人天眼目 5.26

5.26

He asked: 'What about the Dharma gate of the three contemplations in one mind of the Venerable of Tiantai compared to the intention of the ancestral masters?' He answered: 'If you had not asked, it would be difficult for me to speak of it. I have seen it said in the doctrinal teachings: "I have the treasury of the true Dharma eye, which I entrust to Mahākāśyapa," and it is not within the Three Vehicles and Five Teachings. Originally, the teachings of the Buddhas and patriarchs all had transmission. Formerly I heard that the Great Master [Zhiyi] obtained the *Mūlamadhyamakakārikā* composed by Nāgārjuna from the canon. Reading up to the fourth fascicle, which refutes all dharmas having a fixed nature, showing that if there were a fixed nature there would be no causes and conditions, etc., as the verse says: "Dharmas that arise from causes and conditions, / I say are precisely emptiness; / they are also termed provisional designations, / and are also the meaning of the Middle Way." The next verse says: "Never has there been a single dharma / that does not arise from causes and conditions; / therefore among all dharmas, / there is none that is not empty." From this he composed the three contemplations in one mind, termed emptiness, provisionality, and the middle. If one relies on doctrinal purport, generally a single verse has four lines to complete its meaning. Zhiyi separated them into three contemplations, which seems like branching vines, and the transmission is not clear. Because of this, it is said that he received it remotely from Nāgārjuna, taking Nāgārjuna as ancestor, while closely he received it from Master Si—which can be known. If succession can skip generations, I fear that in later generations there will surely be clever people who merely read Buddhist sūtras and claim to receive it directly from Śākyamuni! How could that be right? Simply because Zhiyi possessed great merit, wisdom, and eloquence, and repeatedly served as imperial preceptor, he established the doctrine of a single school, with vast language and subtle principle. Yet his latter-day descendants, claiming to transmit the patriarchal teachings, conversely malign the Venerable Simha's personal transmission of the Dharma to Basiasita, and even regard the transmission of the robe and conferral of Dharma to the Sixth Patriarch in this land as heterodox understanding. Alas! If I discuss it fully, it will become an argument. Discern it for yourself.'