宗鏡錄 80.25

80.25

答。眾生雖具正因。而無緣了。所以圓覺經云。未出輪迴而辯圓覺。彼圓覺性即同流轉。若免輪迴。無有是處。故先德頌云。圓成沈識海。流轉若飄蓬。是以真如本覺。不守自性。以無性故。但隨緣轉。如云法身流轉五道。故號眾生。應須以善巧方便。發之。以智照。助之。以良緣。了了見時。方逃境縛。如起信鈔云。且夫真之與妄。皆依一法界心所說。蓋以此心。本來有體有用。即用之體。則蕩然空寂。即體之用。則了然覺知。以無始時來迷故。於空寂之處。確然根身塵境。於覺知之處。則紛然分別緣念。故肇論云。法身隱於形㲉之中。真智隱於緣慮之內。然其形㲉緣念。元來體空。空寂覺知。元來不變。不變之真。元來隨緣。體空之妄。元來成事。非因造作。法爾如斯。眾生身心。現今若此。即約此義。以明染淨緣之義相也。大涅槃經云。佛告。善男子。如汝所言。若一闡提有佛性者。云何不遮地獄之罪。善男子。一闡提中。無有佛性。善男子。譬如有王。聞箜篌音。其聲清妙。心即耽著。喜樂愛念。情無捨離。即吉大臣。如是妙音。從何處出。大臣答言。如是妙音。從箜篌出。王復語言。持是聲來。爾時大臣。持箜篌置於王前。而作是言。大王當知。此即是聲。王語箜篌。出聲出聲。而箜篌聲亦不出。爾時大王。即斷其弦。聲亦不出。取其皮木。悉皆拆裂。推求其聲。了不能得。爾時大王。即嗔大臣。云。何乃作如是妄語。大臣白王。夫取聲者。法不如是。應以眾緣善巧方便。聲乃出耳。眾生佛性。亦復如是。無有住處。以善方便。故得可見。以可見故。得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提。一闡提輩。不見佛性。云何能遮三惡道罪。善男子。若一闡提。信有佛性。當知是人。不至三惡。是亦不名一闡提也。以不自信有佛性故。即墮三惡。故名一闡提。是知一切眾生。雖有正因。不得了緣枉沈生死。為不知故。甘稱下凡。為不聞故。不親善友。常迷智眼。豈有了因。恒習惡緣。何成善本。今為未聞者。廣搜祕藏。發起信心。為未知者。直指心原。了然無滯。為已聞者。智慧開發。萬善資熏。為已知者。一向保任理行成就。有斯深益。豈厭文繁。普望後賢。廣重傳授。

Answer: Although sentient beings possess the direct cause (pradhāna-hetu), they lack the contributory conditions (pratyaya) and revealing cause (vyañjaka-hetu). Therefore, the *Sūtra of Complete Enlightenment* states: “To discern complete enlightenment before having transcended saṃsāra means that the very nature of complete enlightenment shares in that transmigration. To expect to escape saṃsāra in this way is impossible.” Hence, an ancient virtuous one wrote in verse: “The perfectly accomplished nature sinks into the ocean of consciousness; / Transmigrating like drifting tumbleweed.” Thus, tathatā and original enlightenment do not keep to their self-nature; because they are without a fixed nature, they merely revolve according to conditions. As it is said: “The dharmakāya transmigrates through the five destinies, and is therefore termed ‘sentient beings’.” One must stimulate it with skillful means, aid it with the illumination of wisdom, and assist it with good conditions; only when one sees it clearly does one escape the bondage of cognitive objects. As the commentary on the *Treatise on the Awakening of Faith* states: “Now, both the true and the false are spoken of in reliance on the one dharmadhātu-citta. For this citta originally possesses substance and function. The substance that is identical with function is entirely empty and quiescent; the function that is identical with substance is clearly aware. Because of delusion from time without beginning, in what is empty and quiescent, the sense-bases, body, and sense-objects firmly appear; and in what is aware, differentiated associations and thoughts profusely arise. Therefore the *Zhaolun* says: ‘The dharmakāya is hidden within the physical shell; true wisdom is concealed inside discursive thought.’ Yet the physical shell and discursive thoughts are fundamentally empty in substance; the empty, quiescent awareness is fundamentally unchanging. The unchanging truth fundamentally accords with conditions; the falsehood whose substance is empty fundamentally accomplishes phenomena. This is not due to deliberate contrivance; it is naturally so by the nature of dharmas.” The body and mind of sentient beings are currently just like this. It is precisely in reference to this meaning that the characteristics of defiled and pure conditions are clarified. The *Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra* states: “The Buddha addressed [him]: ‘Good son, as you have said, if an icchantika possesses the Buddha-nature, why does it not ward off the offenses of the hells? Good son, within an icchantika there is no Buddha-nature. Good son, it is like a king who hears the sound of a lute (kuṅghou). The sound is pure and wonderful, and his mind becomes attached to it; he rejoices in it and loves it, having no thought of parting from it. He then asked his minister: “Where does such a wonderful sound come from?” The minister answered: “Such a wonderful sound comes from the lute.” The king spoke again: “Bring that sound here!” At that time, the minister brought the lute and placed it before the king, saying: “Great King, you should know that this is the sound.” The king said to the lute: “Produce the sound! Produce the sound!” But the sound of the lute did not come forth. Then the Great King severed its strings, yet the sound still did not come forth. He took its leather and wood and tore them all apart, searching for the sound, but could not find it at all. Then the Great King was angered at the minister and said: “Why did you utter such a falsehood?” The minister addressed the king: “Obtaining sound is not done in this way. Only through a multitude of conditions and skillful means does the sound come forth.” The Buddha-nature of sentient beings is also like this: it has no abiding place. Through skillful means it can be seen; because it can be seen, one attains anuttarāsamyaksambodhi. As for icchantikas, because they do not see the Buddha-nature, how could they ward off the offenses of the three evil destinies? Good son, if an icchantika believes that there is the Buddha-nature, you should know that such a person will not go to the three evil destinies, and is also no longer called an icchantika. Because they do not believe that they themselves possess the Buddha-nature, they fall into the three evil destinies, and are therefore called icchantikas.’” Thus we know that although all sentient beings possess the direct cause, failing to obtain the revealing cause, they vainly sink into birth and death. Because they do not know, they resign themselves to being called base ordinary mortals; because they have not heard, they do not draw close to good spiritual friends. Their eye of wisdom being constantly deluded, how could they have the revealing cause? Constantly habituating evil conditions, how could they accomplish the root of good? Now, for those who have not heard, we broadly search the secret treasury to inspire faith; for those who do not know, we point directly to the source of the mind so that they may understand without obstruction; for those who have already heard, wisdom is brought forth and nourished by myriad goods; for those who already know, they preserve it single-mindedly, perfecting principle and practice. Possessing such profound benefit, how could one begrudge the length of the text? We universally hope that future sages will broadly and respectfully transmit it.