釋摩訶般若波羅蜜經覺意三昧 1.22

1.22

答曰：汝問非也。若過去永滅畢竟不可知者，云何諸聖人能知一切過去心？若未來心未至不有不可知，云何諸聖人能知一切未來心？若現在心無住不可知，云何諸聖人能知一切十方眾生現在念事？如世鬼神，尚自能知己三世心，亦能知他三世之心，何得佛法行人而起斷滅見，謂三世心，如龜毛兔角不可得知！當知三世之心雖無定實，亦可得知。故偈云：「諸佛之所說，雖空亦不斷，相續亦不常，罪福亦不失。」汝勿斷見住無所知，不修觀行猶如盲人，雖對眾色而無所見。汝亦如是，於佛法中無正觀眼，空無所獲。

Answer: Your question is incorrect. If the past were eternally extinguished and ultimately unknowable, how could the holy ones know all past minds? If the future mind, having not yet arrived, did not exist and were unknowable, how could the holy ones know all future minds? If the present mind, being non-abiding, were unknowable, how could the holy ones know all the present thoughts and affairs of sentient beings in the ten directions? Even worldly ghosts and spirits are themselves capable of knowing their own minds of the three times, and can also know others' minds of the three times. How could a practitioner of the Buddha-Dharma give rise to the view of annihilation and say that the minds of the three times are like a turtle's hair or a rabbit's horns, impossible to know! One should know that although the minds of the three times have no fixed substantiality, they can indeed be known. Therefore, a verse states: / "What the Buddhas teach / Is that though empty, it is not annihilated; / Though continuous, it is not eternal; / Transgression and merit are not lost." / Do not abide in unknowing through the view of annihilation, failing to cultivate contemplative practice like a blind person who, though facing various colors, sees nothing. You too would be like this: lacking the eye of correct contemplation in the Buddha-Dharma, you would gain nothing in vain.