少室六門 1.113

1.113

Question: "If written words are not established, what is taken to be the mind?"
Answer: "Your questioning me is precisely your mind. My answering you is precisely my mind. If I had no mind, how could I answer you? If you had no mind, how could you question me? Questioning me is precisely your mind. From beginningless, vast kalpas past down to all operations and activities, at all times and in all places, it is all your original mind, all your original Buddha. 'Mind itself is Buddha' is also like this. Apart from this mind, there is ultimately no other Buddha to be found. Outside of this mind, seeking bodhi and nirvāṇa is impossible. Svabhāva is true and real, neither cause nor effect. 'Dharma' signifies precisely the mind. One's own mind is bodhi; one's own mind is nirvāṇa. If it is said that outside the mind there is a Buddha and bodhi to be found, it is impossible. Where would the Buddha and bodhi be? For example, if someone were to grasp empty space with their hand, could they get hold of it? Empty space has only a name, but no appearance; it can neither be taken nor discarded, so space cannot be grasped. Seeking Buddha apart from this mind can never succeed. Buddha is produced from one's own mind; why seek a Buddha apart from this mind? Past Buddhas and future Buddhas only spoke of this mind. Mind is Buddha; Buddha is mind. Outside the mind there is no Buddha; outside the Buddha there is no mind. If it is said that outside the mind there is a Buddha, where is that Buddha? Since outside the mind there is no Buddha, why give rise to a view of Buddha? Mutually deceiving one another, people cannot comprehend their original mind; they are controlled by inanimate objects and have no share of freedom. If you do not believe this, you deceive yourself to no benefit. The Buddha has no faults; sentient beings are inverted, neither aware nor conscious that their own mind is the Buddha. If one knows that one's own mind is the Buddha, one should not seek a Buddha outside the mind. A Buddha does not deliver a Buddha. Using the mind to seek a Buddha means one does not recognize the Buddha. All those who seek a Buddha externally fail to recognize that their own mind is the Buddha. Also, one cannot use a Buddha to bow to a Buddha, nor can one use the mind to be mindful of a Buddha. A Buddha does not recite sūtras; a Buddha does not uphold precepts; a Buddha does not break precepts. A Buddha has neither upholding nor breaking, nor does he perform good or evil. If you wish to seek the Buddha, you must see the nature. The nature is precisely the Buddha. If you do not see the nature, being mindful of the Buddha, reciting sūtras, observing fasts, and upholding precepts will also be of no benefit. Being mindful of the Buddha yields cause and effect; reciting sūtras yields cleverness; upholding precepts yields rebirth in heaven; giving yields retributive blessings. But seeking the Buddha will never succeed. If you are not clear yourself, you must consult a good spiritual friend to resolve the root of birth and death. If one has not seen the nature, one is not called a good spiritual friend. If one is not like this, even if one could expound the twelve divisions of the sūtras, one will still not avoid the cycle of birth and death and suffering in the traidhātuka, with no time of release. Long ago, the monk Sunakṣatra could recite the twelve divisions of the sūtras, yet he still could not avoid cyclic existence, because he had not seen the nature. Since it was so with Sunakṣatra, people today who can lecture on three or five treatises and sūtras and consider that the Buddha-Dharma are foolish people. If one does not recognize one's own mind, reciting useless texts is completely pointless. If you want to seek the Buddha, you must directly see the nature. The nature is precisely the Buddha. The Buddha is an autonomous person, a person without affairs and without contrivance. If you do not see the nature, you will be in confusion all day, seeking outside for a Buddha and never finding one. Although there is not a single thing to be found, if you seek to understand, you must also consult a good spiritual friend and earnestly strive to make the mind comprehend. The matter of birth and death is great; you must not let time pass in vain. Deceiving yourself is of no benefit. Even if you possessed mountains of treasures and kin like the sands of the Ganges, you see them when your eyes are open, but do you still see them when your eyes are closed? Therefore, know that conditioned dharmas are like dreams and illusions. If you do not urgently seek a master, you will pass your whole life in vain. However, while the Buddha-nature is inherently present, without a master you will ultimately not be clear about it. Those who awaken without a master are rare among ten thousand. If through favorable circumstances you accord with the intention of the sages on your own, then you do not need to consult a good spiritual friend; this is the superior learning of one born with knowledge. If you have not awakened and comprehended, you must diligently and bitterly study with others; only through teaching will you attain awakening. If you are clear on your own, it is acceptable not to study. It is not like deluded people who cannot distinguish black from white, falsely proclaim the Buddha's decrees, and slander the Buddha and falsely preach the Dharma. For people of this sort, though they preach the Dharma like rain, it is all the preaching of Māra, not the preaching of the Buddha. The master is the Māra king, and the disciples are Māra's subjects. Deluded people follow his direction at will, unknowingly falling into the sea of birth and death. Anyone who has not seen the nature yet falsely claims to be a Buddha is a great sinner among sentient beings; they deceive all other sentient beings, causing them to enter the realm of Māra. If one has not seen the nature, even if one can preach the teaching of the twelve divisions of the sūtras, it is entirely the preaching of Māra. They are the retinue of Māra, not disciples of the Buddha. Since they cannot distinguish black from white, on what basis can they escape birth and death? If one sees the nature, one is a Buddha; if one does not see the nature, one is a sentient being. If apart from the nature of sentient beings there were another Buddha-nature to be found, where would the Buddha be now? The nature of sentient beings is precisely the Buddha-nature. Outside the nature there is no Buddha; the Buddha is precisely the nature. Apart from this nature, no Buddha can be found; outside the Buddha, no nature can be found."