觀心論疏 4.4

4.4

Next is to explain the ten dharmas in detail. First, regarding initially contemplating that the mind is the inconceivable object: this is contemplating and knowing that the spontaneously arising mind in a single thought-moment is none other than the tathāgatagarbha and is endowed with the ten realms and a hundred suchnesses; birth-and-death and nirvāṇa are within the mind of a single thought-moment without obstructing each other, and therefore it is called the inconceivable object. As for the ten dharma realms: the six destinies make six, the two vehicles make eight, bodhisattvas make nine, and buddhas make ten. These ten realms are identically the dharmas of suchness and the limit of reality, and are therefore called dharma realms; moreover, the ten dharmas are distinct and different from one another, and are therefore also called dharma realms. As for the hundred suchnesses: one realm has ten, and ten realms have a hundred. As for the ten: the Lotus Sūtra says: “Such appearance, such nature, such substance, such power, such function, such causes, such conditions, such effects, such retributions, and such ultimate equality of beginning and end.” These are the ten suchnesses. What can be gathered is called appearance; what is unchanging is called nature; the primary material is called substance; capability is power; movement and activity are function; habituated causes are cause; retribution causes are conditions; habituated effects are effect; retribution effects are retribution; the initial appearance is the beginning—the beginning is empty, provisional, and middle; the subsequent retribution is the end—the end is also empty, provisional, and middle; since beginning and end equally possess the three contemplations in this manner, it says “ultimate equality of beginning and end.” Now, taking the hell realm to explain the ten suchnesses: the appearance of hell: the appearance is an evil appearance, indicating a fall into an unpleasant place; the nature is dark karma; the substance is the coarse and evil, broken-down form and mind; the power is the efficacy to climb knife mountains and ascend sword trees; the function is stirring the three karmas to initiate various evils; the cause is evil habituated causes; the conditions are evil conditions assisting; the effect is the habituated effect, as when a person of abundant desire falls into hell, sees a knife mountain as an appealing form, and rushes toward it—this is their habituated effect; climbing the mountain, it transforms into the suffering of knife mountains and sword trees—this is retribution; as for the ultimate equality of beginning and end: such appearance is the beginning and therefore the root; such retribution is the end and therefore the branch; the initial root appearance is empty, and the final branch retribution is also empty—this is equality in terms of emptiness; the equality in terms of the provisional and the middle is also like this. Now, when a physiognomist initially sees an appearance and immediately predicts the subsequent experience of fruit and retribution, this is because the subsequent branch retribution is already within the initial appearance, and hence they predict forward; this is the equality of root and branch, just as the Buddha predicted forward that a pigeon would later become a pratyekabuddha. When a physiognomist sees the subsequent retribution and traces backward to record the prior appearance, this is because the initial root appearance is already within the subsequent branch retribution; this is the equality of branch retribution and root, just as the Buddha traced backward to record the pigeon's past lives; this is discussing equality in terms of the provisional. The beginning and end are both identical to the dharma realm of suchness; this is discussing equality in terms of the middle. Therefore it is said: “That is, the ultimate equality of beginning and end.” This discusses the characteristics of the ten suchnesses in terms of the hell dharma realm. Next, discussing the ten suchnesses in terms of the buddha dharma realm: the conditioning cause is the buddha's appearance; the revealing cause is the buddha's nature; the direct cause is the buddha's substance; the bodhicitta is the buddha's power; the adornment of wisdom is the buddha's cause; the adornment of merit is the buddha's condition; luminous great awakening is the buddha's effect; the nirvāṇa of the virtue of severance is the buddha's retribution; the initial appearance and subsequent retribution are both the three contemplations and three truths, and therefore it is called ultimate equality.