宗鏡錄 97.23

97.23

第十四祖龍樹尊者。行化到南印土。彼國人多修福業。不會佛理。唯行小辯。不具大智。及問佛性。而云。布施。我求福業。非解佛性。汝會佛性。為我說之。師曰。汝欲學道。先除我慢。生恭敬心方得佛性。眾曰。佛性大小。師曰。非汝所知。非說大小。若說大小。即是大小。非佛性也。彼眾曰。我欲棄小辯歸于大海。龍樹即為說法。對大眾而現異相。身如月輪。當於座上。唯聞說法。不覩其形。彼眾有一長者。名曰提婆。謂諸眾曰。識此瑞不。彼眾曰。非其大聖。誰能識也。爾時提婆。心根宿淨。亦見其相。默然契會。乃告眾曰。師現佛性之義。非師身者。無相三昧。形如滿月。佛性之義也。語未訖。師即現本身。座上說偈曰。身現滿月相。以表諸佛體。說法無其形。用辯非聲色。又傳法偈云。為明隱顯法。方說解脫理。於法心不證。無瞋亦無喜。

The fourteenth patriarch, the venerable Nāgārjuna, traveled and transformed beings, reaching South India. The people of that country mostly practiced deeds of merit and did not understand the Buddha's principle; they engaged only in petty debate and did not possess great wisdom. When asked about Buddha-nature, they said, “Giving: we seek deeds of merit, not understanding Buddha-nature. You understand Buddha-nature; explain it to us.” The master said, “If you wish to learn the Path, first eliminate self-conceit; only when you produce a reverent citta can you attain Buddha-nature.” The assembly asked, “What is the size of Buddha-nature?” The master said, “It is not something you know; it is not spoken of as large or small. If one speaks of large or small, that is just large or small, not Buddha-nature.” The assembly said, “We wish to abandon petty debate and return to the great ocean.” Nāgārjuna then preached the Dharma for them, manifesting an unusual mark before the great assembly: his body was like a moon disk, sitting upon the seat; they heard only the preaching of the Dharma, but did not see his form. In that assembly was an elder named Deva, who said to the assembly, “Do you recognize this auspicious sign or not?” The assembly said, “Unless one is a great sage, who could recognize it?” At that time, Deva's mental faculty had long been pure, and he also saw that mark. Silently matching and comprehending it, he told the assembly, “The master manifests the meaning of Buddha-nature, not the master's body. The signless samādhi, shaped like a full moon, is the meaning of Buddha-nature.” Before he had finished speaking, the master manifested his original body and spoke a verse upon the seat:
“The body manifests the mark of a full moon
In order to express the substance of all Buddhas.
Preaching the Dharma without physical form,
The function of eloquence is not sound or form.”
Furthermore, the Dharma-transmission verse says:
“In order to clarify the dharma of concealment and manifestation,
Only then is the principle of liberation spoken of.
Regarding dharmas, the citta does not realize anything;
There is neither anger nor joy.”