少室六門 1.89

1.89

問。經中所說。佛令眾生修造伽藍。鑄寫形像。燒香散花。燃長明燈。晝夜六時。遶塔行道。持齋禮拜。種種功德。皆成佛道。若唯觀心。總攝諸行。說如是事。應虛妄也。答。佛所說經。有無量方便。以一切眾生鈍根狹劣。不悟甚深之義。所以假有為喻無為。若復不修內行。唯只外求。希望獲福。無有是處。言伽藍者。西國語。此土翻為清淨地也。若永除三毒。常淨六根。身心湛然。內外清淨。是名修造伽藍。鑄寫形像者。即是一切眾生求佛道也。所謂修諸覺行。彷像如來真容妙相。豈是鑄寫金銅之所作乎。是故求解脫者。以身為爐。以法為火。以智慧為巧匠。以三聚淨戒六波羅蜜以為模楑。鎔鍊身中真如佛性。遍入一切戒律模中。如教奉行。一無漏缺。自然成就真容之像。所謂究竟常住微妙色身。不是有為敗壞之法。若人求道。不解如是鑄寫真容。憑何輒言功德。又燒香者。亦非世間有相之香。乃是無為正法之香也。薰諸臭穢無明惡業。悉令消滅。正法香者。其有五種。一者戒香。所謂能斷諸惡。能修諸善。二者定香。所謂深信大乘。心無退轉。三者慧香。所謂常於身心。內自觀察。四者解脫香。所謂能斷一切無明結縛。五者解脫知見香。所謂觀照常明。通達無礙。如是五種香。名為最上之香。世間無比。佛在世日。令諸弟子。以智慧火。燒如是無價寶香。供養十方諸佛。今時眾生不解如來真實之義。唯將外火。燒於世間沈檀。薰陸質礙之香。希望福報。云何可得乎。又散花者。義亦如是。所謂演說正法。諸功德花。饒益有情。散沾一切。於真如性。普施莊嚴。此功德花。佛所稱讚。究竟常住。無凋落期。若復有人。散如是花。獲福無量。若言如來令眾生。剪截繒綵。傷損草木。以為散花。無有是處。所以者何。持淨戒者。於諸天地森羅萬像。不令觸犯。若誤犯者猶獲大罪。況復今者故毀淨戒。傷損萬物。求於福報。欲益反損。豈有是乎。長明燈者。即正覺心也。覺之明了。喻之為燈。是故一切求解脫者。身為燈臺。心為燈炷。增諸戒行。以為添油。智慧明達。喻如燈火常燃。如是真正覺燈。而照一切無明癡暗。能以此法輪。次第相開示。即是一燈燃百千燈。燈燈無盡。故號長明。過去有佛。名曰燃燈。義亦如是。愚癡眾生。不會如來方便之說。專行虛妄。執著有為。遂燃世間蘇油之燈。以照空室。乃稱依教。豈不謬乎。所以者何。佛放眉間一毫相光。能照萬八千世界。豈假如是蘇油之燈。以為利益。審察斯理。應不然乎。又六時行道者。所謂六根之中。於一切時。常行佛道。修諸覺行。調伏六根。長時不捨。名為六時行道。遶塔行道者。塔者是身也。當修覺行巡遶身心。念念不停。名為遶塔。過去諸聖皆行此道。至涅槃時。今時世人不會此理。曾不內行。唯執外求。將質礙身。遶世間塔。日夜走驟。徒自疲勞。而於真性。一無利益。又持齋者。當須會意。不達斯理。徒爾虛功。齋者齊也。所謂齊正身心。不令散亂。持者護也。所謂於諸戒行。如法護持。必須外禁六情。內制三毒。慇懃覺察清淨身心。了如是義。名為持齋。食有五種。一者法喜食。所謂依持正法。歡喜奉行。二者禪悅食。所為內外澄寂。身心悅樂。三者念食。所謂常念諸佛。心口相應。四者願食。所謂行住坐臥。常求善願。五者解脫食。所謂心常清淨。不染俗塵。此五種食名為持齋。若復有人。不食如是五種淨食。自言持齋。無有是處。唯斷於無明之食。輒作解者。名為破齋。若亦有破。云何獲福。世有迷人。不悟斯理。身心放逸皆為諸惡。貪欲恣情。不生慚愧。唯斷外食。自為持齋。必無是處。又禮拜者。當如法也。必須理體內明。事隨權變。會如是義。乃名依法。夫禮者敬也。拜者伏也。所謂恭敬真性。屈伏無明。名為禮拜。若能惡情永滅。善念恒存。雖不理相。名為禮拜。其相即法相也。世尊欲令世俗表謙下心。亦為禮拜。故須屈伏外身。示內恭敬。覺外明內。性相相應。若復不行理法。唯執外求。內則放縱貪癡。常為惡業。外即空勞身相。詐現威儀。無慚於聖。徒誑於凡。不免輪迴。豈成功德。

Question: It is taught in the sūtras that the Buddha causes sentient beings to build saṃghārāmas, cast and paint images, burn incense and scatter flowers, light ever-burning lamps, circumambulate towers and practice the Way throughout the six intervals of day and night, observe fasts and make prostrations—and through such various merits, they all accomplish the Buddha Way. If contemplating the mind alone subsumes all practices, then speaking of such matters ought to be false. Answer: The sūtras spoken by the Buddha contain measureless skillful means. Because all sentient beings have dull faculties and are narrow and inferior, failing to understand the profound meaning, conditioned things were used as metaphors for the unconditioned. If people again do not cultivate internal practice, but only seek externally hoping to obtain blessings, there is no such possibility. As for 'saṃghārāma', it is a Western word, translated here as 'pure land'. If one eternally eliminates the three poisons and always purifies the ṣaḍ-indriya, so that body and mind are tranquil and clear, and inner and outer are pure, this is called building a saṃghārāma. Casting and painting images refers to all sentient beings seeking the Buddha Way. That is, cultivating all awakened practices to resemble the Tathāgata's true countenance and marvelous marks—how could this be done by casting and painting gold and copper? Therefore, one who seeks vimokṣa takes the body as the furnace, the Dharma as the fire, wisdom as the skillful craftsman, and the three pure precepts and ṣaṭ-pāramitā as the mold. Refining the tathatā Buddha-nature within the body, pouring it everywhere into the molds of all precepts and Vinaya, practicing according to the teachings without a single flaw or omission, one naturally accomplishes an image of the true countenance—namely, the ultimately permanent, subtle physical body, not a conditioned, corruptible phenomenon. If a person seeks the Way without understanding such casting and painting of the true countenance, on what basis can they rashly speak of merit? Furthermore, burning incense is also not worldly incense with form; it is the incense of the unconditioned true Dharma. It perfumes all foul, ignorant evil karmas, causing them all to be eradicated. There are five kinds of true Dharma incense: first, the incense of morality, which is being able to sever all evils and cultivate all goods; second, the incense of concentration, which is deeply believing in the Mahāyāna with a mind that does not retrogress; third, the incense of wisdom, which is constantly observing inwardly within body and mind; fourth, the incense of vimokṣa, which is being able to sever all fetters of avidyā; fifth, the incense of the knowledge and vision of vimokṣa, which is contemplation and illumination being ever-bright, penetrating without hindrance. These five kinds of incense are called the supreme incense, peerless in the world. When the Buddha was in the world, he had his disciples burn such priceless precious incense with the fire of wisdom to make offerings to the Buddhas of the ten directions. Nowadays sentient beings do not understand the Tathāgata's true meaning; using only external fire, they burn worldly aloeswood, sandalwood, and frankincense—incense that possesses physical obstruction—hoping for retributive blessings. How could they obtain them? Scattering flowers is also like this in meaning. It refers to expounding the true Dharma, scattering the flowers of all merits to benefit sentient beings and moisten all, universally bestowing adornment upon the nature of tathatā. These flowers of merit are praised by the Buddha; they are ultimately permanent and have no time of withering. If someone scatters such flowers, they will obtain measureless blessings. If one says that the Tathāgata caused sentient beings to cut silks and fabrics, or damage plants and trees in order to scatter flowers, there is no such possibility. Why is this? One who keeps pure precepts will not offend against all the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth. If one accidentally offends against them, one still incurs great guilt; how much more so if one now deliberately breaks the pure precepts and harms myriad things while seeking retributive blessings? Wanting benefit but getting harm instead—how could that be? The ever-burning lamp is the mind of correct awakening. The clarity of awakening is compared to a lamp. Therefore, for all who seek vimokṣa, the body is the lampstand, the mind is the wick, increasing all moral practices serves as adding oil, and wisdom being bright and clear is compared to the lamp's flame burning constantly. Such a lamp of true and correct awakening illuminates all darkness of avidyā and delusion. Being able to unfold and explain this wheel of the Dharma in succession is none other than one lamp lighting hundreds of thousands of lamps, lamp to lamp endlessly; hence it is called 'ever-burning'. In the past there was a Buddha named Dīpaṃkara; the meaning is also like this. Foolish sentient beings do not understand the Tathāgata's skillful words; exclusively performing falsehoods and clinging to the conditioned, they then light worldly lamps of ghee and oil to illuminate empty rooms, yet claim to be following the teachings. Is this not an error? Why is this? The Buddha emits light from the single white hair between his eyebrows, able to illuminate eighteen thousand worlds; how could he rely on such lamps of ghee and oil for benefit? Examining this principle carefully, it should not be so. Furthermore, circumambulating and practicing the Way throughout the six intervals means constantly practicing the Buddha Way among the ṣaḍ-indriya at all times, cultivating all awakened practices, subduing the ṣaḍ-indriya, and not abandoning this for a long time; this is called circumambulating and practicing the Way throughout the six intervals. Circumambulating towers and practicing the Way: the tower is the body. One should cultivate awakened practices, circling body and mind without stopping from thought to thought; this is called circumambulating a tower. The sages of the past all practiced this way until reaching nirvāṇa. Nowadays worldly people do not understand this principle; they never practice internally and only cling to external seeking, taking their physically obstructed bodies to circumambulate worldly towers, running day and night, tiring themselves in vain, while having not the slightest benefit for their true nature. Furthermore, in observing fasts, one must understand the meaning. If one does not penetrate this principle, it is merely wasted effort. 'Fast' (zhai) means 'alignment' (qi)—namely, aligning and rectifying body and mind so as not to allow them to be scattered. 'Observing' (chi) means 'protecting'—namely, protecting and maintaining all practices of the precepts in accordance with the Dharma. One must externally restrain the six passions and internally control the three poisons, attentively observing to purify body and mind; understanding this meaning is called observing the fast. There are five kinds of food: first, the food of Dharma joy, which is relying on and upholding the true Dharma, joyfully practicing it; second, the food of dhyāna bliss, which is inner and outer clarity and stillness, with body and mind joyful; third, the food of mindfulness, which is constantly being mindful of the Buddhas, with mind and mouth corresponding; fourth, the food of aspiration, which is constantly seeking good vows whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down; fifth, the food of vimokṣa, which is the mind constantly pure, undefiled by worldly dust. These five kinds of food are called observing the fast. If someone does not eat these five kinds of pure food yet says they are observing the fast, there is no such possibility. If one only cuts off food without avidyā being cut off, and rashly forms interpretations, this is called breaking the fast. If there is also breaking, how could one obtain blessings? In the world there are deluded people who do not awaken to this principle; their body and mind are unrestrained, committing all evils, indulging their desires and passions without giving rise to shame, yet merely cutting off external food, they consider themselves to be observing the fast. There is certainly no such possibility. Furthermore, making prostrations must be done in accordance with the Dharma. One must be internally clear about the essence of the principle, while external matters adapt to expedient changes; understanding this meaning is what is called being in accordance with the Dharma. Now, 'courtesy' (li) is 'respect', and 'prostrating' (bai) is 'subduing'—namely, respecting the true nature and subverting avidyā is called making prostrations. If evil dispositions can be eternally extinguished and good thoughts constantly maintained, even without attending to external forms, it is called making prostrations. That form is the form of Dharma. The World-Honoured One, wishing to cause the worldly to express a humble mind, also made prostrations; therefore, one must subdue the outer body to show inner reverence, awakening externally and illuminating internally, nature and forms corresponding. If one again does not practice the Dharma of the principle, but only clings to seeking externally—internally indulging greed and delusion, constantly committing evil karma, while externally tiring the bodily forms in vain, falsely presenting an imposing deportment—having no shame before the sages and deceiving ordinary people in vain, one will not escape saṃsāra. How could it accomplish merit?