宗鏡錄 31.2

Now, the realm of all buddhas is reached only through the gate of liberation of the inconceivable one mind. Why is it called "inconceivable liberation"? Because all phenomena are not existing yet exist, exist yet do not exist, and because it is not known by inferential cognition, it is termed "inconceivable." Since they are not existing yet exist, one does not abide in non-existence. Since they exist yet do not exist, one does not abide in existence. Abiding neither in existence nor in non-existence, one is thereupon liberated from all phenomena, because all phenomena do not go beyond existence and non-existence. Thus one knows that within the liberation of the one mind, there are no words or letters; hence there is no saṃsāra, no kleśa, no skandhas or dhātus, no sentient beings, no sorrow or joy, no suffering or pleasure, no bandhana, no going or coming, no right or wrong, no gain or loss, and even no bodhi, no nirvāṇa, no tathatā, and no liberation. In short, all mundane and supramundane phenomena are completely non-existent. As the Śūraṅgamasūtra says: "To establish knowledge upon seeing and knowing is the very root of avidyā; seeing and knowing devoid of [subjective] views is itself nirvāṇa, the uncontaminated, true purity." How could anything else be accommodated within this? As stated above, worldly saṃsāra, supramundane nirvāṇa, and all such immeasurable distinct names are all established from seeing, knowing, words, and letters. If there are no seeing, knowing, words, or letters, names and substances are fundamentally empty. In the wonderful, luminous citta, what else could there be? As the Sixth Patriarch's verse says: / "Bodhi is not a tree at all, / Nor is the bright mirror a stand. / Fundamentally not a single thing exists; / Where could dust and dirt be wiped away?" / Master Rong says: "The ultimate principle cannot be explicated; / It is neither liberated nor bound. / Spiritual and penetrating, responding to things, / It is ever-present before one's eyes. / Before one's eyes there is no thing; / 'No thing' is vividly present. / It does not require human effort to bring about; / Its substance is naturally subtle and profound." / He also says: "No thing is the inherently authentic; / The inherently authentic is the Great Way." / The poem of Master Hanshan says: / "Cold Mountain dwells in a single cave; / Inside the cave there is not a single thing. / Pure, clean, vast and empty, / Bright and luminous as the sun. / Coarse grain nourishes this frail body; / A cloth quilt covers the illusory form. / Let a thousand sages appear as they will; / I possess the inherently authentic Buddha." / Therefore, in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, the Buddha spoke of the one hundred phrases of liberation, comparing them to a hundred pounds of gold: they are the supreme treasure of all buddhas, the secret treasure of nirvāṇa. Hence, phrase after phrase, it states that true liberation is just the tathāgata. Now, the tathāgata comes from the intrinsic nature of the tathatā of the one mind; hence he is called "Tathāgata" [the Thus-Come]. Furthermore, "tathā" [thus] means unchanging, unvarying, and not losing its intrinsic nature; hence it is called "tathā." "Āgata" [come] means that tathatā does not remain in its intrinsic nature, but manifests in accord with conditions; hence it is called "come." This is indeed a coming that is non-coming, because the nature of tathatā pervades all places, truly having no going or coming; responding according to the mind, it has neither appearance nor disappearance. Furthermore, the sūtra states: "The Tathāgata is none other than the Dharma." Hence the Treatise on the Awakening of Faith says: "What is called 'Dharma' is the mind of sentient beings." Therefore, an ancient master of virtue said: "The mind is fundamentally pure, yet there is also no mark of purity; only then do you see my mind." Thus we know that among the one hundred phrases of liberation, each phrase illumines the mind, and every mind is liberated; not a single word or letter fails to serve as a compass for the Mirror of the Source. As the sūtra states: "At that time Bodhisattva Kāśyapa addressed the Buddha once again, saying: 'World-Honoured One, we only pray that out of pity you will deign to explain extensively once more the practice of great nirvāṇa and the meaning of liberation.' The Buddha praised Kāśyapa: 'Excellent, excellent! Good son, true liberation is called being far removed from all bandhana. If true liberation is free from all bandhana, then there is no birth and also no coming together. Just as father and mother come together to give birth to a child, true liberation is not like this. For this reason, liberation is called 'unborn.' Kāśyapa, just as ghee is pure in nature, the Tathāgata is also like this: he is not born from the coming together of father and mother; his nature is pure. The reason he manifests having parents is because he wishes to convert and save all sentient beings. True liberation is just the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata and liberation are not two and not distinct. Just as when various beans are planted in the spring months, having received warmth, they immediately sprout and grow, true liberation is not like this. Furthermore, liberation is called 'emptiness and non-being.' Emptiness and non-being are just liberation; liberation is just the Tathāgata; the Tathāgata is just emptiness and non-being. It is neither acting nor what is made. Whatever is made is like city walls, towers, and ramparts. True liberation is not like this. For this reason, liberation is just the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is an unconditioned phenomenon. Just as a potter makes [pots] and then breaks them again, liberation is not like this. True liberation is neither produced nor destroyed. For this reason, liberation is just the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata is also like this: neither produced nor destroyed, neither aging nor dying, neither broken nor destroyed, not a conditioned phenomenon. By this meaning, he is called 'the Tathāgata entering great nirvāṇa.' What is the meaning of neither aging nor dying? 'Aging' means shifting and changing, with white hair and wrinkled face. 'Dying' means the destruction of the body and the end of life. Such phenomena do not exist in liberation. Because these things are absent, it is called 'liberation.' The Tathāgata also has no conditioned phenomena of white hair and wrinkled face; for this reason the Tathāgata has no aging. Because he has no aging, he has no dying. Furthermore, liberation is called 'free from illness.' What is called 'illness' refers to the four hundred and four illnesses, as well as other external damages that harm the body; because these do not exist in this state, it is called 'liberation.' Being free from illness is true liberation. True liberation is just the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata has no illness; therefore the dharmakāya also has no illness. Such absence of illness is just the Tathāgata. 'Dying' is called the destruction of the body and the end of life; having no death in this state is amṛta. This amṛta is true liberation. True liberation is just the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata has accomplished such merits; how could one say that the Tathāgata is impermanent? If one says he is impermanent, there is no such possibility. This is a vajra-body; how could it be impermanent? For this reason, the Tathāgata is not said to have an end of life.'"

The Tathāgata is pure and without defilement. The Tathāgata's body is not defiled by the womb. Just as the puṇḍarīka lotus is inherently pure by nature, so too is the Tathāgata's liberation. Such liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Therefore, the Tathāgata is pure and without defilement. Furthermore, liberation means that the sores and warts of all outflows are permanently eliminated without remainder. The Tathāgata is likewise: he is free of all sores and warts of the outflows. Furthermore, liberation is without conflict or contention. For example, when a hungry person sees someone else's food and drink, thoughts of greed and seizure arise; liberation is not like this. Furthermore, liberation is called 'peace and tranquility.' Ordinary persons say: 'Peace and tranquility refers to Maheśvara.' Such words are empty and false. True peace and tranquility is ultimate liberation, which is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'peaceful security.' For example, a place teeming with bandits is not called peaceful and secure; only a cleared and settled place is called peaceful and secure. In this liberation there is no fear; hence it is called peaceful and secure. Therefore, peaceful security is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata is precisely the Dharma. Furthermore, liberation has no peer or equal. One who has peers or equals is like a king who has neighboring kingdoms of equal standing. Liberation, however, is not like this. Being without peer or equal is like a wheel-turning sage king (cakravartin), with whom none can stand as equal. Liberation is likewise: it has no peer or equal. That which has no peer or equal is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata, the wheel-turning Dharma King. Therefore, the Tathāgata has no peer or equal; that he should have a peer or equal is impossible. Furthermore, liberation is called 'free of sorrow.' One who has sorrow is like a king who fears the difficulty of a powerful neighbor and gives rise to sorrow. Liberation, however, has no such thing. For example, once an enemy is destroyed, there is no sorrow or anxiety. Liberation is likewise: it is without sorrow or fear. That which is without sorrow or fear is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'free of sorrow and joy.' For example, suppose a woman has only one son who departs on corvée service to a distant land, and she suddenly receives bad tidings. Hearing this, she grieves in distress; later, hearing that he is still alive, she then gives rise to joy. In liberation, however, there is no such thing. That which is free of sorrow and joy is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is free of dust and defilement. For example, in a spring month, after the sun has set, the wind rises up with dust and mist. In liberation, however, there is no such thing. That which is free of dust and mist is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. For example, the bright jewel in the topknot of a sage king is without defilement. The nature of liberation is likewise: it is without defilement. That which is without defilement is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Just as true gold by its nature is unmixed with sand or stone and is therefore called a true treasure, and a person who finds it conceives the thought of wealth, the nature of liberation is likewise: it is like that true treasure. That true treasure is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. For example, when an earthen jar breaks, its sound is cracked; a vajra-jewel jar, however, is not like this. Liberation is likewise free of cracking and breaking. The vajra-jewel jar is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Therefore, the Tathāgata's body cannot be destroyed. As for a cracked sound, it is like castor seeds placed in the sun during extreme heat, which make a popping, bursting sound; liberation has no such thing. Like that vajra-jewel jar, it has no sound of cracking and breaking. Even if countless hundreds of thousands of people were all to shoot arrows at it together, none could destroy it. Being without the sound of cracking and breaking is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. For example, when a destitute, poor person is in debt to others, he is bound by them, subjected to cangues, locks, whips, and punishments, and undergoes all manner of bitter suffering. In liberation, however, there is no such thing; there is no owing of debts. It is just like an elder who has much wealth and treasure, countless hundreds of millions in measure, with power and mastery, owing nothing to others. Liberation is likewise: it has an abundance of immeasurable Dharma-wealth and rare treasures, possessing power and mastery, owing nothing. That which owes nothing is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'free of affliction.' It is like experiencing heat in spring, eating sweets on a summer day, or feeling cold on a winter day: in true liberation, there are no such disagreeable things. That which is free of affliction is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, being free of affliction is like this: suppose a person eats his fill of fish and meat, and then drinks milk; that person will soon be near death. In true liberation, there is no such thing. If that person obtains the fine medicine of ambrosia (amṛta), his affliction is eliminated. True liberation is likewise: the fine medicine of ambrosia is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. What is meant by affliction and non-affliction? For example, an ordinary person, lofty in his conceit, conceives this thought: 'Among all the multitudes, who can harm me?' Thereupon he seizes snakes, tigers, and poisonous vermin. You should know that this person, not exhausting his lifespan, will die an untimely death. In true liberation, there is no such thing. That which is free of affliction is like the divine pearl possessed by a wheel-turning king, which can subdue dung beetles and ninety-six kinds of poisonous vermin and the like; if anyone smells the fragrance of this divine pearl, all poisons are extinguished. True liberation is likewise: it is completely distant from the twenty-five states of existence. The extinguishing of poisons is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, that which is free of affliction is like empty space; liberation is likewise. That empty space is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, affliction is like bringing a lit lamp close to dry grass: if brought close, it flares up blazing. In true liberation, there is no such thing. Furthermore, that which is free of affliction is like the sun and the moon, which do not afflict sentient beings.

Liberation is also like this: toward all sentient beings it has no vexing oppression. Having no vexing oppression is an analogy for true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called the unmoving dharma. It is like [favoring neither] enemy nor kin: in true liberation, there are no such things. Furthermore, 'unmoving' is like a wheel-turning king: there is no other holy king who serves as his intimate friend. If there were another intimate friend, that would be impossible. Liberation is also like this: there are no other intimates. If there were intimates, that too would be impossible. That king having no intimates is an analogy for true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata is precisely the Dharma. Furthermore, 'unmoving' is like plain cloth, which easily receives dyes; liberation is not like that. Furthermore, 'unmoving' is like the vārsikī flower: to wish that it had a foul stench or a blue-green color would be impossible. Liberation is also like this: to wish that it had a foul stench or various colors would likewise be impossible. Therefore, liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called rare. For example, a lotus growing in water is not rare; growing in fire, that is indeed rare. When someone sees it, they instantly feel joy. True liberation is also like this: whoever sees it feels joy in their citta. That rareness is an analogy for true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata is precisely the dharmakāya. Furthermore, 'rare' is like an infant whose teeth have not yet grown, and only after gradually growing bigger do they then grow. Liberation is not like that: it has no growing or not growing. Furthermore, liberation is called void and quiet, having no indeterminacy. Now, as for 'indeterminacy': to claim that an icchantika is ultimately unalterable, and that one who has committed a grave transgression will never accomplish the Buddha Way, is impossible. Why is that? If this person gives rise to pure faith in their citta regarding the true Dharma of the Buddha, at that very time the icchantika is extinguished. If they further manage to become an upāsaka, they can likewise sever and extinguish the icchantika. One who has committed a grave transgression, having extinguished this sin, can then achieve buddhahood. Therefore, if one says that they are definitively unalterable and will not accomplish the Buddha Way, that is impossible. In true liberation, there are no such matters of total extinction at all. Furthermore, 'void and quiet' falls into the dharmadhātu; like the nature of the dharmadhātu, it is precisely true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, if the icchantika were totally extinguished, they could not be called an icchantika. What is called an icchantika? An icchantika is one who has severed and extinguished all roots of good, whose citta does not take hold of any wholesome dharmas, not even giving rise to a single thought of goodness. In true liberation, there is no such thing at all. Because there is no such thing, it is precisely true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called immeasurable. For example, a heap of grain: its measure can be known. True liberation is not like this. It is like the great ocean, which cannot be measured. Liberation is also like this: it cannot be measured. That which is immeasurable is precisely true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called the measureless dharma. Just as a single sentient being has many karmic retributions, liberation is also like this: it has measureless retributions. That which has measureless retributions is precisely true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called vast. For example, the great ocean: none can equal it. Liberation is also like this: none can equal it. Having none to equal it is precisely true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called supreme. For example, empty space: it is the highest, without peer. Liberation is also like this: it is the highest, without peer. Being highest without peer is precisely true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called that which none can surpass. For example, the dwelling place of a lion: among all the hundred beasts, none can surpass it. Liberation is also like this: none can surpass it. Having none that can surpass it is precisely true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called unexcelled. For example, the northern direction is the highest among all directions. Liberation is also like this: it has nothing higher. Having nothing higher is precisely true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called without a superior. For example, the northern direction with respect to the eastern direction is without a superior. Liberation is also like this: it has no superior. Having no superior is precisely true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called the constant dharma. For example, when humans or devas undergo the dissolution of the body and the end of life, this is called constant, not non-constant. Liberation is also like this: it is not non-constant. Being not non-constant is precisely true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called firmly abiding. Just like khadira, sandalwood, and agarwood, whose natures are solid and firm, liberation is also like this: its nature is solid and firm. That whose nature is solid and firm is precisely true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called not hollow. For example, bamboo and reeds: their substance is empty and porous. Liberation is not like that. One should know that liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called undefilable. For example, a wall that has not yet been plastered and painted: mosquitoes and gnats stay and play upon it. If it is plastered, painted, and carved with decorations, when the insects smell the scent of the colors, they immediately do not stay. Such non-staying is an analogy for true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called boundless. For example, villages all have boundaries. Liberation is not like that. It is like empty space, having no boundaries. Liberation is also like this: it has no boundaries. Such liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called invisible. For example, in the sky, bird tracks are difficult to see; like this, it is difficult to see.

…is an analogy for true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'profound.' Why is this? Because it cannot be entered by śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. That which cannot be entered is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, 'profound' means revered by all buddhas and bodhisattvas. Just as when a filial son makes offerings to his parents, the merit is profound; profound merit is an analogy for true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'invisible.' For example, just as a person cannot see the crown of his own head, liberation is also like this: it cannot be seen by śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. That which cannot be seen is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'houseless.' Just as empty space has no house, liberation is also like this. The word 'house' is an analogy for the twenty-five states of existence. Having no house is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'unseizable.' Just as an āmalaka fruit can be grasped and held by a person, liberation is not like that; it cannot be grasped or held. What cannot be grasped or held is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'ungraspable.' For example, just as an illusory object cannot be held fast, liberation is also like this; it cannot be held fast. What cannot be held fast is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation has no body. For example, just as someone whose body produces sores, leprosy, carbuncles, ulcers, madness, and emaciation, in true liberation there are no such illnesses. Having no such illnesses is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'one taste.' Just as milk is of one taste, liberation is also like this: it has only one taste. Such a single taste is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'pure.' Just as water without mud is clear, still, and pure, liberation is also like this: clear, still, and pure. What is clear, still, and pure is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'one taste.' Just as rain falling from the sky is of one taste and pure, being of one taste and pure is an analogy for true liberation. True liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'elimination.' For example, just as the full moon is free from all obscuring clouds, liberation is also like this: free from all obscuring clouds. Being free from all obscuring clouds is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'tranquil.' For example, just as when a person is cured of a fever, his body attains tranquility, liberation is also like this: the body attains tranquility. When the body attains tranquility, that is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is equality. For example, just as wildcats, venomous snakes, and weasels all have the intention to kill, liberation is not like that: it has no intention to kill. Having no intention to kill is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, 'equality' is like parents having an equal mind toward their children; liberation is also like this: its mind is equal. An equal mind is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation has no other place. For example, just as someone who resides only in a superior, wonderful, and pure house and in no other place, liberation is also like this: it has no other place. Having no other place is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'contentment.' For example, just as a hungry person who encounters sweet delicacies eats without satiety, liberation is not like that; it is like having eaten milk gruel and needing nothing further. Needing nothing further is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'severance.' Just as a person who is bound severs the bonds and attains release, liberation is also like this: it severs all bonds of doubt. Such severance of doubt is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'reaching the other shore.' For example, just as the great ocean has this shore and the other shore, liberation is not like that: although it has no 'this shore,' it has the other shore. Having the other shore is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'silence.' For example, just as the great ocean when its waters surge has many sounds, liberation is not like that. Such liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'delicious.' For example, just as among medicines, when harītakī is mixed in, its taste is bitter, liberation is not like that; its taste is like amṛta. A taste like amṛta is an analogy for true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation eliminates all kleśas. For example, just as a good physician blends various medicines and skillfully cures many illnesses, liberation is also like this: it can eliminate kleśas. Eliminating kleśas is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'unconfined.' For example, just as a small house cannot accommodate many people, liberation is not like that: it accommodates much. Accommodating much is true liberation, and true liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called 'extinguishing all desires' and is unmixed with sexual desire. For example, just as women have many desires and lusts, liberation is not like that. Such liberation is precisely the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata is like this: free from the fetters of desire, anger, delusion, arrogance, and the like. Furthermore, liberation is called 'free from craving.' Craving is of two kinds: the first is pretalike craving, and the second is Dharma-craving. True liberation is free from pretalike craving, and because it has pity for sentient beings, it possesses Dharma-craving. Such Dharma-craving is true liberation, and true liberation...

is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is free from 'I' and 'mine'. Such liberation is the tathāgata; the tathāgata is Dharma. Furthermore, liberation is complete cessation, free from rāga for all existences. Such liberation is the tathāgata; the tathāgata is Dharma. Furthermore, liberation is rescue and protection, able to rescue all who are terrified. Such liberation is the tathāgata; the tathāgata is Dharma. Furthermore, liberation is a refuge. If one takes refuge in such liberation, one seeks no other refuge. It is like a person who relies upon a king and seeks no other reliance. Yet although one relies upon a king, there is instablity; one who relies upon liberation has no instability. Being without instability is true liberation; true liberation is the tathāgata; the tathāgata is Dharma. Furthermore, liberation is called a house. It is like a person traveling through a wilderness, where there are perils and difficulties; liberation is not like this, having no perils or difficulties. Being without perils or difficulties is true liberation; true liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is fearlessness. Like the lion king, who does not give rise to terror toward the hundred beasts, liberation is also like this: toward the hordes of Māra it does not give rise to terror. Being without terror is true liberation; true liberation is the tathāgata. And liberation has no narrowness. It is like a narrow path, which cannot even accommodate two people walking abreast; liberation is not like this. Such liberation is the tathāgata. Moreover, it is not narrow: it is like a person who, fearing a tiger, falls into a well; liberation is not like this. Such liberation is the tathāgata. Moreover, it is not narrow: it is like one on the great ocean who abandons a damaged small boat and obtains a solid, sturdy boat, boarding it to cross the sea and reach a place of peace and security, his mind feeling joy. Liberation is also like this, the mind feeling joy. Obtaining joy is true liberation; true liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation uproots all causes and conditions. It is like relying on milk to obtain curds, relying on curds to obtain butter, and relying on butter to obtain ghee; in true liberation, there is no such cause at all. Being without such causes is true liberation; true liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation can subdue arrogance. It is like a great king acting arrogant toward a petty king; liberation is not like this. Such liberation is the tathāgata; the tathāgata is Dharma. Furthermore, liberation subdues all negligence. 'Negligence' refers to having much greed and desire; in true liberation, there is no such name. Being without such a name is true liberation; true liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation can eliminate avidyā. It is like superior, fine butter having all impurities removed before it is called ghee; liberation is also like this, eliminating the dregs of avidyā and giving birth to true vidyā. Such true vidyā is true liberation; true liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called tranquil, purely one without a second. It is like an elephant in an empty wilderness, solitary without a companion; liberation is also like this, solitary and without a second. Solitary and without a second is true liberation; true liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called solid and real. It is like bamboo, reeds, rushes, and hemp, whose stalks and stems are hollow while their seeds are solid and real; with the exception of the Buddha, the Tathāgata, all other humans and devas are not solid and real. True liberation is far removed from all outflows of existence and the like. Such liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called being able to awaken and comprehend, benefiting the self. True liberation is also like this. Such liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called renouncing all existences. It is like a person who vomits after eating; liberation is also like this, renouncing all existences. Renouncing all existences is true liberation; true liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called determinate. It is like the fragrance of the vārṣikī flower, which is not found in the saptaparṇa; liberation is also like this. Such liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called the water element. It is like the water element, which is superior among the great elements, able to moisten all grasses, trees, and seeds; liberation is also like this, able to moisten all living beings. Such liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called an entrance. Just as having a doorway opens a passage, and upon entering the place where the nature of gold is, gold can be obtained, liberation is also like this: like that doorway, those who cultivate selflessness are able to enter within. Such liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called good. It is like a disciple who follows a master, skillfully honoring instructions and thereby being called good; liberation is also like this. Such liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called a supramundane dharma, surpassing all dharmas most of all. It is like how among all flavors, butter and milk are supreme; liberation is also like this. Such liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called the four immovables. It is like a threshold, which the wind cannot move; true liberation is also like this. Such liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called being without billows and waves. It is like that great ocean whose waters billow and wave; liberation is not like this. Such liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is like a palace; liberation is also like this. One should know that liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called serviceable. It is like Jāmbūnada gold, which is fit for many uses, and no one can speak of defects in this gold; liberation is also like this, having no defects, which is true liberation; true liberation is the tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation casts off the conduct of an infant; it is like an adult.

can cast aside childish behavior; liberation is also like this: casting off the five aggregates. Casting off the five aggregates is true liberation; true liberation is the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called ultimate. Just as a bound person, having obtained release from bondage, bathes purely and then returns home; liberation is also like this: utterly pure. Utterly pure is true liberation; true liberation is the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called effortless bliss. Effortless bliss is because greed, anger, and delusion have been vomited out. For example, just as a person mistakenly drinks snake venom, and to remove the poison, takes an emetic; once having vomited, the poison is eliminated and cured, and their body obtains ease and bliss; liberation is also like this: vomiting out the poison of all kleśas, bonds, and fetters, the body obtains ease and bliss, and it is called effortless bliss. Effortless bliss is true liberation; true liberation is the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called severing the four kinds of poisonous snake kleśas. Severing kleśas is true liberation; true liberation is the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called being free from all realms of existence, extinguishing all suffering, attaining all bliss, forever severing greed, anger, and delusion, and pulling out the root of all kleśas. Pulling out the root is true liberation; true liberation is the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called severing all conditioned phenomena and giving rise to all untainted wholesome phenomena, cutting off and blocking all paths—namely, whether self, non-self, neither self nor non-self—severing only grasping and attachment, not severing the view of self. The view of self is called the Buddha-nature. The Buddha-nature is true liberation; true liberation is the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called not empty emptiness. Empty emptiness is called having nothing at all. Having nothing at all is the liberation posited by non-Buddhists such as the Nirgranthas; yet these Nirgranthas in truth have no liberation, hence it is called empty emptiness. True liberation is not like this, hence it is not empty emptiness. Not empty emptiness is true liberation; true liberation is the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called not empty. Just as with jars for water, wine, curds, butter, and honey, though they lack water, wine, curds, butter, and honey at the time, they are still called water jars and so forth. Jars such as these cannot be spoken of as empty or as not empty. If one says they are empty, then they could not have color, aroma, flavor, or touch. If one says they are not empty, yet they lack the reality of water, wine, and so forth. Liberation is also like this: it cannot be spoken of as form nor as non-form; it cannot be spoken of as empty nor as not empty. If one says it is empty, then it could not have permanence, bliss, self, and purity. If one says it is not empty, who would experience this permanence, bliss, self, and purity? By this meaning, it cannot be spoken of as empty nor as not empty. 'Empty' refers to lacking the twenty-five states of existence, all kleśas, all suffering, all characteristics, and all conditioned formations; just as a jar lacks curds, it is called empty. 'Not empty' refers to real wholesome form, permanence, bliss, self, and purity, immovable and unchanging; just like that jar's color, aroma, flavor, and touch, hence it is called not empty. Therefore liberation is exemplified by that jar. When that jar meets conditions, it breaks. Liberation is not like this; it cannot be destroyed. Being indestructible is true liberation; true liberation is the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is called freedom from longing. For example, just as a person's loving mind aspires to Śakra Devānām Indra, the great Brahmā heaven-king, or the Maheśvara heaven-king; liberation is not like this. If one has attained anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi, there is no longing and no doubt. No longing and no doubt is true liberation; true liberation is the Tathāgata. If one says that liberation has longing and doubt, there is no such place. Furthermore, liberation severs all existence and greed, severs all characteristics, all bonds, all kleśas, all saṃsāra, all causes and conditions, and all karmic retributions. Such liberation is the Tathāgata; the Tathāgata is nirvāṇa. Because all sentient beings dread saṃsāra and all kleśas, they receive the three refuges. For example, just as a herd of deer dreads a hunter; having managed to escape, if they manage one leap, it exemplifies one refuge; in this way, three leaps exemplify the three refuges. Because of the three leaps, they attain ease and bliss. Sentient beings are also like this: because they dread the evil hunters of the four māras, they take the three refuges; because of the three refuges, they attain ease and bliss. Attaining ease and bliss is true liberation; true liberation is the Tathāgata; the Tathāgata is nirvāṇa; nirvāṇa is inexhaustible; inexhaustible is the Buddha-nature; the Buddha-nature is definitive; definitive is anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi. Explanation: The above hundred phrases on liberation are clearly displayed in the text without prolixity. To further explain their general import: they merely clarify the one mind's true-nature liberation. By means of liberation through true wisdom, this true nature is revealed, and subsequently liberation through expedient wisdom is accomplished; therefore, being able to awaken oneself and awaken others, it is named 'Buddha'—namely, the naturally authentic Buddha of the equal dharmakāya. Therefore the sūtra states: 'One should know that liberation is the Tathāgata; the nature of the Tathāgata is liberation; liberation and the Tathāgata are neither two nor different.' Hence the nature of the Tathāgata is the nature of sentient beings; the nature of sentient beings is the nature of all phenomena; the nature of all phenomena is the nature of citta. Because the nature of citta is omnipresent in all places, all places are entirely the inconceivable liberation. Because of not seeing one's own nature, one craves and attaches in accordance with each place; where there is attachment, one is bound. If one comprehends this source, bondage and liberation are both serene. Therefore it is said: 'Severance is attachment; attachment is severance. Within the gateway of illusory transformations, real meaning is born. There is neither severance nor attachment; where else would one seek medicine for the disease-free?' Furthermore, these hundred phrases on liberation unfold in meticulous detail and are the ultimate refuge.

Being the ultimate instruction, they are the secret treasury of nirvāṇa and the orthodox source of the patriarchs and Buddhas. Therefore I have recorded the entire text in full to verify the Mirror of the Source. Please do not weary of reading it at length, so that you may clarify your citta in detail. This is the origin of untying bonds and the root of delusion and awakening. If the citta is liberated, all is liberated, corresponding with the true nature; if the citta is bound, all is bound, dwelling together with defiling toil. The path of the essential escape here transcends words; of expedient gateways, none surpasses this. With this inconceivable gateway of true-nature liberation, once entered, it is entirely real, and outside the real there is no phenomenon. The intent dissolves subject and object; sentiment cuts off right and wrong. This is not something a text-reciting Dharma master can approach in his ocean of knowledge, nor a blindly realizing senior meditator can comprehend through this lamp of wisdom. Except for those who directly see the nature, the seeds of the Ekayāna path, only they can realize, enter, instantly comprehend without doubt. This circular and sudden teaching gateway is solely the one non-conceptual phenomenon. It has no boundaries and does not involve one or many. Because the extreme is itself the middle, no phenomenon can compare to it; because the deluded is itself the true, no phenomenon stands in opposition to it. How could the Buddha-dharma further stand in opposition to the Buddha-dharma? There is only the one non-dual Tathāgata dharmadhātu. Therefore, outside the dharmadhātu there are no further phenomena; there is nothing to stand in opposition to, nor is there anything to be negated. It is only realized in experiential correspondence, not residing in words. As the Mahāsaṃnipātasūtra states: 'Without awaiting adornment, one completely knows all phenomena.' Because by obtaining the one, all the rest are obtained, it is said: 'When one leaf falls, it is autumn under heaven; when one speck of dust arises, the great earth gathers it in; when one flower blooms, it is spring under heaven; when one affair is serene, the ten thousand phenomena are true.' Then those of superior faculties will have no more doubt upon a single reading. For intermediate and inferior capacities, how could there be no expedients? As the 'Song of Solitary Stillness' says: 'To cite one example illustrates all, which is fully sufficient to know; what need is there to prattle on with introductory words? One only sees a starving person come to take their fill; one never hears of broth flying to chase a thirsty man.'