宗鏡錄 23.11

23.11

答。目前無物。是真見佛。如文殊師利巡行經。以經中說文殊。遍巡五百比丘房。皆見寂定。因以為名。最後難舍利弗。以顯甚深般若。問舍利弗言。我時見汝。獨處一房。結加趺坐。折伏其身。汝為當坐禪耶不耶。答云坐。難云。為當欲令未斷者斷故。坐禪耶等。因此廣顯性空無得之理意。五百比丘從座而起。於世尊前。高聲唱言。從今已去。更不復見文殊身。不復聞其名字。如是方處。速應捨離。所有文殊一切住處。亦莫趣向。所以者何。文殊煩惱解脫一相說故等。舍利弗。令文殊為決了。文殊言。實無文殊而可得故。若實無文殊可得者。彼亦不可見等。廣為說法。四百比丘漏盡得果。一百比丘更謗。陷入地獄。後還得道。廣如彼說。所以無見是真見。無聞是真聞。不見不聞文殊。是真見真聞文殊矣。若不信此說。雖起謗而陷獄。以曾聞故。終熏種而得道。何況聞而信耶。則成道不隔於一念。故知宗鏡。見聞無不獲益矣。所以寶積經云。無畏女言。大迦葉。諸法永無。不可示現。是故大迦葉。一切法皆無。若法本無。云何可見彼清淨法界。大迦葉。若欲見清淨如來。彼善男子善女人。應善淨自心。時大迦葉語無畏言。云何善淨自心。女言。大迦葉。如自身真如。及一切法真如。若信彼者。不作不失。如是見自心清淨故。迦葉問言。自心以何為體。女言。空為體。若證彼空。信自身故。即信真如空。以一切法性寂靜故。又云。如來者。即虛空界。是故虛空即是如來。此中無一物可分別者。華手經云。一切法如即是如來。如來即是一切法如。是故世尊。無所住處。是如來義。又報化如影。空無去來。心淨佛現。則云佛來。佛亦不來。心垢不現。即云佛去。佛亦不去。斯即來而非來。去而非去。佛既無來去。心亦不生滅。如是解者。可見真佛矣。故金剛經云。若人言。如來若來若去若坐若臥。是人不解我所說義。如來者。無所從來。亦無所去。故名如來。則知若人若法。俱不出一如之道。如是通達。六根所對。無非見自性如如佛矣。此以不見為真見。見實為真佛。肇法師云。佛者何也。蓋窮理盡性。大覺之稱也。生法師云。以見實為佛。如是則亦名真見道。亦名真供養。

Answer: When there is nothing before one's eyes, that is truly seeing the Buddha. As in the Sūtra of Mañjuśrī's Circuit: because the sūtra speaks of Mañjuśrī going all around the rooms of five hundred monks, seeing them all in silent samādhi, it was named accordingly. Finally, he questioned Śāriputra in order to reveal the profound prajñā. He asked Śāriputra, saying, "At that time I saw you alone in a room, sitting cross-legged and subduing your body. Were you practicing seated meditation or not?" [Śāriputra] replied, "I was." [Mañjuśrī] challenged him, saying, "Was it to cause that which is not yet severed to be severed that you were practicing seated meditation?" and so forth. By this means he extensively revealed the principle and purport that nature is empty and without attainment. The five hundred monks arose from their seats, went before the World-Honoured One, and declared in a loud voice: "From this day forward, we will never again see Mañjuśrī's body, nor hear his name again! Such places ought to be quickly abandoned, and to all the dwelling places of Mañjuśrī we should also never go! Why is this? Because Mañjuśrī preaches kleśa and liberation as having a single characteristic," and so forth. Śāriputra bade Mañjuśrī resolve this for them. Mañjuśrī said, "Because in reality there is no Mañjuśrī to be attained. If in reality there is no Mañjuśrī to be attained, he also cannot be seen," and so forth, extensively preaching the Dharma. Four hundred monks had their outflows exhausted and attained the fruit; one hundred monks slandered him further, fell into hell, and later returned to attain the Way—all as extensively recounted therein. Therefore, non-seeing is true seeing; non-hearing is true hearing. Not seeing and not hearing Mañjuśrī is truly seeing and truly hearing Mañjuśrī. If one does not believe this teaching, though one gives rise to slander and falls into hell, because one has once heard it, one will ultimately perfume seeds and attain the Way; how much more so if one hears and believes it! Then the attainment of the Way is not separated [even] by a single thought. Thus we know that in the mirror of the source, there are none who see or hear who do not obtain benefit. Therefore the Ratnakūṭasūtra says: "The girl Abhayā said: 'Mahākāśyapa, all dharmas are eternally non-existent and cannot be shown. Therefore, Mahākāśyapa, all dharmas are non-existent. If dharmas are originally non-existent, how can that pure dharmadhātu be seen? Mahākāśyapa, if a good son or good daughter wishes to see the pure Tathāgata, they should properly purify their own citta.' At that time Mahākāśyapa said to Abhayā: 'How does one properly purify one's own citta?' The girl said: 'Mahākāśyapa, it is like the tathatā of one's own body and the tathatā of all dharmas. If one has faith in that, nothing is created and nothing is lost. It is thus that one sees one's own citta is pure.' Kāśyapa asked: 'What is the substance of one's own citta?' The girl said: 'Emptiness is its substance. If one realizes that emptiness, because one has faith in one's own body, one has faith in the emptiness of tathatā, because the nature of all dharmas is quiescent.'" It also says: "The Tathāgata is the realm of space; therefore space is itself the Tathāgata. Within this, there is not a single thing that can be discriminated." The Kuśalamūlasaṃparigrahasūtra says: "The suchness of all dharmas is the Tathāgata; the Tathāgata is the suchness of all dharmas. Therefore, World-Honoured One, having no place of abiding is the meaning of Tathāgata." Furthermore, the reward and transformation [bodies] are like shadows; empty, they have no coming or going. When the citta is pure, the Buddha appears, and so one says the Buddha comes, yet the Buddha does not come. When the citta is defiled, he does not appear, and so one says the Buddha departs, yet the Buddha does not depart. This is coming without coming, and departing without departing. Since the Buddha has neither coming nor going, the citta also has neither arising nor ceasing. Those who understand thus can see the true Buddha. Therefore the Vajracchedikāsūtra says: "If a person says that the Tathāgata comes, goes, sits, or lies down, this person does not understand the meaning of what I have said. A Tathāgata is one who comes from nowhere and goes nowhere; therefore he is called a Tathāgata." Thus we know that whether person or dharma, none depart from the path of the One Suchness. Thoroughly penetrating in this way, whatever confronts the six sense faculties is nothing other than seeing the Buddha of one's own nature, such-like. This takes non-seeing as true seeing, and seeing reality as the true Buddha. Master Zhao said: "What is the Buddha? He is indeed the appellation for the Great Awakening that exhausts principle and fulfills the nature." Master Sheng said: "Taking the seeing of reality as the Buddha." Such, then, is also named truly seeing the Way, and also named true offering.