宗鏡錄 23.11

23.11

Answer: When there is nothing before one's eyes, that is truly seeing the Buddha. As in the Sūtra of Mañjuśrī's Circuit: because the sūtra speaks of Mañjuśrī going all around the rooms of five hundred monks, seeing them all in silent samādhi, it was named accordingly. Finally, he questioned Śāriputra in order to reveal the profound prajñā. He asked Śāriputra, saying, "At that time I saw you alone in a room, sitting cross-legged and subduing your body. Were you practicing seated meditation or not?" [Śāriputra] replied, "I was." [Mañjuśrī] challenged him, saying, "Was it to cause that which is not yet severed to be severed that you were practicing seated meditation?" and so forth. By this means he extensively revealed the principle and purport that nature is empty and without attainment. The five hundred monks arose from their seats, went before the World-Honoured One, and declared in a loud voice: "From this day forward, we will never again see Mañjuśrī's body, nor hear his name again! Such places ought to be quickly abandoned, and to all the dwelling places of Mañjuśrī we should also never go! Why is this? Because Mañjuśrī preaches kleśa and liberation as having a single characteristic," and so forth. Śāriputra bade Mañjuśrī resolve this for them. Mañjuśrī said, "Because in reality there is no Mañjuśrī to be attained. If in reality there is no Mañjuśrī to be attained, he also cannot be seen," and so forth, extensively preaching the Dharma. Four hundred monks had their outflows exhausted and attained the fruit; one hundred monks slandered him further, fell into hell, and later returned to attain the Way—all as extensively recounted therein. Therefore, non-seeing is true seeing; non-hearing is true hearing. Not seeing and not hearing Mañjuśrī is truly seeing and truly hearing Mañjuśrī. If one does not believe this teaching, though one gives rise to slander and falls into hell, because one has once heard it, one will ultimately perfume seeds and attain the Way; how much more so if one hears and believes it! Then the attainment of the Way is not separated [even] by a single thought. Thus we know that in the mirror of the source, there are none who see or hear who do not obtain benefit. Therefore the Ratnakūṭasūtra says: "The girl Abhayā said: 'Mahākāśyapa, all dharmas are eternally non-existent and cannot be shown. Therefore, Mahākāśyapa, all dharmas are non-existent. If dharmas are originally non-existent, how can that pure dharmadhātu be seen? Mahākāśyapa, if a good son or good daughter wishes to see the pure Tathāgata, they should properly purify their own citta.' At that time Mahākāśyapa said to Abhayā: 'How does one properly purify one's own citta?' The girl said: 'Mahākāśyapa, it is like the tathatā of one's own body and the tathatā of all dharmas. If one has faith in that, nothing is created and nothing is lost. It is thus that one sees one's own citta is pure.' Kāśyapa asked: 'What is the substance of one's own citta?' The girl said: 'Emptiness is its substance. If one realizes that emptiness, because one has faith in one's own body, one has faith in the emptiness of tathatā, because the nature of all dharmas is quiescent.'" It also says: "The Tathāgata is the realm of space; therefore space is itself the Tathāgata. Within this, there is not a single thing that can be discriminated." The Kuśalamūlasaṃparigrahasūtra says: "The suchness of all dharmas is the Tathāgata; the Tathāgata is the suchness of all dharmas. Therefore, World-Honoured One, having no place of abiding is the meaning of Tathāgata." Furthermore, the reward and transformation [bodies] are like shadows; empty, they have no coming or going. When the citta is pure, the Buddha appears, and so one says the Buddha comes, yet the Buddha does not come. When the citta is defiled, he does not appear, and so one says the Buddha departs, yet the Buddha does not depart. This is coming without coming, and departing without departing. Since the Buddha has neither coming nor going, the citta also has neither arising nor ceasing. Those who understand thus can see the true Buddha. Therefore the Vajracchedikāsūtra says: "If a person says that the Tathāgata comes, goes, sits, or lies down, this person does not understand the meaning of what I have said. A Tathāgata is one who comes from nowhere and goes nowhere; therefore he is called a Tathāgata." Thus we know that whether person or dharma, none depart from the path of the One Suchness. Thoroughly penetrating in this way, whatever confronts the six sense faculties is nothing other than seeing the Buddha of one's own nature, such-like. This takes non-seeing as true seeing, and seeing reality as the true Buddha. Master Zhao said: "What is the Buddha? He is indeed the appellation for the Great Awakening that exhausts principle and fulfills the nature." Master Sheng said: "Taking the seeing of reality as the Buddha." Such, then, is also named truly seeing the Way, and also named true offering.