宗鏡錄 32.11

32.11

答曰。菩薩以般若波羅蜜力故。一切法中修畢竟空心。是故於一切法無分別。如畜生。五陰．十二入．十八界。和合生。名為畜生。佛亦如是。從諸善法和合。假名為佛。若人憐愍眾生。得無量福德。於佛著心起諸惡因緣。得無量罪。是故知一切法畢竟空。故不輕畜生。不著心貴佛。復次諸法實相。是一切法無相。是無相中。不分別是佛是畜生。若分別即是取相。是故等觀。故經偈云。一切諸法中。皆以等觀入。大法炬經云。涅槃義者。本來自有。非人所為。故名涅槃。又真涅槃者。所謂一切世間。乃至若有若無。如是一切悉名涅槃。若取相分別。則非涅槃。是以若見一法異。則失唯心第一義門。便成魔事。故大集經云。於眾生生異想。是為魔業。厭有為功德。是為魔業。故天台淨名疏云。住此觀心。不見慳相施相。而能慈悲利益眾生。所有財物。拯濟貧乏。興諸福業。供養三尊。修故造新。隨喜獎善。若是長者。一村行施。因施說法。是則一村貧民。四眾受施之徒。感恩慕德。非但歸心受化。慳悋之心。漸漸微薄。亦復學是施主捨財修福也。若在一縣。令長官司。住正觀心。所有資財。能如是財施法施者。則一縣貧民。四眾受施之徒。皆亦歸心受化。慳心自然休息。捨財修福。利益興顯。乃至一管一國。人主官僚。天王帝主。住正觀心。不見慳施。所有資財。慈愛貧民。恩惠分施。因為善巧。說四教法。州管國內。所有貧民四眾。荷恩慕德。敬仰。歸心。承事親近受道。因是慳心漸薄。皆能惠施。修諸福業。轉相教化。行恩布德。正道居懷。是則諸州諸管。舉國人民。有善有惡。有智有道。譬如一燈然百千燈。本燈湛然。餘燈遍滿。冥者皆明。明終不絕。是為四眾長者。官司國主。住檀波羅蜜無盡燈法門。攝一切眾生也。是諸所攝眾生。未來在家出家。還為眷屬。或為親戚。或為臣民。或為弟子。同生淨上。依報巍巍。七珍無量。值佛聞經。道心開發。是諸施主。若得無生法忍。住不思議解脫。昔布施所攝眾生。得道時至。是諸施主。即於有因緣之國。示成正覺。昔布施所攝眾生。皆來其國。一切能捨。修三乘道。若聞法華開佛知見之說。即同入大乘。乘此寶乘。遊於四方。嬉戲快樂。此即淨名大士。何處更往毘耶離。別覓維摩詰耶。故知若能了此真如一心無盡之理。則一切六度四攝萬行。皆無有盡。轉示他心。亦同無盡。乃至重重涉入。遞出無窮。如無盡燈。布影分光。遍周法界。非唯淨名。是我。實乃千聖同儔。純行救度之心。則觀音出現。常運大慈之意。則彌勒下生。乃觸途皆證法門。寓目盡成願海。高低嶽瀆。共轉根本法輪。大小鱗毛。普現色身三昧。是以從體起用。用自遍周。以性成行。行無邊際。如還原觀。從自性之體。分其二用。一海印森羅常住用。謂真如本覺也。妄盡心澄。萬像齊現。猶如大海。因風起浪。若風止浪息。海水澄清。無像不現。二法界圓明自在用。即華嚴三昧也。謂廣修萬行。稱理成德。普周法界而證菩提。何故分其二用。前海印用。是本用。亦名理行。亦名性德。後華嚴用。是修成。亦名事行。亦名修德。此二相假成其大用。謂因修顯性。以性成修。若無性。修亦不成。若無修。性亦不顯。是以離性無修。離修無性。故云萬法顯必同時。一際理無前後。斯則二而不二。又不二而二。何者。以海印用本具是所現。謂真如自性。有遍照法界義故。華嚴用是能現。以修成契理。能成萬行故。能所有異。本末似分。則非一非異。能成妙行。

He replied: Because of the power of the prajñāpāramitā, a bodhisattva cultivates the mind of ultimate emptiness with regard to all phenomena. Therefore, he makes no distinction regarding any phenomenon. Just as an animal is born of the coming together of the five aggregates, twelve entrances, and eighteen realms, and is merely named an 'animal', the Buddha is also like this: born of the coming together of all wholesome dharmas, he is provisionally named 'Buddha'. If someone pities sentient beings, they obtain immeasurable merit; if toward the Buddha they give rise to grasping and evil conditions, they commit immeasurable sin. Hence one knows that all phenomena are ultimately empty; therefore, one does not look down upon animals, nor does one grasp with mind to revere the Buddha. Furthermore, the true characteristic of all phenomena is the signlessness of all phenomena. Within this signlessness, one does not differentiate between Buddha and animal. Differentiating would simply be grasping at characteristics. For this reason, one views them equally. Therefore, a verse from a sūtra states: 'Within all phenomena, one enters entirely through equal contemplation.' The Dafa ju jing says: 'As for the meaning of nirvāṇa, it is inherently present from the origin and not created by human effort; hence it is called nirvāṇa. Moreover, true nirvāṇa refers to all worlds, down to existence or non-existence; all such things are completely named nirvāṇa. If one grasps at characteristics and makes distinctions, then it is not nirvāṇa.' Hence, if one sees a single phenomenon as different, one loses the foremost-truth doorway of mind-only and it becomes a demonic deed. Therefore, the Mahāsaṃnipātasūtra states: 'Generating notions of difference regarding sentient beings is the work of Māra. Disdaining conditioned merit is the work of Māra.' Thus the Tiantai commentary on the Vimalakīrtinirdeśasūtra states: 'Dwelling in this contemplative mind, one sees neither the sign of stinginess nor the sign of giving, yet one can compassionately benefit sentient beings. With all material wealth, one rescues the poor and destitute, initiates all meritorious deeds, makes offerings to the Three Honored Ones, repairs the old and constructs the new, and rejoices in and encourages goodness. If one is an elder practicing giving in a single village and expounding the Dharma on the basis of giving, then the poor people of that village and the four assemblies who receive the giving will feel gratitude and admire his virtue; not only will they turn their minds to receive transformation, but their stingy minds will gradually diminish, and they will also emulate this donor in relinquishing wealth to cultivate merit. If one is in a single county, and the magistrate and officials abide in the mind of correct contemplation, able to give wealth and Dharma with whatever resources they have, then the poor people and four assemblies receiving giving throughout the county will likewise turn their minds to transformation, their stingy minds will naturally cease, and they will relinquish wealth to cultivate merit, causing benefit to flourish. This extends even to a single jurisdiction or an entire state: when rulers, officials, heavenly kings, and emperors abide in the mind of correct contemplation and see neither stinginess nor giving, loving the poor people with all their resources, distributing bounty, and skillfully teaching the Dharma of the four teachings, then all the poor people and the four assemblies within the prefectures and state will bear gratitude and admire their virtue, revere them, turn their minds to them, serve them, draw near to them, and receive the Way. Thereby, their stingy minds will gradually diminish, and they will all be able to bestow gifts, cultivate all meritorious deeds, transform each other, bestow kindness and spread virtue, keeping the correct Way in mind. In this way, across all prefectures and jurisdictions, the people of the entire nation—the good and the bad, the wise and the accomplished in the Way—are like one lamp lighting hundreds of thousands of lamps: while the original lamp remains serene, the other lamps spread everywhere, so that all darkness becomes light, and the illumination never ends. This is the four assemblies, elders, officials, and rulers dwelling in the dānapāramitā doorway of the inexhaustible lamp, gathering in all sentient beings. These gathered sentient beings will, in the future, whether lay or monastic, become their retinues, relatives, ministers, subjects, or disciples, born together in a pure land with magnificent objective recompense and immeasurable seven treasures, encountering the Buddha, hearing the sutras, and opening their minds to the Way. If these donors attain the acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas and dwell in inconceivable liberation, when the time arrives for the sentient beings gathered by giving in the past to attain the Way, these donors will manifest the attainment of correct awakening in a land with which they have affinity. The sentient beings gathered by giving in the past will all come to that land, able to renounce everything and cultivate the path of the three vehicles. If they hear the Lotus Sūtra's teaching of opening the Buddha's knowledge and vision, they will enter the Great Vehicle together, ride this jewel vehicle, roam in the four directions, and disport in bliss. This is none other than the Great Being Vimalakīrti—why go elsewhere to Vaiśālī to seek another Vimalakīrti? Hence, one knows that if one can comprehend this inexhaustible principle of the one mind of tathatā, then all the six pāramitās, the four means of embracing, and the myriad practices will all be inexhaustible. Transmitting and revealing it to other minds will likewise be inexhaustible, even interpenetrating layer upon layer and unfolding limitlessly, like an inexhaustible lamp casting shadows and dividing light throughout the dharmadhātu. Not only is Vimalakīrti myself, but in truth he is of the same company as the thousand sages. With a mind purely practicing salvation, Avalokiteśvara appears; constantly exercising the intention of great compassion, Maitreya descends to be born. Thus, whatever one encounters verifies the Dharma doorways, and wherever one's eyes fall becomes an ocean of vows. High mountains and low waters together turn the fundamental Dharma wheel; large and small, scaled and feathered creatures everywhere manifest the samādhi of the physical body. Hence, function arises from substance, and function is of itself all-pervading; practice is accomplished through nature, and practice is limitless. As in the Contemplation of Returning to the Source, two functions are distinguished from the substance of one's own nature: First is the constantly abiding function of the ocean-seal reflecting all phenomena, which refers to the original awakening of tathatā. When delusions are exhausted and the citta is clear, myriad images appear together, just like the great ocean giving rise to waves due to the wind; if the wind stops and the waves cease, the ocean water is clear and pure, and no image fails to appear. Second is the unimpeded, universally illuminating function of the dharmadhātu, which is the Huayan samādhi. It refers to broadly cultivating the myriad practices, matching the principle to accomplish virtue, and pervading the dharmadhātu to realize bodhi. Why are these two functions distinguished? The former ocean-seal function is the fundamental function, also called practice of principle, and also called inherent virtue of nature. The latter Huayan function is cultivated accomplishment, also called practice of phenomena, and also called cultivated virtue. These two depend on each other to accomplish their great function: through cultivation the nature is revealed, and through the nature cultivation is accomplished. If there were no nature, cultivation could not be accomplished; if there were no cultivation, the nature would not be revealed. Therefore, apart from nature there is no cultivation, and apart from cultivation there is no nature. Thus it is said that the manifestation of all phenomena must be simultaneous, and in the single realm of principle there is no before or after. These are two yet not two, and not two yet two. How so? Because the ocean-seal function is fundamentally possessed as what is manifested—meaning the own-nature of tathatā has the sense of universally illuminating the dharmadhātu. The Huayan function is that which manifests—because cultivated accomplishment accords with principle and can accomplish the myriad practices. Since that which manifests and what is manifested differ, and root and branch seem distinguished, they are neither one nor different, able to accomplish wondrous practice.