宗鏡錄 22.11

22.11

答。夫言菩提之道即心者。乃是自性清淨心。湛然不動。蓋是正覺無相之真智。其道虛玄。妙絕常境。聰者無以容其聽。智者無以運其知。辯者無以措其言。像者無以狀其儀。以迷人不了。執色陰為自身。認能知為自心。故經云。身如草木。無所覺知。心如幻化。虛妄不實。所以除其執取之心。故云菩提者不可身心得也。菩提非是觸塵。不可以身得。菩提非是法塵。不可以心得。若就了人。即達陰身本空。妄心無相。以本空故。法身常現。以無相故。真心不虧。如此發明。五陰即菩提。離是無菩提。不可以菩提而求菩提。不可以菩提而得菩提。文殊云。我不求菩提。何以故。菩提即我。我即菩提故。維摩經云。不觀是菩提。離諸緣故。菩提非所觀之境。則無能緣之心。所觀境空。即實相菩提。能緣心寂。即自性菩提。大般若經云。龍吉祥言。頗有能證菩提者不。妙吉祥曰。亦有能證。龍吉祥言。誰為證者。妙吉祥曰。若無名姓施設語言。彼為能證。龍吉祥言。彼既如是。云何能證。妙吉祥曰。彼心無生。不念菩提及菩提座。亦不愍念一切有情。以無表心無見心等。能證無上正等菩提。龍吉祥言。若爾。尊者。以何心等當得菩提。妙吉祥曰。我無所趣。亦非能趣。都無所學。非我當來詣菩提樹。坐金剛座。證大菩提。轉妙法輪。拔濟生死。所以者何。諸法無動。不可破壞。不可攝受。畢竟空寂。我以如是非趣心等。當得菩提。龍吉祥言。尊者所說。皆依勝義。令諸有情。信解是法。解脫煩惱。若諸有情煩惱解脫。便能畢竟破魔羂網。妙吉祥曰。魔之羂網。不可破壞。所以者何。魔者不異菩提增語。何以故。魔及魔軍。性俱非有。都不可得。是故我說魔者不異菩提增語。龍吉祥言。菩提何謂。妙吉祥曰。言菩提者。遍諸時處一切法中。譬如虛空。都無障礙。於時處法。無所不在。菩提亦爾。無障礙故。遍在一切時處法中。如是菩提。最為無上。仁今欲證何等菩提。龍吉祥言。欲證無上。妙吉祥曰。汝今應正無上菩提。非可證法。汝欲證者。便行戲論。何以故。無上菩提。離相寂滅。仁今欲取。成戲論故。譬如有人。作如是說。我令幻士。坐菩提座。證幻無上正等菩提。如是所言。極成戲論。以諸幻士尚不可得。豈令能證幻大菩提。幻於幻法。非合非散。無取無捨。自性俱空。諸佛世尊。說一切法。不可分別。皆如幻事。汝今欲證無上菩提。豈不便成分別幻法。然一切法。皆不可取。亦不可捨。無成無壞。非法於法。能有造作。及有滅壞。無法於法。能有和合。及有別離。所以者何。以一切法。非合非散。自性皆空。離我我所。等虛空界。無說無示。無讚無毀。無高無下。無損無益。不可想像。不可戲論。本性虛寂。皆畢竟空。如幻如夢。無對無比。寧可於彼起分別心。龍吉祥言。善哉尊者。我今由此。定得菩提。何以故。由尊者為我說深法故。妙吉祥曰。吾於今者。未曾為汝有所宣說。若顯若密。若深若淺。云何令汝能得菩提。所以者何。諸法自性。皆不可說。汝謂我說甚深法者。為行戲論。然我實非能說者。諸法自性。亦不可說。如有人言。我能辯說幻士識相。謂諸幻士。識有如是如是差別。彼由此說。害自實言。所以者何。夫幻士者。尚非所識。況有識相。汝今謂我說甚深法。令汝證得無上菩提。亦復如是。以一切法。皆如幻事。畢竟性空。尚不可知。況有宣說。是以一切眾生之性。即是無相平等菩提。於自性中。云何有能證所證之差別乎。如般若經云。覺法自性。離諸分別。為菩提故。又經云。諸所有行。皆有所是。無所是。是菩提。何者。若有所是。即立所證之境。便有能證之心。能所盡處。名為大覺。大覺之義。唯悟自心。如大毘盧遮那成佛經云。爾時金剛手菩薩復白佛言。世尊。誰尋求一切智。誰為菩提成正覺者。誰發起一切智智。佛言。祕密主。自心尋求菩提及一切智。何以故。本性清淨故。心不在內。不在外。及兩中間。心不可得故。乃至欲識知菩提。當如是識知自心。莊嚴菩提心經云。佛言。菩提心者。非有非造。離於文字。菩提即是心。心即是眾生。若能如是解。是名菩薩修菩提心。是則心外無菩提。何所求耶。菩提外無心。何所得耶。如華嚴經云。知一切法。無相是相。相是無相。無分別是分別。分別是無分別。非有是有。有是非有。無作是作。作是無作。非說是說。說是非說。不可思議。知心與菩提等。知菩提與心等。心及菩提與眾生等。又頌云。雖盡未來際。遍遊諸佛剎。不求此妙法。終不成菩提。故知心法妙故。當體即是。若向外遠求則失真道。故云善財遍巡諸友。不出娑羅之林。慈氏受一生成佛之功。不離一念無生性海。所以淨名經云。若彌勒得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提者。一切眾生皆亦應得。所以者何。一切眾生即菩提相。若彌勒滅度者。一切眾生亦當滅度。所以者何。諸佛知一切眾生。畢竟寂滅。即涅槃相。不復更滅。故知已成不更成。已滅不更滅。為未知者。方便說成。方便說滅。若執方便。則失本宗。如大莊嚴法門經云。爾時文殊師利。語金色女言。如是五陰體性。即是菩提體性。菩提體性。即是一切諸佛體性。如汝身中五陰體性。即是一切諸佛體性。諸佛體性。即是一切眾生五陰體性。是故我說。汝身即是菩提。復次覺五陰者。名覺菩提。何以故。非離五陰佛得菩提。非離菩提佛覺五陰。此方便知一切眾生悉同菩提。菩提亦同一切眾生。是故我說。汝身即是菩提。大寶積經云。菩提者。名心平等。無所起故。菩提者。名眾生平等。本無生故。乃至菩提者。性相如是。若於此法。有所願求。徒自疲勞。何以故。如菩提性。菩薩應行。能如是行。名為正行。思益經偈云。菩薩不壞色。發行菩提心。知色即菩提。是名行菩提。如色菩提然。等入於如相。不壞諸法性。是名行菩提。不壞諸法性。則為菩提義。是菩提義中。亦無有菩提。正行第一義。是名行菩提。瓔珞經云。發心住者。是人始從具縛。未識三寶。乃至值佛菩薩教法中起一念。便信發菩提心。既云始從凡夫最初發心。明知此中發心。該於初後。

Answer: Now, when it is said that the way of bodhi is identical to mind, this is the mind pure in its intrinsic nature, serenely unmoving; it is truly the true wisdom of markless correct awakening. Its way is subtle and profound, marvelously transcending ordinary objects. The astute have no way to admit it to their hearing; the wise have no way to exercise their understanding upon it; the eloquent have no way to frame words for it; the depictor has no way to figure its form. Because deluded people do not comprehend, they grasp at the form aggregate (rūpaskandha) as their own body and identify that which is able to know as their own mind. Therefore the sūtra says: 'The body is like grass and wood, having no conscious awareness; the mind is like an illusion, empty, false, and unreal.' Thus, to eliminate their grasping mind, it says: 'Bodhi cannot be attained through body or mind.' Bodhi is not a tangible object (spraṣṭavya), so it cannot be attained through the body; bodhi is not a mental object (dharmāyatana), so it cannot be attained through the mind. But for one who comprehends, one realizes that the aggregate-body is originally empty and the false mind has no marks. Because it is originally empty, the dharmakāya is always manifest; because it is markless, the true mind is not deficient. Revealing it in this way, the five aggregates are themselves bodhi; apart from this there is no bodhi. One cannot seek bodhi through bodhi, nor can one attain bodhi through bodhi. Mañjuśrī said: 'I do not seek bodhi. Why is that? Because bodhi is myself, and I am bodhi.' The Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra says: 'Non-contemplation is bodhi, because it is free of all conditions.' When bodhi is not an objective realm to be contemplated, then there is no mind capable of conditioning it. When the objective realm contemplated is empty, that is the real-mark bodhi; when the conditioning mind is tranquil, that is the intrinsic-nature bodhi. The Mahāprajñāpāramitāsūtra says: 'Nāgaśrī said: "Is there anyone who can realize bodhi?" Mañjuśrī said: "There are also those who can realize it." Nāgaśrī said: "Who is the one who realizes it?" Mañjuśrī said: "If one is free from names, designations, and conventional speech, that one can realize it." Nāgaśrī said: "Since that one is such, how can they realize it?" Mañjuśrī said: "Their mind has no arising; they do not keep bodhi or the seat of awakening in mind, nor do they pity all sentient beings. With an unmanifest mind, a non-seeing mind, and the like, they are able to realize unsurpassed, complete awakening." Nāgaśrī said: "If so, Venerable One, with what mind and the like should one attain bodhi?" Mañjuśrī said: "I have no objective toward which to proceed, nor am I one who can proceed; I have nothing whatsoever to learn, nor will I in the future go to the bodhi tree, sit on the vajrāsana, realize great bodhi, turn the wondrous wheel of Dharma, and rescue [beings from] birth and death. Why is that? All phenomena are unmoving, indestructible, ungraspable, and ultimately empty and tranquil. With such a mind of non-proceeding and the like, I shall attain bodhi." Nāgaśrī said: "What the Venerable One has said is all based on the ultimate truth, causing sentient beings to have faith in and understand this teaching, and to be liberated from kleśas. If sentient beings are liberated from kleśas, they will ultimately be able to break the snare-net of Māra." Mañjuśrī said: "The snare-net of Māra cannot be broken. Why is that? Māra is not different from an augmentative designation for bodhi. Why is that? The natures of both Māra and the armies of Māra do not exist at all; they are utterly unobtainable. Therefore I say that Māra is not different from an augmentative designation for bodhi." Nāgaśrī said: "What is called bodhi?" Mañjuśrī said: "What is called bodhi pervades all times, places, and all phenomena. Just like space, it is utterly without obstruction, nowhere not present throughout times, places, and phenomena. Bodhi is also like this: being unobstructed, it pervades all times, places, and phenomena. Such bodhi is supreme. Which bodhi do you now wish to realize?" Nāgaśrī said: "I wish to realize the unsurpassed." Mañjuśrī said: "You should now rectify [the notion of] unsurpassed bodhi—it is not a phenomenon that can be realized. If you wish to realize it, you engage in conceptual proliferation. Why is that? Unsurpassed bodhi is free of marks and tranquil. If you now wish to grasp it, that constitutes conceptual proliferation. For example, if someone were to say: 'I will cause an illusory person to sit on the seat of awakening and realize illusory unsurpassed, complete awakening,' such words would be utter conceptual proliferation. If an illusory person is already unobtainable, how could one cause him to realize illusory great bodhi? An illusion toward illusory phenomena is neither united nor separated, neither grasped nor abandoned; their intrinsic natures are both empty. The Buddha, the World-Honoured One, taught that all phenomena are indistinguishable and like illusory occurrences. Now, in wishing to realize unsurpassed bodhi, would you not be discriminating illusory phenomena? Yet all phenomena can neither be grasped nor abandoned; they have neither formation nor destruction. It is not that a phenomenon can engage in creation or destruction regarding another phenomenon; nor can a phenomenon engage in combination or separation regarding another phenomenon. Why is that? Because all phenomena are neither united nor separated, their intrinsic natures are all empty, free from 'I' and 'mine', equal to the realm of space, beyond description and demonstration, beyond praise and disparagement, neither high nor low, without decrease or increase, unimaginable, beyond conceptual proliferation, originally empty and tranquil in their fundamental nature, all ultimately empty, like illusions and dreams, without counterpart or comparison. How could one give rise to a discriminating mind regarding them?" Nāgaśrī said: "Excellent, Venerable One! By means of this, I will now definitely attain bodhi. Why is that? Because the Venerable One has expounded the profound Dharma for me." Mañjuśrī said: "Just now, I have never expounded anything for you, whether explicit or implicit, profound or shallow. How could I cause you to be able to attain bodhi? Why is that? The intrinsic nature of all phenomena cannot be spoken of. That you consider me to have spoken profound Dharma is engaging in conceptual proliferation. Indeed, I am truly not an expounder, and the intrinsic nature of all phenomena also cannot be spoken of. It is like someone saying: 'I can explain the characteristics of consciousness of an illusory person, claiming that an illusory person's consciousness has such-and-such distinctions.' By saying this, he harms his own truthful words. Why is that? An illusory person cannot even be recognized [as real], let alone possess characteristics of consciousness! Now you say that I expound profound Dharma to cause you to realize and attain unsurpassed bodhi—it is just the same. Because all phenomena are like illusory occurrences, ultimately empty of nature, they cannot even be known, let alone expounded. Therefore, the nature of all sentient beings is itself markless, equal bodhi. Within one's intrinsic nature, how could there be the distinction between a realizer and that which is realized? As the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra says: 'To awaken to the intrinsic nature of phenomena as free from all discrimination is bodhi.' Another sūtra says: 'All practices have something affirmed. Having nothing affirmed is bodhi.' Why? If there is something affirmed, then an objective realm of realization is established, and there arises a mind capable of realizing it. Where both subject and object are exhausted, that is named great awakening. The meaning of great awakening is solely awakening to one's own mind. As the Mahāvairocanābhisaṃbodhisūtra says: 'At that time, Vajrapāṇi Bodhisattva addressed the Buddha again, saying: "World-Honoured One, who seeks sarvajñatā? Who attains correct awakening as bodhi? Who gives rise to all-knowledge-wisdom?" The Buddha said: "Lord of Secrets, one's own mind seeks bodhi and sarvajñatā. Why is that? Because its fundamental nature is pure. Mind is neither inside, nor outside, nor between the two; mind is unobtainable. … If one wishes to know bodhi, one should know one's own mind in this way."' The Zhuangyan putixin jing says: 'The Buddha said: "The bodhicitta is neither existent nor produced, and is free from written words. Bodhi is simply mind; mind is simply sentient beings. If one can understand in this way, this is called a bodhisattva cultivating the bodhicitta."' Thus, outside mind there is no bodhi—what is there to seek? Outside bodhi there is no mind—what is there to attain? As the Avataṃsakasūtra says: 'One knows that for all phenomena, formlessness is form, and form is formlessness; non-discrimination is discrimination, and discrimination is non-discrimination; non-existence is existence, and existence is non-existence; non-action is action, and action is non-action; non-explanation is explanation, and explanation is non-explanation; it is inconceivable. One knows that mind is equal to bodhi, and knows that bodhi is equal to mind; mind and bodhi are equal to sentient beings.' And a verse says: 'Though one exhausts the bounds of the future / roaming through all buddha-lands, / if one does not seek this wondrous Dharma, / one will never attain bodhi.' Therefore know that because the Dharma of the mind is wondrous, its immediate substance is just it. If one seeks externally from afar, one loses the true way. Hence it is said: 'Sudhana traveled everywhere visiting various spiritual friends, yet did not step outside the Śāla Grove; Maitreya attained the merit of becoming a buddha in one lifetime, yet did not depart from the unarisen nature-ocean of a single thought.' Therefore the Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra says: 'If Maitreya attains anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi, all sentient beings should also attain it. Why is that? All sentient beings are identical to the mark of bodhi. If Maitreya enters parinirvāṇa, all sentient beings should also enter parinirvāṇa. Why is that? The buddhas know that all sentient beings are ultimately tranquil, which is identical to the mark of nirvāṇa, and do not perish again.' Therefore know that what has already been accomplished is not accomplished again; what is already extinguished is not extinguished again. For the sake of those who do not yet know, it is expediently said to be accomplished, and expediently said to be extinguished. If one clings to expedients, one loses the fundamental source. As the Da zhuangyan famen jing says: 'At that time, Mañjuśrī spoke to the Golden-Coloured Woman, saying: "Thus the substance and nature of the five aggregates is identical to the substance and nature of bodhi; the substance and nature of bodhi is identical to the substance and nature of all buddhas. Just as the substance and nature of the five aggregates in your body is identical to the substance and nature of all buddhas, the substance and nature of all buddhas is identical to the substance and nature of the five aggregates of all sentient beings. Therefore I say that your body is itself bodhi. Furthermore, awakening to the five aggregates is called awakening to bodhi. Why is that? It is not apart from the five aggregates that a buddha attains bodhi, nor is it apart from bodhi that a buddha awakens to the five aggregates. By this expedient, know that all sentient beings are all identical with bodhi, and bodhi is also identical with all sentient beings. Therefore I say that your body is itself bodhi."' The Mahāratnakūṭasūtra says: 'Bodhi is called the equality of mind, because nothing arises. Bodhi is called the equality of sentient beings, because fundamentally there is no arising. … Bodhi is like this in nature and marks. If one holds desires and pursuits regarding this Dharma, one merely exhausts oneself in vain. Why is that? A bodhisattva should practice in accordance with the nature of bodhi. Being able to practice in this way is called correct practice.' A verse in the Viśeṣacintabrahmaparipṛcchāsūtra says: 'A bodhisattva, not destroying form, / generates the aspiration and practice of bodhicitta; / knowing that form is itself bodhi, / this is called practicing bodhi. / As with form, so it is with bodhi; / equally entering the mark of suchness, / not destroying the nature of phenomena: / this is called practicing bodhi. / Not destroying the nature of phenomena / is precisely the meaning of bodhi; / within this meaning of bodhi, / there is also no bodhi. / Correctly practicing the ultimate truth: / this is called practicing bodhi.' The Yingluo jing says: 'As for the dwelling of generating the aspiration, this person begins from being fully bound, not yet knowing the Three Jewels, and so forth, until, encountering the teaching of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, giving rise to a single thought, they thereupon have faith and generate the bodhicitta.' Since it says starting from an ordinary worldling's very first aspiration, we clearly know that this generating of aspiration encompasses both the beginning and the end.