宗鏡錄 1.20

1.20

答。從上非是一向不許看教。恐慮不詳佛語。隨文生解。失於佛意。以負初心。或若因詮得旨。不作心境對治。直了佛心。又有何過。只如藥山和尚。一生看大涅槃經。手不釋卷。時有學人問。和尚尋常不許學人看經。和尚為什麼自看。師云。只為遮眼。問。學人還看得不。師云。汝若看。牛皮也須穿。且如西天第一祖師。是本師釋迦牟尼佛。首傳摩訶迦葉為初祖。次第相傳。迄至此土六祖。皆是佛弟子。今引本師之語。訓示弟子。令因言薦道。見法知宗。不外馳求。親明佛意。得旨即入祖位。誰論頓漸之門。見性現證圓通。豈標前後之位。若如是者。何有相違。且如西天上代二十八祖。此土六祖。乃至洪州馬祖大師。及南陽忠國師。鵝湖大義禪師。思空山本淨禪師等。並博通經論。圓悟自心。所有示徒。皆引誠證。終不出自胸臆。妄有指陳。是以綿歷歲華。真風不墜。以聖言為定量。邪偽難移。用至教為指南。依憑有據。故圭峯和尚云。謂諸宗始祖。即是釋迦。經是佛語。禪是佛意。諸佛心口。必不相違。諸祖相承。根本。是佛親付。菩薩造論。始末。唯弘佛經。況迦葉乃至毱多弘傳皆兼三藏。及馬鳴龍樹。悉是祖師。造論釋經。數十萬偈。觀風化物。無定事儀。所以凡稱知識。法爾須明佛語。印可自心。若不與了義一乘圓教相應。設證聖果。亦非究竟。今且錄一二以證斯文。洪州馬祖大師云。達磨大師從南天竺國來。唯傳大乘一心之法。以楞伽經印眾生心。恐不信此一心之法。楞伽經云。佛語心為宗。無門為法門。何故佛語心為宗。佛語心者。即心即佛。今語即是心語。故云。佛語心為宗。無門為法門者。達本性空。更無一法。性自是門。性無有相。亦無有門。故云。無門為法門。亦名空門。亦名色門。何以故。空是法性空。色是法性色。無形相故。謂之空。知見無盡故。謂之色。故云。如來色無盡。智慧亦復然。隨生諸法處。復有無量三昧門。遠離內外知見情執。亦名總持門。亦名施門。謂不念內外善惡諸法。乃至皆是諸波羅蜜門。色身佛。是實相佛家用。經云。三十二相。八十種好。皆從心想生。亦名法性家焰。亦法性功勳。菩薩行般若時。火燒三界內外諸物盡。於中不損一草葉。為諸法如相故。故經云。不壞於身而隨一相。今知自性是佛。於一切時中行住坐臥。更無一法可得。乃至真如不屬一切名。亦無無名。故經云。智不得有無。內外無求。任其本性。亦無任性之心。經云。種種意生身。我說為心量。即無心之心。無量之量。無名為真名。無求是真求。經云。夫求法者。應無所求。心外無別佛。佛外無別心。不取善。不作惡。淨穢兩邊俱不依。法。無自性。三界唯心。經云。森羅及萬像。一法之所印。凡所見色。皆是見心。心不自心。因色故心。色不自色。因心故色。故經云。見色即是見心。南陽忠國師云。禪宗法者。應依佛語一乘了義。契取本原心地。轉相傳授。與佛道同。不得依於妄情。及不了義教。橫作見解。疑誤後學。俱無利益。縱依師匠領受宗旨。若與了義教相應。即可依行。若不了義教。互不相許。譬如師子身中蟲。自食師子身中肉。非天魔外道。而能破滅佛法矣。時有禪客問曰。阿那箇是佛心。師曰。牆壁瓦礫無情之物。並是佛心。禪客曰。與經大相違也。經云。離牆壁瓦礫無情之物。名為佛性。今云。一切無情之物皆是佛心。未審心之與性。為別不別。師曰。迷人即別。悟人不別。禪客曰。與經又相違也。經云。善男子。心非佛性。佛性是常。心是無常。今云不別。未審此意如何。師曰。汝自依語不依義。譬如寒月結水為氷。及至暖時釋氷成水。眾生迷時結性成心。悟時釋心成性。汝定執無情之物非心者。經不應言三界唯心。故華嚴經云。應觀法界性。一切唯心造。今且問汝。無情之物。為在三界內。為在三界外。為復是心不是心。若非心者。經不應言三界唯心。若是心者。又不應言無性。汝自違經。我不違也。鵝湖大義禪師。因詔入內。遂問京城諸大師。大德。汝等以何為道。或有對云。知見為道。師云。維摩經云。法離見聞覺知。云何以知見為道。又有對云。無分別為道。師云。經云。善能分別諸法相。於第一義而不動。云何以無分別為道。又皇帝問。如何是佛性。答不離陛下所問。是以或直指明心。或破執入道。以無方之辯。祛必定之執。運無得之智。屈有量之心。思空山本淨禪師。語京城諸大德云。汝莫執心。此心皆因前塵而有。如鏡中像。無體可得。若執實有者。則失本原。常無自性。圓覺經云。妄認四大為自身相。六塵緣影為自心相。楞伽經云。不了心及緣。則生二妄想。了心及境界。妄想則不生。維摩經云。法非見聞覺知。且引三經。證斯真實。五祖下莊嚴大師。一生示徒。唯舉維摩經寶積長者讚佛頌末四句云。不著世間如蓮華。常善入於空寂行。達諸法相無罣礙。稽首如空無所依。學人問云。此是佛語。欲得和尚自語。師云。佛語即我語。我語即佛語。是故初祖西來。創行禪道。欲傳心印。須假佛經。以楞伽為證明。知教門之所自。遂得外人息謗。內學稟承。祖胤大興玄風廣被。是以初心始學之者。未自省發已前。若非聖教正宗。憑何修行進道。設不自生妄見。亦乃盡值邪師。故云。我眼本正。因師故邪。西天九十六種執見之徒。皆是斯類。故知木匪繩而靡直。理非教而不圓。如上略引二三。皆是大善知識。物外宗師。禪苑麟龍。祖門龜鏡。示一教而風行電卷。垂一語而山崩海枯。帝王親師。朝野歸命。叢林取則。後學稟承。終不率自胸襟。違於佛語。凡有釋疑去偽。顯性明宗。無不一一廣引經文。備彰佛意。所以永傳後嗣。不墜家風。若不然者。又焉得至今紹繼昌盛。法力如是。證驗非虛。又若欲研究佛乘。披尋寶藏。一一須消歸自己。言言使冥合真心。但莫執義上之文。隨語生見。直須探詮下之旨。契會本宗。則無師之智現前。天真之道不昧。如華嚴經云。知一切法。即心自性。成就慧身。不由他悟。故知教有助道之力。初心安可暫忘。細詳法利無邊。是乃搜揚纂集。且凡論宗旨。唯逗頓機。如日出照高山駃馬見鞭影。所以丹霞和尚云。相逢不擎出。舉意便知有。如今宗鏡。尚不待舉意。便自知有。故首楞嚴經云。圓明了知。不因心念。揚眉動目。早是周遮。如先德頌云。便是猶倍句。動目即差違。若問曹谿旨。不更待揚眉。今為樂佛乘人。實未薦者。假以宗鏡。助顯真心。雖挂文言。妙旨斯在。俯收中下。盡被群機。但任當人。各資己利。百川雖潤。何妨大海廣含。五嶽自高。不礙太陽普照。根機莫等。樂欲匪同。於四門入處雖殊。在一真見時無別。如獲鳥者羅之一目。不可以一目為羅。理國者功在一人。不可以一人為國。如內德論云。夫一水無以和羹。一木無以構室。一衣不稱眾體。一藥不療殊疾。一彩無以為文繡。一聲無以諧琴瑟。一言無以勸眾善。一戒無以防多失。何得怪漸頓之異。令法門之專一。故云。如為一人。眾多亦然。如為眾多。一人亦然。豈同劣解凡情。而生局見。我此無礙廣大法門。如虛空非相。不拒諸相發揮。似法性無身。匪礙諸身頓現。須以六相義該攝。斷常之見方消。用十玄門融通。去取之情始絕。又若實得一聞千悟。獲大總持。即胡假言詮。無勞解釋。船筏為渡迷津之者。導師因引失路之人。凡關一切言詮。於圓宗所示。皆為未了。文字性離。即是解脫。迷一切諸法真實之性。向心外取法。而起文字見者。今還將文字對治。示其真實。若悟諸法本源。即不見有文字。及絲毫發現。方知一切諸法。即心自性。則境智融通。色空俱泯。當此親證圓明之際。入斯一法平等之時。又有何法是教而可離。何法是祖而可重。何法是頓而可取。何法是漸而可非。則知皆是識心。橫生分別。所以祖佛善巧。密布權門。廣備教乘。方便逗會。纔得見性。當下無心。乃藥病俱消。教觀咸息。如楞伽經偈云。諸天及梵乘。聲聞緣覺乘。諸佛如來乘。我說此諸乘。乃至有心轉。諸乘非究竟。若彼心滅盡無乘及乘者。無有乘建立。我說為一乘。引導眾生故。分別說諸乘。故先德云。一瞖在目。千華亂空。一妄在心。恒沙生滅。瞖除華盡。妄滅證真。病差藥除。氷融水在。神丹九轉。點鐵成金。至理一言轉凡成聖。狂心不歇。歇即菩提。鏡淨心明。本來是佛。

Answer: From the past onwards, it was never an absolute prohibition against reading the teachings. It was out of concern that people might fail to investigate the Buddha's words carefully, form interpretations based on the literal text, lose the Buddha's intent, and thereby betray their original resolve. If, however, through the exposition one attains the purport, does not treat citta and objects as opposed antidotes, and directly comprehends the Buddha-mind, what fault could there be? Take, for example, the Venerable Yaoshan: throughout his life he read the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra without letting the scroll leave his hands. At that time, a student asked, “The Venerable usually does not permit students to read the sūtras; why does the Venerable read them himself?” The Master said, “Only to shield my eyes.” [The student] asked, “May this student also read them?” The Master said, “If you read them, even cowhide would be pierced through.” Furthermore, the first ancestral master of the Western Heavens was our original teacher, Śākyamuni Buddha. He first transmitted it to Mahākāśyapa as the first ancestor, and it was transmitted in succession down to the Sixth Patriarch in this land—all of whom were the Buddha's disciples. Now, quoting the words of our original teacher to instruct and show disciples causes them to realize the Path through words, see the Dharma, know the source, not race about seeking outwardly, and intimately clarify the Buddha's intent. Attaining the purport, one enters the ancestral rank; who would debate the gateways of sudden or gradual? Seeing the nature, one presently realizes complete interpenetration; how could one mark ranks of before and after? If it is like this, what contradiction is there? Furthermore, the twenty-eight ancestors of ancient generations in the Western Heavens, the six ancestors of this land, and even Great Master Mazu of Hongzhou, National Preceptor Zhong of Nanyang, Chan Master Dayi of Ehu, and Chan Master Benjing of Mount Sikong—all were broadly versed in the sūtras and treatises, and had completely awakened to their own citta. Whatever they showed their disciples always cited sincere evidence; they never brought forth fabrications from their own breasts to make assertions recklessly. For this reason, across the passage of years and ages, the true wind has not fallen. Taking the noble words as the authoritative standard, false deceits are hard to shift; using the ultimate teaching as the compass, there is solid proof to rely upon. Thus the Venerable of Guifeng said: “The founding ancestor of all schools is Śākyamuni. The sūtras are the Buddha's words; Chan is the Buddha's intent. The citta and mouth of the Buddhas certainly do not contradict each other. The succession of all ancestors at its root was personally entrusted by the Buddha. The treatises composed by bodhisattvas from beginning to end only propagate the Buddha's sūtras. How much more so since from Kāśyapa down to Upagupta, all propagated them along with the Tripiṭaka! And Aśvaghoṣa and Nāgārjuna were both ancestral masters; they composed treatises to explain the sūtras in hundreds of thousands of verses, observing customs to transform beings without fixed rituals. Therefore, whoever is called a spiritual guide must naturally understand the Buddha's words to seal and verify their own citta. If one does not accord with the definitive ekayāna perfect teaching, even if one realizes a noble fruition, it is not ultimate.” Now, let us record one or two to verify this text. Great Master Mazu of Hongzhou said: “Great Master Bodhidharma came from South India, transmitting solely the Mahāyāna Dharma of the one mind, and used the Laṅkāvatārasūtra to seal the citta of sentient beings, fearing they would not believe in this Dharma of the one mind. The Laṅkāvatārasūtra says: ‘The Buddha's words take citta as the source, and gatelessness as the Dharma-gate.’ Why do the Buddha's words take citta as the source? What the Buddha called citta is: citta itself is Buddha. The present words are the words of citta; hence it is said, ‘The Buddha's words take citta as the source.’ As for ‘gatelessness as the Dharma-gate,’ one realizes the fundamental nature is empty, and there is not a single Dharma besides; nature itself is the gate. The nature has no characteristic, nor does it have a gate; hence it is said, ‘gatelessness as the Dharma-gate.’ It is also called the gate of emptiness, and the gate of form. Why? Emptiness is the emptiness of the dharmatā; form is the form of the dharmatā. Because it has no shape or characteristic, it is called emptiness; because knowledge and vision are inexhaustible, it is called form. Hence it is said: ‘The Tathāgata's form is inexhaustible; wisdom is likewise so.’ In accordance with the places where dharmas arise, there are further immeasurable gates of samādhi, far removed from inner and outer emotional attachments to knowledge and views. It is also called the dhāraṇī-gate, and the dāna-gate—meaning that one does not think of inner or outer wholesome or unwholesome dharmas—up to being all the pāramitā gates. The physical body Buddha is the function of the household of the Buddha of the true mark. The sūtra says: ‘The thirty-two marks and eighty minor signs are all born from the thoughts of the citta.’ It is also called the radiance of the dharmatā household, and the merit of the dharmatā. When a bodhisattva practices prajñā, fire burns away all objects within and without the three realms, yet within this, not a single blade of grass or leaf is damaged, because all dharmas are the mark of thusness. Thus the sūtra says: ‘Without destroying the body, one accords with the one mark.’ Now one knows one's own nature is Buddha; at all times, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, there is not a single dharma that can be attained, up to tathatā not belonging to any name, nor being without a name. Thus the sūtra says: ‘Wisdom attains neither existence nor non-existence.’ Without seeking internally or externally, one leaves things to their original nature, and there is also no citta that leaves things to nature. The sūtra says: ‘The various mind-made bodies (manomayakāya), I declare to be the measure of citta (cittamātra).’ That is the citta of no-citta, the measure of the measureless. Having no name is the true name; having no seeking is the true seeking. The sūtra says: ‘One who seeks the Dharma should have nothing sought.’ Outside of citta there is no other Buddha; outside of Buddha there is no other citta. Do not grasp the wholesome, do not do evil, do not rely on either of the two extremes of purity and defilement. Dharmas have no self-nature; the three realms are only citta. The sūtra says: ‘The dense array and myriad images are sealed by the one Dharma.’ Whatever forms are seen are all seeing citta. Citta is not citta by itself; it is citta because of form. Form is not form by itself; it is form because of citta. Thus the sūtra says: ‘Seeing form is seeing citta.’” National Preceptor Zhong of Nanyang said: “As for the Dharma of the Chan school, one should rely on the Buddha's words of the ekayāna definitive meaning, accord with and grasp the original citta-ground, and transmit it from one to another so that it is identical with the Buddha Way. One must not rely on deluded feelings and non-definitive teachings to form arbitrary views, confusing and misleading later students, which brings no benefit. Even if one receives the fundamental purport relying on a master, if it accords with the definitive teaching, one may rely on it and practice it; if it is a non-definitive teaching, they do not permit one another. It is like worms within a lion's body eating the flesh of the lion's body themselves; it is not heavenly māras or non-Buddhists who can destroy the Buddha-dharma.” At that time, a Chan traveler asked, “Which one is the Buddha-mind?” The Master said, “Insentient things such as walls, tiles, and rubble are all the Buddha-mind.” The Chan traveler said, “This greatly contradicts the sūtras! The sūtra says that being apart from insentient things like walls, tiles, and rubble is called Buddha-nature. Now you say that all insentient things are the Buddha-mind; I do not know whether citta and nature are distinct or not distinct?” The Master said, “To the deluded they are distinct; to the awakened they are not distinct.” The Chan traveler said, “This again contradicts the sūtras! The sūtra says: ‘Good son, citta is not Buddha-nature; Buddha-nature is permanent, while citta is impermanent.’ Now you say they are not distinct; I wonder what the meaning of this is?” The Master said, “You yourself rely on the words and do not rely on the meaning. For example, in cold months, water freezes into ice; when warmth comes, the ice melts into water. When sentient beings are deluded, nature congeals into citta; when they awaken, citta melts into nature. If you definitively grasp that insentient things are not citta, the sūtra should not say that the three realms are citta only. Therefore the Avataṃsakasūtra says: ‘One should contemplate the nature of the dharmadhātu: everything is created by citta alone.’ Now let me ask you: are insentient things within the three realms, or are they outside the three realms? Furthermore, are they citta or are they not citta? If they are not citta, the sūtra should not say the three realms are citta only; if they are citta, you should not say they lack nature. You yourself contradict the sūtras; I do not contradict them.” Chan Master Dayi of Ehu, having been summoned to enter the imperial palace, then asked the great masters and venerable ones of the capital: “What do you take to be the Path?” Someone replied, “Knowledge and views are the Path.” The Master said, “The Vimalakīrtisūtra says: ‘Dharma is free from seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing.’ How can you take knowledge and views to be the Path?” Another replied, “Non-discrimination is the Path.” The Master said, “The sūtra says: ‘Skillfully able to distinguish the characteristics of all dharmas, yet unmoved in the primary truth.’ How can you take non-discrimination to be the Path?” Furthermore, the Emperor asked, “What is the Buddha-nature?” [The Master] replied, “It is not apart from what Your Majesty asked.” Therefore, they either pointed directly to clarify citta, or broke attachments to enter the Path, using unhindered eloquence to dispel fixed attachments, and wielding ungraspable wisdom to bend the mind of measured calculation. Chan Master Benjing of Mount Sikong said to the venerable ones of the capital: “Do not grasp citta! This citta exists entirely because of external dust, like images in a mirror, with no substance to be found. If you grasp it as truly existent, you lose the original source, which is permanently devoid of self-nature. The Perfect Enlightenment Sūtra says: ‘Falsely recognizing the four great elements as the marks of one's own body, and the shadows of the six dust-objects as the marks of one's own citta.’ The Laṅkāvatārasūtra says: ‘Not comprehending citta and conditions, two false thoughts arise; comprehending citta and objects, false thoughts do not arise.’ The Vimalakīrtisūtra says: ‘Dharma is not seeing, hearing, perceiving, or knowing.’ I briefly cite these three sūtras to prove this truth.” Under the Fifth Patriarch, Master Zhuangyan throughout his life showed students only the final four lines of the Elder Ratnarāśi's verse praising the Buddha from the Vimalakīrtisūtra: ‘Not attached to the world, like a lotus flower; / Constantly dwelling skillfully in the practice of empty tranquility; / Penetrating the characteristics of all dharmas without hindrance: / I bow my head to the one who, like space, has nothing to rely upon.’ A student asked, “These are the Buddha's words; I wish to hear the Venerable's own words.” The Master said, “The Buddha's words are my words; my words are the Buddha's words.” Therefore, when the First Patriarch came from the west and initially practiced the Chan way, wishing to transmit the citta-seal, he had to rely on the Buddha's sūtras, using the Laṅkāvatāra as verification so that the source of the doctrinal gates would be known. Consequently, outsiders ceased their slander and inner practitioners received the transmission; the ancestral lineage flourished greatly and the mysterious wind spread widely. Therefore, before beginners who have newly set out on study awaken for themselves, if they do not rely on the correct source of the noble teachings, upon what could they cultivate and advance on the Path? Even if they did not generate false views of themselves, they would entirely encounter crooked teachers. Thus it is said: ‘My eyes were originally correct; because of the master, they became crooked.’ The ninety-six kinds of dogmatists in the Western Heavens were all of this type. Therefore know that wood without a plumb-line will not be straight; principle without teaching will not be perfect. The two or three briefly cited above were all great spiritual guides, ancestral masters transcendent of things, unicorns and dragons of the Chan groves, and turtle-mirrors of the ancestral gates. Revealing a single teaching, it moved like the wind and rolled like lightning; letting fall a single word, mountains collapsed and seas dried up. Emperors and kings took them as personal teachers; court and country submitted to them; the monasteries took them as models; later students received their transmission. In the end, they never followed their own personal whims or contradicted the Buddha's words. Whenever resolving doubts and removing falsehood, or revealing the nature and clarifying the source, without exception each broadly cited sūtra passages to fully display the Buddha's intent. Thus it was transmitted to later descendants forever, without the family style falling into ruin. If it were not so, how could the succession have continued so prosperously down to the present day? The power of the Dharma is like this; the verification is not empty. Furthermore, if one wishes to investigate the Buddha-yāna and search through the precious treasury, one must dissolve each and every [word] back into oneself, making every word silently unite with the true citta. Simply do not grasp the literal text upon the meaning or generate views following words; one must directly probe the purport beneath the exposition to accord with the fundamental source. Then the teacherless wisdom will appear before one, and the naturally real Path will not be obscured. As the Avataṃsakasūtra says: ‘Knowing all dharmas are the citta's own nature, one accomplishes the body of wisdom without relying on another's awakening.’ Thus know that the teachings have the power to aid the Path; how could beginners forget them even for a moment? Examining closely that the benefit of the Dharma is boundless, this compilation was researched, promoted, and gathered together. Moreover, whenever discussing the fundamental purport, it responds only to faculties of sudden capacity, like the rising sun illuminating the high mountains, or a swift horse seeing the shadow of the whip. Therefore the Venerable Danxia said: ‘When meeting, one does not bring it out; raising an intention, one immediately knows it is there.’ As for the present Mirror of the Source, it does not even wait for the raising of an intention before one naturally knows it is there. Thus the Śūraṅgamasūtra says: ‘Completely luminous understanding does not depend on citta-thoughts.’ Raising eyebrows and moving eyes are already roundabout. As a verse of an earlier worthy says: ‘Even “this is it” doubles the phrase; / Moving the eyes is already an error. / If you ask about the purport of Caoxi, / It does not wait even for raising an eyebrow.’ Now, for those who delight in the Buddha-yāna but have truly not yet realized it, this Mirror of the Source is borrowed to help reveal the true citta. Although hung on words and phrases, the marvelous purport resides right here. Bending down to embrace the middling and inferior, it covers the multitude of faculties completely. Just let each person draw their own benefit. Though the hundred rivers are nourishing, how could they hinder the great sea from broadly containing them? The Five Peaks are lofty of themselves, yet they do not obstruct the sun from shining everywhere. The faculties and capacities are not equal; desires and wishes are not the same. Though the entry points at the four gates differ, at the time of seeing the One Reality there is no distinction. It is like the one mesh of a net that catches a bird: one cannot take a single mesh to be the net. The governing of a state depends on the merits of a single ruler: one cannot take a single person to be the state. As the Treatise on Inner Virtue (Neide lun) says: ‘A single drop of water cannot blend a broth; a single timber cannot construct a hall; a single garment does not fit all bodies; a single medicine does not cure diverse sicknesses; a single color cannot make embroidery; a single sound cannot harmonize the zither and lute; a single word cannot encourage all good deeds; a single precept cannot prevent many faults. How can one find fault with the difference between gradual and sudden, and demand that the Dharma-gate be single?’ Thus it is said: ‘As for one person, so it is for many; as for many, so it is for one person.’ How could it be like inferior understandings and common feelings that generate narrow views? This unhindered, vast Dharma-gate of ours, like empty space which is non-characteristic, does not reject the manifestation of all characteristics; like the dharmatā which has no body, does not hinder the sudden appearance of all bodies. One must subsume them with the meaning of the six characteristics, so that views of annihilation and permanence may vanish; one must harmonize them with the ten mysterious gates, so that feelings of rejecting and grasping may end. Moreover, if one truly attains a thousand awakenings upon hearing one thing, and obtains the great dhāraṇī, why rely on words and expositions, and why labor over explanations? A raft is for crossing those lost at the ford; a guide is for leading those who have lost their way. All matters concerning words and expositions, as demonstrated in the perfect source, are for the sake of the unawakened. The nature of letters being apart is itself liberation. Deluded about the true nature of all dharmas, seeking dharmas outside citta and giving rise to views of letters, one now uses letters as an antidote to reveal their truth. If one awakens to the original source of all dharmas, one does not see letters or the slightest trace appearing; only then does one know that all dharmas are the citta's own nature. Then object and wisdom interpenetrate, and form and emptiness are both extinguished. At this moment of personally realizing complete luminosity, entering into the equality of this one Dharma, what dharma could be ‘teaching’ to be abandoned, what dharma could be ‘ancestor’ to be revered, what dharma could be ‘sudden’ to be accepted, or what dharma could be ‘gradual’ to be rejected? One then knows that these are all the conscious citta giving rise to arbitrary discriminations. Therefore the ancestors and Buddhas skillfully arranged provisional gates in secret and broadly prepared the vehicles of teachings to accord with and meet capacities expediently. As soon as one attains the seeing of the nature, immediately there is no-citta; then medicine and illness both vanish, and teachings and contemplations all cease. As the gāthā of the Laṅkāvatārasūtra says: ‘The vehicles of the gods and Brahmā, / The vehicles of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, / And the vehicle of the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas— / I speak of these various vehicles. / As long as there is the turning of citta, / The various vehicles are not ultimate. / If that citta is extinguished completely, / There is no vehicle and no one who rides it. / There is no establishment of vehicles; / I call it the One Vehicle. / For the sake of guiding sentient beings, / I discriminate and preach the various vehicles.’ Thus an earlier worthy said: ‘A single film in the eye, and a thousand flowers disorder the sky; / A single delusion in citta, and kalpas of sands arise and cease. / When the film is removed, the flowers end; / When delusion is extinguished, one realizes the truth. / When the sickness is cured, the medicine is discarded; / When the ice melts, the water remains. / The divine elixir refined nine times turns iron into gold; / A single word of ultimate principle turns the ordinary into the noble. / The frantic citta does not cease; / Ceasing is bodhi. / The mirror clean and citta bright, / One is fundamentally Buddha.’