宗鏡錄 75.15

75.15

答。識性微妙。不可思議。以隨業故。則妍醜俄分。以無形故。則小大咸等。顯識經云。佛言。大藥。如風大無質無形。止於幽谷。或竅隙中。其出暴猛。或摧倒須彌。碎為塵粉。風大微妙。無質無形。識亦如是。妙無形色。大身小身。咸悉能持。或受蚊身。或受象身。乃至如尼瞿陀子。極微細種子。生樹婆娑廣大。枝條百千。於意云何。其子與樹。大小類不。大藥言。世尊。其子與樹。大小相懸。如藕絲孔。比虛空界。如是大藥。樹於子中求不可得。若不因子。樹則不生。微細尼瞿陀子。能生大樹。微細之識。能生大身。識中求身。身不可得。若際於識。身則無有。又毘耶娑問經云。佛言。復次大仙。此識微細。無色無質。非是可見。識。非有色。非青等色。色中無根。識。若離根。則無境界。若人心中驚動怖畏。若疑思量。如是一切。皆是識力。

Answer: The nature of consciousness is subtle and inconceivable. Because it follows karma, beauty and ugliness suddenly divide; because it is formless, small and large are all equal. The Sūtra on the Manifestation of Consciousness says: 'The Buddha said: Mahauṣadha, just as the wind element has no substance and no form, abiding in secluded valleys or in crevices, yet when it emerges violently, it may topple Mount Sumeru and smash it to dust—the wind element is subtle, devoid of substance and form; consciousness is also like this: subtly devoid of form and color, it can fully sustain both large and small bodies, whether receiving the body of a mosquito or receiving the body of an elephant. Furthermore, it is like the seed of a nyagrodha tree: an extremely tiny seed gives rise to a tree that spreads out vast and wide, with hundreds of thousands of branches. What do you think: are the seed and the tree similar in size?' Mahauṣadha said: 'World-Honored One, the seed and the tree are as vastly different in size as a pore in a lotus fiber compared to the expanse of space.' 'Just so, Mahauṣadha. The tree sought within the seed cannot be found; yet if not for the seed, the tree would not grow. A tiny nyagrodha seed can produce a great tree; a tiny consciousness can produce a large body. Seeking the body within consciousness, the body cannot be found; yet apart from consciousness, the body does not exist.' Furthermore, the Vyāsa-paripṛcchā-sūtra (Poyesuo wen jing) says: 'The Buddha said: Furthermore, Great Ṛṣi, this consciousness is subtle, without color and without substance, and is not visible. Consciousness is not material, nor does it have blue or other colors. There are no faculties within form; yet if consciousness is separated from the faculties, there are no cognitive spheres. If someone feels agitation, alarm, and terror in their mind, or doubts and deliberates, all such things are the power of consciousness.'