觀心論疏 1.27

1.27

The verse states: “In the final age, cultivating contemplation of mind, / one attains perverse absorption and produces [wrong] views; / with inexhaustible eloquence, / one regards oneself as a treasure among humans. / Those without wisdom follow the scent, / and the wild fox's stink strikes their eyes; / raising their tails, together they walk backwards / and tumble into the pit to perish one after another. / It is for this reason / that one must compose the Treatise on Contemplating the Mind.” Previously there were eleven and a half verses explaining that when those who come seeking the Dharma do not know to inquire into contemplation of mind, none of their various practices succeed. The two and a half verses here explain cultivating perverse contemplation, generating perverse absorption, possessing endless eloquence, yet having no one capable of discerning it. Although ninety-six paths are explained, only one path is correct, and the rest are all perverse. Thus we know that perverse doctrines are manifold and indeed difficult to discern; unless one is an enlightened teacher and a wise person, who could verify this? In the past, there was a person cultivating contemplation who produced the perverse absorption of demonic spirits; his eloquence was inexhaustible. When he asked all dhyāna masters and dharma masters, none could discern it; praising it as inconceivable, they installed him in a high position. Having obtained the certification of eminent people, he all the more called himself “a treasure among the people of the world,” and his perverse mind blazed all the more fiercely. Only Master Nanyue was adept at meticulous discernment, instructing him to contemplate inwardly, illuminate, and thoroughly examine: if it is a wholesome dharma, it should naturally be bright and pure, like smelted genuine gold; if it is demonic and perverse, it should naturally vanish away, like counterfeit gold. Thereupon applying contemplation, the demonic spirits immediately departed, and after they left, he knew nothing at all. This is also like someone afflicted by gu-poison, who babbles and speaks volubly; once the poison departs, the sick person has nothing at all to say. If people without wisdom immediately regard him as having attained dhāraṇī and revere his practice, they will tumble one after another into the pit of the three wretched realms. Hence the verse states: “Those without wisdom follow the scent, / and tumble into the pit to perish one after another.” “It is for this reason / that one must compose the Treatise on Contemplating the Mind” is the half-verse concluding it.