宗鏡錄 54.7

54.7

答。非眼識境等。各有決定見性。但以三和合故。假名為見。下五根聞嗅嘗觸等例爾。雜集論云。非眼見色。亦非識等。以一切法。無作用故。由有和合。假立為見。故稱眼能見色。又識之於根。乍出乍入。如鹿在網。猶鳥處籠。啄一捨一。周而復始。無暫休息。識在根籠。亦復如是。或在於耳。或在於眼。來去無定。不可執常。雖復無定。相續不斷。何為不斷。以妙用無間故。若凡夫為色塵所縛。不得自在。若見一法。則被一法礙。不能圓通法界。是以金剛經云。若菩薩心住於法而行布施。如人入闇。則無所見。首楞嚴經云。由塵發知。因根有相。相見無性。猶若交蘆。由塵發知者。即見分。因根有相者。即相分。相見無性者。心境互生。各無自體。心不自立。由塵發知。境不自生。因根有相。二虛相倚。猶若交蘆。知見立知。即無明本。知見無見。斯即涅槃。但了了見無可見。即通法界。見即是涅槃。若了了聞無可聞。無可聞。即通法界。聞即是涅槃。一切諸法。本來涅槃。以分別心。妄見所隔。不知自識翻作無明。又首楞嚴經云。緣見因明。暗成無見。不明自發。若不假明暗等見。見色之時。則見餘根。若離念。遍法界見。鐵圍山一切相。皆不能蔽。若六根伏。則不得六根相。如十人患瞖共見空華。一人眼可。則不見。餘九人還見。各各自除妄見。則不得一切相。物物皆真。又十箇空華。一人能見。十人眼可。餘華總亡。但一妄除。皆不見諸相。一相。則一切相。為一切相。皆我心起。是知一瞖在目。千華競飛。一妄動心。諸塵併起。若能離念。則當處坐道場。轉大法輪。俱成佛道。

Answer: It is not that the eye, consciousness, sense-objects, and so forth each possess a determinate nature of seeing; it is merely through the combination of the three that it is nominally designated as 'seeing'. The lower five sense-bases of hearing, smelling, tasting, touching, and so on are also like this. The Abhidharmasamuccayavyākhyā says: 'It is not that the eye sees forms, nor is it consciousness and so on, because all phenomena are devoid of active functioning. Due to the presence of a combination, it is nominally established as seeing, and therefore it is said that the eye can see forms.' Furthermore, consciousness in relation to the sense-bases emerges suddenly and enters suddenly, like a deer in a net or a bird in a cage, pecking at one and letting go of another, cycling endlessly without a moment's rest. Consciousness within the cage of the sense-bases is also like this: sometimes in the ear, sometimes in the eye, coming and going without certainty; it cannot be grasped as permanent. Although it is not fixed, it is continuous and unbroken. Why is it unbroken? Because its subtle function is uninterrupted. If an ordinary person is bound by the sense-dust of forms, they do not attain sovereign ease. If they see one phenomenon, they are obstructed by that one phenomenon and cannot completely penetrate the dharmadhātu. For this reason, the Diamond Sūtra says: 'If a bodhisattva's mind abides in dharmas while practicing giving, it is like a person entering darkness who sees nothing.' The Śūraṅgamasūtra says: 'From the sense-dust awareness is generated; dependent on the sense-base characteristics exist. The characteristics and the seeing lack intrinsic nature, just like intertwined reeds.' 'From the sense-dust awareness is generated' refers to the darśanabhāga. 'Dependent on the sense-base characteristics exist' refers to the nimittabhāga. 'The characteristics and the seeing lack intrinsic nature' means that mind and object mutually generate each other, each lacking self-substance. The mind does not stand on its own: from the sense-dust awareness is generated. The object does not arise on its own: dependent on the sense-base characteristics exist. The two false entities rely on each other, just like intertwined reeds. Establishing knowledge within knowing and seeing is the very root of avidyā. When knowing and seeing are free from seeing, this is nirvāṇa. Simply seeing clearly that there is nothing to be seen is penetrating the dharmadhātu; seeing is itself nirvāṇa. If one hears clearly that there is nothing to be heard, then having nothing to be heard is penetrating the dharmadhātu; hearing is itself nirvāṇa. All dharmas are originally nirvāṇa, but due to the discriminative mind they are separated by false views; not knowing one's own consciousness, it turns into avidyā. Furthermore, the Śūraṅgamasūtra says: 'Conditioned seeing depends on light; darkness brings about non-seeing; without light it spontaneously arises. If one does not depend on light, darkness, and so forth to see, then when seeing forms, one would see the other sense-bases.' If one is free from conceptual thoughts, seeing pervades the dharmadhātu; none of the characteristics of the Iron Ring Mountains can obstruct it. If the six sense-bases are subdued, then one cannot apprehend the characteristics of the six sense-bases. It is like ten people suffering from clouded vision who together see flowers in the sky: if one person's eyes recover, they do not see them, while the remaining nine people still see them. When each person individually eliminates their false seeing, they will not apprehend any characteristics, and every single thing will be true. Furthermore, if there are ten sky-flowers that one person can see, and the ten people's eyes recover, the remaining flowers all completely vanish. As long as a single falsity is removed, none of the characteristics are seen. One characteristic is all characteristics, for all characteristics arise from my mind. Thus we know: with a single cataract in the eye, a thousand flowers flutter in confusion; with a single false movement of the mind, all sense-dusts arise together. If one can be free from conceptual thoughts, then right where one is, one sits in the bodhimaṇḍa, turns the great wheel of Dharma, and together attains the Buddha path.