宗鏡錄 16.21

16.21

答。此約本覺隨染義說。然其始覺。覺至心原。平等一際。有何差別。又即以諸佛悲智為增上。緣眾生機感。種子為因。託佛本質上。自心變影像。故云在自識中現。法界品。彌伽長者。徹見十方佛海。顯此定者。唯心之觀。知眾生界。無量無邊。皆心現故。明隨心念佛。諸佛現前。以唯心觀。遍該萬法。今約上中下根。隨自心觀。見佛不同。有其四等。一凡夫。由帶過去六道惡業習氣不盡。或見佛是樹神。天神。黑脚象。三尺等身。二小乘。由帶業生滅之見。見佛是金槍馬麥。打身出血。俱非樂相。三大乘。初終頓等。三教菩薩。由是唯識觀。佛乃是賴耶識中。轉識所現之相。故。見此佛身。唯是心現。不離真如。無有分劑。遍一切處。隨眾生根。自然顯現。此是樂相。四。一乘圓教菩薩。以法界圓明之智。依正該攝理事人法。以此之智。感見十身理事無礙。又三世融通一切。是故佛身不離十方道樹。常詣六天。智乃遍觀一切。恒無作念。十四科法身義云。經明法身者。跡指丈六同人身是聚義。而無非法。故有法身之稱。尋經之旨。以如來照體虛存為身。累盡為法。乃是所以真法身也。然即以善感應。應即隨類成異。但於見者是有。佛常無身故。經云。如來之身。是幻化身。

Answer: This is spoken in reference to the meaning of original enlightenment conforming to defilement. Yet when initial enlightenment awakens and reaches the source of the mind, they are of a single equal limit—what difference could there be? Moreover, taking all Buddhas' compassion and wisdom as the predominant condition, and taking sentient beings' capacities, resonance, and seeds as the cause, resting upon the Buddha's original substance (bimbamātra), one's own mind transforms into a reflected image (pratibimba); hence it is said to appear within one's own consciousness. In the 'Dharmadhātu Chapter', the elder Megha thoroughly perceived the ocean of Buddhas of the ten directions. That which reveals this samādhi is the contemplation of mind-only, knowing that the realms of sentient beings, immeasurable and boundless, are all the manifestations of mind. It clarifies that when one is mindful of the Buddha in accordance with the mind, all Buddhas appear before one, because the contemplation of mind-only completely encompasses the myriad dharmas. Now, in terms of higher, middling, and lower faculties, their seeing of the Buddha differs according to the contemplation of their own minds, having four grades: First, ordinary beings. Because their unexhausted latent tendencies of past evil karma of the six destinies still adhere to them, they may see the Buddha as a tree spirit, a deva, a black-footed elephant, or a three-foot body, and so forth. Second, the Hīnayāna. Because their view of birth and cessation associated with karma still adheres to them, they see the Buddha pierced by a golden spear, eating horse-barley, and his body bleeding from a blow—all of which are not pleasing marks. Third, the Mahāyāna. Bodhisattvas of the three teachings—initial, final, and sudden—because of their contemplation of consciousness-only, see that the Buddha is an appearance manifested by the evolving consciousness within the ālayavijñāna; therefore, they see this Buddha-body as solely a manifestation of mind, not apart from tathatā, without boundary or measure, pervading all places, naturally manifesting according to the faculties of sentient beings. This is a pleasing mark. Fourth, the bodhisattvas of the ekayāna's perfect teaching. Through their wisdom of the perfect illumination of the dharmadhātu, primary and secondary retribution encompass and gather principle, phenomena, persons, and dharmas. Using this wisdom, they resonate with and see the ten bodies, with unobstructed interpenetration of principle and phenomena. Moreover, the three times fuse and penetrate all; therefore, the Buddha-body does not depart from the bodhi-trees of the ten directions, yet constantly visits the six [desire] heavens. Their wisdom completely observes all, eternally without conceptual thought. The 'Fourteen Categories on the Meaning of the Dharmakāya' states: 'When sūtras clarify the dharmakāya, the traces point to the sixteen-foot body matching a human body as an aggregate, yet there is nothing that is not Dharma; hence it has the designation dharmakāya. Investigating the intent of the sūtras, taking the Tathāgata’s illuminated substance being emptily present as the body, and the exhaustion of all burdens as the Dharma—this is that by which it is the true dharmakāya. Yet responding to goodness through resonance, the response forms differences according to species. But it exists only for those who see it, for the Buddha is constantly without body. Hence a sūtra says: "The body of the Tathāgata is an illusory transformation body."'