宗鏡錄 65.9.1

65.9.1

答。 雖然不實。 亦不成妄。 如見杌為賊。 賊何所有。 以無體故。 華嚴經頌云。 若能了邪法。 如實不顛倒。 知妄本自真。 見佛即清淨。 起信論云。 雖有染心。 而常恒不變。 法藏和尚云。 眾生異見不妄。 所以從凡願求佛地。 若異見妄。 終不從凡趣真佛地。 何以故。 眾生界即佛界。 佛界即眾生界。 是以從凡入聖。 從聖現凡。 名字有差。 一體不動。 然此宗鏡錄。 唯論一實。 如法華經以實相為體。 此實之一字。 雖普該萬法。 以是彼之體性故。 統論其宗。 即不簡真偽。 若以見解智證論之。 則須分優劣。 以情懷取捨。 智有淺深故。 法華玄義云。 夫正體玄絕。 一往難知。 又邪小之名。 亂於正大。 譬如魚目。 混雜明珠。 故須簡偽。 即為六意。 一就凡簡。 二就外簡。 三就小簡。 四就偏簡。 五就譬簡。 六就悟簡。 一就凡簡者。 釋論云。 世典亦稱實者。 乃護國治家稱實也。 外道亦稱實者。 邪智僻解謂為實也。 小乘稱實者。 厭苦穌息。 以偏真為實也。 如是等。 但有實名。 而無其義。 何者。 世間妖幻道術。 亦稱為實。 多是鬼神媚法。 此法入心。 迷醉狂亂。 自衒善好。 謂勝真實。 立異動眾。 示奇特相。 髑髏盛屎。 約多人前。 張口大咽。 或生魚臭肉。 增狀哺食。 或裸形弊服。 誇傲規矩。 或直來直去。 不問不答。 種種譎詭詃誘無智。 令信。 染惑著。 已求脫叵得。 內則病害其身。 外則誅家滅族。 禍延親里。 現受眾苦。 後受地獄長夜之苦。 生生障道。 無解脫期。 此乃世間現見。 何實可論。 鈍使愛論攝。 若周孔經籍。 治法禮法。 兵法醫法。 天文地理。 八卦五行。 世間墳典。 孝以治家。 忠以治國。 各親其親。 各子其子。 敬上愛下。 仁義揖讓。 安于百姓。 霸立社稷。 若失此法。 強者陵弱。 天下燋遑。 民無聊生。 鳥不暇栖。 獸不暇伏。 若依此法。 天下太平。 牛馬內向。 當知此法。 乃是愛民治國。 而稱為實。 金光明經云。 釋提桓因。 種種勝論。 即其義也。 蓋十善意耳。 修十善。 上符天心。 諸天歡喜。 求天然報。 此法為勝。 故言勝論耳。 又大梵天王說出欲論。 即是修定。 出欲淤泥。 亦是愛論攝耳。 世又方術。 服藥長生。 鍊形易色。 飛仙隱形者。 稱此藥方。 祕要真實。 此亦愛論鈍使攝耳。 二就外簡者。 即是外道典籍也。 若服藥求知。 聰利明達。 推尋道理。 稱此藥方。 為勝為實者。 藥力薄知。 不能鑒遠。 觸藥則失。 藥歇則失。 亦非實也。 若此間莊老。 無為無欲。 天真虛靜。 息諸誇仙。 棄世絕智等。 直是虛無。 其抱尚不出單四見外。 何關聖法。 縱令出單四見外。 尚墮複四見中。 見網中行。 非解脫道。 若外國論力。 受梨唱募。 撰五百明難。 其一云。 瞿曇為一究竟道。 為眾多究竟道。 佛言。 但一究竟道。 論力云。 諸師各各說究竟道。 佛指鹿頭。 汝識其人不。 論力言。 識究竟道中。 其為第一。 佛言。 若其得究竟道。 云何自捨其道。 為我弟子耶。 論力即悟。 歎佛法中。 獨一究竟道。 又如長爪云。 一切論可破。 一切語可轉。 觀諸法實相。 于久不得一法入心。 釋論云。 長爪執亦無見。 又云。 亦計不可說見。 如斯流類。 百千萬種。 虛妄戲論。 為惑流轉。 見網浩然。 邪智瀾漫。 觸境生著。 或時襵牒。 有無為有。 無有為無。 乃至有非有非無為有。 無非有非無為無。 百千番牒。 悉皆見倒。 生死諸邊。 非真實也。 大涅槃經云。 被無明枷。 繫生死柱。 遶二十五有。 不能得脫。 即此義也。 三就小簡者。 聲聞法中。 亦云離有離無。

Answer: Although it is unreal, it also does not constitute falsity. Just like seeing a tree stump as a thief: where is there any thief? Because it has no substance. A verse in the Avataṃsakasūtra says: 'If one can comprehend incorrect dharmas / as real and not inverted, / knowing that falsity is originally true itself, / seeing the Buddha is then pure.' The Awakening of Faith says: 'Although there is a defiled citta, it is constantly permanent and unchanging.' The Venerable Fazang said: 'The different views of sentient beings are not false; therefore from being ordinary people they aspire to seek the Buddha-ground. If the different views were false, one would never proceed from being an ordinary person to the true Buddha-ground. Why is this? The realm of sentient beings is just the realm of buddhas; the realm of buddhas is just the realm of sentient beings. Therefore proceeding from an ordinary person to enter sainthood, and manifesting from sainthood as an ordinary person—the names differ, but the single substance is immovable.' However, this Record of the Mirror of the Source discusses only the one reality, just as the Lotus Sūtra takes the real characteristic as its substance. Although this single word 'real' universally encompasses the ten thousand dharmas because it is their substance and nature, when discussing its source comprehensively, one does not separate the true from the spurious. But if discussing it in terms of views, understanding, jñāna, and realization, one must distinguish superior from inferior, because feelings harbor grasping and rejection, and jñāna has shallows and depths. The Profound Meaning of the Lotus says: 'The correct substance is mysterious and transcendent, hard to know at first glance. Moreover, the names of the heterodox and lesser confuse the correct and great, like fish eyes mixed among bright pearls. Therefore one must eliminate the spurious, which consists of six aspects: first, elimination with respect to the ordinary; second, elimination with respect to outsiders; third, elimination with respect to the lesser; fourth, elimination with respect to the partial; fifth, elimination with respect to metaphors; sixth, elimination with respect to awakening. First, elimination with respect to the ordinary: the commentary says: When worldly texts also speak of "the real," it refers to protecting the state and ordering the family that is called real. When outsiders also speak of "the real," it is heterodox knowledge and perverse understanding that they call real. When the Small Vehicle speaks of "the real," it is weary of suffering and seeking rest, taking the partial truth as real. All such things have only the name "real" without its meaning. Why is this? Worldly sorcery, illusions, and magic arts are also called real, but are mostly seductive methods of ghosts and spirits. When this method enters the citta, one becomes bewildered, drunk, and deranged, boasting of oneself as good and fine, claiming to surpass what is true and real, standing out and stirring up the crowd, displaying extraordinary characteristics: holding excrement in a skull and, before many people, opening the mouth wide to swallow it; or eating raw fish and foul meat in repulsive ways; or going naked in ragged clothes, scorning rules and standards; or coming and going straight on, neither asking nor answering, using all kinds of deception and seduction to lure the unwise into faith and defiled attachment; having fallen into it, seeking liberation is impossible. Internally it sickens and harms their bodies; externally it executes their families and exterminates their clans, extending calamity to relatives and neighbors. In the present life they suffer many miseries, and in the future they suffer the prolonged night of torment in hell, obstructing the Path life after life with no period of liberation. This is what is currently seen in the world; what reality can be spoken of? It is subsumed under dull latencies and discourse born of craving. As for the classics of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius, methods of governance and rites, military and medical methods, astronomy and geography, the eight trigrams and five phases, worldly canonical texts: using filial piety to govern the family, loyalty to govern the state, each treating their relatives as relatives, each treating their children as children, respecting superiors and loving inferiors, benevolence and righteousness, deference and yielding, giving peace to the common people and establishing the state. If these methods are lost, the strong oppress the weak, all under heaven is thrown into turmoil, the people have nothing to rely on for life, birds have no leisure to perch, and beasts have no leisure to crouch. If one relies on these methods, all under heaven is at peace, and cattle and horses head inward. One should know that these methods are called real because of cherishing the people and governing the state. The Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra says: Śakra Devānām Indra's various superior treatises are of this meaning. They are merely the intention of the ten virtues. Cultivating the ten virtues accords above with the mind of heaven, all the devas rejoice, and seeking the retribution of heaven, this method is superior; hence they are called superior treatises. Furthermore, the Great Brahmā King's exposition of the treatise on leaving desire is cultivating dhyāna to leave the mire of desire; this is also subsumed under discourse born of craving. In the world there are also occult arts: ingesting elixirs for longevity, refining the body and changing one's appearance, becoming flying immortals or vanishing from sight, claiming that these medicinal formulas are secret, essential, and real. This too is subsumed under discourse born of craving and dull latencies. Second, elimination with respect to outsiders: these are the texts of the heterodox outsiders. If one ingests medicine to seek knowledge, becoming clever, sharp, and clear-sighted in investigating principles, claiming that this medicinal formula is superior and real: the power of medicine gives slight knowledge, unable to perceive far; at the touch of medicine it is lost, and when the medicine wears off it is lost; it too is not real. If like Zhuangzi and Laozi here, of non-action and desirelessness, natural, vacant, and quiet, ceasing all boasting immortals, abandoning the world and cutting off knowledge, etc., this is simply nothingness. What they harbor does not even step outside the simple four views; how could it pertain to the noble Dharma? Even if they were to step outside the simple four views, they would still fall into the complex four views, walking within the net of views, not the path of liberation. As for the foreign master of debate, he accepted a wager, issued an open call, and composed five hundred brilliant challenges. One said: 'Did Gautama teach one ultimate path or many ultimate paths?' The Buddha said: 'Only one ultimate path.' The master of debate said: 'The various teachers each teach an ultimate path.' The Buddha pointed to Śiraskapāla: 'Do you know that man?' The master of debate said: 'I know him; among those of the ultimate path, he is foremost.' The Buddha said: 'If he had attained the ultimate path, why did he abandon his own path to become my disciple?' The master of debate was immediately awakened, praising that within the Buddha's Dharma, there is uniquely one ultimate path. Also, as Dīrghanakha said: 'All treatises can be refuted, all words can be overturned; contemplating the real characteristic of dharmas, for a long time I have not found a single dharma that can enter the citta.' The commentary says: Dīrghanakha grasped the view that 'neither exists,' and also says: he also posited the view that it is 'inexpressible.' Such classes are of hundreds of thousands of kinds, false and frivolous discourse, revolving in delusion; their net of views is vast and their heterodox knowledge overflowing, giving rise to attachment upon encountering objects. Or at times they fold and double: existence and non-existence as existence, no existence as non-existence, and so on up to having neither-existence-nor-non-existence as existence, and no neither-existence-nor-non-existence as non-existence. Across hundreds and thousands of folds, all are inverted views, the various extremes of birth and death, not the true and real. The Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra says: 'Bound by the cangue of ignorance, tied to the pillar of birth and death, circling around the twenty-five states of existence, unable to attain liberation'—this is just this meaning. Third, elimination with respect to the lesser: within the Śrāvaka-dharma, they also speak of being free from existence and free from non-existence.