六祖大師法寶壇經 1.15

1.15

Once the sage had passed away, although hundreds of generations under heaven transmitted his words through writings, none obtained clear verification. Therefore, when the principle of the Platform Sūtra was raised, it directly revealed the mind, and the world only then understood how to rectify human nature and destiny. It was like parting clouds and mist to suddenly behold the clear sky, or ascending Mount Tai to see all around wide and clear. Master Wang compared this to worldly writings, saying: 'Qi with one change reached the level of Lu; Lu with one change reached the Way.' These words are close to the mark. When the Nirvāṇa [Sūtra] says: 'From the beginning at the Deer Park to the end at the Bhadra River, during the fifty years in between, not a single word was ever spoken,' it reveals that the Dharma is not in written characters, guarding against seeking its meaning through texts. When it says, 'Rely on the Dharma and not on the person,' it is because the Dharma is real while the person is provisional; when it says, 'Rely on the meaning and not on the words,' it is because the meaning is actual while the words are provisional; when it says, 'Rely on wisdom and not on consciousness,' it is because wisdom is ultimate while consciousness is delusive; when it says, 'Rely on sūtras of definitive meaning and not on sūtras of provisional meaning,' it is because sūtras of definitive meaning exhaust the principle. And what the Bodhisattvas spoke of as expounding the Great Nirvāṇa means that their own speech is identical with the sūtras. When the sage spoke of the four types of persons appearing in the world (that is, the four reliances) who protect and maintain the true Dharma and whom one should verify and know—because one should verify and know them, the realized person traced the root to rectify the branches. Because his own speech is identical with the sūtras, the realized person's exposition of the sūtra is just like the sūtra itself. Because he relied on the meaning and on sūtras of definitive meaning, the realized person's explicit teachings accorded with the meaning and with the sūtras; because he relied on the Dharma and on wisdom, the realized person's esoteric teachings transformed and penetrated without stubborn attachment. Because he revealed that the Dharma is not in written characters, the school of the realized person esteemed the silent transmission. The sage was like spring, delightfully bringing forth life; the realized person was like autumn, brilliantly bringing it to maturity. The sage gave the command and the realized person carried it out; the realized person was indeed a figure of extraordinary virtue and exceptional merit within the gate of the sage.