釋摩訶般若波羅蜜經覺意三昧 1.22

1.22

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.