宗鏡錄 27.6

27.6

Answer: This is the source of the myriad transformations, the foundation of the one truth. Adapting to conditions and functioning in response, it is like a wish-fulfilling jewel; manifesting forms before things, it is like a great round mirror. Therefore, being able to encompass the myriad forms, it is the storehouse of the great Dharma. Producing inexhaustibly, it is the inexhaustible storehouse. Wondrous wisdom being boundless, it is the storehouse of great wisdom. Phenomenon after phenomenon being ever such, it is the tathāgatagarbha. Its original nature having no form, it is the pure dharmakāya. Its substance merging with true emptiness, it is the space-body. Its major and minor marks being subtle and profound, it is the wondrous form-body. Its wondrous eloquence being inexhaustible, it is the wisdom-body. Its concealing and revealing being unobstructed, it is the responsive transformation-body. The myriad practices adorning it, it is the merit-body. Thought after thought having no obstruction, it is entering the gate of liberation. Thought after thought being vast and open, it is entering the gate of emptiness and tranquility. The six sense-bases having autonomy, it is entering the unobstructed gate. Not giving rise to a single thought, it is entering the signless gate. Furthermore, the purport here: if they support each other, it is exclusively broad and great, and expounding it is boundless; if they subsume each other, it is exclusively subtle and fine, and investigating it leaves no trace. This leaves behind existence and non-existence without destroying existence and non-existence; it marks unity and difference without being unity or difference. Thus the fires of the four extremes cannot burn it, and the defilements of the hundred negations cannot taint it. It merely manifests in accord with conditions, like an echo in an empty valley. Therefore the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra says: 'For example, if a single person has many abilities, when he runs he is called a runner; if he reaps, he is again called a reaper; if he prepares food and drink, he is called a cook; if he works wood, he is called a carpenter; when forging gold and silver, he is called a goldsmith or silversmith. In this way, a single person has many names. Dharmas are also like this: in reality they are one, yet they have many names.' Hence we know that according to function, many are distinguished, while the substance is ever darkly one. Great Master Lushan Yuan says: 'There is only a single knowing nature; according to its functions, many are distinguished. It is not that apart from the mind as a whole, there are separately various mental factors. For example, a single piece of gold is made into various utensils; it is not that apart from the gold, there is separately a substance of the utensils. According to functions, reception, perception, formations, and so on are separately distinguished; each maintains its own characteristic, and thus they can be said to have numbers. Just as between gold and utensil, it is not that there is no distinction. Although gold and utensil are distinct, in time there is no before or after. Mind and mental factors are like this: if one says they are definitely one, at the time of the gold, the various utensils ought not to exist; if one says they are definitely distinct, the utensils ought not to be the single gold. The unity and difference of mind and mental factors can be understood by analogy with this.' Therefore, if one points only to the gold, one loses the utensil, destroying conventional truth; if one points only to the utensil, one loses the gold, obscuring ultimate truth. Thus, the nature being pure yet following defilement, the entire substance becomes conventional, which is the gate of arising and ceasing; the defiled nature being ever pure, originally truly pure, is the gate of tathatā. This then is defilement that is immediately purity, which does not obstruct the true while ever being conventional; purity that is immediately defilement, which does not shatter the conventional while ever being true. Therefore, without obstructing the one mind, the two truths both subsist. Even as far as the clouds of immeasurable bodies and the immeasurable Dharma gates, although they are distinguished according to their meanings, the one mind is immovable. Therefore, that to which all the sages return is nothing other than the Dharma. The Dharma is the mind. Hence the Dharma can accomplish Buddhahood. The Sūtra on Great Requiting of Kindness says: 'The Buddha takes the Dharma as his master.' The Prajñāpāramitāsūtra says: 'When I first attained the Way, I contemplated who could be revered and praised; none surpasses the Dharma, because the Dharma can establish all ordinary beings and sages.' The Tiantai teaching says: 'If one contemplates the mind-ground Dharma gate of the tathāgatagarbha, that is precisely contemplating the Tathāgata. The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind suddenly and truly manifest, one attains sight of the Buddha-nature, the three wisdoms appear before one, and the three bodies are complete.' Thus we know that when unfolded, it is the myriad dharmas; when rolled up, it is the one mind. The immeasurable is within the one; the one is within the immeasurable. As the Avataṃsakasūtra says: 'At that time, Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva asked Guṇaśīrṣa Bodhisattva: "Son of the Buddha, what the Tathāgata has awakened to is only a single dharma; why then does he speak of immeasurable dharmas, manifest immeasurable kṣetras, transform immeasurable multitudes, expound with immeasurable voices, display immeasurable bodies, know immeasurable minds, manifest immeasurable spiritual penetrations, universally shake immeasurable worlds, display immeasurable superior adornments, and reveal boundless various realms? Yet within the dharmatā, these distinct characteristics can none of them be found." At that time, Guṇaśīrṣa Bodhisattva answered in verse: / "The meaning asked by the Son of the Buddha / Is exceedingly deep and hard to understand. / The wise are able to know this, / Ever delighting in the Buddha's merits. / Just as the nature of earth is one, / Yet sentient beings live separately upon it, / Earth having no thought of oneness or difference, / The dharmas of the Buddhas are like this. / It is also like the nature of fire being one, / Able to burn all things, / The flames having no discrimination, / The dharmas of the Buddhas are like this. / It is also like the great ocean being one, / With thousands and myriads of different billows, / The water having no diverse distinctions, / The dharmas of the Buddhas are like this. / It is also like the nature of wind being one, / Able to blow upon all things, / Wind having no thought of oneness or difference, / The dharmas of the Buddhas are like this. / It is also like a great cloud and thunder, / Universally raining upon all the earth, / The raindrops having no distinction, / The dharmas of the Buddhas are like this. / It is also like the element of earth being one, / Able to generate various sprouts, / Yet the earth having no differences, / The dharmas of the Buddhas are like this. / It is also like the unclouded sun, / Universally shining upon the ten directions, / Its light having no different nature, / The dharmas of the Buddhas are like this. / It is also like the moon in the sky, / Which no one in the world fails to see, / Yet the moon does not travel to their places, / The dharmas of the Buddhas are like this. / For example, like the great Brahmā King, / Responding and manifesting throughout the three thousand [worlds], / Yet his body has no differences, / The dharmas of the Buddhas are like this."' / Hence we know that the principle of the one mind in this Mirror of the Source is called the complete path, the round and sudden gate. In terms of dependent arising, it is boundless; with regard to true nature, it is non-dual. The one and the many interpenetrate; subsistence and vanishing are simultaneous. As Dharma Master Fazang says: 'Explaining non-duality: if one clings to dust and mind as one, this is negated by saying they are not one, because what is manifested by mind is not without conditions. If one clings to dust as two, this is negated by saying they are not two, because apart from mind, there is no separate dust. When the oneness and twoness appear unobstructed before one, only then does one enter non-duality.' A sūtra verse says: 'Within the non-dual wisdom, / The lion among men emerges; / Not attached to the dharmas of one and two, / Knowing that one and two do not exist.' He also says: 'If, because dust is only manifested by mind, external dust is completely cut off; if, because mind fully manifests as dust, internal mind is completely vanished. "Vanished" means vanishing views that fall outside principle; "subsisting" means preserving phenomena that are entirely principle. That which vanishes ever subsists; that which subsists ever vanishes.' Therefore, the one mind wholly contains the myriad existences, and the myriad existences are not different from the one mind. As the commentary on the Awakening of Faith says: '"What is called the Dharma is the mind of sentient beings": this brings forth the substance of the Dharma, meaning the tathāgatagarbha mind contains the two gates of combination, because it is in the position of sentient beings. If in the Buddha-stage, there is no meaning of combination, because initial awakening is identical with original [awakening] and is solely tathatā, which corresponds to the meaning of what is revealed. Now, speaking in terms of the position of sentient beings who follow defilement, it is able to possess these two gates. Next, "subsuming all worldly and supramundane dharmas": this explains the function of the Dharma, because the substance and characteristics of this mind are unobstructed, and defilement and purity share the same basis. Flowing along or reversing the flow is solely the transformation of this mind. Therefore, if following defilement it becomes non-awakening, it subsumes worldly dharmas; the unchanging original awakening and the initial awakening that reverses defilement subsume supramundane dharmas. This is still explained in terms of the gate of arising and ceasing. If in terms of the gate of tathatā, it melts, fuses, and subsumes, and defilement and purity are not distinct, hence it comprehensively subsumes them. Below, the text fully reveals three. "Relying on this mind, the Mahāyāna meaning is displayed": this explains the name of the Dharma, meaning that relying upon this foundational Dharma of the one mind source, the meaning of the three greatnesses of Mahāyāna is displayed; hence this mind is called the Dharma. In the specific [part], there are two: first, raising an objection to the overall thesis to establish the difficulty; second, opening the specific explanation to accomplish [the thesis]. In the former, the objection has two senses. One says: the mind extends to defilement and purity, whereas Mahāyāna is solely pure; how can this mind display its meaning? The other says: the mental dharma is one, whereas the Mahāyāna meanings are broad; how can this mind display the three meanings? The explanation's meaning says: although Mahāyāna is pure, its characteristics and functions must be accomplished in relation to defilement. Therefore, now in the gate of arising and ceasing, since it fully contains defilement and purity, it is able to display them; for when defilement is discarded, there is no pure function. This explains the first sense. Furthermore, although the mental dharma is one, it has two gates: in the gate of tathatā, it indicates the substance of Mahāyāna; in the gate of arising and ceasing, it fully indicates the three greatnesses. The meaning of Mahāyāna does not exceed these three; therefore, relying on this one mind, the meaning of the three greatnesses can be displayed. Furthermore, why does it say in the gate of tathatā "immediately indicates" and in the gate of arising and ceasing "can indicate"? Because tathatā is the non-arising gate, having no different characteristics from the greatness of substance that is displayed, and the expression and the purport are not distinct, it therefore says "immediately indicates." Because it is non-arising, it only indicates the substance. Arising and ceasing is the active gate; defilement and purity being distinct, the expression and purport are also separated, and the able and the object are not identical, hence it does not say "immediately." "Its own substance, characteristics, and functions": substance means the meaning of original awakening within the gate of arising and ceasing, being the own-substance of arising and ceasing and the cause of arising and ceasing; hence in the gate of arising and ceasing, substance is also explained. The pure characteristics that overturn defilement and the activity and functions that follow defilement are both in this gate, hence they are discussed completely. Therefore, what the text below explains within the gate of arising and ceasing is the meaning of the three greatnesses displayed; the intent lies here. Why does the gate of tathatā directly say "substance," while the gate of arising and ceasing then says "own-substance," and so forth? Because the meaning of the three greatnesses displayed remains within the gate of arising and ceasing that can display [them], to show that they are not apart or external, it therefore says "own."