宗鏡錄 30.3

Answer: The King of Awakening, in his final compassionate instruction, only commanded cultivating the real in the stations of mindfulness (smṛtyupasthāna). What the First Patriarch originally transmitted was merely pointing directly to human citta as buddha. If one can faithfully accept this, that is true requital of kindness. Showing it to others does not fail their capacity; investigating it oneself definitively accomplishes the great matter. As the verses in Master Zhiyi's *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind* state:

“When the Great Master was about to enter nirvāṇa,
The Compassionate Father left his testament:
‘Cultivate the path in the four stations of mindfulness;
You should abide relying on the prātimokṣa.’
We are not sons of the Buddha:
We do not keep this testament in mind.
Slack in the vehicle, inwardly there is no path;
Slack in the precepts, one falls into the three miserable destinies.
Because one does not ask about contemplating the mind,
One causes others' faith gradually to diminish.
If one does not feed the black crows,
How can one requite the kindness of the white crow?
Not only is the field infertile,
There is no seed of impartiality.
If the rain of Dharma does not fall,
The seed of Dharma will surely wither and scorch.
Each lacks provisions for the future life,
Losing the three benefits and incurring suffering.
The Great Dharma is on the verge of ruin—
How lamentable to witness this matter!
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
The impartial, true dharmadhātu
Has neither practice nor arrival.
If one can ask about contemplating the mind,
One can practice and can arrive.
This is itself the four stations of mindfulness,
Being able to abide relying on the prātimokṣa.
Zealous in the vehicle, inwardly there is the path;
Zealous in the precepts, one is born among humans and devas.
This is a true son of the Buddha,
Not going against the Compassionate Father's behest.
Devas and nāgas all rejoice;
How could all beings not be delighted?
One can requite the kindness of the white crow,
And universally give food to the black crows.
Since there is a good and fertile field,
There are seeds of impartiality.
The rain of Dharma falls in due season,
And the seeds of Dharma all grow.
Each has provisions for the future,
Together obtaining the joy of the three benefits.
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
All those who come seeking the Dharma,
Wishing to hear the unsurpassed path,
Do not know to ask about contemplating the mind:
The wisdom arisen from hearing never unfolds.
All those who come seeking the Dharma,
Wishing to reflect upon the unsurpassed path,
Do not know to ask about contemplating the mind:
The wisdom arisen from reflection never arises.
All those who come seeking the Dharma,
Wishing to cultivate the unsurpassed path,
Do not know to ask about contemplating the mind:
The wisdom arisen from cultivation is never perfected.
All those who come seeking the Dharma,
Diligently cultivating the four samādhis,
Do not know to ask about contemplating the mind:
Worn out in distress, they achieve nothing.
All those who come seeking the Dharma,
Hearing much and gaining verbal fluency,
Do not know to ask about contemplating the mind:
They have not yet attained true joy.
All those who come seeking the Dharma,
Cultivating samādhi and attaining concentration,
Do not know to ask about contemplating the mind:
In blind dhyāna they see nothing.
All those who come seeking the Dharma,
Wishing to repent their many sins,
Do not know to ask about contemplating the mind:
Their sins in the end are difficult to be freed from.
All those who come seeking the Dharma,
Wishing in their minds to be free from kleśas,
Do not know to ask about contemplating the mind:
The kleśas are never extinguished in the end.
All those who come seeking the Dharma,
Originally wishing to benefit others,
Do not know to ask about contemplating the mind:
Falling back, they cause others to slander.
All those who come seeking the Dharma,
Wishing to promote and manifest the Buddha-Dharma,
Do not know to ask about contemplating the mind:
Falling back, they greatly soil and harm it.
Such manifold gains and losses
Cannot be fully conveyed in verse.
Though there are these various gains and losses,
No one awakens to them.
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
Cultivating the contemplation of mind in the final age,
Attaining corrupt concentration and producing views,
Their eloquence is inexhaustible,
And they consider themselves treasures among men.
Smelling with the snout of one devoid of wisdom,
The wild fox's stench strikes the eyes;
Raising their tails, they retreat together,
Falling one after another into the pit to perish.
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
Guarding the tip of the nose in ānāpāna,
And cultivating the contemplation of the impure:
Attaining the four dhyānas through ānāpāna,
One does not escape the suffering of niraya;
Deeming the impure to be the state of no-more-learning,
Inverting the bowl and receiving food from women,
Even if born following dhyāna,
One falls into the disaster of the heavens of long life.
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
Relying on phenomenal methods to apply the mind,
Lacking wisdom, ghost concentration arises;
Manifesting abnormalities to agitate people's minds,
When the matter comes to light, it destroys the Buddha-Dharma.
When life ends, one is born in the ghost realm
As one of the ninety-six retinues.
The seminal period of the semblance Dharma clearly reveals
Three masters who ruin the Buddha-Dharma.
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
The inner mind is not for the sake of the path;
Deviously and flatteringly thinking of fame and gain,
Falsely displaying the appearance of sitting in dhyāna,
One gains fame, gain, and a retinue.
When the matter comes to light, it destroys others' faith,
Damaging the correct path of the Buddha:
This is a śāṇḍila;
Upon dying, one falls into the Avīci hell.
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
By expounding the Dharma, one attains liberation;
For the assembly hearing the Dharma it is also thus.
Not knowing to ask about contemplating the mind,
It is like a poor person counting others' treasures.
If the speaker asks about contemplating the mind,
There is neither expounding nor indicating;
If the listener asks about contemplating the mind,
There is neither hearing nor attaining.
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
The precepts are for reining the horse of the mind;
Though keeping the Vinaya of the five divisions,
If one does not know to ask about contemplating the mind,
The horse of the mind will never be tamed in the end.
The Vinaya maintains the Buddha-Dharma;
Understanding the external without understanding the internal,
Vimalakīrti rebuked the foremost disciple:
Only that is named truly upholding the Vinaya.
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
Reciting sūtras, one attains liberation;
It is not for worldly wealth and gain.
If one can ask about contemplating the mind,
From within a single dust mote
Issue the sūtra scrolls of the great trichiliocosm.
Those who uphold, read, and recite them,
Hear and retain them without forgetting,
Their minds opening, attain liberation.
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
Exhorting and transforming to cultivate offerings,
Promoting and displaying them to establish practitioners,
With secret intentions for personal gain,
Relying upon it to support oneself,
Ruining others' wholesome giving of joy,
One must repay people as camels and donkeys.
If one can ask about contemplating the mind,
It is just like the steed of camels.
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
The various paths each have their methods,
Yet they completely fail to investigate them themselves;
Suddenly prying into the Śākya teachings,
It quickly takes ten or several tens of years.
Not only are their doctrines clumsy,
They also harbor minds scheming destruction:
This is Kapila;
How could sages and immortals listen to their explanation?
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
Wealthy and noble yet lacking the path,
They mostly increase arrogance and indulgence.
If one can ask about contemplating the mind,
One attains the wealth and nobility of the true Dharma:
Though high, one is not in danger;
Though full, one does not overflow;
Unattached to worldly wealth and nobility,
The mind constantly abides in the Dharma of the path.
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
Poor and lowly, they are mostly deceitful and flattering;
Spying around, they commit manifold evils,
Presently punished by the king's law,
At death falling into the three bad destinies.
If one can ask about contemplating the mind,
One is at peace with poverty and nurtures the path.
Possessing the path, one is true and real;
Unconditioned, one is wealthy and joyful.
It is for this reason
That I must compose the *Treatise on Contemplating the Mind*.
The four assemblies are all sons of the Buddha;
None are not Dharma relatives.
Yet clinging to wholesome dharmas, they dispute.”

…[the mind] will end up forming grudges in the future.
If one can inquire into and contemplate the citta,
[people] will harmonize like milk and water;
all are cubs of the lion,
all are a grove of sandalwood.
For this cause and condition,
one must compose the Treatise on Contemplating the Citta.
With declining years, my body is beset with illness;
my eyes are dim, and my ears grow deaf;
my citta is confused, with much forgetfulness and negligence;
each year is worse than the last.
The king of death, the garuḍa,
will before long swallow the life-faculty.
Once the rope of karma snaps,
when breath is cut off, how could one speak?
For this cause and condition,
one must compose the Treatise on Contemplating the Citta.
I bow my head to the buddhas of the ten directions,
who out of profound loving-kindness contemplate the citta:
urge [others] to skillfully and truly examine it,
to generate the wondrous bliss of correct awakening.
I bow my head to the Dharma of the ten directions,
which out of profound compassion contemplates the citta:
skillfully urge [others] to truly examine it,
that they may attain truth and be freed from all suffering.
I bow my head to the Saṅgha of the ten directions,
the ocean of harmony of the great assembly:
if one can skillfully examine it,
the joyful citta is boundless.
I bow my head to Master Nāgārjuna:
may [you] cause us swiftly to gain awakening,
and also to abandon the three minds.
Now relying on the power of the Three Jewels,
I raise thirty-six questions.
The detailed inquiries among them
are difficult to count against matters.
If, contemplating the citta of a single thought-moment,
one can answer these questions,
one should know that one's mind-eye is opened,
and one has gained entry into the cool pool.
If one cannot answer these questions,
alas, how blind and dark!
Failing to see even slight meaning,
how could one walk the Great Way?
How mournful that in the age of the Final Dharma,
there are no longer people who practice the Path!
Even if there were three or several,
how could they distinguish these questions?
Therefore, conceiving a citta of pity,
I take refuge in and pay homage to the Three Jewels,
composing this Treatise of Inquiring into the Citta,
to cause the encouraged to become luminous and clear.
May all who see and hear this
not generate a citta of doubt or slander;
faithfully accepting and diligently cultivating it,
they will surely obtain the great benefit of the Dharma.
Up to the verse questions, which state:
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why are there the four unexplainables,
free from conceptual proliferation, grasping, and contention,
the citta pure as empty space?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why are there the actions of Māra,
bound by karma and kleśas,
burning in the burning house of the three realms?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why are there the non-Buddhists,
with the karma of various views and kleśas,
transmigrating in the six paths?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why are there the three vehicles,
which by clumsy salvation cut off [the delusions of] view and thought,
and emerge from the burning house of the three realms?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why is there skillful salvation,
wherein the three vehicles do not sever bonds,
yet enter the two nirvāṇas?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why is there the Distinct Teaching,
seeking the eternal fruit of the Great Vehicle,
wherein bodhisattvas sever distinct delusions?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why is there the Perfect Teaching vehicle,
which does not disrupt the dharmadhātu,
and abides in the nirvāṇa of the three virtues?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why is there nirvāṇa,
cultivating the four kinds of samādhi,
attaining the true anutpattikadharmakṣānti?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one skillfully accomplish
the twenty-five expedients,
tuning the citta to enter the correct path?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one know one's own citta
generates the ten kinds of objects,
accomplishing the three wisdoms in one mind?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one know the ten objects
each accomplish the ten vehicles of the Dharma,
joyfully roaming in the four directions?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why, by the non-abiding dharma,
does one enter the stage of the initial arousal of the mind
and the forty-two stages?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why are the six pāramitās accomplished,
able to attain the various samādhis
and the various dhāraṇīs?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one attain the six supernormal powers,
using the four means of embracing to conduct transformation,
with the four unobstructed analytical knowledges without hindrance?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one attain the major and minor marks,
accomplishing the two bodies of truth and response,
facing conditions like reflections in a mirror?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why is one endowed with the ten powers
and the four fearlessnesses,
inner and outer illumination and function perfected?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why, in contemplating the citta,
can one attain the eighteen kinds of
dharmas unshared with the world?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one attain great loving-kindness,
great compassion, and the three applications of mindfulness,
pitying sentient beings without differing notions?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one, by skillful means,
bring sentient beings to accomplishment
and adorn and purify all lands?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one, in this citta,
adorn the bodhi tree
and establish a pure place of enlightenment?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one subdue the hordes of Māra,
able to restrain all non-Buddhists,
causing the multitude all to take refuge and pay respect?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one sit in the place of enlightenment,
manifesting four kinds of attaining buddhahood,
meeting capacities without difference?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one turn the four teachings'
pure, wondrous wheel of the Dharma,
so that all attain the ambrosia?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one manifest four buddhas
with four kinds of nirvāṇa characteristics,
ultimately extinguished without remainder?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one know that as for circumstantial and direct reward,
across the four lands, the celestial vessels are identical,
yet the color of the rice differs?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why, in this citta,
is it all faculties and conditions,
penetrating through without hindrance?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one know the siddhāntas,
formless with nothing expounded,
yet manifesting forms to broadly expound the Dharma?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one know the gradual, sudden,
secret, and indeterminate teachings,
with a single sound expounding these four?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one know the four teachings
each open into four gates,
and all Dharma gates?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why, regarding the four teachings'
four gates, the sixteen gates,
does one compose treatises to penetrate the various sūtras?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one abide in the cessation attainment,
pervasively entering the ten dharmadhātus,
broadly benefiting all sentient beings?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one know that in the four lands,
the application of teachings has increase and decrease,
pervasively benefiting all sentient beings?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one know this citta
is endowed with all buddha-dharmas,
with not a single dharma existing outside the citta?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one know this citta
is the equal dharmadhātu,
wherein the Buddha does not deliver sentient beings?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why does one know this citta
is the dharmadhātu like empty space,
ultimately with nothing thought of?
I ask, contemplating the self-arising citta:
Why are there no letters,
all speech cut off,
solitary and silent without verbal expression?
Now, in terms of contemplating the self-arising citta of a single thought-moment, I have briefly raised thirty-six questions. For practitioners who contemplate the citta from outside, as well as lifelong companions, retinues, and those who practice the four kinds of samādhi—if that contemplator of the citta can thoroughly penetrate each and every one, one should generate toward them a thought of the citta as equal to the Buddha, drawing close to them and practicing their teachings as one would the four reliances. As for disciples and retinue, if they are unhindered in this...

[such a person] is a true fellow-practitioner, a true scion of the Dharma King, continuing the lineage of the Three Jewels and keeping it from interruption. If one cannot contemplate the mind born of itself in a single thought and answer these questions one by one, one is a retinue member of heavenly Māras and non-Buddhists, driven by them, precisely situated in the prison of the three realms without any prospect of escape. If in one's citta one is not content and seeks to be pulled out, one will inevitably fall into the pit of the two vehicles and the three evil destinies, severing for oneself the dharmakāya and the life of wisdom, and exterminating the retinue of bodhi. Such a person ruins the house of the Great Vehicle in the Buddha's Dharma-realm. How lamentable, how lamentable! What can be done? If contemplating the mind born of itself involves such gain and loss, contemplating the mind born of other, born of both, or born without cause is likewise so. Explanation: These thirty-six questions on contemplating the mind ascend to match the compassionate mind of all Buddhas of the ten directions, leaving no kindness unrequited, and descend to meet the sorrowful supplications of the multitude of living beings in the dharmadhātu, responding to every resonance. Up to the wondrous gate of practice, the protocols for delivering beings, the mutual containment of teaching and contemplation, and the complete interpenetration of principle and phenomena: it reaches to the fruit and embraces the cause, benefiting both oneself and others; the ten bodies respond everywhere, and the four lands are encompassed. Merely contemplating one's own one mind, nothing is not fully provided. As the verses of the treatise say: 'If one does not cast food to the black crows, / how could one repay the kindness of the white crow? / Not only is the field poor, / but there is no seed of equanimity. / If the rain of Dharma does not fall, / the Dharma-seeds will surely wither. / Each will lack provisions for future lives; / forfeiting the three benefits leads to suffering.' The commentary explains: This verse clarifies that failing to cultivate the contemplation of the stations of mindfulness means lacking the seed of equanimity; failing to abide in reliance on the prātimokṣa means not having a fertile field. Why so? Now, contemplating the stations of mindfulness of the Great Vehicle means contemplating the body of the five aggregates of birth-and-death as neither withered nor luxuriant, which is itself the great quiescent absorption. The Nirvāṇa Sūtra says: 'Form is liberation, nirvāṇa,' and so forth up to 'consciousness is liberation, nirvāṇa.' If one cultivates this contemplation of the stations of mindfulness, this is contemplating all living beings of the six destinies as being themselves the great nirvāṇa of permanence, bliss, self, and purity, fully endowed with the knowledge and vision of the Buddha, like Sadāparibhūta's consummation of complete faith. A sūtra says: 'Giving to the lowliest beggar in the city is equal to [giving to] the Tathāgata Duḥprasaha.' If so, how could one distinguish between what is a field and what is not a field, what may be given to and what may not be given to? Therefore, the contemplation of the stations of mindfulness is itself the seed of equanimity. If one does not cultivate it, one sees a difference between birth-and-death and nirvāṇa, and a disparity between ordinary beings and sages. Taking sages as the field of reverence, one reveres them and gives; taking ordinary beings as the field of compassion, one loathes them as lowly and does not renounce [wealth for them]. Hence it is said: 'there is no seed of equanimity.' Now, taking a king as an analogy is an analogy for lacking the seed of equanimity. Long ago there was a king; [the story] merely borrows the white crow to symbolize the sage and the black crows to symbolize ordinary beings. The king symbolizes living beings who do not cultivate the stations of mindfulness—persons who do not cultivate the seed of equanimity of the stations of mindfulness. Thus he discriminates between the two fields of compassion and reverence. However, when internally one lacks the way of the round contemplation of the seed of equanimity, externally one cannot broadly propagate and convert [beings to] the Great Vehicle. How could one repay the Buddha's kindness? Furthermore, breaking the Tathāgata's prohibitive precepts leaves one without a fertile field. Therefore the verse says: 'If the rain of Dharma does not fall, / the Dharma-seeds will surely wither.' These two lines clarify that when the four assemblies lack the capacity for precepts and wisdom, the sages do not respond. Why so? The Nirvāṇa Sūtra says that Cunda himself said: 'In my body now there is a fertile field, free from all weeds and waste. I hope only for the Tathāgata's rain of nectar-Dharma to water my bodily field and cause the sprouts of Dharma to grow.' Yet now the four assemblies do not cultivate the way in reliance on the stations of mindfulness, so they lack the seed of wisdom; they do not abide in reliance on the prātimokṣa, so they lack a fertile field. Since there is no seed, living beings have no capacity to move the sages; how could they attract the response of the sages' rain of Dharma? How could the sprout of living beings' Buddha-nature not wither? Thus, internally lacking good capacity and externally lacking the sages' response, the sprouts of the Dharma-seeds wither as well. This forfeits the bliss of the three benefits of nirvāṇa in the present and the future, instead further inviting the suffering of the three paths. Again, the verse says: 'Being able to repay the kindness of the white crow, / one universally casts food to the black crows.' The commentary explains: This verse clarifies that having the seed of equanimity and also having a fertile field, one can cast food to the black crows and can repay the kindness of the white crow. Why so? The Buddha and the sages can awaken living beings so that they are not harmed by the snake poison of the three poisons and various kleśas; this is the sages' kindness toward living beings, just as the white crow awakened the king so that he was not harmed by poisonous snakes. A sūtra says: 'Practicing in accordance with the teaching is called repaying the Buddha's kindness.' Now practitioners, relying on the contemplative wisdom of the stations of mindfulness and abiding in reliance on the prātimokṣa, are practicing in accordance with the teaching, which is called repaying the Buddha's kindness. Furthermore, being able to guide and transform all living beings through their own practice is universally casting food to all the black crows, being able to repay the kindness of the white crow. Again, the verse says: 'Guarding the corner of the nose in ānāpāna, / and cultivating the contemplation of the impure: / by ānāpāna one attains the four dhyānas, / yet does not escape the suffering of naraka. / Through the impure [contemplation] one claims to be an aśaikṣa; / inverting one's bowl, one accepts food from a woman. / Even if one is reborn according to one's dhyāna, / one falls into the difficulty of the long-lived devas. / For such causes and conditions, / one must compose the Treatise on Contemplating the Mind.' The commentary explains: This clarifies the inversions of cultivating dhyāna in phenomenal characteristics. The line 'Guarding the corner of the nose in ānāpāna' indicates the chapter topic on cultivating the four dhyānas with outflow. The line 'and cultivating the contemplation of the impure' indicates the chapter topic on cultivating phenomenal dhyāna without outflow. 'Guarding the corner of the nose' means settling the citta on the nose. 'Ānāpāna' means counting breaths. Because of counting breaths, one can attain the four dhyānas and eight concentrations. Long ago there was a monk who attained the four dhyānas and considered himself an arhat; facing death, he slandered the Buddha and fell into hell. Long ago there was a monk who studied the contemplation of the impure; for a short while he subdued his citta and thoughts of desire did not arise, so he regarded himself as a sage. Later he went out to a village to beg for food; seeing a woman offering food, lustful thoughts immediately arose, and his emotions became confused and his citta intoxicated: inverting his bowl, he accepted food from the woman. Now, attaining dhyāna through counting breaths, even if one does not give rise to slander and does not fall into hell, one is reborn according to one's dhyāna and falls into the difficulty of the long-lived devas. Therefore we know that if one cultivates the way in the four stations of mindfulness of the one mind, not forgetting the compassionate father's instruction, one is a truly filial descendant; merely entering the mirror of the source, there is no kindness that is not repaid. Therefore, if the citta is correct, the ten thousand dharmas are all correct; if the citta is deviant, the ten thousand dharmas are also deviant. If, apart from one's own citta,

one wishes to destroy the deviance of others, then one establishes oneself and establishes others, and sees deviance and sees correctness. This is like taking off one's armor to enter the battle line, or abandoning fire when burning a slash-and-burn field: to wish to defeat the enemy or sow the seeds is impossible. Merely being able to guard and protect one's own citta is itself protecting and maintaining the true Dharma, and is also universally being mindful of all Tathāgatas of the ten directions. Since protecting the Dharma through one's own citta is like this, transforming other minds is likewise so. Then outside of the correct there is no deviance: how could one speak of destroying it? Outside of the deviant there is no correctness: how could one speak of maintaining it? Thoroughly illuminating it in this way is truly protecting the true Dharma, up to perfectly fulfilling all Dharma gates. Therefore a verse in the Śūraṅgamasūtra says: 'I offer this deep citta to the dust-mote lands; / this is called repaying the Buddha's kindness.' The Mahāsaṃnipātasūtra says: 'Visual consciousness with regard to form is called non-Dharma; if one can stay far away from it, this is called protecting the Dharma.' Thus we know that those who skillfully restrain the sense faculties and are not invaded by the six dusts can be called true protectors of the Dharma. The Dharmasaṃgītisūtra says: 'Bodhisattvas do not need to guard and protect all dharmas. World-Honoured One, if a bodhisattva can only skillfully protect his own citta, because this bodhisattva skillfully protects his own citta, he can accomplish the wondrous dharmas of all Buddhas, up to seeing his own citta as like an illusion. Thus seeing all dharmas as like an illusion, citta is neither internal nor external, nor can it be found between the two. Seeing all dharmas in this way, seeing is just like citta: without form or characteristic, it cannot be shown, cannot be seen, has no physical obstruction, cannot be grasped, neither illuminates nor abides. Seeing all dharmas, their characteristics are like this. If one can see in this way, this bodhisattva can attain the mind of equanimity. Because of attaining the mind of equanimity, such a bodhisattva no longer attains dharmas, because outside of equanimity there are no differentiated dharmas, realizing that differentiated dharmas are themselves equanimity.' If one enters this Dharma gate of equanimity, one knows that all dharmas are entirely empty of nature and does not give rise to affectionate attachment. This is nothing other than the place where one abandons body and life; it is also the place where one realizes the way, the place where one turns the wheel of Dharma, the place where one delivers beings, the place where one enters cessation, the place where one ultimately repays kindness, the place where one fulfills the great vows, and the place where the ten thousand practices are fully provided. Why so? As it is said, 'The ten thousand things arise by obtaining the earth, and the ten thousand practices are accomplished by obtaining principle'—principle is citta. Whether one practices filial devotion or renders loyalty and courage, is there anything that does not stem from citta? For example, during the reign of Zetian, Meng Jingxiu observed mourning for his mother, grieving and emaciating himself almost to the point of perishing. He had a younger brother, Jingwei, who was an infant in swaddling clothes; Jingxiu suckled him himself, and his milk overflowed. Again, Bi Gou, who served as Minister of Personnel, initially observed mourning for his stepmother, Lady Xiao. Two younger sisters by the Lu family were both in swaddling clothes; Gou personally suckled them until they grew up. These are resonances brought about by filial conduct: milk came forth from citta; it is not fixed to the physical body of male or female.