宗鏡錄 89.25

89.25

答。一心真如性無盡故。即十方諸佛之壽量。是以山斤海滴。尚可比方。空界地塵。猶能知數。況如來常樂我淨法身慧命。豈窮邊際乎。故云法性壽者。非得命根。亦無連持。強指不遷不變。名之為壽。此壽非長量。亦非短量。無延促。強指法界。同虛空量。此即非身之身。無壽之壽。不量之量也。故金光明經偈云。一切諸水。可知幾滴。無有能數釋尊壽命。諸須彌山。可知斤兩。無有能量釋尊壽命。一切大地。可知塵數。無有能算釋尊壽命。虛空分界。尚可盡邊。無有能計釋尊壽命。法華疏釋如來壽量品云。壽者。受也。若法身。真如不隔諸法。故名為受。若報身。境知相應。故名為受。若應身。一期報得百年不斷。故名為受。法身如來。以如理為命。報身如來。以智慧為命。應身如來。以同緣理為命。法身如來如理命者。有佛無佛。性相常然。不論相應與相續。亦無有量及無量。經云。非如非異。非虛非實。蓋是詮量法身如理命也。詮量報身如來者。以如如智。契如如境。境發智為報。智冥境為受。境既無量無邊。常住不滅。智亦如是。函大蓋大。經偈云。我智力如是。久修業所得。慧光照無量。壽命無數劫。此是詮量報。身如來智慧命也。詮量應身者。應身同緣。緣。長同長。緣促同促。紜紜自彼。於我無為。經云。數數現生。數數現滅。或復自說名字不同。年紀大小。此是詮量應佛同緣命也。無生義云。性自爾者。即是法性空。空即菩提。今生身命。從過去貪取中生。意。既是法性空。當知今生身命。亦即是從法性空中出。法性既空。所生身命。亦還法性空去。故涅槃經云。如八大河。及諸小河。悉入大海。如是一切人中天上。地及虛空。壽命大河。悉入如來壽命海中。又如阿耨達池。出四大河。如來亦爾。出一切命。命既從如出。還如去。六根亦如是。從如出。還如去。若信如上所說。如來壽量。佛親校量功德。譬如有人。於無量億劫行五波羅蜜。不如以般若正智。發一念信心。比前功德百千萬倍。故法華經偈云。是人於百千。萬億劫數中。行此諸功德。如上之所說。有善男女等。聞我說壽命。乃至一念信。其福過於彼。

Answer: Because the tathatā nature of the one mind is inexhaustible, it is the lifespan of the buddhas of the ten directions. Therefore, the weight of mountains and drops of the ocean can still be compared; the boundaries of space and dust particles of the earth can still be numbered; how much less could one exhaust the limits of the Tathāgata's dharmakāya and wisdom-life, which are permanence, bliss, self, and purity? Hence it is said: as for the lifespan of the Dharma-nature, one does not attain a life-faculty, nor is there continuity; one conventionally points to its being unmoving and unchanging, designating it as lifespan. This lifespan is neither of long measure nor of short measure, without extension or brevity; one conventionally points to the dharmadhātu, equating it with the measure of space. This is the body that is non-body, the lifespan of non-lifespan, the measure of non-measure. Thus a verse in the Suvarṇaprabhāsasūtra says: / 'All the waters may be known in how many drops, / but none can count the lifespan of the Śākya Honored One. / All Mount Sumerus may be known in weight, / but none can measure the lifespan of the Śākya Honored One. / All great earths may be known in dust counts, / but none can calculate the lifespan of the Śākya Honored One. / The spatial boundaries may yet reach an end, / but none can reckon the lifespan of the Śākya Honored One.' / The commentary on the Lotus Sūtra explains the chapter 'The Lifespan of the Tathāgata': 'Life (shou) means reception (shou). For the dharmakāya, tathatā is not separated from all dharmas, hence it is called reception. For the reward body, object and cognition correspond, hence it is called reception. For the response body, the hundred-year reward attained for a single period without interruption is called reception. The Tathāgata as dharmakāya takes the principle of thusness as life; the Tathāgata as reward body takes wisdom as life; the Tathāgata as response body takes principle concordant with conditions as life. Regarding the life of the principle of thusness of the Tathāgata as dharmakāya: whether there are buddhas or no buddhas, the nature and characteristics are constantly thus; it does not speak of correspondence and succession, nor is there measure or measurelessness. A sūtra says: "Neither like nor different, neither unreal nor actual"; this indeed defines the life of the principle of thusness of the dharmakāya. Defining the Tathāgata as reward body: using thusness-wisdom to accord with the thusness-object, the object evoking wisdom is the reward, and wisdom merging with the object is reception. Since the object is measureless, boundless, eternally abiding and unceasing, wisdom is also like this, matching like a box and its lid. A verse of the sūtra says: "My power of wisdom is like this; attained through deeds cultivated for long; the light of wisdom shines measurelessly, and my lifespan is for countless kalpas." This defines the wisdom-life of the Tathāgata as reward body. Defining the response body: the response body conforms to conditions; when conditions are long it conforms to length, and when conditions are brief it conforms to brevity. The manifold variety belongs to them; with respect to me, it is unconditioned. A sūtra says: "Repeatedly manifesting birth, repeatedly manifesting extinction, or again speaking of myself with different names, and of ages great or small." This defines the response Buddha's life concordant with conditions. The Wu sheng yi says: "That the nature is naturally thus means that the Dharma-nature is empty; emptiness is bodhi. The bodily life of the present birth arises from past craving and grasping. The meaning is: since it is the emptiness of the Dharma-nature, one should know that the bodily life of the present birth also emerges from the emptiness of the Dharma-nature. Since the Dharma-nature is empty, the bodily life that is produced also returns to the emptiness of the Dharma-nature." Therefore the Nirvāṇasūtra says: "Just as the eight great rivers and all small streams all enter the great sea, so all the great rivers of lifespan among humans, in the heavens, on earth, and in space all enter the ocean of the Tathāgata's lifespan. Again, just as Lake Anavatapta sends forth the four great rivers, the Tathāgata is also like this, sending forth all lives. Since life emerges from thusness, it returns to thusness. The six sense-faculties are also like this: emerging from thusness, they return to thusness." If one believes in the Tathāgata's lifespan as explained above, the Buddha personally compared the merits: it is like someone who practices the five pāramitās for measureless koṭis of kalpas; it is not as good as giving rise to a single moment of faithful mind with the correct wisdom of prajñā, which exceeds the previous merit hundreds of thousands of myriads of times. Hence a verse of the Lotus Sūtra says: / "If this person during hundreds of thousands / of myriads of koṭis of kalpas / practices these merits, / as spoken above, / and there are good men and women / who, hearing me speak of lifespan, / give rise to even a single thought of faith, / their merit surpasses that."'