宗鏡錄 19.7

19.7

Answer: The sun and moon are in the sky, yet the blind do not see them. In the scriptures, those said to achieve buddhahood in a single lifetime are as numerous as dust motes. In the five thousand fascicles of the canon, every single fascicle contains [instances of] attaining the Way in one's present life. Just as Chan Master Bodhidharma transmitted the Buddha's mind-seal and saw the nature upon hearing the words, this is immediately attaining the Way. Those who grasp at characteristics refer to him as a non-Buddhist. A treatise states: 'The Buddha of Immovable Knowledge in the Golden World and Mañjuśrī in all places are both the dharmatā of one's own mind, not things coming from outside.' It also states: 'The ten faiths, ten abodes, ten practices, ten dedications, and ten grounds constitute the Flower Garland; awakening to and understanding one's own mind as vast, correct, and extensive is the Buddha. First seeing one's own nature constitutes the body and mind of the Buddha; cultivating the five stages equally serves as the adornment.' It is also like the Tiantai [teaching]: at the time of initial aspiration, one immediately contemplates nirvāṇa and practices the Way; this is analogized to the lotus flower, where blossom and fruit exist simultaneously. They are identical in sealing that the mind itself achieves buddhahood. The Aṅgulimāla-sūtra says: 'Aṅgulimāla and Mañjuśrī went universally to the tathāgatas of ten worlds in each of the ten directions and asked about this meaning: “Why does Śākyamuni Buddha abide in the Sahā World and not enter the realm of liberation in parinirvāṇa?” All those tathāgatas answered me, saying: “Śākyamuni Buddha is the very body of us all; that Buddha will himself resolve your doubts.”' Thus we know that the body that pervades the lands is merely a single body; divided it is not many, and united it is not one. As the Śūraṅgamasamādhisūtra says: 'If good sons or good daughters who seek the buddha-way hear the meaning and import of the Śūraṅgama samādhi and have faith and understanding without doubt, you should know that these persons will certainly never regress from the buddha-way—how much more so if, having had faith, they uphold, read, recite, explain it to others, and practice as taught. At that time, all the Śakras, Brahmās, and world-protecting heavenly kings each gave rise to this thought: “We should now spread a lion seat for the Tathāgata, an upright Dharma seat, a great person's seat, a greatly adorned seat, a seat for the great turning of the wheel of Dharma. We should cause the Tathāgata to speak the Śūraṅgama samādhi upon this seat of mine.” In this assembly, every person individually thought: “Only I have spread a lion seat for the Buddha; other people cannot do so.” And so, within a moment, before the Tathāgata there were eighty-four thousand billion nayutas of jeweled lion seats, none obstructing any other in the assembly. Each devaputra did not see the other seats, each having this thought: “I alone have spread a lion seat for the Buddha; the Buddha will speak the Śūraṅgama samādhi upon the seat I have spread.” At that time, after Śakra, Brahmā, and the world-protecting heavenly kings had finished spreading their seats, they each addressed the Buddha, saying: “May the Tathāgata deign to sit upon my seat and preach the Śūraṅgama samādhi.” Immediately, the World-Honoured One manifested great supernatural power and sat universally upon all eighty-four thousand billion nayutas of lion seats. The gods each saw the Buddha sitting upon the seat they had spread, not seeing the other seats. There was one Śakra who said to the other Śakras: “Look at the Tathāgata sitting upon my seat!” These Śakras, Brahmās, and world-protecting heavenly kings each said to one another: “Look at the Tathāgata sitting upon my seat!” One Śakra said: “The Tathāgata is now only on my seat, not on your seat.” And so, among the Brahmā assembly, there was a Brahmā king named Equal Practice who addressed the Buddha, saying: “World-Honoured One, which Tathāgata is real? The one on my seat, or the ones on the other seats?” The Buddha told Equal Practice: “All phenomena are empty like an illusion, existing from causes in combination, without an agent. They all arise from conceptual thinking and discrimination; having no master, they emerge according to mental intent. All these tathāgatas are real. Why are they real? These tathāgatas fundamentally do not arise; therefore they are real. These tathāgatas are non-existent now and in the future; therefore they are real. These tathāgatas are not subsumed by the four elements; therefore they are real. They are not subsumed by any skandhas, dhātus, or āyatanas; therefore they are real. These tathāgatas are equal and without difference in the beginning, middle, and end; therefore they are real. Brahmā King, these tathāgatas are equal and without difference. Why is this? These tathāgatas are equal because form is as such (tathatā); they are equal because feeling, conception, volitional formations, and consciousness are as such; for this reason they are equal. These tathāgatas are equal because the past world is as such; they are equal because the future world is as such; they are equal because the present world is as such; they are equal because phenomena are like an illusion; they are equal because phenomena are like a shadow; they are equal because phenomena are non-existent; they are equal because they have nowhere from which they come and nowhere to which they go. Therefore the Tathāgata is called equal. As all phenomena are equal, so too are these tathāgatas.”' Explanation: The Śūraṅgama samādhi is the ultimate firmness of all affairs. Why? Because being able to see the mind's nature is called the supreme concentration. For one who enters into this with faith, it is also called the king of samādhis. By means of this samādhi, one passes through all affairs—how could it not be ultimately firm? Just as the devas such as Śakra, Brahmā, and the world-protectors each saw the Buddha sitting on their own seat, this is indeed the genuine realization of one's own mind. Therefore the sūtra says: 'They all arise from conceptual thinking and discrimination; having no master, they emerge according to mental intent. All these tathāgatas are real. Why are they real? These tathāgatas fundamentally do not arise; therefore they are real.' Because all tathāgatas fundamentally do not arise, this is their arising from one's own mind. Yet their own mind is also like an illusion or a dream; none goes beyond the nature of equal tathatā. Therefore the sūtra says: 'Just as true gold, though refined and polished, does not lose its nature, so too are all these great beings: wherever they are tested, they can all manifest the inconceivable dharmatā.' A verse in the Ratnagotravibhāga says: 'Just as in the pure earth of beryl, / The body of the heavenly lord Śakra / Appears in it as a reflected image, / So too in the pure earth of sentient beings' minds, / The bodies of all the buddhas and tathāgatas / Appear in them as reflected images.' Thus we know that seeing the Buddha within the mind can be called attaining the Way in this very body. As the Sūtra on the Essentials of Chan says: 'The Buddha said: “Good son, if you seek outwardly for characteristics, though you pass through kalpas, in the end you will not attain it. If you awaken and contemplate inwardly, in as little as a single thought-moment you will attain anuttarā samyaksaṃbodhi.”' Therefore, practices and stages are realized simultaneously, and one swiftly ascends to the wondrous fruit. Because ordinary beings and sages are of the same substance, delusion and awakening merely appear to be divided. When one enters through faith, it is not obtained from the outside. Therefore it is said: 'Saṃsāra accords with the Way, just as light accords with darkness.' Hence it is said: '[Like] saltiness in water, or gluey blue in color.' Elder Li's treatise says: 'In this Avataṃsaka-sūtra, the ten abodes are the path of seeing, and the ten practices, ten dedications, ten grounds, and the eleventh ground are the preparatory applications, practicing to make it habitual and mature. The fruit of buddhahood is first manifested at the beginning; by Samantabhadra's compassionate vows, the great functions of wisdom and compassion are made habitual, mature, and sovereign. Because the Tathāgata's fundamental, universal radiant wisdom first manifests of itself, there is no extension, shortening, time, days, or limits from beginning to end, root to branch. Speaking in accordance with reality based on the fundamental wisdom of the dharmakāya, it is not like the provisional teachings of the triyāna, which are understood through emotional perceptions; it must always be contemplated with reference to the root. Ultimately, once the habituation to the fruit of buddhahood is completed and Samantabhadra's practices are fulfilled, in general one simply takes teaching and transforming all sentient beings as eternal. From beginning to end, without beginning or end, without creation or destruction, one takes responding and appearing with wisdom to benefit living beings universally across the six destinies throughout the ten directions as one's perpetual vocation. From the initial generation of the mind, when giving rise to faith and practice, one gives rise to such joyful faith, gives rise to such vows, gives rise to such aspiring pursuit, and sees such a way. From the stage of the initial aspiration, through the power of concentrated contemplation, one accords with the dharmakāya, revealing the fundamental, universal radiant wisdom, illuminating and knowing the ocean of births and deaths of both oneself and others to be inherently liberated by nature. Merely for the sake of teaching and transforming sentient beings to cause them to break attachments and leave the suffering of vain imaginings, one also does not see one's own body as achieving buddhahood or not achieving buddhahood. If one gives rise to a thought scheming to achieve buddhahood, you should know that this person is far from the buddha-way. If, solely by the power of the dharmakāya's lack of intrinsic nature, oneself and others are free from intrinsic nature, without any mind of creation or destruction, one gives rise to the power of skillful means, promotes the power of great vows, initiates the gate of great compassion, acting through non-action, giving rise to boundless aspirations and vows to teach and transform all beings without intrinsic nature throughout the dharmadhātu, causing their delusions to be resolved, further causing them to realize the principle of one's own mind's lack of intrinsic nature, so that vain imaginings and clingings are naturally absent—neither speaking of achieving buddhahood nor speaking of not achieving buddhahood—one must not produce such scheming thoughts. Thus, the Avataṃsaka-sūtra establishes the teaching gates of the five stages solely to guide and receive those who claim to have attained what they have not attained, reached what they have not reached, and fulfilled what they have not fulfilled, being stagnated by the obstacles of defilement and purity, possessing minds of contentment and thoughts of resting regarding the bodhi-path and bodhisattva practices. It establishes the fiftyfold causes and fruits and the one hundred and ten doctrinal gates so that they do not dwell stagnation, ceasing, and giving up, but fulfill Samantabhadra's vows and practices to the inexhaustible ultimate.' It also states: 'This Avataṃsaka-sūtra directly reveals the fundamental body and fundamental Dharma, transcending emotional views, without beginning and without end, severed from the characteristics of the three times. It is a single, complete, true reward, neither arising nor ceasing, neither eternal nor annihilated, where nature and characteristics are unimpeded, the sovereign gate of the fruit-ocean, directly conferred upon people of the highest faculties. The features and momentum of the doctrinal gates are like this, unlike the provisional studies that are achieved gradually in sequence. Just like ascending a nine-ren peak, one cannot do without footsteps; walking up a ten-story flight of stairs, one cannot obliterate one's tracks. Usually, one sees that a first-rank official is merely a minister; yet we hear that an ancient scholar-official suddenly ascended the throne. The bright pearl shines suddenly, seen universally without fixed location; the torrential rain over the great ocean fills every drop. The empty nature of a single dust mote is not different from the dharmadhātu. Various kinds of sentient beings forcibly give rise to lingering attachments; their capacities and vessels are not equal, and the provisional and the real differ. Because of this, the doctrinal gates have thousands of differences and myriad distinctions. One must understand the provisional and the real, recognize the conventional to cultivate the true, and not remain long stagnated in the provisional schools, deluded regarding its real teaching.'"