宗鏡錄 64.3

64.3

答。唯識論云。如夢未覺。不能自知。要至覺時。方能追覺。覺時境色應知亦爾。未真覺位。不能自知。至真覺時。方能追覺。未得真覺。恒處夢中。故佛說為生死長夜。由斯未了色境唯識。即第七是生死長夜根本。能令起惑造業。三界輪迴。直須至真覺位時。方知一切皆是唯識。

Answer: The Vijñaptimātratāsiddhiśāstra states: 'As when dreaming one has not yet awakened, one cannot know it oneself; one must wait until awakening before one can retrospectively realize it. The objects and forms when awake should be known to be the same: in the stage prior to true awakening, one cannot know it oneself; upon reaching the time of true awakening, one can then retrospectively realize it.' Having not yet attained true awakening, one constantly dwells in a dream; therefore the Buddha spoke of it as the long night of birth and death. Because of this, one does not understand that objects of form are vijñaptimātra. Thus the seventh [consciousness] is the root of the long night of birth and death, able to cause the arising of delusion, the creation of karma, and saṃsāra in the three realms. Only when one reaches the stage of true awakening does one know that everything is vijñaptimātra.