宗鏡錄 1.18

1.18

答。說等覺。說妙覺。即是約位。普光明智。不屬因果。該通因果。其由自覺聖智超絕因果。故楞伽經。妙覺位外。更立自覺聖智之位。亦猶佛性有因。有果。有因因。有果果。以因取之。是因佛性。以果取之。是果佛性。然則佛性非因非果。普光明智。亦復如是。體絕因果。為因果依。果方究竟。故云。如來。普光明智。或稱為本者。以心為本。故涅槃疏云。涅槃宗本者。諸行皆以大涅槃心為本。本立道生。如無綱目不立。無皮毛靡附。心為本故。其宗得立。

Answer: Speaking of equal enlightenment and speaking of wondrous enlightenment is in terms of stages. Universal luminous wisdom does not belong to cause and effect, yet it encompasses and penetrates cause and effect. It is because the noble wisdom of self-realization transcends cause and effect that the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, outside the stage of wondrous enlightenment, further establishes the stage of the noble wisdom of self-realization. It is also like the Buddha-nature having a cause, having an effect, having a cause of causes, and having an effect of effects. If taken in terms of cause, it is the causal Buddha-nature; if taken in terms of effect, it is the resultant Buddha-nature. However, Buddha-nature is neither cause nor effect, and universal luminous wisdom is also like this: its substance transcends cause and effect, yet it is the reliance for cause and effect. Only when the effect is ultimate is it called the Tathāgata's universal luminous wisdom. Alternatively, it is called "basis" because it takes citta as the basis. Therefore, the Commentary on the Nirvāṇasūtra says: "Regarding the source and basis of nirvāṇa, all practices take the great nirvāṇa mind as their basis. When the basis is established, the Way arises—just as without the main rope, the mesh [of a net] cannot be spread, and without the skin, the hair has nowhere to attach. Because citta is the basis, its source can be established."