六祖大師法寶壇經 1.94

1.94

Having heard the gāthā, Fada could not help weeping. Upon these words he had a great awakening, and said to the Master, "From the past until now, Fada indeed never turned the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka; rather, I was turned by the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka." He inquired again, saying, "The sūtra says: 'All great śrāvakas and even bodhisattvas, exhausting their thoughts to measure it together, cannot gauge the Buddha's wisdom.' Now you have ordinary people merely awaken to their own mind and call that the vision and knowledge of the Buddha. Unless one is of the highest capacity, one can hardly avoid doubt and slander. Moreover, the sūtra speaks of three carts: goat, deer, and bullock carts, and the cart of the white bullock. How are they distinguished? I pray the upādhyāya will condescend to instruct me again." The Master said, "The sūtra's meaning is clear; you yourself are confused and run contrary to it. That the people of the three vehicles cannot gauge the Buddha's wisdom is because their affliction lies in measuring. Even if they exhaust their thoughts to deduce it together, they only become further removed. The Buddha originally spoke for the sake of ordinary people, not for the sake of Buddhas. Those who are unwilling to believe this principle may leave the assembly as they will. Little do they know that while sitting right in the white bullock cart, they still seek the three carts outside the gate. What is more, the text of the sūtra clearly says to you: 'There is only the one Buddha vehicle; there is no other vehicle, neither two nor three'—and even that the countless skillful means, the various causes, conditions, parables, and words are all for the sake of the one Buddha vehicle. Why do you not realize that the three carts are provisional, for the sake of the past; while the one vehicle is real, for the sake of the present? It simply teaches you to cast aside the provisional and return to the real; and after returning to the real, the real also has no name. You should know that all the precious treasures belong entirely to you, for your use and enjoyment; no longer make the thought of a father, nor make the thought of a son, nor have the thought of using. This is called upholding the Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Sūtra: from kalpa to kalpa the scroll does not leave one's hand, and from day to night there is no time when one is not reciting it."