宗鏡錄 17.5

17.5

答以自心性。遍一切處故。所以若見他佛。即是自佛。不壞自他之境。唯是一心。眾生如像上之模。若除模。既見自佛。亦見他佛。何者。雖見他佛。即是自佛。以自鑄出故。亦不壞他佛。以於彼本質上。雖變起他佛之形。即是自相分故。變與不變。皆是一心。所以因眾生迷悟二心。有見不見自他之理。若約真性。迷悟何從。自他俱泯。以法身無形。無自他相見之相。古德云。迷有二種。一心外取境。生想違理。故不能見無相之佛。二取內蘊相。不了性故。不見心佛。悟有二種。一了一切法。即心自性。性亦非性。情破理現。則見舍那身。稱於法性。無內外也。二了蘊性相。則見自心之佛。與舍那非一非異。如天帝釋不修天業。宮殿何以隨身。轉輪王不作王因。七寶無由聚集。唯憑自善。外感勝緣。是以華嚴經云。佛子。一切如來。同一體性。大智輪中。出生種種智慧光明。佛子。汝等應知。如來於一解脫味。出生無量不可思議種種功德。眾生念言。此是如來神力所造。佛子。此非如來神力所造。佛子。乃至一菩薩。不於佛所曾種善根。能得如來少分智慧。無有是處。但以諸佛威德力故。令諸眾生見佛功德。而佛如來。無有分別。無成無壞。無有作者。亦無作法。佛子。是為如來應正等覺。出現之相。寶藏論云。夫所以真一無一而現不同。或有人念佛佛現。念僧僧現。但彼佛非佛非非佛。而現於佛。乃至非僧非非僧。而現於僧。何以故。彼妄心。悕望現故。不覺自心所現。聖事緣起。一向為外境界。而有差別。實非佛法僧。而有異也。乃至譬如有人。於大冶邊。自作模樣。方圓自稱。願彼融金。流入我模。以成形像。然則融金。雖成形像。其實融金。非像非非像。而現於像。彼人念佛。亦復如是。大冶金。即喻如來法身。模樣者。即喻眾生希望。念融得佛故。以念佛和合緣。生起種種身相。然彼法身。非相非非相。何謂非相。本無定相。何謂非非相。緣起諸相。然則法身。非現非非現。離性無性。非有非無。非心非意。不可以一切量度也。但彼凡夫隨心而有。即生現佛想。一向謂彼心外有佛。不知自心和合而有。或一向言心外無佛。即為謗正法也。釋曰。何謂非相。本無定相者。以因心所現。外相無體。從心感生。緣盡即滅。何相之有。故云本無定相。何謂非非相。緣起諸相者。既稱無定。但隨緣現。因緣和合。幻相不無。故云緣起諸相。若能不生分別。不執自他。內不執有而取諸蘊。外不執無而謗正法。則開眼合眼。舉足下足。非見非非見。為真見佛矣。寶性論云。依佛義故。經云。佛告阿難。言。如來者。非可見法。是故眼識。不能得見故。依法義故。經云。所言法者。非可說事。以是故。非耳識所聞故。依僧義故。經云。所言僧者。名無為。是故不可身心供養。禮拜讚歎。故知三寶。如虛空相。非見聞之所及。則眾生之心佛。度佛心之眾生。若有一法對治。盡成邪見。故六祖云。邪來正度。迷來悟度。愚來智度。惡來善度。如是度者。即是真度。

Answer: Because one's own citta-nature pervades all places, when one sees another Buddha, that is precisely one's own Buddha. Without destroying the domain of self and other, it is exclusively the one mind. Sentient beings are like a mold over an image: if the mold is removed, one sees one's own Buddha as well as the other Buddha. Why? Although one sees the other Buddha, it is precisely one's own Buddha, because it is cast from oneself. Nor does it destroy the other Buddha, because upon that essential nature, although it transforms into the form of the other Buddha, it is precisely one's own nimittabhāga. Both transforming and not transforming are all the one mind. Therefore, because of the two minds of delusion and awakening of sentient beings, there is the principle of seeing and not seeing self and other. If considered in terms of the true nature, where would delusion and awakening come from? Self and other are both eliminated, because the dharmakāya has no form, nor the characteristic of mutual seeing between self and other. An ancient master said: 'There are two kinds of delusion: first, grasping at objects outside the mind, generating thoughts contrary to principle, and therefore being unable to see the formless Buddha; second, grasping at the characteristics of the inner aggregates, not understanding the nature, and therefore not seeing the mind-Buddha. There are two kinds of awakening: first, understanding that all phenomena are the citta's own nature, while nature is also non-nature; when emotion is broken and principle appears, one then sees the Rocana body conforming to the dharma-nature, with neither inside nor outside. Second, understanding the nature and characteristics of the aggregates, one then sees the Buddha of one's own mind, which is neither identical to nor different from Rocana.' If Śakra, Lord of the Devas, did not cultivate heavenly karma, how could the palaces accompany his person? If a cakravartin king did not create the causes of a king, how could the seven treasures gather? Relying solely on one's own goodness, one outwardly evokes excellent conditions. Therefore, the Avataṃsaka-sūtra says: 'Sons of the Buddha! All tathāgatas are of the same substance and nature; from the great wheel of wisdom, they produce various lights of wisdom. Sons of the Buddha! You should know that the Tathāgata, from a single taste of liberation, produces immeasurable, inconceivable, various merits. Sentient beings think, "This is created by the Tathāgata's spiritual power." Sons of the Buddha! This is not created by the Tathāgata's spiritual power. Sons of the Buddha! There is no such possibility as even a single bodhisattva who has not previously planted wholesome roots under the Buddhas being able to attain even a slight portion of the Tathāgata's wisdom. It is only through the power of the majestic virtue of the Buddhas that sentient beings are caused to see the Buddha's merits. Yet the Buddha, the Tathāgata, is free of conceptual discrimination, free of creation and destruction, has no creator, and has no act of creation. Sons of the Buddha! This is the characteristic of the appearance of the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha.' The Baozang lun says: 'Now, the reason why the True One has no oneness yet appears differently is that when someone is mindful of the Buddha, a Buddha appears; when one is mindful of the Saṅgha, a Saṅgha appears. Yet that Buddha is neither Buddha nor non-Buddha, but appears as a Buddha; likewise, neither Saṅgha nor non-Saṅgha, but appears as a Saṅgha. Why is this? Because that deluded mind hopes for it to appear; not realizing that it is the manifestation of one's own mind, one completely takes the dependent origination of sacred matters as an external realm and sees distinctions, when in truth it is not that Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha have differences. Furthermore, it is like someone standing beside a great smelter who makes a mold for himself, suited to square or round as he pleases, wishing: "May that molten gold flow into my mold to form an image." Now, although the molten gold forms an image, in truth the molten gold is neither an image nor a non-image, yet it appears as an image. That person's mindfulness of the Buddha is also like this. The gold in the great smelter is a metaphor for the Tathāgata's dharmakāya; the mold is a metaphor for sentient beings' hope. Because they think of fusing and obtaining the Buddha, through the harmonious condition of mindfulness of the Buddha, various bodily characteristics are generated. Yet that dharmakāya is neither characteristic nor non-characteristic. What does "not a characteristic" mean? Originally it has no fixed characteristic. What does "not a non-characteristic" mean? Dependent origination produces all characteristics. Nevertheless, the dharmakāya neither appears nor non-appears; it is free from nature and non-nature, neither existent nor non-existent, neither mind nor mentation, and cannot be measured by any standard. However, that ordinary person has it according to their mind, and so produces the thought of an appearing Buddha, completely asserting that there is a Buddha outside their mind, not knowing that it exists through the harmony of their own mind. Alternatively, completely claiming that there is no Buddha outside the mind is also slandering the true Dharma.' Explanation: What does 'not a characteristic, originally having no fixed characteristic' mean? Because it is manifested due to the mind, external characteristics have no substance; they are induced and born from the mind, and when conditions are exhausted, they are extinguished—what characteristic could there be? Therefore it is said, 'originally having no fixed characteristic.' What does 'not a non-characteristic, dependent origination produces all characteristics' mean? Since it is said to have no fixity, it only appears according to conditions; when causes and conditions harmonize, illusory characteristics are not absent. Therefore it is said, 'dependent origination produces all characteristics.' If one can avoid generating conceptual discrimination, avoid grasping at self and other, inwardly avoid grasping at existence and taking up the aggregates, and outwardly avoid grasping at non-existence and slandering the true Dharma, then opening the eyes and closing the eyes, lifting the feet and lowering the feet, neither seeing nor non-seeing, is truly seeing the Buddha. The Ratnagotravibhāga says: 'Based on the meaning of Buddha, the sūtra says: The Buddha addressed Ānanda, saying: "The Tathāgata is not a phenomenon that can be seen; therefore, the eye-consciousness cannot see him." Based on the meaning of Dharma, the sūtra says: "What is called Dharma is an inexpressible matter; for this reason, it is not heard by the ear-consciousness." Based on the meaning of Saṅgha, the sūtra says: "What is called Saṅgha is named the unconditioned; therefore, it cannot be made offerings to, bowed to, or praised with body and mind."' Therefore we know that the Three Jewels are like the characteristic of empty space, beyond the reach of seeing and hearing. Thus, the mind-Buddha of sentient beings delivers the sentient beings of the Buddha-mind. If there is a single dharma used as an antidote, it all becomes wrong view. Therefore the Sixth Patriarch said: 'When deviance comes, deliverance is by correctness; when delusion comes, deliverance is by awakening; when foolishness comes, deliverance is by wisdom; when evil comes, deliverance is by goodness. Such deliverance is true deliverance.'