宗鏡錄 95.23

95.23

觀佛三昧海經云。復次阿難。譬如有人。貧窮薄福。依諸豪貴。以存性命。時有王子。遇行出遊。執大寶瓶。於寶瓶內。藏王印綬。是時貧者。詐來親附。得王寶瓶。擎持逃走。王子覺已。遣六大兵。乘六黑象。手執利劍。疾走追之。時持瓶人。走入深草。空野澤中。見曠野澤。滿中毒蛇。四面吐毒。吸持瓶者。時貧窮人。慞惶恐怖。馳走東西。蛇亦隨之。無藏避處。於空澤中。見一大樹。蓊欝扶疎。甚適其意。頭戴寶瓶。攀樹而上。既上樹已。六兵乘象。馳疾如風。尋復來至。貧人見已吞王寶印。持瓶冠頭。以手覆面。生貪惜故。不忍見之。時六黑象。以鼻絞樹。令樹倒躄。貧人落地。身體散壞。唯金印在。寶瓶現光。諸蛇見光。四散馳走。佛告阿難。住念佛者。心印不壞。亦復如是。釋曰。夫觀佛三昧者。則諦了自心。名為觀佛。既識心已。不為境亂。湛然常定。名為三昧。有人貧窮薄福者。有人者。有即二十五有。人即一切眾生。以無法財。名為貧窮。不悟心佛。故稱薄福。依諸豪貴者。即是諸佛菩薩。以存性命者。即是依觀佛三昧門。得見自性。以成慧命。乃至貧人落地者。即是於凡夫身。達人法二空。證會一心。住真如地。身體散壞者。既洞唯識之性。身見自亡。唯金印在者。即是悟心常住。所以一鉢和尚云。塵勞滅盡真如在。一顆圓明無價珠。寶瓶現光者。即般若智照。諸蛇見光四散馳走者。即四大之身蛇。三毒之煩惱。智了即空。名為馳走。住念佛者。心印不壞。亦復如是者。以無念智。見真覺性。故云住念佛者。諸塵不動。一體不移。名為心印。恒住法位。究竟寂滅。名為不壞。況如唯金印在。故稱亦復如是。所以起信論云。得見心性。名究竟覺。即斯旨矣。

The Guan fo sanmei hai jing says: 'Furthermore, Ānanda, it is like a person who is poor and devoid of merit, relying on the wealthy and noble to preserve his life. At that time, a prince happened to go out on an excursion, carrying a great precious vase. Inside the precious vase, the king's seal and ribbons were concealed. At that time, the poor man deceitfully drew close, obtained the king's precious vase, held it aloft, and fled. When the prince realised this, he dispatched six great soldiers mounted on six black elephants, holding sharp swords in their hands, swiftly pursuing him. At that time, the vase-bearer fled into deep grass, into an empty wilderness marsh. He saw that the wilderness marsh was full of poisonous snakes, spitting poison on all four sides to ingest the vase-bearer. At that time, the poor man was terrified and panic-stricken; he ran east and west, and the snakes also pursued him, leaving him no place to hide or avoid them. In the empty marsh, he saw a great tree, lush and sprawling, which greatly pleased him. Wearing the precious vase on his head, he climbed up the tree. Once he was up the tree, the six soldiers mounted on elephants dashed as swiftly as the wind and soon arrived. Seeing them, the poor man swallowed the king's precious seal, wore the vase upon his head, and covered his face with his hands, because he harboured craving and stinginess, unable to bear seeing [them take it]. At that time, the six black elephants coiled their trunks around the tree, causing the tree to topple and fall. The poor man crashed to the ground and his body broke apart and scattered. Only the golden seal remained, and the precious vase radiated light. Seeing the light, the snakes fled and scattered in all directions. The Buddha told Ānanda: For one who abides in mindfulness of the Buddha, the seal of citta is indestructible, just as in this case.' Explanation: As for the 'samādhi of meditating on the Buddha', clearly understanding one's own citta is called 'meditating on the Buddha'. Once one recognises citta, one is not disordered by cognitive objects; being clear and constantly concentrated is called 'samādhi'. Regarding 'a person who is poor and devoid of merit': 'a person who is'—'existence' refers to the twenty-five realms of existence, and 'person' refers to all sentient beings. Because they lack the wealth of the Dharma, they are called 'poor'; because they do not awaken to the Buddha of the mind, they are called 'devoid of merit'. 'Relying on the wealthy and noble' refers to the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. 'To preserve his life' refers to relying on the gate of the samādhi of meditating on the Buddha to see one's own nature, thereby completing the life of wisdom. As for 'the poor man crashed to the ground': this means that within the ordinary person's body, one thoroughly penetrates the two kinds of emptiness—of person and of phenomena—realises and unites with the one mind, and abides in the stage of tathatā. As for 'his body broke apart and scattered': having penetrated the nature of vijñapti-mātra, the view of self naturally perishes. As for 'only the golden seal remained': this is awakening to the constant abidance of citta. Therefore Master Yibo said: 'When worldly afflictions are extinguished completely, tathatā remains, / A single round, bright, priceless pearl.' As for 'the precious vase radiated light': this is the illumination of prajñā-wisdom. As for 'seeing the light, the snakes fled and scattered in all directions': these are the body-snakes of the four great elements and the kleśas of the three poisons; when understood by wisdom, they are empty, which is called 'fleeing and scattering'. As for 'for one who abides in mindfulness of the Buddha, the seal of citta is indestructible, just as in this case': through wisdom free of thoughts, one sees the true nature of awakening; therefore it is said, 'for one who abides in mindfulness of the Buddha'. All dust-like objects do not stir, and the single substance does not shift; this is called the 'seal of citta'. Constantly abiding in the status of phenomena, being ultimately tranquil and extinguished; this is called 'indestructible'. This is analogous to how 'only the golden seal remained', hence it is said, 'just as in this case'. Therefore the Awakening of Faith says: 'Attaining the sight of the nature of citta is called ultimate awakening.' This is precisely its purport.