六祖大師法寶壇經 1.78

1.78

"Good friends! Having now taken refuge in your own triratna, let each of you with a sincere mind listen: I will speak of the Buddha of the svabhāva, of one essence and three bodies, so that you may see the three bodies clearly and awaken to your svabhāva for yourselves. All follow me and say: 'In this physical body of my own, I take refuge in the pure dharmakāya Buddha. In this physical body of my own, I take refuge in the complete saṃbhogakāya Buddha. In this physical body of my own, I take refuge in the hundreds of millions of nirmāṇakāya Buddhas.' Good friends! The physical body is a dwelling; one cannot speak of taking refuge in it. The aforesaid three body Buddhas are in the svabhāva, and worldly people all possess them; yet because their own minds are deluded, they do not see their inner nature. Outwardly they seek the three body Tathāgatas, not seeing that within their own bodies there are the three body Buddhas. Listen to my explanation, which will enable you to see within your own bodies that the svabhāva possesses the three body Buddhas. These three body Buddhas are born from the svabhāva and are not obtained from outside. What is called the pure dharmakāya Buddha? Worldly people's nature is fundamentally pure; the myriad dharmas are born from the svabhāva. Thinking of all evil things immediately produces evil actions; thinking of all good things immediately produces good actions. Thus all dharmas are in the svabhāva, just as the sky is constantly clear and the sun and moon are constantly bright, but are covered over by drifting clouds so that above is bright while below is dark. Suddenly encountering a wind that blows the clouds away, both above and below are bright, and the myriad forms all appear. Worldly people's nature is constantly floating about, just like those clouds in the sky. Good friends! Knowledge is like the sun, and wisdom is like the moon; wisdom is constantly bright. When clinging outwardly to sense-realms, the svabhāva is covered over by the drifting clouds of false thoughts, unable to be bright and clear. If one meets a good friend and hears the true Dharma, one eliminates delusion and falsehood for oneself, becoming bright and penetrating inwardly and outwardly, and within the svabhāva the myriad dharmas all appear. A person who sees into the nature is also like this. This is called the pure dharmakāya Buddha. Good friends! One's own mind taking refuge in the svabhāva is taking refuge in the true Buddha. One who takes refuge for oneself eliminates from the svabhāva the unwholesome mind, the jealous mind, the flattering and crooked mind, the egotistical mind, the deceitful mind, the mind of looking down on people, the mind of arrogance toward others, the mind of wrong views, the conceited mind, and unwholesome actions at all times; constantly seeing one's own faults for oneself and not speaking of others' good and bad is taking refuge for oneself. Constantly humbling one's mind and universally practicing respect: this is penetrating vision into the nature, with no further obstacles; this is taking refuge for oneself. What is called the complete saṃbhogakāya? For example, just as a single lamp can dispel a thousand years of darkness, a single flash of wisdom can extinguish ten thousand years of folly. Do not think about the past: what is already past cannot be attained. Constantly think about the future: in thought after thought, completely bright, see your original nature for yourself. Although good and evil differ, the original nature is not two; the non-dual nature is called the true nature. In the true nature, untainted by good or evil: this is called the complete saṃbhogakāya Buddha. When a single thought of evil arises from the svabhāva, good causes of ten thousand kalpas are extinguished; when a single thought of good arises from the svabhāva, evils as numerous as the sands of the Ganges are completely exhausted. Directly reaching unsurpassed bodhi, seeing for oneself in thought after thought, without losing one's original thought: this is called the saṃbhogakāya. What is called the hundreds of millions of nirmāṇakāyas? If one does not think of the myriad dharmas, the nature is fundamentally like space; a single thought of thinking is called transformation. Thinking of evil things transforms into hell; thinking of good things transforms into heaven. Malice transforms into dragons and snakes; compassion transforms into bodhisattvas; wisdom transforms into the upper realms; foolish ignorance transforms into the lower regions. The transformations of the svabhāva are extremely numerous; deluded people cannot awaken to this, and in thought after thought they give rise to evil, constantly walking evil paths. Turning back to a single thought of good, wisdom immediately arises; this is called the nirmāṇakāya Buddha of the svabhāva. Good friends! The dharmakāya is fundamentally complete. In thought after thought seeing the svabhāva for oneself is immediately the saṃbhogakāya Buddha. Thinking from the saṃbhogakāya is immediately the nirmāṇakāya Buddha. Awakening for oneself and cultivating the merits of the svabhāva for oneself is true refuge. Skin and flesh are the physical body; the physical body is a dwelling, and one does not speak of taking refuge in it. Only awaken to the three bodies of the svabhāva, and you immediately recognize the Buddha of the svabhāva. I have a formless verse; if you can recite and uphold it, at these words it will cause your deluded transgressions accumulated over kalpas to be extinguished at once. The verse says:"