宗鏡錄 100.8

100.8

智者大師與陳宣帝書云。夫學道之法。必須先識根原。求道由心。又須識心之體性。分明無惑。功業可成。一了千明。一迷萬惑。心無形相。內外不居。境起心生。境亡心滅。色大心廣。色小心微。乃至知心空寂。即入空寂法門。知心無縛。即入解脫法門。知心無相。即入無相法門。覺心無心。即入真如法門。若能知心如是者。即入智慧法門。圓覺疏序云。夫血氣之屬必有知。凡有知者必同體。所謂真淨明妙。虛徹靈通。卓然而獨存者也。眾生之本原。故曰心地。諸佛之所得。故曰菩提。交徹融攝。故曰法界。寂靜常樂。故曰涅槃。不濁不漏。故曰清淨。不妄不變。故曰真如。離過絕非。故曰佛性。護善遮惡。故曰總持。隱覆含攝。故曰如來藏。超越玄祕。故曰密嚴國。統眾德而大備。鑠群昏而獨照。故曰圓覺。其實皆一心也。背之則凡。順之則聖。迷之則生死始。悟之則輪迴息。親而求之。則止觀定慧。推而廣之。則六度萬行。引而為智。然後為正智。依而為因。然後為正因。其實皆一法也。終日圓覺而未嘗圓覺者。凡夫也。欲證圓覺而未極圓覺者。菩薩也。住持圓覺而具足圓覺者。如來也。離圓覺無六道。捨圓覺無三乘。非圓覺無如來。泯圓覺無真法。其實皆一道也。三世諸佛之所證。蓋證此也。如來為大事出現。蓋為此事也。三藏十二部。一切脩多羅。蓋詮此也。釋曰。心之一法。名為普法。欲照此心。應須普眼虛鑒。寂照靈知。非偏小而可窮。以圓滿而能覺。故曰圓覺。此約能證也。真如妙性。寂滅無為。具足周遍。無有缺減。故曰圓覺。此約所證也。能所冥合。唯是一心。此一心。能為一切萬法之性。又能現三乘六道之相。攝相歸性。曾無異轍。則世出世間。昇降雖殊。凡有種種施為。莫不皆為此也。離此則上無三寶一乘。下無四生九有。

The Great Master Zhizhe's Letter to Emperor Xuan of the Chen Dynasty says: 'The method of studying the Way requires first recognizing the root and source. Seeking the Way depends on the mind, and one must also recognize the substance and nature of the mind clearly without delusion; only then can the work of merit be accomplished. One realization brings a thousand illuminations; one delusion brings ten thousand confusions. The mind has no shape or form; it abides neither inside nor outside. When objects arise, the mind is born; when objects perish, the mind ceases. When form is large, the mind is vast; when form is small, the mind is minute. Down to: knowing the mind is empty and serene, one immediately enters the Dharma gate of emptiness and serenity; knowing the mind has no fetters, one immediately enters the Dharma gate of liberation; knowing the mind has no characteristics, one immediately enters the Dharma gate of marklessness; awakening to the mind having no mind, one immediately enters the Dharma gate of tathatā. If one can know the mind in this way, one immediately enters the Dharma gate of wisdom.' The Preface to the Commentary on the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment says: 'Now, beings belonging to blood and breath necessarily have consciousness; all that have consciousness necessarily share the same substance. It is what is truly pure, bright, and wondrous, open and penetrating, spiritually luminous, standing loftily and alone. Being the fundamental source of sentient beings, it is called the mind-ground. Being that which all buddhas attain, it is called bodhi. Interpenetrating and harmoniously gathering, it is called the dharmadhātu. Serene, eternal, and blissful, it is called nirvāṇa. Free from defilement and out-flow, it is called purity. Neither false nor changing, it is called tathatā. Free from faults and transcending errors, it is called Buddha-nature. Guarding the good and warding off evil, it is called dhāraṇī. Hidden, covering, and encompassing, it is called tathāgatagarbha. Transcendent, profound, and secret, it is called the Ghanavyūha Realm. Unifying all virtues to be fully prepared, outshining all darkness to shine alone, it is called Complete Enlightenment. In reality, all are the one mind. Opposing it, one is an ordinary being; according with it, one is a sage. Deluded about it, birth-and-death begins; awakened to it, saṃsāra ceases. Seeking it directly, it is śamatha, vipaśyanā, samādhi, and prajñā; extending and broadening it, it is the six pāramitās and ten thousand practices. Drawing it out to become wisdom, only then is it correct wisdom; relying on it as cause, only then is it the correct cause. In reality, all are the single Dharma. One who is completely enlightened all day long yet has never been completely enlightened is an ordinary being. One who wishes to realize Complete Enlightenment yet has not reached the culmination of Complete Enlightenment is a bodhisattva. One who maintains Complete Enlightenment and fully possesses Complete Enlightenment is a Tathāgata. Apart from Complete Enlightenment, there are no six destinies; relinquishing Complete Enlightenment, there are no three vehicles. Without Complete Enlightenment, there is no Tathāgata; obliterating Complete Enlightenment, there is no true Dharma. In reality, all are the single path. That which the buddhas of the three times realize is simply realizing this. That the Tathāgata appeared for the great cause is simply for this matter. The three piṭakas, twelve divisions, and all the sūtras simply elucidate this.' Explication: The single Dharma of the mind is called the universal Dharma. Wishing to illuminate this mind, one must rely on the universal eye of vacant reflection, serene illumination, and spiritual knowing; it cannot be exhausted by the partial or small, but through completeness is able to awaken, hence it is called "Complete Enlightenment." This is explained in terms of that which is able to realize. The wondrous nature of tathatā is serene, extinguished, and unconditioned, complete and all-pervading without deficiency; hence it is called "Complete Enlightenment." This is explained in terms of that which is realized. Grasper and grasped are darkly merged; there is only the one mind. This one mind can serve as the nature of all the myriad phenomena, and can also manifest the characteristics of the three vehicles and six destinies. Gathering characteristics and returning them to the nature, there has never been any different path. Thus, although the mundane and supramundane, ascending and descending, are distinct, all the various actions undertaken are without exception for this. Apart from this, above there are no Three Jewels or ekayāna, and below there are no four modes of birth or nine realms of existence.