少室六門 1.89

1.89

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?