宗鏡錄 1.18

1.18

Answer: Speaking of equal enlightenment and speaking of wondrous enlightenment is in terms of stages. Universal luminous wisdom does not belong to cause and effect, yet it encompasses and penetrates cause and effect. It is because the noble wisdom of self-realization transcends cause and effect that the Laṅkāvatārasūtra, outside the stage of wondrous enlightenment, further establishes the stage of the noble wisdom of self-realization. It is also like the Buddha-nature having a cause, having an effect, having a cause of causes, and having an effect of effects. If taken in terms of cause, it is the causal Buddha-nature; if taken in terms of effect, it is the resultant Buddha-nature. However, Buddha-nature is neither cause nor effect, and universal luminous wisdom is also like this: its substance transcends cause and effect, yet it is the reliance for cause and effect. Only when the effect is ultimate is it called the Tathāgata's universal luminous wisdom. Alternatively, it is called "basis" because it takes citta as the basis. Therefore, the Commentary on the Nirvāṇasūtra says: "Regarding the source and basis of nirvāṇa, all practices take the great nirvāṇa mind as their basis. When the basis is established, the Way arises—just as without the main rope, the mesh [of a net] cannot be spread, and without the skin, the hair has nowhere to attach. Because citta is the basis, its source can be established."