧見諸佛土。』不以二相，斯文可依，如執未開，更為廣引。經論明地，行位殊途，初地施淨，二地戒淨，豈可經一僧祇，方行施戒？此亦示地位之淺深，開行相之階漸，令諸修趣之士踐跡可期。若為說萬行齊修，方衢同進，則心路茫然，不知蹤緒，故有教迹殊異。如能一以貫之，則大觀於日月矣。」

I said: “It cannot be changed. Between the initial aspiration and ultimate [attainment], the initial and final minds are equal; the four stages of Consciousness-Only are studied by both ordinary persons and sages alike. Now, if one does not study while an ordinary person, when will there ever be a time to achieve sagacity? Therefore, one must cultivate both from the very outset; when cultivation becomes clear, one naturally reaches the stage of a sage. From this we know that a practitioner cultivating the path should constantly contemplate the correct principle, and must not cling to the letter of the text and thereby go against the reality of the meaning. Therefore, when examining faults through the four reliances, one should conform to them thought after thought: one must rely on wisdom and not on consciousness. Consciousness is habituated in the conventional, whereas wisdom is the trap for the path; the holy ones established correct deportment, leaving no room for rash confusion. The texts that mention higher grounds only refer to gradual conditions; when investigating their simultaneous exercise, it ultimately returns to wondrous awakening. Thus a sūtra states: ‘Ever in samādhi, one sees all Buddha lands.’ Because it does not rely on dual signs, this text may be relied upon; if your attachment has not yet been resolved, I shall cite further and wider. The sūtras and treatises explain the stages with different paths of practice and position: on the first stage giving is purified, and on the second stage morality is purified—could it be that only after passing an asaṃkhyeya kalpa does one practice giving and morality? This also indicates the depth and shallowness of the positions and reveals the gradations of the practices, so that gentlemen who aspire to cultivate may hope to tread in their footsteps. If one were to say that the myriad practices are cultivated simultaneously and that all roads advance together, their mental path would be vast and bewildered, not knowing the tracks and clues; hence the teachings and traces differ. If one is able to unify them with a single thread, then one will have a great view like that of the sun and the moon.”