宗鏡錄 94.38

94.38

大方廣師子吼經云。佛告電鬘菩薩。善男子。法唯一字。所謂無字。本無言說。何所言說。善男子。當知無說。是為真說。爾時淨身菩薩。承佛威神白佛言。世尊。若無所說。是為真說者。啞默不言。皆應說法。佛言。如是。善男子。如汝所說。非唯啞默者說法。不啞默者。亦皆說法。而不知法。世尊。云何一切眾生說法而不知法。善男子。如生盲人。處日光中而不見日。傍人為說。以他聲故。乃知有日。如是諸法。悉入法界。法界無字。離諸字性。非諸眾生而能宣辯。釋曰。審知未達宗人。依通見解。隨他語轉。妄有所說。如彼盲者。不見日光。聽傍人聲。豈窮日體。若眼開親見。即知本無名字言說。故知有言傷旨。不達法界。是以經云。如是諸法。悉入法界。法界無字。離諸字性。若能深達一字唯心法界。自然言語道斷。法爾知解情亡。豈是無辯。智不能窮也。如肇論云。釋迦掩室於摩竭。淨名杜口於毘耶。須菩提唱無說以顯道。釋梵絕聽而雨華。斯則理為神御。口以之默。豈曰無辯。辯所不能言也。

The Dafangguang shizihou jing says: 'The Buddha told the bodhisattva Vidyunmālā: "Good son, the Dharma is only a single syllable, namely, 'no-syllable'. Originally there are no words or speech; what could be spoken? Good son, you should know that no-speech is true speech." At that time the bodhisattva Śuddhadeha, receiving the Buddha's spiritual power, addressed the Buddha: "World-Honoured One, if having nothing spoken is true speech, then those who are mute and do not speak should all be expounding the Dharma." The Buddha said: "It is so, good son. Just as you say, not only do the mute expound the Dharma, but those who are not mute also all expound the Dharma, yet they do not know the Dharma." "World-Honoured One, how is it that all sentient beings expound the Dharma yet do not know the Dharma?" "Good son, it is like a person blind from birth standing in sunlight without seeing the sun; because someone beside them tells them so, through that other voice they come to know there is a sun. In this way, all phenomena completely enter the dharmadhātu; the dharmadhātu has no syllables and is free from the nature of syllables, and cannot be proclaimed or explained by sentient beings."' / Exegesis: We know with certainty that those who have not attained the source rely on secondary understanding, turn in pursuit of others' words, and falsely make proclamations. Like that blind person who does not see the sunlight and listens to the voice of someone beside him, how could he fathom the substance of the sun? If the eyes open and one sees it for oneself, one knows that originally there are no names, syllables, words, or speech. Hence we know that having words impairs the purport, failing to reach the dharmadhātu. Therefore the sūtra says: 'In this way, all phenomena completely enter the dharmadhātu; the dharmadhātu has no syllables and is free from the nature of syllables.' If one can deeply reach the dharmadhātu of the single syllable of mind-only, naturally the path of speech is cut off, and knowledge, understanding, and sentiment spontaneously perish. How could this mean having no eloquence? Wisdom simply cannot fathom it. As the Zhao lun says: 'Śākyamuni shut himself in his room in Magadha, and Vimalakīrti held his tongue in Vaiśālī; Subhūti proclaimed no-exposition to reveal the path, and Indra and Brahmā ceased listening while raining down flowers.' Thus the principle serves as the spiritual charioteer, and the mouth is silent on account of it. How could one say there is no eloquence? It is that eloquence cannot express it.