宗鏡錄 68.25

68.25

答。諸聖演教談詮。是依世俗文字。所以佛告三乘學者。只令依義不依語。權藉教以明心。是以文字俱無自性。亦從識變。廣百門論云。然諸世間。隨自心變。謂有眾字和合為名。復謂眾名和合為句。謂此名句。能有所詮。能詮所詮。皆自心變。諸心所變。情有理無。聖者於中。如實知見。云何知見。謂彼法。皆是愚夫虛妄識心分別所作。假而非實。俗有真無。隨順世間。權說為有。

Answer: The sages expound the teachings and discuss explanations relying on conventional letters. Therefore the Buddha told students of the three vehicles only to rely on the meaning and not on the words, provisionally using the teachings to illumine the mind. Thus letters are entirely without intrinsic nature and are also transformed from consciousness. The Guǎng bǎimén lùn says: 'However, all worldly people, following the transformations of their own minds, suppose that many syllables aggregate to form a name, and further suppose that many names aggregate to form a sentence, supposing that these names and sentences can express something. That which expresses and that which is expressed are both transformations of one's own mind. All transformations of the mind exist in sentiment but are absent in principle. The sage knows and sees them as they truly are. How does he know and see them? He sees that those dharmas are all created by the conceptual distinctions of the deluded, illusory consciousness of foolish ordinary people, conventional and not real, existing conventionally and absent ultimately; following the worldly, they are provisionally said to exist.'