宗鏡錄 85.5

85.5

答。若了一心。有無見絕。境智雙寂。契彼性空。根塵兩亡。內外解脫。亦常照內外。脫於無知。空尚不存。妄從何起。所現外諸苦樂境界。如鏡中像。以自心為明鏡。還照自之業影。古德云。以如來藏性而為明鏡。隨業緣質。現果影像。夫業通性及相。謂此業體。以無性之法而為其性。以不失業果之相而為其性。由無性故。能成業果。由不壞相。方顯真空。何者。若有性。則善惡業定不可改移。無有苦樂果報。若壞業相。則成斷滅。以一切因果從自心生。心外實無善惡業可得。以業無自性。但由心起故。所以如影如幻。無有定相。又以業無自性。故不落有。以不壞業果。故不墮無。非有非無。則一心中理。

Answer: If one understands the one mind, views of existence and non-existence are cut off; object and cognition are both silenced, tallying with that emptiness of nature; sense faculties and sense dusts are both obliterated, bringing liberation internally and externally. It also constantly illuminates both the internal and the external, freed from ignorance. When even emptiness does not remain, from where could delusion arise? The external realms of various sufferings and pleasures that appear are like images in a mirror: taking one's own mind as a bright mirror, it simply reflects the shadows of one's own karma. An ancient master of virtue said: 'Taking the nature of the tathāgatagarbha as the bright mirror, according to karmic conditions and objects, it manifests the images of retribution.' Now, karma encompasses both nature and characteristics. That is, the substance of this karma takes the phenomenon of naturelessness as its nature, and takes the characteristic of not losing karmic retribution as its nature. Because it has no nature, it can bring about karmic retribution; because it does not destroy characteristics, true emptiness is thereby revealed. Why is this? If it had an inherent nature, then good and bad karma would be fixed and unalterable, and there would be no retribution of suffering or pleasure. If it destroyed the characteristics of karma, then it would lead to annihilationism. Because all causes and effects arise from one's own mind, outside of mind there is truly no good or bad karma to be found. Because karma has no intrinsic nature and arises solely from the mind, it is therefore like a shadow or a phantom, having no fixed characteristic. Furthermore, because karma has no intrinsic nature, it does not fall into existence; because it does not destroy karmic retribution, it does not fall into non-existence. Being neither existent nor non-existent is the principle of the middle of the one mind.