宗鏡錄 100.19

100.19

答曰。處處說甚深。多有所利益。凡人不知。謂為重說。譬如大國王。未有嫡子。求禱神祇。積年無應。時王出行。夫人產子男。遣信告王。大夫人產男。王聞喜而不答。乃至十反。使者白王。向所白者。王不聞也。王曰。我即聞之。久來。願滿故喜。心內悅樂。聞不已耳。即勅有司。賜此人百萬兩金。一語十萬兩。王聞使者言。語語中有利益。非是重說。不知者謂為重。處處說甚深亦如是。佛與菩薩須菩提。知大有利益。須菩提聞佛說深般若。不能得底。轉覺甚深。聽者處處聞甚深。得禪定智慧利益等。凡夫人謂為重說。且如國王聞於一語。有多利益。賜十萬兩金。此乃增生死根。成於識樂。今聞宗鏡。卷卷之中。文文之內。重重唱道。一一標宗。長菩提根。成於法樂。盡大地為黃金。未酬一字。請不生怠厭於頻聞。令已達者。重堅信心。使未入者。速發聞慧。

Answer: "Explaining the extremely deep everywhere brings much benefit. Ordinary people do not understand and call it repeated explanation. For instance, a great king had no legitimate son, and prayed to the spirits for many years without response. When the king was out traveling, his lady gave birth to a male child. A messenger was sent to inform the king: 'The chief consort has given birth to a boy.' The king heard it with joy but did not reply, up to ten times. The messenger said to the king: 'Did the king not hear what was just reported?' The king said: 'I heard it at once. Because my long-held wish has been fulfilled, I am joyous and delighted in my mind, and I never tire of hearing it.' He immediately ordered the officers to bestow one million ounces of gold upon this person—a hundred thousand ounces for each phrase. The king heard the messenger's words: within every phrase there was benefit; it was not a repeated explanation. Those who do not understand call it repetition. Explaining the extremely deep everywhere is also like this. The Buddha and the bodhisattva Subhūti knew there was great benefit. When Subhūti heard the Buddha explain deep prajñā, he could not reach the bottom and felt it to be ever deeper. When listeners hear the extremely deep everywhere, they obtain benefits such as meditative concentration and wisdom. Ordinary people call it repeated explanation. Now, if a king hearing a single phrase had much benefit and bestowed a hundred thousand ounces of gold, this was merely increasing the root of saṃsāra and accomplishing sensory pleasure. Now, hearing the Mirror of the Source, volume by volume, text by text, repeatedly proclaiming the path and individually indicating the source, increases the root of bodhi and accomplishes the joy of the Dharma. Even if the entire great earth were turned into yellow gold, it could not repay a single word. Please do not give rise to indolence and weariness toward frequent hearing, so that those who have already attained it may re-strengthen their faithful mind, and those who have not yet entered may swiftly give rise to the wisdom gained from hearing."