宗鏡錄 19.13

19.13

Answer: Speaking of cultivating good roots for a long time belongs to the subsumption under the teachings of the triyāna. Entering the ekayāna from the triyāna is itself fully endowed at the very outset of cultivation in a single moment of thought. Therefore a sūtra says: 'At the time of the initial aspiration, one immediately attains true awakening.' For example, when many rivers enter the ocean, the moment a single drop enters, it is immediately declared to pervade the great ocean, having neither beginning nor end. Though the extreme depths of the waters of a hundred other rivers may be deep, they do not equal a single drop entering the great ocean. In the same way, cultivating for many kalpas within the triyāna does not equal a single moment of thought within the ekayāna. Furthermore, these times and kalpas are indeterminate: either a single moment of thought is immeasurable kalpas, or immeasurable kalpas are a single moment of thought; a single lifetime is immeasurable lifetimes, or immeasurable lifetimes are a single lifetime. As in the Ten Profound Gates, time and place are unobstructed. Moreover, the Mahāyāna clarifies the meaning of attaining Buddhahood in a single moment of thought in two ways: First, bringing conditions together to enter the real; because the nature has neither less nor more, it clarifies attaining Buddhahood in a single moment of thought. Second, just as the practices become complete, one takes the final moment of thought and calls it attaining Buddhahood in a single moment of thought. It is like a person traveling far, taking the final step as having arrived. If the ekayāna clarifies attaining Buddhahood in a single moment of thought: as the Mahāyāna takes the final single moment of thought to attain Buddhahood, one immediately enters the ekayāna, where the final is immediately the initial, and the initial moment of thought is itself attainment. Why is this? Because cause and effect are mutually identical, responding simultaneously. If one wishes to discuss its attainment: attainment is followed by further attainment, attainment followed by further attainment. If sentient beings wish to attain it later: being later is followed by being further later, being further later followed by being still further later. Now, adducing attainment in a single moment of thought means being on the same level as the Buddha; yet because it is not yet fully consummate, there are still distinctions of shallow and deep. It is like someone just stepping out the gate versus someone traveling long in other lands: though both are equally in empty space, there is a difference of near and far. Therefore, when each of the five stages—such as the ten faiths and the ten abidings—is said to attain Buddhahood, their shallowness and depth are still distinguished. One must reflect carefully on this. The Xinyao jian states: 'Moment to moment of mind produces Buddhahood; there is no single mind that is not the Buddha-mind. Place to place the Way is accomplished; there is not a single speck of dust that is not a Buddha-land. Therefore, the true and the false, object and self—adduce one and all are gathered in; mind, Buddha, and sentient beings are entirely unified in equal measure.' From this we know that when deluded, the person follows phenomena: phenomena have ten thousand distinctions, and people are not the same. When awakened, phenomena follow the person: the person is unified, merging the ten thousand realms. The Zhiguan says: 'Contemplate the characteristic of sentient beings as being like the characteristic of all Buddhas. The measure of the realm of sentient beings is like the measure of the realm of all Buddhas. The abiding of the realm of sentient beings is like the abiding of empty space. By means of non-abiding phenomena, by means of signless phenomena, abide within prajñā: not seeing ordinary phenomena, how could one discard them? Not seeing noble phenomena, how could one grasp them? Just abide in the ultimate limit of reality. In this way, contemplate sentient beings as the true realm of Buddha-dharma.' Śāriputra said: 'Clearly understanding this meaning is named a bodhisattva-mahāsattva.' Maitreya said: 'Such a person is near the Buddha-seat, for the Buddha awakens to this Dharma.' Mañjuśrī said: 'Hearing this Dharma without being alarmed is precisely seeing the Buddha.' The Buddha said: 'One immediately abides in the stage of non-retrogression, is endowed with the six pāramitās, and is endowed with all Buddha-dharmas.' As stated above, the teaching and principle are without flaw; it is merely that correct understanding is difficult to arise and the power of faith is not complete. If there is faith without understanding, avidyā grows day and night. If there is understanding without faith, wrong views grow day and night. With both faith and understanding, one only then tallies with this source. People who tally with this source are extremely rare. Not only do all Buddhas of the ten directions respond to me, but the great earth, mountains, and rivers simultaneously bear identical witness. As Master Zhenjue's song says: 'King among dharmas, highest and most supreme, / Buddhas numerous as the sands of the Ganges together bear witness. / I now understand this wish-fulfilling jewel; / All who faithfully accept it respond accordingly.' The Venerable Baizhang said: 'Simply let all luminous functions operate freely in every direction; weeping, laughing, speech, and words all become Buddha-wisdom.' For one who understands like this, there is no moment in which one does not attain Buddhahood, no person who does not attain the Way. Natural and spontaneous, what does it have to do with deliberate fabrication? Therefore the Lotus Sūtra says: 'And one sees all tathāgatas / Spontaneously attaining the Buddha Way.' The Fajie yin says: 'At the time of the initial aspiration, one is immediately truly awakened; / Suffering and pleasure are equal, of one taste with the Buddha.' It also says: 'Discrimination of quiescent dharmas is named sentient beings; / From of old unmoving is named Buddha.' Master Niutou Rong's verse says: 'Dharma-forbearance first shares company with the three poisons; / Buddha-nature is constantly together with the six passions. / Just believe that grinding the mind brings forth the marvelous treasure; / Why bother searching outside your clothes for the bright pearl?' Great Master Fu's verse says: 'Buddha is not separated from mind; / Mind is not separated from Buddha. / When the mind is quiescent, that is nirvāṇa; / When the mind acts, there are objects. / Objects then turn into Māra; / When there are no objects, one sees the Buddha. / If one can function like this, / From where could the eighteen arise?' Layman Pang's gāthā says: 'No need to painfully seek extensive learning; / Look at that superior man: / A billion worlds along with sun and moon / Are compressed into a single hair or scale. / If the mind is merely quiescent and without signs, / One immediately departs the ford of avidyā. / If one can practice like this, / How much mental energy is saved!' Hanshanzi's poem says: 'I send word to all you benevolent ones: / What do you still harbor in your breasts? / Reaching the Way, one spontaneously sees the nature; / Seeing the nature is itself the Tathāgata. / The spontaneous is originally complete; / Practice and realization turn out to be astray. / Abandoning the root yet chasing the branch, / You only maintain a field of folly.' Master Baozhi's song says: 'The Buddha's substance is originally made of mind; / How could you seek it within written words? / Taking Buddha to seek Buddha is bitter toil; / Sitting on the ground, you bring conscripted labor upon yourself.' The One-Bowl Monk's song says: 'Do not use this body any longer to create water bubbles; / Who taught a hundred hairs to shed blood? / It is better to sit quietly on the ground of tathatā / And let magpies build nests upon your crown. / The sacred prince of the golden wheel for ten thousand generations— / That is simply this wondrous awakening of tathatā. / Beneath the bodhi tree, saving sentient beings; / Having saved all sentient beings, one transcends birth and death. / No birth and death—a true hero, / The great Vairocana, formless and signless. / Defilements extinguished, tathatā remains: / A single, round, bright, priceless pearl.' Master Budai's song says: 'Just this mind, mind, mind is Buddha, / The most spiritual thing in the worlds of the ten directions. / Its boundless marvelous functions are delightful indeed; / Nothing equals the mind's true reality. / Wandering free and untrammeled, without doing anything; / Leisured and tranquil, the ultimate monastic. / If you behold the true Great Way right before your eyes, / Not seeing a single fine hair is also wondrous indeed. / How do the ten thousand dharmas differ, how is the mind distinct? / Why bother searching further for the meanings of sūtras? / The mind-king originally cuts off manifold knowledge; / The wise person only clarifies the stage of no-more-learning.'