宗鏡錄 65.7

65.7

答。唯見不實。不見不實之實。如見杌為賊。不見杌也。又如一真空理。見成二諦。若世人知者。名為世俗諦。出世人知。名第一義。其所知處。未必懸殊。其所知境。各從心現。如瞖目見明珠有纇。淨眼觀瑩淨無瑕。美惡唯自見殊。珠體本末如一。

Answer: It only sees the unreal; it does not see the reality of the unreal. It is like seeing a tree stump as a thief: it does not see the stump. It is also like the single principle of true emptiness being seen and turning into the two truths: if known by worldly people, it is called the conventional truth; if known by supramundane people, it is called the supreme truth. The locus of what is known is not necessarily far apart; the objects they know each appear from the citta. Like a cataract-affected eye seeing a bright pearl as having flaws, while a clean eye observes it as pure, lustrous, and without blemish. Excellence and ugliness are only differences in their own seeing; the pearl's substance is one and the same from beginning to end.