南宗頓教最上大乘摩訶般若波羅蜜經六祖惠能大師於韶州大梵寺施法壇經 1.23

1.23

"Kalyāṇamitras! In this Dharma door of mine, from antiquity down to the present, whether sudden or gradual, all have established no-thought as the lineage宗旨 [principle], formlessness as the essence, and non-abiding as the foundation. What is called formlessness? Formlessness means being detached from forms while amidst forms. No-thought means not being caught in thoughts while having thoughts. Non-abiding is man's original nature: thought after thought does not abide; the past thought, the present thought, and the future thought follow one another continuously without interruption. If a single thought is cut off, the dharmakāya is detached from the physical body. At all moments of thought, there is no abiding in any dharmas. If a single thought abides, thought after thought abides, which is called fetter. If, with respect to all dharmas, thought after thought does not abide, then there is no fetter; thus non-abiding is taken as the foundation. Kalyāṇamitras! Being outwardly detached from all forms is formlessness. If one can merely be detached from forms, the essence of one's nature is pure; thus formlessness is taken as the essence. Being undefiled by any realm is called no-thought. Within one's own thoughts, one is detached from realms, and does not give rise to thoughts toward dharmas. Do not refrain from thinking of the hundred things, eradicating thoughts entirely; if a single thought is cut off, one ceases to be, and takes rebirth elsewhere. Practitioners of the Way, apply your minds carefully, and do not fail to understand the meaning of the Dharma! Making a mistake oneself is bad enough, but to further encourage others to be deluded, not seeing one's own delusion, and even slandering the sūtras and teachings—for this reason no-thought is established as the lineage. Because deluded people have thoughts regarding sense-realms, wrong views immediately arise from their thoughts, and from this all defilements and deluded thoughts are born. However, this teaching establishes no-thought as the lineage: when people of the world are free from views, they do not give rise to thoughts; if there were no thoughts, no-thought would not even be established. As for 'no', what is negated? As for 'thought', what is thought of? 'No' means being detached from the two marks and all defilements; 'thought' means being mindful of the original nature of tathatā. Tathatā is the essence of thought; thought is the function of tathatā. When thought arises from one's own-nature, although there are seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing, one is not defiled by the myriad realms, but is constantly autonomous. The Vimalakīrti Sūtra says: 'Outwardly able to skillfully distinguish the marks of all dharmas, inwardly unmoving with respect to the ultimate truth.'"