宗鏡錄 1.20

1.20

Answer: From the past onwards, it was never an absolute prohibition against reading the teachings. It was out of concern that people might fail to investigate the Buddha's words carefully, form interpretations based on the literal text, lose the Buddha's intent, and thereby betray their original resolve. If, however, through the exposition one attains the purport, does not treat citta and objects as opposed antidotes, and directly comprehends the Buddha-mind, what fault could there be? Take, for example, the Venerable Yaoshan: throughout his life he read the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra without letting the scroll leave his hands. At that time, a student asked, “The Venerable usually does not permit students to read the sūtras; why does the Venerable read them himself?” The Master said, “Only to shield my eyes.” [The student] asked, “May this student also read them?” The Master said, “If you read them, even cowhide would be pierced through.” Furthermore, the first ancestral master of the Western Heavens was our original teacher, Śākyamuni Buddha. He first transmitted it to Mahākāśyapa as the first ancestor, and it was transmitted in succession down to the Sixth Patriarch in this land—all of whom were the Buddha's disciples. Now, quoting the words of our original teacher to instruct and show disciples causes them to realize the Path through words, see the Dharma, know the source, not race about seeking outwardly, and intimately clarify the Buddha's intent. Attaining the purport, one enters the ancestral rank; who would debate the gateways of sudden or gradual? Seeing the nature, one presently realizes complete interpenetration; how could one mark ranks of before and after? If it is like this, what contradiction is there? Furthermore, the twenty-eight ancestors of ancient generations in the Western Heavens, the six ancestors of this land, and even Great Master Mazu of Hongzhou, National Preceptor Zhong of Nanyang, Chan Master Dayi of Ehu, and Chan Master Benjing of Mount Sikong—all were broadly versed in the sūtras and treatises, and had completely awakened to their own citta. Whatever they showed their disciples always cited sincere evidence; they never brought forth fabrications from their own breasts to make assertions recklessly. For this reason, across the passage of years and ages, the true wind has not fallen. Taking the noble words as the authoritative standard, false deceits are hard to shift; using the ultimate teaching as the compass, there is solid proof to rely upon. Thus the Venerable of Guifeng said: “The founding ancestor of all schools is Śākyamuni. The sūtras are the Buddha's words; Chan is the Buddha's intent. The citta and mouth of the Buddhas certainly do not contradict each other. The succession of all ancestors at its root was personally entrusted by the Buddha. The treatises composed by bodhisattvas from beginning to end only propagate the Buddha's sūtras. How much more so since from Kāśyapa down to Upagupta, all propagated them along with the Tripiṭaka! And Aśvaghoṣa and Nāgārjuna were both ancestral masters; they composed treatises to explain the sūtras in hundreds of thousands of verses, observing customs to transform beings without fixed rituals. Therefore, whoever is called a spiritual guide must naturally understand the Buddha's words to seal and verify their own citta. If one does not accord with the definitive ekayāna perfect teaching, even if one realizes a noble fruition, it is not ultimate.” Now, let us record one or two to verify this text. Great Master Mazu of Hongzhou said: “Great Master Bodhidharma came from South India, transmitting solely the Mahāyāna Dharma of the one mind, and used the Laṅkāvatārasūtra to seal the citta of sentient beings, fearing they would not believe in this Dharma of the one mind. The Laṅkāvatārasūtra says: ‘The Buddha's words take citta as the source, and gatelessness as the Dharma-gate.’ Why do the Buddha's words take citta as the source? What the Buddha called citta is: citta itself is Buddha. The present words are the words of citta; hence it is said, ‘The Buddha's words take citta as the source.’ As for ‘gatelessness as the Dharma-gate,’ one realizes the fundamental nature is empty, and there is not a single Dharma besides; nature itself is the gate. The nature has no characteristic, nor does it have a gate; hence it is said, ‘gatelessness as the Dharma-gate.’ It is also called the gate of emptiness, and the gate of form. Why? Emptiness is the emptiness of the dharmatā; form is the form of the dharmatā. Because it has no shape or characteristic, it is called emptiness; because knowledge and vision are inexhaustible, it is called form. Hence it is said: ‘The Tathāgata's form is inexhaustible; wisdom is likewise so.’ In accordance with the places where dharmas arise, there are further immeasurable gates of samādhi, far removed from inner and outer emotional attachments to knowledge and views. It is also called the dhāraṇī-gate, and the dāna-gate—meaning that one does not think of inner or outer wholesome or unwholesome dharmas—up to being all the pāramitā gates. The physical body Buddha is the function of the household of the Buddha of the true mark. The sūtra says: ‘The thirty-two marks and eighty minor signs are all born from the thoughts of the citta.’ It is also called the radiance of the dharmatā household, and the merit of the dharmatā. When a bodhisattva practices prajñā, fire burns away all objects within and without the three realms, yet within this, not a single blade of grass or leaf is damaged, because all dharmas are the mark of thusness. Thus the sūtra says: ‘Without destroying the body, one accords with the one mark.’ Now one knows one's own nature is Buddha; at all times, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, there is not a single dharma that can be attained, up to tathatā not belonging to any name, nor being without a name. Thus the sūtra says: ‘Wisdom attains neither existence nor non-existence.’ Without seeking internally or externally, one leaves things to their original nature, and there is also no citta that leaves things to nature. The sūtra says: ‘The various mind-made bodies (manomayakāya), I declare to be the measure of citta (cittamātra).’ That is the citta of no-citta, the measure of the measureless. Having no name is the true name; having no seeking is the true seeking. The sūtra says: ‘One who seeks the Dharma should have nothing sought.’ Outside of citta there is no other Buddha; outside of Buddha there is no other citta. Do not grasp the wholesome, do not do evil, do not rely on either of the two extremes of purity and defilement. Dharmas have no self-nature; the three realms are only citta. The sūtra says: ‘The dense array and myriad images are sealed by the one Dharma.’ Whatever forms are seen are all seeing citta. Citta is not citta by itself; it is citta because of form. Form is not form by itself; it is form because of citta. Thus the sūtra says: ‘Seeing form is seeing citta.’” National Preceptor Zhong of Nanyang said: “As for the Dharma of the Chan school, one should rely on the Buddha's words of the ekayāna definitive meaning, accord with and grasp the original citta-ground, and transmit it from one to another so that it is identical with the Buddha Way. One must not rely on deluded feelings and non-definitive teachings to form arbitrary views, confusing and misleading later students, which brings no benefit. Even if one receives the fundamental purport relying on a master, if it accords with the definitive teaching, one may rely on it and practice it; if it is a non-definitive teaching, they do not permit one another. It is like worms within a lion's body eating the flesh of the lion's body themselves; it is not heavenly māras or non-Buddhists who can destroy the Buddha-dharma.” At that time, a Chan traveler asked, “Which one is the Buddha-mind?” The Master said, “Insentient things such as walls, tiles, and rubble are all the Buddha-mind.” The Chan traveler said, “This greatly contradicts the sūtras! The sūtra says that being apart from insentient things like walls, tiles, and rubble is called Buddha-nature. Now you say that all insentient things are the Buddha-mind; I do not know whether citta and nature are distinct or not distinct?” The Master said, “To the deluded they are distinct; to the awakened they are not distinct.” The Chan traveler said, “This again contradicts the sūtras! The sūtra says: ‘Good son, citta is not Buddha-nature; Buddha-nature is permanent, while citta is impermanent.’ Now you say they are not distinct; I wonder what the meaning of this is?” The Master said, “You yourself rely on the words and do not rely on the meaning. For example, in cold months, water freezes into ice; when warmth comes, the ice melts into water. When sentient beings are deluded, nature congeals into citta; when they awaken, citta melts into nature. If you definitively grasp that insentient things are not citta, the sūtra should not say that the three realms are citta only. Therefore the Avataṃsakasūtra says: ‘One should contemplate the nature of the dharmadhātu: everything is created by citta alone.’ Now let me ask you: are insentient things within the three realms, or are they outside the three realms? Furthermore, are they citta or are they not citta? If they are not citta, the sūtra should not say the three realms are citta only; if they are citta, you should not say they lack nature. You yourself contradict the sūtras; I do not contradict them.” Chan Master Dayi of Ehu, having been summoned to enter the imperial palace, then asked the great masters and venerable ones of the capital: “What do you take to be the Path?” Someone replied, “Knowledge and views are the Path.” The Master said, “The Vimalakīrtisūtra says: ‘Dharma is free from seeing, hearing, perceiving, and knowing.’ How can you take knowledge and views to be the Path?” Another replied, “Non-discrimination is the Path.” The Master said, “The sūtra says: ‘Skillfully able to distinguish the characteristics of all dharmas, yet unmoved in the primary truth.’ How can you take non-discrimination to be the Path?” Furthermore, the Emperor asked, “What is the Buddha-nature?” [The Master] replied, “It is not apart from what Your Majesty asked.” Therefore, they either pointed directly to clarify citta, or broke attachments to enter the Path, using unhindered eloquence to dispel fixed attachments, and wielding ungraspable wisdom to bend the mind of measured calculation. Chan Master Benjing of Mount Sikong said to the venerable ones of the capital: “Do not grasp citta! This citta exists entirely because of external dust, like images in a mirror, with no substance to be found. If you grasp it as truly existent, you lose the original source, which is permanently devoid of self-nature. The Perfect Enlightenment Sūtra says: ‘Falsely recognizing the four great elements as the marks of one's own body, and the shadows of the six dust-objects as the marks of one's own citta.’ The Laṅkāvatārasūtra says: ‘Not comprehending citta and conditions, two false thoughts arise; comprehending citta and objects, false thoughts do not arise.’ The Vimalakīrtisūtra says: ‘Dharma is not seeing, hearing, perceiving, or knowing.’ I briefly cite these three sūtras to prove this truth.” Under the Fifth Patriarch, Master Zhuangyan throughout his life showed students only the final four lines of the Elder Ratnarāśi's verse praising the Buddha from the Vimalakīrtisūtra: ‘Not attached to the world, like a lotus flower; / Constantly dwelling skillfully in the practice of empty tranquility; / Penetrating the characteristics of all dharmas without hindrance: / I bow my head to the one who, like space, has nothing to rely upon.’ A student asked, “These are the Buddha's words; I wish to hear the Venerable's own words.” The Master said, “The Buddha's words are my words; my words are the Buddha's words.” Therefore, when the First Patriarch came from the west and initially practiced the Chan way, wishing to transmit the citta-seal, he had to rely on the Buddha's sūtras, using the Laṅkāvatāra as verification so that the source of the doctrinal gates would be known. Consequently, outsiders ceased their slander and inner practitioners received the transmission; the ancestral lineage flourished greatly and the mysterious wind spread widely. Therefore, before beginners who have newly set out on study awaken for themselves, if they do not rely on the correct source of the noble teachings, upon what could they cultivate and advance on the Path? Even if they did not generate false views of themselves, they would entirely encounter crooked teachers. Thus it is said: ‘My eyes were originally correct; because of the master, they became crooked.’ The ninety-six kinds of dogmatists in the Western Heavens were all of this type. Therefore know that wood without a plumb-line will not be straight; principle without teaching will not be perfect. The two or three briefly cited above were all great spiritual guides, ancestral masters transcendent of things, unicorns and dragons of the Chan groves, and turtle-mirrors of the ancestral gates. Revealing a single teaching, it moved like the wind and rolled like lightning; letting fall a single word, mountains collapsed and seas dried up. Emperors and kings took them as personal teachers; court and country submitted to them; the monasteries took them as models; later students received their transmission. In the end, they never followed their own personal whims or contradicted the Buddha's words. Whenever resolving doubts and removing falsehood, or revealing the nature and clarifying the source, without exception each broadly cited sūtra passages to fully display the Buddha's intent. Thus it was transmitted to later descendants forever, without the family style falling into ruin. If it were not so, how could the succession have continued so prosperously down to the present day? The power of the Dharma is like this; the verification is not empty. Furthermore, if one wishes to investigate the Buddha-yāna and search through the precious treasury, one must dissolve each and every [word] back into oneself, making every word silently unite with the true citta. Simply do not grasp the literal text upon the meaning or generate views following words; one must directly probe the purport beneath the exposition to accord with the fundamental source. Then the teacherless wisdom will appear before one, and the naturally real Path will not be obscured. As the Avataṃsakasūtra says: ‘Knowing all dharmas are the citta's own nature, one accomplishes the body of wisdom without relying on another's awakening.’ Thus know that the teachings have the power to aid the Path; how could beginners forget them even for a moment? Examining closely that the benefit of the Dharma is boundless, this compilation was researched, promoted, and gathered together. Moreover, whenever discussing the fundamental purport, it responds only to faculties of sudden capacity, like the rising sun illuminating the high mountains, or a swift horse seeing the shadow of the whip. Therefore the Venerable Danxia said: ‘When meeting, one does not bring it out; raising an intention, one immediately knows it is there.’ As for the present Mirror of the Source, it does not even wait for the raising of an intention before one naturally knows it is there. Thus the Śūraṅgamasūtra says: ‘Completely luminous understanding does not depend on citta-thoughts.’ Raising eyebrows and moving eyes are already roundabout. As a verse of an earlier worthy says: ‘Even “this is it” doubles the phrase; / Moving the eyes is already an error. / If you ask about the purport of Caoxi, / It does not wait even for raising an eyebrow.’ Now, for those who delight in the Buddha-yāna but have truly not yet realized it, this Mirror of the Source is borrowed to help reveal the true citta. Although hung on words and phrases, the marvelous purport resides right here. Bending down to embrace the middling and inferior, it covers the multitude of faculties completely. Just let each person draw their own benefit. Though the hundred rivers are nourishing, how could they hinder the great sea from broadly containing them? The Five Peaks are lofty of themselves, yet they do not obstruct the sun from shining everywhere. The faculties and capacities are not equal; desires and wishes are not the same. Though the entry points at the four gates differ, at the time of seeing the One Reality there is no distinction. It is like the one mesh of a net that catches a bird: one cannot take a single mesh to be the net. The governing of a state depends on the merits of a single ruler: one cannot take a single person to be the state. As the Treatise on Inner Virtue (Neide lun) says: ‘A single drop of water cannot blend a broth; a single timber cannot construct a hall; a single garment does not fit all bodies; a single medicine does not cure diverse sicknesses; a single color cannot make embroidery; a single sound cannot harmonize the zither and lute; a single word cannot encourage all good deeds; a single precept cannot prevent many faults. How can one find fault with the difference between gradual and sudden, and demand that the Dharma-gate be single?’ Thus it is said: ‘As for one person, so it is for many; as for many, so it is for one person.’ How could it be like inferior understandings and common feelings that generate narrow views? This unhindered, vast Dharma-gate of ours, like empty space which is non-characteristic, does not reject the manifestation of all characteristics; like the dharmatā which has no body, does not hinder the sudden appearance of all bodies. One must subsume them with the meaning of the six characteristics, so that views of annihilation and permanence may vanish; one must harmonize them with the ten mysterious gates, so that feelings of rejecting and grasping may end. Moreover, if one truly attains a thousand awakenings upon hearing one thing, and obtains the great dhāraṇī, why rely on words and expositions, and why labor over explanations? A raft is for crossing those lost at the ford; a guide is for leading those who have lost their way. All matters concerning words and expositions, as demonstrated in the perfect source, are for the sake of the unawakened. The nature of letters being apart is itself liberation. Deluded about the true nature of all dharmas, seeking dharmas outside citta and giving rise to views of letters, one now uses letters as an antidote to reveal their truth. If one awakens to the original source of all dharmas, one does not see letters or the slightest trace appearing; only then does one know that all dharmas are the citta's own nature. Then object and wisdom interpenetrate, and form and emptiness are both extinguished. At this moment of personally realizing complete luminosity, entering into the equality of this one Dharma, what dharma could be ‘teaching’ to be abandoned, what dharma could be ‘ancestor’ to be revered, what dharma could be ‘sudden’ to be accepted, or what dharma could be ‘gradual’ to be rejected? One then knows that these are all the conscious citta giving rise to arbitrary discriminations. Therefore the ancestors and Buddhas skillfully arranged provisional gates in secret and broadly prepared the vehicles of teachings to accord with and meet capacities expediently. As soon as one attains the seeing of the nature, immediately there is no-citta; then medicine and illness both vanish, and teachings and contemplations all cease. As the gāthā of the Laṅkāvatārasūtra says: ‘The vehicles of the gods and Brahmā, / The vehicles of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, / And the vehicle of the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas— / I speak of these various vehicles. / As long as there is the turning of citta, / The various vehicles are not ultimate. / If that citta is extinguished completely, / There is no vehicle and no one who rides it. / There is no establishment of vehicles; / I call it the One Vehicle. / For the sake of guiding sentient beings, / I discriminate and preach the various vehicles.’ Thus an earlier worthy said: ‘A single film in the eye, and a thousand flowers disorder the sky; / A single delusion in citta, and kalpas of sands arise and cease. / When the film is removed, the flowers end; / When delusion is extinguished, one realizes the truth. / When the sickness is cured, the medicine is discarded; / When the ice melts, the water remains. / The divine elixir refined nine times turns iron into gold; / A single word of ultimate principle turns the ordinary into the noble. / The frantic citta does not cease; / Ceasing is bodhi. / The mirror clean and citta bright, / One is fundamentally Buddha.’