廬山蓮宗寶鑑 10.36

10.36

髻中珠者，《法華經》云「如轉輪王得法國土，王於三界，而諸小王不肯順伏，時轉輪王起種種兵而往討伐。戰有功者賞賜諸物，獨王頂上有此一珠而不與之，末後付與。如來亦復如是，見賢聖軍與五陰魔、煩惱魔、死魔共戰，滅三毒、出三界、破魔網。爾時如來亦大歡喜，為說諸法，而不為說是《法華經》，今乃說之。如轉輪王久獲明珠，末後賜與。」此蓋世尊最後說，是大乘法寶，超出諸聖之上，以輪王髻珠為喻。此珠者即諸佛之圓智，乃眾生之理性，悟之則三祇頓越，迷之則六道沈淪。今有一等愚人，錯會經旨，妄以運氣入頂作髻中珠，謂之最上乘法。密密相傳，教人般精運氣衝入頭頂，要學世尊頂上有肉髻珠。何其愚哉。殊不知世尊肉髻，乃無見頂相，表一乘大法也。無見者，自不能見，離自見故；向上極則，諸聖皆不得見，離他見故。壽禪師心賦云「高高法座，非聲聞矬短之能升。赫赫日輪，豈外道嬰兒之所見？無偏無黨，至極至尊。」嗟乎愚癡之人，罔知正法、顛倒錯亂，嫁禍移殃於後人，賺他向善俗子墮落深坑。可痛惜哉。奉勸信士細參本教，恪心念佛悔悟前非，了知諸法本無，髻珠自然顯現。堂堂獨露，豈假他求哉？

Regarding the jewel in the topknot, the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka says: 'Suppose a wheel-turning king obtains the realm of the Dharma and rules over the three realms, but the lesser kings refuse to submit. At that time, the wheel-turning king mobilizes various troops to march and chastise them. To those who perform meritorious deeds in battle, he bestows various items, but this single jewel upon the king's crown alone he does not bestow, giving it only at the very end. The Tathāgata is also like this: seeing the army of sages and worthies fight against the demon of the five aggregates, the demon of afflictions, and the demon of death, extinguishing the three poisons, escaping the three realms, and smashing the nets of demons. At that time, the Tathāgata is also greatly delighted, and preaches various teachings for them, but does not preach this Saddharmapuṇḍarīka for them; only now does he preach it. It is like the wheel-turning king possessing a bright pearl for a long time, and giving it only at the very end.' This is because it is the supreme Mahāyāna Dharma-jewel that the World-Honoured One preached last of all, rising above all sages, taking the wheel-turning king's topknot jewel as a metaphor. This jewel is the perfect wisdom of all buddhas and the nature-principle of sentient beings: awaken to it, and one suddenly transcends the three asaṃkhyeya kalpas; be confused about it, and one sinks into the six destinies. Nowadays, there is a class of foolish people who misunderstand the meaning of the sūtra, falsely taking circulating qi into the crown of the head as the jewel in the topknot, calling it the supreme vehicle Dharma. Transmitting it secretly, they teach people to transport essence and circulate qi so that it rushes into the crown of the head, wishing to emulate the fleshy uṣṇīṣa jewel on the crown of the World-Honoured One. How foolish! Little do they know that the fleshy uṣṇīṣa of the World-Honoured One is the mark of an invisible crown, signifying the great Dharma of the One Vehicle. 'Invisible' means one cannot see it oneself, because it is free from self-view; as the pinnacle of the upward path, none of the sages can see it either, because it is free from other-view. Zen Master Yongming Shou's Mind Rhapsody says: 'The exalted Dharma throne cannot be mounted by the stunted stature of a śrāvaka. The blazing solar orb—how could it be seen by an infant of the non-Buddhists? Without partiality or faction, it is the most ultimate and most venerable.' Alas! Foolish people, ignorant of the true Dharma, inverted and disordered, pass on disaster and transmit calamity to later generations, tricking those ordinary people inclined toward good into falling into a deep pit. How lamentable! I urge faithful men to study this teaching closely, recite the Buddha's name with sincere devotion, repent of previous wrongs, and understand that all dharmas are fundamentally non-existent; then the topknot jewel will naturally become manifest. Imposing and uniquely exposed, how could it rely on external seeking?