宗鏡錄 91.13

91.13

答。只約自心常開。六識門。何曾暫閉。日夜計校。緣想一切不善事。遍諸境界。念念恒造生死地獄。經云。集起心想。名為地獄。若能觀自心識性無所有。即是開善趣門。若不起心想。即是閉惡趣門。若得自在智現前。即現身生五道。入地獄餓鬼畜生等界。救苦眾生。故禪門中立無念為宗。以為要學。故經偈云。勤念於無念。佛法不難得。何謂不難得。以無念故。萬境不生。當處解脫。若有念起。非獨開惡趣之門。二十五有。一時俱現。故知萬質皆從念異。十二之類縱橫。千差盡逐想生。八萬之門競起。如信心銘云。眼若不睡。諸夢自除。心若不異。萬法一如。以諸法無體。從自心生。心若不生。外境常寂。故云萬法本閑而人自鬧。所以肇論云。是以聖人。乘真心以履順。則無滯而不通。審一氣以觀化。故所遇而順適。無滯而不通。故能渾雜致。純所遇而順適。則觸物而一。如此則萬象雖殊。而不能自異。不能自異。故知象非真象。象非真象。則雖象而非象。然則物我同根。是非一氣。潛微幽隱。殆非群情之所盡。故知乘一心而履踐。則何往而不真如。稟一氣而化行。則何物而不順。如莊子云。天地一氣。而能萬化。老子云。天得一以清。地得一以寧。神得一以靈。萬物得一以生。故聖人以一真心而觀萬境。則所遇而順適。觸物而冥一矣。是知諸法無體。緣假相依。似有差殊。不能自異。何者。長無長相。且自不言我長。短無短相。亦自不言我短。皆是隨念計度分別。遍計執著情生。則知萬物本虛。即象而無象也。

Answer: This refers simply to one's own mind being constantly open. The gates of the six consciousnesses—when have they ever been closed even for a moment? Day and night calculating and conceiving, conditioning thoughts on all unwholesome matters, pervading every realm of objects, from thought-moment to thought-moment constantly fabricating the hells of saṃsāra. A sūtra says: 'The accumulation of mental thoughts is called hell.' If one can contemplate that the nature of one's own mind-consciousness is non-existent, that itself is opening the gate to the wholesome destinies. If one does not give rise to mental thoughts, that itself is closing the gates to the evil destinies. If one attains sovereign wisdom appearing before oneself, one immediately manifests bodies to be born in the five destinies, entering the realms of the hells, hungry ghosts, animals, and so forth, to rescue suffering sentient beings. Therefore, within the Chan gate, 'no-thought' is established as the source, taken as the essential study. Thus a sūtra verse says: / 'Diligently minding non-thought, / The Buddha-Dharma is not hard to obtain.' / Why is it called not hard to obtain? Because through non-thought, the myriad objects do not arise, and right where one is, there is liberation. If there is a thought arising, it does not merely open the gates to the evil destinies—the twenty-five states of existence all appear simultaneously. Thus we know that the myriad entities all differ on account of thought; the twelve classes [of beings] spread out in confusion; the thousand distinctions all arise following conceptual thought; and the eighty-thousand gates compete to arise. As the Xinxin ming says: 'If the eye does not sleep, / All dreams naturally vanish. / If the mind does not differentiate, / The myriad dharmas are of one suchness.' Because all dharmas lack an inherent substance, they arise from one's own mind. If the mind does not arise, external objects are perpetually quiescent. Hence it is said: 'The myriad dharmas are originally at rest, yet people disturb themselves.' Therefore the Zhaolun says: 'Hence the sage, mounting the true mind to tread in accord, finds nothing obstructed that does not flow through; examining the single pneumata to observe transformation, everything encountered is harmonious and fitting. Because nothing obstructed fails to flow through, he can blend diversity to reach purity; because everything encountered is harmonious and fitting, he touches things and unifies with them. In this way, although the myriad forms differ, they cannot differentiate themselves. Because they cannot differentiate themselves, we know that forms are not true forms. Since forms are not true forms, then although they are forms, they are non-forms. Thus, then, objects and self share the same root; right and wrong are of a single pneumata. Hidden, subtle, profound, and obscure, it is scarcely something that the sentiments of the masses can fathom.' Thus we know that if one mounts the one mind and treads upon it, where does one go that is not tathatā? If one receives the single pneumata and enacts transformation, what entity is not in accord? As Zhuangzi says: 'Heaven and earth are a single pneumata, yet capable of myriad transformations.' Laozi says: 'Heaven obtaining the One becomes clear; Earth obtaining the One becomes tranquil; the spirits obtaining the One become efficacious; the myriad things obtaining the One come to life.' Therefore the sage, observing the myriad objects with the single true mind, finds that whatever is encountered is harmonious and fitting, touching things and merging into oneness. From this we know that all dharmas lack an inherent substance; relying on conditioned, nominal marks, they appear to have distinctions, yet cannot differentiate themselves. Why is this? Length has no mark of length, and of itself does not say 'I am long'; shortness has no mark of shortness, and also of itself does not say 'I am short.' These are all calculative discriminations made following thoughts; when parikalpita attachments and sentiments arise, one then knows that the myriad things are originally empty, and being identical to forms, they are without form.