宗鏡錄 16.13

16.13

Answer: They are manifested in response to the citta, so the reflections differ; their own karma is varied, not that the Buddha is different. When observing the same water, four classes [of beings] suddenly differ—all are distinctions in their own seeing. Sharing a precious vessel, yet the color of the rice is not the same—it is not that another's karma transforms it. Thus the entire mind is the Buddha, and the entire Buddha is the mind; this very mind of tathatā is the dharmakāya Buddha. Moreover, the dharmakāya has no marks, and the true nature has no form. If form and marks are not even present, how could there be distinction? All are one's own vijñāna reflecting images differently. Just as five hundred brahmins gave rise to faith upon seeing a body of ashes; the elder Ghoṣila generated the mind [directed toward bodhi] upon beholding a three-foot [form]; Bodhisattva Anantakāya exhausted the upper realms and found it still remaining; and worldlings dwelling in lesser sageliness observed the sixteen-foot [body] without end. As the Guanfo sanmei jing says: 'The Buddha addressed his father, the king, and instructed Ānanda: "I shall now fully display the marks of my body for you." Having spoken these words, the Buddha arose from his seat, causing the assembly to rise together, and caused them to observe the Tathāgata, observing from the crown down to the wheel marks on the feet, and again from the foot marks up to the crown, each and every bodily part distinct and clear, like a person holding a mirror and seeing the image of their own face. If one generates an impure, evil, and unwholesome mind, or if there is someone who breaks the Buddha's prohibitions and precepts, they see the image purely black, like a person of ashes. Five hundred Śākyas saw only a person of ashes; a thousand monks saw the color of red clay; sixteen upāsakas saw the color of a black elephant's leg; twenty-four upāsikās saw it like gathered ink; nuns saw it like white silver; upāsakas and upāsikās [some] saw it like the blue-green dyed with indigo. The fourfold assembly wept in sorrow; the Śākya youths pulled their hair and struck their bodies, recounting what they had seen, until the Buddha explained to each their past karma that caused these different colors.' Therefore the Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi says: 'Objects turn following the karmic vijñāna; therefore it is said to be mind-only.' Also the Guhyakādhipatinirdeśa says: 'All devas and humans see the color and size of the Buddha's body either like yellow gold, white silver, various miscellaneous gems, and so forth, or seeing it as sixteen feet, or seeing it as one li, or seeing it as ten li, up to a hundred billion, measureless and boundless, pervading space. This is called the Tathāgata's bodily secret.' Thus we know that in accordance with different perceptions, the traces are divided into many kinds. Not only in seeing the Buddha, but contemplating phenomena is also like this: according to the shallowness or depth of wisdom, phenomena become higher or lower. As the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra says: 'Because the dvādaśāṅgapratītyasamutpāda is contemplated with inferior wisdom, one attains śrāvaka bodhi; because it is contemplated with middling wisdom, one attains pratyekabuddha bodhi; because it is contemplated with superior wisdom, one attains bodhisattva bodhi; because it is contemplated with the utmost superior wisdom, one attains Buddha bodhi.' Up to the eight aspects of accomplishing the Way, which do not go beyond the samādhi gate of the kṣaṇa limit: according to what sentient beings see and hear, time divisions naturally arise. Therefore former virtuous ones said: 'Thus, the Tathāgata accomplishing the Way in eight aspects within a single thought does not go beyond the kṣaṇa limit, because the time of descent is precisely the time of accomplishing the Way, precisely the time of liberating people, and precisely the time of entering extinction. Why? Because all phenomena are established simultaneously together; when one is accomplished, all are accomplished.' The Avataṃsakasūtra says: 'Without leaving the bodhi tree, he ascended to Śakra's heaven.' The commentary explains: 'When the Buddha attained bodhi, his wisdom was everywhere, his substance was nowhere absent, without reliance and without abiding, without going and without coming. Yet through the response that is sovereignly identical to substance, the response pervades following the substance. As conditions respond earlier or later, there is abiding and there is ascending. When Jambudvīpa responds, he is seen at the bodhi tree; when the heavenly palace responds, he is seen ascending to heaven. It is not that the Buddha moved from the bodhi tree and ascended to the heavenly palace. Therefore it says, "Without leaving the bodhi tree, he ascended to Śakra's palace."' Dharmamati's gāthā says: 'Disciples of the Buddha, you should observe / the Tathāgata's sovereign power: / All of Jambudvīpa / says the Buddha is in its midst— / this is not leaving; / we now see the Buddha / abiding on the summit of Sumeru— / this is ascending.' Furthermore, ancient masters explained this with ten meanings: First, according to the gate of mutual entering of places: because within one place all places exist, these heavenly palaces and the like were originally under the tree, so he did not need to arise; yet being its function, it is spoken of as ascending. Second, also according to the gate of mutual entering: because one place enters all places, the tree pervades the heavens, so he also did not need to arise; wishing to use the heavenly palace to express the ascent and advancement of the Dharma, it is said to ascend. Third, because all are identical to one, the heavens are under the tree. Fourth, because one is identical to all, the tree is in heaven; not arising and so forth are parallel to the previous. Fifth, according to the Buddha's body: this body under the tree fills the dharmadhātu and pervades all places, so originally being there, it does not await arising; when faculties ripen he causes them to see, hence it is called ascending; therefore the Tathāgata, by means of the dharmadhātu body, is constantly here, which is precisely being there. Sixth, according to the Buddha's sovereign, inconceivable liberation: sitting is walking, abiding, and so forth; being here is being there; all are beyond the reckoning of lower levels. Seventh, according to the gate of dependent origination and mutual reliance. Eighth, according to the gate of the integration of the dharmatā. Ninth, according to the gate of signifying and manifesting the Dharma. Tenth, according to the gate of accomplishing the great assembly of the dharmadhātu. The Acintyasūtra says: 'Because all Buddhas and all phenomena are equally identical, all are of the same single principle, like a mirage and so forth. All sentient beings and all tathāgatas' Buddha-fields are not separate from thought, up to: if I discriminate, the Buddha immediately manifests before me; if there is no discrimination, nothing at all is seen. Thought can make a Buddha; apart from thought there is none. In this way, all phenomena in the three realms are not separate from the citta.' The Samantabhadrabodhicaryā-sūtra says: 'At that time the practitioner, hearing Samantabhadra's teaching, deeply understood the meaning and remembered it without forgetting. Day after day like this, their mind gradually became sharp. Bodhisattva Samantabhadra taught them to be mindful of the Buddhas of the ten directions. Following Samantabhadra's teaching, with correct citta and correct intention, gradually with the mental eye they saw the Buddha of the east, his body golden in color, dignified, wondrous, and subtle. Having seen one Buddha, they again saw another Buddha; thus gradually they pervadingly saw all the Buddhas of the east. Because mental thought was sharp, they pervadingly saw all the Buddhas of the ten directions.' The Amitāyurdhyānasūtra says: 'All Buddha-tathāgatas are the dharmadhātu body, entering into the mental thoughts of all sentient beings. Therefore, when your minds think of the Buddha, this mind is fully endowed with the thirty-two marks and eighty secondary characteristics; this mind makes the Buddha, this mind is the Buddha. The ocean of the true, universal knowledge of all Buddhas arises from mental thoughts.' This Amitāyurdhyānasūtra, for faculties of medium and inferior capacity, established the sixteen contemplations, causing Lady Vaidehī and others to temporarily manifest the Buddha's body. Fearing that external interpretations would arise, it therefore made this statement: the passage 'this mind is the Buddha' causes them to produce real seeing. The Chapter on the Manifestation [of the Tathāgata] in the Avataṃsakasūtra says: 'Disciples of the Buddha! Just as with the great ocean, its water invisibly flows through the four continents and eighty billion small islands; if anyone digs, none fail to obtain water; yet that great ocean does not make the discrimination: "I send forth water." The water of the ocean of the Buddha's wisdom is also like this: it flows into the citta of all sentient beings. If sentient beings contemplate cognitive objects and cultivate Dharma-doors, they then attain pure and clear wisdom; yet the Tathāgata's wisdom is equal, non-dual, and without discrimination; merely following the differences in sentient beings' mental actions, the wisdom attained by each is distinct. Disciples of the Buddha, this is the mental characteristic of the Tathāgata.' Also, a verse in the Chapter on Inquiries says: 'Just as water has a single taste, / but differs according to the vessel, / the Buddha's field of merit is also like this: / it differs because of sentient beings' minds.' Another verse says: 'Just as a pure and bright mirror / reflects images according to colors, / the Buddha's field of merit is like this: / according to the mind one obtains various retributions.' The Awakening of Faith says: 'Furthermore, the function of tathatā means that all Buddhas, when on the causal stage, generate great compassion, cultivate the pāramitās, the four means of embracing, and other practices, view beings as identical to themselves and universally rescue them, exhausting the limits of the future without limiting the number of kalpas, truly understanding the equality of self and other, yet without grasping at the characteristic of sentient beings. With such great wisdom of skillful means, they extinguish beginningless avidyā, realize the original dharmakāya, and spontaneously give rise to inconceivable deeds, various sovereign, differentiated functions, pervading the dharmadhātu, equal to tathatā, yet without any mark of function that can be apprehended. Why? Because all tathāgatas are solely the dharmakāya, the ultimate truth; there are no worldly truths, realms of objects, or functions. Merely following the seeing and hearing of sentient beings, there are various different functions. This function has two kinds: First, relying on the discriminating object-vijñāna: that which is seen by the minds of ordinary beings and the two vehicles is called the nirmāṇakāya. These people do not know the reflection of the pravṛttivijñāna; seeing it as coming from outside, they grasp at limits of form; yet the Buddha's nirmāṇakāya has no limit. Second, relying on the karmic vijñāna: that which is seen by the minds of bodhisattvas from their first generation of the mind up to the ultimate stage of bodhisattvahood is called the sambhogakāya. The body has measureless forms, form has measureless marks, marks have measureless characteristics, and the dependent fruition in which it abides is also measurelessly adorned with merits; in accordance with what should be seen, it is measureless, boundless, without limit and without interruption; it is not outside the mind that it is seen in this way. All these merits are accomplished through the perfuming of outflow-free practices such as the pāramitās, and inconceivable perfuming; because it is endowed with boundless marks of joy and merit, it is also called the saṃbhogakāya. Furthermore, what ordinary beings and others see is its coarse function; following the differences of the six destinies, there are various distinctions, without the boundless marks of merit and joy, which is called the nirmāṇakāya. Bodhisattvas of initial practice see the middling function; because of deep faith in tathatā, they attain a partial seeing, knowing that the Tathāgata's body has no going and no coming, and has no interruption; it is only a mental reflection, not separate from tathatā. Yet these bodhisattvas are still not able to be free from subtle discrimination, because they have not entered the stage of the dharmakāya. Pure-minded bodhisattvas see the subtle function; thus it becomes progressively superior, until in the ultimate stage of bodhisattvahood it is seen completely. This subtle function is the saṃbhogakāya. Because there is karmic vijñāna, one sees the saṃbhogakāya; if one is free from karmic vijñāna, then there is nothing to be seen. All tathāgatas are the dharmakāya; there are no distinct forms of self and other seeing each other.' Therefore an ancient commentary says: '"Relying on the discriminating object-vijñāna: that which is seen by the minds of ordinary beings and the two vehicles is called the nirmāṇakāya" means that ordinary beings and the two vehicles do not yet know vijñaptimātra, and reckon external dust [objects], which is the meaning of discriminating object-vijñāna. Now seeing the Buddha's body, they also regard it as external to the mind; conforming to that object-vijñāna's discrimination and reckoning, they are deluded about mind-only, hence it is said to come from outside. Failing to understand that form itself is mind, without division or limit, it is said that they grasp at limits of form and cannot know it exhaustively.'