宗鏡錄 61.35

61.35

答。至論諸法。非去來今。非應非不應。而能有應。亦可言法應。亦可言應應。法應則冥益。應應則顯益。分別冥顯有四義。如後說。明機應相者。約善惡明機相。約慈悲論應相。若善惡為機。為單。為共。解者不同。或言單惡為機。承經云。我為斷一切眾生瘡疣重病。又云。如有七子。然於病者。心則偏重。如來亦爾。於諸眾生非不平等。然於罪者。心則偏重。又云。如來不為無為眾生而住於世。又無記是無明。終屬惡攝。此即單以惡為機。或單以善為機。承大涅槃經云。我觀眾生。不觀老少中年。貧富貴賤。善心者。即便慈念。此則單善為機。或云。善惡不得獨為機。何者。如金剛後心即是佛。眾善普會。善惡無過。此何得為機耶。雖云佛佛相念。此是通語。而無拔無與。故知單善不得為機。單惡不得為機者。如闡提極惡。不能感佛。大涅槃經云。唯有一髮不能勝身。即是性得理善。此是通機。終不成感也。或取善惡相帶為機者。從闡提起改悔心。上至等覺。皆有善惡相帶。故得為機。是故約此善惡明其相也。次約慈以明應相者。或單以慈應。經云。慈善根力。象見師子。廣說如涅槃經。或單以悲為應。如請觀音經云。或遊戲地獄。大悲代受苦。或合用慈悲為應。何者。良以悲心熏於智慧。能拔他苦。慈心熏於禪定。能與他樂。經云。定慧力莊嚴。以此度眾生。論云。水銀和真金。能塗諸色像。功德和法身。處處應現往。豈是水銀真金。單能度色像耶。當知慈悲和合論應也。

Answer: Strictly speaking, all dharmas have no past, future, or present, and are neither responding nor non-responding; yet they are able to have responses. One may also speak of a dharmakāya response, or of a response body's response. A dharmakāya response is an unseen benefit; a response body's response is an apparent benefit. Distinguishing unseen and apparent has four meanings, as will be explained later. In clarifying the characteristics of capacity and response: the characteristics of capacity are explained with reference to good and evil; the characteristics of response are discussed with reference to loving-kindness and compassion. If good and evil constitute capacity, are they solitary or combined? Commentators do not agree. Some say solitary evil constitutes capacity, relying on the sūtra which states: 'I am here to sever the severe sicknesses of boils and tumors of all sentient beings.' And it also says: 'Suppose there are seven sons; yet toward the sick one, the [parent's] heart is especially inclined. The Tathāgata is also like this: toward all sentient beings he is not unequal, yet toward those with transgressions his heart is especially inclined.' It also says: 'The Tathāgata does not dwell in the world for unconditioned sentient beings.' Furthermore, the indeterminate is ignorance, which ultimately belongs to the category of evil. This takes evil alone as capacity. Others take good alone as capacity, relying on the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra which states: 'I regard sentient beings without looking at old, young, or middle-aged, poor, rich, noble, or base; toward those with wholesome minds, I immediately turn with loving-kindness and mindfulness.' This takes good alone as capacity. Others say that good and evil cannot each independently serve as capacity. Why? Just as the mind immediately following the vajra-[like samādhi] is the Buddha, where all goods converge universally and there is no fault of good or evil—how could this serve as capacity? Although it is said that 'Buddha mindfully regards Buddha,' this is a general saying, and there is neither extracting [from suffering] nor bestowing [happiness]; hence we know that solitary good cannot serve as capacity. That solitary evil cannot serve as capacity is seen in the fact that an icchantika, being utterly evil, cannot stimulate the Buddha. The Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra says: 'There is only a single hair that cannot sustain the body'—that is, the naturally possessed principle-good; this is a generic capacity, and ultimately does not effect stimulation. Others take the intermixture of good and evil as capacity: from an icchantika giving rise to a repentant mind, up to equal enlightenment (samyaksaṃbodhi), there is always an intermixture of good and evil; hence it can serve as capacity. Therefore, their characteristics are clarified with reference to this good and evil. Next, clarifying the characteristics of response with reference to loving-kindness: some take loving-kindness alone as response. A sūtra says: 'By the power of the wholesome root of loving-kindness, the elephant sees a lion'—as explained at length in the Nirvāṇasūtra. Others take compassion alone as response, as the Sūtra on Invoking Avalokiteśvara states: 'Or playfully sporting in the hells, taking on suffering in their stead with great compassion.' Others employ loving-kindness and compassion combined as response. Why? Truly, because the compassionate mind perfumes wisdom, it can extract others from suffering; because the loving mind perfumes meditation, it can bestow joy upon others. A sūtra says: 'Adorned with the power of meditation and wisdom, through these he crosses sentient beings over.' A treatise says: 'Mercury blended with pure gold can gild all images; merit blended with the dharmakāya responds and manifests everywhere.' Could mercury or pure gold alone coat images? One should know that response is discussed as the combination of loving-kindness and compassion.