宗鏡錄 37.23

37.23

答。其實無別。思議。乃作從心生說。不思議。作一心具說。若能如上信解。福德無量。佛親比校。萬行難偕。如法華經偈云。若人求佛慧。於八十萬億。那由他劫數。行五波羅蜜。於是諸劫中。布施供養佛。及緣覺弟子并諸菩薩眾。珍異之飲食。上服與臥具。栴檀立精舍。以園林莊嚴。如是等布施。種種皆微妙。盡此諸劫數。以迴向佛道。若復持禁戒。清淨無缺漏。求於無上道。諸佛之所歎。若復行忍辱。住於調柔地。設眾惡來加。其心不傾動。諸有得法者。懷於增上慢。為此所輕惱。如是亦能忍。若復勤精進。志念常堅固。於無量億劫。一心不懈息。又於無數劫。住於空閑處。若坐若經行。除睡常攝心。以是因緣故。能生諸禪定。八十億萬劫。安住心不亂。持此一心福。願求無上道。我得一切智。盡諸禪定際。是人於百千。萬億劫數中。行此諸功德。如上之所說。有善男女等。聞我說壽命。乃至一念信。其福過於彼。文句疏釋云。一念信解者。謂隨所聞處。豁爾開明。隨語而入。無有罣礙。信一切法。皆是佛法。又信佛法。不隔一切法。不得佛法。不得一切法。而見一切法。亦見佛法。即一而三即三而一。亦是行於非道。通達佛道。行於佛道。通達一切道。不得佛道一切道。而通達佛道一切道。無所有而有。而有無所有。非所有。非無所有。如門前路。通達一切東西南北。劃無壅礙。眼耳鼻舌身意。凡有所對。悉亦如是。無疑曰信。明了曰解。是為一念信解心也。此一念信解心。心同佛心。信齊佛信。入真實般若之性。到究竟解脫之原。所以無量無數劫中。修五波羅蜜之功德。校量信解宗鏡一念之功。萬不及一。故云不識玄旨。徒勞念靜。是以先悟宗鏡。然後圓修。理行無差。方為契當。

Answer: In reality there is no difference. The conceivable is explained as arising from the mind; the inconceivable is explained as being possessed by the one mind. If one can have faith and understanding as above, the merit is immeasurable. The Buddha personally compared it: ten thousand practices can hardly equal it. As the Lotus Sūtra says in verse: / 'If a person seeks the Buddha's wisdom, / and throughout eighty million / nayuta kalpas / practices the five pāramitās; / and in these kalpas / gives alms to make offerings to the Buddhas, / as well as the pratyekabuddha disciples / and the assemblies of bodhisattvas, / with rare and wondrous food and drink, / superior garments and bedding, / erecting monasteries of sandalwood / and adorning them with gardens and groves— / such gifts as these, / all various and exquisite, / throughout all these kalpas, / dedicated to the Buddha path; / if furthermore they uphold the prohibitive precepts, / pure and without flaw, / seeking the unsurpassed path, / praised by all the Buddhas; / if furthermore they practice patience, / abiding in the stage of gentleness, / even if many evils are inflicted upon them, / their mind is not shaken; / when those who possess Dharma / harbor excessive pride / and despise and trouble them, / they can also endure this; / if furthermore they are diligent and vigorous, / their resolve and mindfulness always steadfast, / throughout immeasurable millions of kalpas, / single-mindedly never slackening; / and again throughout countless kalpas, / abiding in quiet, empty places, / whether sitting or walking in meditation, / dispelling sleep and constantly collecting the mind; / by virtue of these causes and conditions, / they are able to give rise to all dhyānas, / and for eighty billion kalpas, / abide peacefully with minds undisturbed; / taking the merit of this single mind, / they vow to seek the unsurpassed path: / "May I attain all-knowledge / and exhaust the limits of all dhyānas"— / this person, through hundreds of thousands / of myriad millions of kalpas, / practices all these merits / as spoken of above; / yet if good men or good women, / hearing me speak of the lifespan, / have even a single thought-moment of faith, / their merit surpasses that.' / The Commentary on the Words and Phrases [of the Lotus Sūtra] explains: 'A single thought-moment of faith and understanding means that wherever one hears, one suddenly opens up to illumination, enters following the words, and has no obstruction. One has faith that all dharmas are the Buddha Dharma, and has faith that the Buddha Dharma is not separated from all dharmas. Without attaining the Buddha Dharma and without attaining all dharmas, one sees all dharmas and also sees the Buddha Dharma. The one is precisely the three, and the three are precisely the one. It is also walking on the non-path and penetrating the Buddha path; walking on the Buddha path and penetrating all paths; without attaining the Buddha path or all paths, yet penetrating the Buddha path and all paths. Non-existent yet existent, existent yet non-existent; neither existent nor non-existent. Like the road before a gate, penetrating all the east, west, south, and north, totally without obstruction. The eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and manas—whatever they encounter—are all likewise. Being without doubt is called faith; understanding clearly is called comprehension. This is the mind of a single thought-moment of faith and understanding.' This mind of a single thought-moment of faith and understanding has a mind identical to the Buddha's mind, and faith equal to the Buddha's faith; it enters the nature of real prajñā and reaches the source of ultimate liberation. Therefore, when the merit of cultivating the five pāramitās over immeasurable and countless kalpas is compared to the efficacy of a single thought-moment of faith and understanding in the mirror of the source, it does not equal one ten-thousandth. Thus it is said: 'Not knowing the mysterious purport, calming thought is in vain.' For this reason, one first awakens to the mirror of the source and then cultivates perfectly; only when principle and practice are without discrepancy is it truly fitting.