少室六門 1.88

1.88

Question: The sūtra says: 'When Śākyamuni Tathāgata was a bodhisattva, he drank three dou and six sheng of milk-gruel, and only then did he accomplish the Buddha Way.' If he first relied on drinking milk and only afterwards realized the fruit of buddhahood, how could contemplating the mind alone bring vimokṣa? Answer: Truly know that what was said is not false; he certainly had to consume milk, and only then did he accomplish buddhahood. Speaking of consuming milk, there are two kinds. That which the Buddha consumed was not worldly, impure milk, but the pure Dharma-milk of tathatā. The three dou are the three pure precepts. The six sheng are the ṣaṭ-pāramitā. When accomplishing the Buddha Way, it was by consuming such pure Dharma-milk that he only then realized the fruit of buddhahood. If one says that the Tathāgata consumed the impure, rancid, and fishy milk of worldly composite cows, would that not be an extreme slander and error? Tathatā itself is diamond-indestructible, the unconditioned dharmakāya, eternally free from all worldly suffering. How could it need such impure milk to satisfy hunger and thirst? As the sūtra says: 'That cow is not on the high plains, nor in the low wetlands. It does not eat grain, wheat, chaff, or bran, and does not herd together with common bulls. That cow's body is of purple-sheen golden colour.' Speaking of this cow, it is Vairocana Buddha. Out of great compassion and pity for all, from within his pure Dharma-essence he produced such subtle Dharma-milk of the three pure precepts and ṣaṭ-pāramitā to nurture all who seek vimokṣa. Not only did the Tathāgata drink the pure milk of such a truly pure cow and accomplish the Way, but if all sentient beings are able to drink it, they will all attain anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi.