六祖大師法寶壇經 1.69

1.69

The Master instructed the assembly, saying: "Good friends! The fundamental correct teaching has no sudden or gradual; human nature itself has sharpness and dullness. Deluded people practice gradually; awakened people accord suddenly. Knowing one's own fundamental mind and seeing into one's own svabhāva, there is no difference; therefore the conventional names of 'sudden' and 'gradual' are established. Good friends! In this Dharma gate of mine, from ancient times, thoughtlessness has first been established as the core, animitta as the substance, and non-abiding as the basis. Animitta means being in characteristics yet being free from characteristics. Thoughtlessness means being in thoughts yet being without thoughts. Non-abiding is the fundamental nature of humans. In the world, with respect to good and evil, good and bad, even enemies and kin, when faced with provocation, deception, or contention through speech, treat them all as empty, not thinking of retaliation, and in thought after thought not thinking of prior objects. If the prior thought, the present thought, and the subsequent thought continue one after another without break, it is called bondage. If in thought after thought you do not abide on dharmas, then there is no bondage. This is taking non-abiding as the basis. Good friends! Externally departing from all characteristics is called animitta. Being able to depart from characteristics, the Dharma substance is pure. This is taking animitta as the substance. Good friends! On all objects, the mind not being defiled is called thoughtlessness. In one's own thoughts, constantly departing from all objects, not producing thoughts toward objects. If you simply think of nothing at all and eliminate thoughts entirely, once thoughts cease you die and receive rebirth elsewhere; this is a great mistake. Practitioners of the Way should reflect on this. If you do not understand the meaning of the Dharma, being wrong yourself is one thing, but misleading others is worse; being deluded oneself without seeing, one further slanders the Buddha's scriptures. Therefore, thoughtlessness is established as the core. Good friends! Why is thoughtlessness established as the core? Simply because people speak with their mouths of seeing into their nature, but deluded people have thoughts regarding objects; upon thoughts, wrong views then arise, and all defilements and false thoughts are born from this. Svabhāva fundamentally has not a single dharma to be attained; if there is something to be attained, falsely speaking of misfortune and fortune, that is defilement and wrong view. Therefore, this Dharma gate establishes thoughtlessness as the core. Good friends! For 'non-', what is there not? For 'thought', what does one think of? 'Non-' means having no duality, having no mind of defilements. 'Thought' means thinking of the fundamental nature of tathatā. Tathatā is the substance of thought, and thought is the function of tathatā. Thoughts arise from the svabhāva of tathatā; it is not the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue that can think. Tathatā has its nature, and therefore thoughts arise; if tathatā did not exist, the eyes, ears, sights, and sounds would be destroyed immediately. Good friends! When thoughts arise from the svabhāva of tathatā, though the six sense faculties have seeing, hearing, sensing, and knowing, they are not defiled by the ten thousand objects, and the true nature is constantly at ease. Therefore the sūtra says: 'Skillfully distinguishing all dharma characteristics, yet remaining unmoved in the ultimate truth.'"