宗鏡錄 33.9

33.9

答。若不迴觀自心。則失佛法大旨。高推諸聖。不慕進修。枉處沈淪。於己絕分。如不俲觀心進道者。如抱石沈淵。夜行去燭。則於佛智海。必死無疑。向涅槃城。故難措足。是以十方諸佛起教之由。唯說一切眾生佛性。大般涅槃一心祕密之藏。若凡若聖。悉入其中。如世尊言。此大般涅槃。是十方諸佛放捨身命之處。安置諸子。悉入其中。我亦自住其中。何者。以覺自心性故。名為佛性。以從性起無漏功德。自行化他。法利無盡。故稱為藏。以難信難知。故云祕密。以法性幽奧。故名涅槃。可謂無量法寶之所出。生。猶四大海。一切萬法之所依處。如十方空。若不遇之。大失法利。有暫聞者。功德無邊。如大般涅槃經中所讚。佛告迦葉菩薩。善男子。如是微妙大涅槃經。乃至一切法之寶藏。譬如大海。是眾寶藏。是涅槃經。亦復如是。即是一切字義祕藏。善男子。如須彌山。眾藥根本。是經亦爾。即是菩薩戒之根本。善男子。譬如虛空。是一切物之所住處。是經亦爾。即是一切善法住處。善男子。譬如猛風。無能繫縛。一切菩薩行是經者。亦復如是。不為一切煩惱惡法之所繫縛。善男子。譬如金剛。無能壞者。是經亦爾。雖有外道惡邪之人。不能破壞。善男子。如恒河沙。無能數者。如是經義。亦復如是。無能數者。善男子。是經典者。為諸菩薩而作法幢。如帝釋幢。善男子。是經即是趣涅槃城之商主也。如大導師。引諸商人趣向大海。善男子。是經能為諸菩薩等。作法光明。如世日月。能破諸暗。善男子。是經能為病苦眾生。作大良藥。如雪山中微妙藥王。能治眾病。善男子。是經能為一闡提杖。猶如羸人因之得起。乃至善男子。是經即是金剛利斧。能伐一切煩惱大樹。即是利刀。能割習氣。即是勇健。能摧魔怨。即是智火。焚煩惱薪。即因緣藏。出辟支佛。即是聞藏。生聲聞人。即是一切諸天之眼。即是一切人之正道。即是一切畜生依處。即是餓鬼解脫之處。即是地獄無上之尊。即是一切十方眾生無上之器。即是十方過去未來現在諸佛之父母也。是知了此一心總持涅槃祕密之藏。如上所讚。眾德攸歸。所有一毫之功。隨真如無盡之理。力齊法界。福等虛空。皆能成就菩提無作妙果。若未悟斯旨。設有進修。但成有為。終不得道。任經多劫勤苦修行。唯成拙度之門。終無勝報之事。如大智度論云。如舍利弗弟子。羅頻周比丘。持戒精進。乞食六日。而不能得。乃至七日。命在不久。有同道者乞食持與。鳥即持去。時舍利弗語目犍連。汝大神力。守護此食。令彼得之。即時目連。持食往與。始欲向口。變成為泥。又舍利弗乞食持與。而口自合。最後佛來持食與之。以佛福德無量因緣故。令彼得食。是比丘食已。心生歡喜。倍加信敬。佛告比丘。有為之法。皆是苦相。為說四諦。即時比丘漏盡意解。得阿羅漢道。故知信一乘之福。福等真如。持四句之功。功齊大覺。所以楞伽經云。佛告大慧。此是過去未來現在如來應供等正覺。性自性第一義心。以性自性第一義心。成就如來世間出世間上上法真心之德。以第一義心。究竟獲世出世等菩提勝果之福。

Answer: If one does not turn back to contemplate one's own mind, one loses the great purport of the Buddhadharma, exalts the sages from afar without aspiring to cultivate and advance, is submerged in vain, and is entirely cut off from [attaining it] oneself. If one does not emulate contemplating the mind to advance on the Path, it is like holding a rock and sinking into an abyss, or traveling at night having cast aside one's torch; then in the ocean of the Buddha's wisdom, one will undoubtedly perish, and toward the city of nirvāṇa, it will be hard to set foot. Therefore, the reason why the Buddhas of the ten directions establish the teaching is solely to expound the Buddha-nature of all sentient beings, the secret store of the one mind of the Mahāparinirvāṇa. Whether ordinary beings or sages, all enter into it. As the World-Honoured One said: 'This Mahāparinirvāṇa is the place where the Buddhas of the ten directions relinquish their bodies and lives; they settle all their children therein, and all enter into it. I myself also abide within it.' Why? Because awakening to one's own mind-nature is called the Buddha-nature. Because from nature arise undefiled virtues that benefit oneself and transform others, and whose Dharma benefit is inexhaustible, it is called a store. Because it is difficult to believe and difficult to know, it is called secret. Because the Dharma-nature is profound and recondite, it is called nirvāṇa. It can be said to be that from which immeasurable Dharma treasures emerge and are born, like the four great oceans; and that upon which all myriad phenomena depend, like the space of the ten directions. If one does not encounter it, one greatly loses the benefit of the Dharma. If someone hears it even for a moment, their merit is boundless. As praised in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, the Buddha told Bodhisattva Kāśyapa: 'Good son, this subtle and wondrous Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra is indeed the treasure store of all phenomena. Just as the great ocean is a store of manifold treasures, this Nirvāṇasūtra is also like this; it is the secret store of all characters and meanings. Good son, just as Mount Sumeru is the root of manifold medicinal herbs, this sūtra is also like this; it is the root of the bodhisattva precepts. Good son, just as empty space is the dwelling place of all things, this sūtra is also like this; it is the dwelling place of all wholesome phenomena. Good son, just as a fierce wind cannot be bound, so too all bodhisattvas who practice this sūtra are likewise not bound by any kleśas or evil phenomena. Good son, just as a vajra cannot be destroyed, this sūtra is also like this; although there are non-Buddhists and evil, heterodox persons, they cannot destroy it. Good son, just as the sands of the Ganges cannot be counted, the meanings of this sūtra are likewise uncountable. Good son, this scripture serves as a Dharma banner for bodhisattvas, like Indra's banner. Good son, this sūtra is the merchant leader heading for the city of nirvāṇa, like a great guide leading merchants toward the great ocean. Good son, this sūtra can serve as the radiance of the Dharma for bodhisattvas and others, like the sun and moon in the world, capable of destroying all darkness. Good son, this sūtra can serve as great excellent medicine for sentient beings afflicted with illness, like the subtle and wondrous king of medicines in the Snow Mountains, capable of curing all diseases. Good son, this sūtra can serve as a staff for an icchantika, just as a weak person is able to rise by means of it. Furthermore, good son, this sūtra is a sharp vajra axe that can fell the great tree of all kleśas; it is a sharp knife that can sever habit energies; it is a valiant warrior that can crush the demonic foe; it is the fire of wisdom that burns the fuel of kleśas. It is the store of causes and conditions from which pratyekabuddhas emerge; it is the store of hearing that gives birth to śrāvakas; it is the eye of all gods; it is the correct path for all humans; it is the refuge of all animals; it is the place of liberation for hungry ghosts; it is the unsurpassed lord for hells; it is the unsurpassed vessel for all sentient beings of the ten directions; it is the father and mother of all Buddhas of the past, future, and present of the ten directions.' From this we know that when one understands this secret store of nirvāṇa, which is the dhāraṇī of this one mind, then just as praised above, manifold virtues converge upon it. Any effort of a single hair's breadth accords with the inexhaustible principle of tathatā: its power equals the dharmadhātu, its fortune equals empty space, and all can accomplish the unconditioned, wondrous fruit of bodhi. If one has not awakened to this purport, even if one exerts oneself in cultivation, it only amounts to the conditioned; in the end one will never attain the Path. Even if one endures diligent and bitter cultivation across many kalpas, it will only form an inferior path of liberation, and ultimately there will be no matter of superior reward. As the Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa says: For example, Śāriputra's disciple, the bhikṣu Rāvinda, upheld the precepts with vigor, yet he begged for food for six days without obtaining any, until on the seventh day his life was soon to end. A fellow practitioner begged for food and brought it to give to him, but a bird carried it away. Then Śāriputra said to Maudgalyāyana: 'You have great supernormal powers; guard this food and enable him to receive it.' Maudgalyāyana immediately took the food and went to give it to him, but just as it was about to enter his mouth, it turned into mud. Again, Śāriputra begged for food and brought it to give to him, but his mouth closed of itself. Finally the Buddha came, bringing food to give him; through the cause and condition of the Buddha's immeasurable fortune and virtue, he enabled him to receive the food. Having eaten, the bhikṣu gave rise to joy in his mind, with doubled faith and veneration. The Buddha told the bhikṣu: 'Conditioned phenomena are all characteristics of suffering,' and expounded the four noble truths (caturāryasatya) for him; instantly the bhikṣu's outflows were exhausted, his mind was liberated, and he attained the path of an arhat. Therefore we know that the fortune of having faith in the ekayāna equals tathatā, and the merit of upholding four lines equals great awakening. Thus the Laṅkāvatārasūtra says: 'The Buddha told Mahāmati: This is the mind of the primary meaning of the intrinsic nature of the tathāgatas, arhats, fully enlightened ones of the past, future, and present. Through the mind of the primary meaning of intrinsic nature, they accomplish the virtue of the true mind of the supreme worldly and supramundane Dharma of the tathāgata; through the mind of the primary meaning, they ultimately obtain the fortune of the superior fruit of worldly and supramundane bodhi.'