宗鏡錄 28.8

28.8

Answer: A sūtra states: 'The six sovereign kings are constantly pure.' The reason they are called 'kings' is that 'king' signifies sovereignty. Therefore, the eye faculty spontaneously observes forms with unimpeded sovereignty. A sūtra states: 'Just like the light of the eye, which clearly illuminates the objective realm before it; its light is complete, admitting neither increase nor affection.' Furthermore, it is always in direct perception (pratyakṣa), its fundamental nature unchanging. How could this not be like a king who constantly attains sovereignty? That which is called 'maṇi' signifies the raining down of jewels. As it is said: 'When responding at the eye, it is like a thousand suns; the myriad forms cannot escape their shadows and substances.' How could this not be the meaning of raining down jewels? It is also said: 'The eye-gate emits light, illuminating and shattering mountains, rivers, and the great earth.' How could this not be the meaning of emitting light? Thus the profound mirror leaves nothing out, and the subtle and hidden are clearly perceived. The five faculties in their respective functions are also like this. Even down to the mental faculty: a single thought spans a thousand miles without any obstruction. As it is said: 'When responding at the mind, it transcends discrimination; illuminating the dense array of phenomena, it never rests. Penetrating through mountains, rivers, and stone walls, yet throughout the very time of illuminating it is constantly quiescent.' Therefore know that the six faculties are not evil, but are identical with correct awakening. The wise practice non-action; the foolish bind themselves. They may be called the jewel-treasury of the body and the bright pearl of the mind. Without being spoken of, they are not known, and one vainly sinks into the ocean of suffering. Such was the intention behind the prior sages' compassionate pity. Furthermore, the teachings and analogies set forth were for those who have not yet developed faith. These are the maṇis of the mundane world; how much more so the raining of jewels by our citta! It is like taking the great ocean to illustrate the vastness and depth of our citta. Moreover, a maṇi is a physical dharma of material obstruction; how could it be the same as the inexhaustible Dharma-wealth of the Cinnabar Terrace? The great ocean has limited billows; how could it equal the inexhaustible nature-waters of the spiritual source? These only briefly illustrate a small portion; one may say heaven and earth are far apart. Seeking ten thousand fathoms, one has not grasped even a hair's breadth; pointing to a hundred parts, one has barely spoken of one or two. One must strictly avoid putting oneself down and refusing to take charge of it! Eighth is the Gate of Manifesting Dharmas Through Phenomena to Generate Understanding: The Avataṃsaka-sūtra states: 'The hundreds of thousands of nayutas of ineffable multitudes of bodhisattvas previously dwelling in the Tuṣita Palace were produced from dharmas surpassing the three realms, produced from practices free from all kleśas, produced from an all-pervasive, unimpeded mind, produced from the dharma of profound skillful means, produced from immeasurable, vast wisdom, nurtured by firm and pure faith, arisen from inconceivable wholesome roots, accomplished through asarpkhyeyas of skillful transformations, manifested from the mind of making offerings to the Buddha, and sealed by the unconditioned Dharma-gate.' Commentary: The above fully sets forth the causes. It also states: 'Producing offering-utensils surpassing those of all devas to make offerings to the Buddha'—this speaks of the multiple fruits. Next, a single cause produces a single fruit. The sūtra states: 'All the jewel canopies produced from the pāramitās; all the flower curtains produced from the purity of all Buddha-realms; all the robes produced from the patience of the non-arising of dharmas (anutpattikadharmakṣānti); down to all the jewel palaces inhabited by Buddhas produced from the joyful mind that understands all dharmas to be like a dream.' Since [the text says] patience of non-arising produces only robes and so forth, it is called 'one cause, one fruit'. Lastly, a single cause produces multiple fruits. That is, simply citing non-arising as the cause generally produces all fruits. Thus the sūtra states: 'All clouds of jewel lotuses, all clouds of solid incense, all clouds of flowers of boundless colors, and so forth, produced from the unattached wholesome roots and non-arising wholesome roots.' Any single phenomenon is inexhaustible; how much more so since every phenomenon accords with the nature! Therefore, all are identical with the inexhaustible dharmadhātu. One merely designates them according to a single meaning: for instance, revealing that which is venerable, complete, and bright is named 'jewel'; if speaking of sovereignty, it is called 'king'; if moistening and benefiting, it is named 'cloud', and so forth. Thus, the Golden World is the fundamental nature; the Pavilion of Maitreya is the Dharma-gate; the Brāhmaṇa Jayoṣmīya's mass of fire and mountain of knives are prajñā and non-discriminative wisdom, and so forth—all are these phenomena. Therefore, each single phenomenon is endowed with inexhaustible dharmas; establishing the complete endowment with inexhaustible virtues does not go beyond this. Ninth is the Gate of the Dissimilar Completion of the Delimited Dharmas of the Ten Times: Because time has no separate substance, it is established in dependence on phenomena. A single thought grasps and includes them, and the ten times interpenetrate. Therefore, as when seeing flowers bloom one knows it is fragrant spring, when seeing lush growth and fruiting one knows it is vermilion summer, when falling leaves wither it is autumn, and when storing away it is winter: it is entirely due to things that one knows the four seasons. Furthermore, that a single thought and the nine times constitute the ten times is because the nine pertain to the aspects, while the one pertains to the real substance. Because substance and function interpenetrate, the constant nine and the constant one are without obstruction. Because substance and function usurp each other, they transcend the characteristics of nine and one, and thus are identical with the ocean of fruit. Causing times to interpenetrate freely and without obstruction briefly has four tiers: first, characteristics are eliminated and both are exhausted; second, characteristics accompany each other and both are preserved; third, characteristics follow each other and mutually contain each other; fourth, characteristics identify with each other and are mutually identical. In the first: following the branch from the root, there is only phenomenon and no principle; returning the branch to the root, there is only principle and no phenomenon. In the second: the principle that is entirely phenomenon is not phenomenon, so the single characteristic has no time; the phenomenon that is entirely principle is not principle, so the nine times are not disordered. In the third: due to the principle that accords with phenomena, a single time is able to accommodate all times; due to the phenomena that accord with principle, all times follow the principle and enter into a single time. Plurality and unity are the reverse of the above, and their mutual entry can be known. In the fourth: due to the phenomena that are identical with principle, a single time is identical with all times; due to the principle that is identical with phenomena, all times are identical with a single time. If there were only principle, there would be no things that could mutually be identical or enter; if there were only phenomena, they would obstruct each other and could not be identical or enter. Only through the unimpeded mutual compliance of phenomenon and principle is there being identical and entering. Contemplating this, it can be seen. Furthermore, as for Sudhana being able to accomplish the practices of multiple kalpas in a single lifetime: it is like the Ṛṣi Bhīṣmottaranirghoṣa grasping his hand—through the power of the spiritual friend, within a split second, he went to a Buddha's dwelling and saw that he had practiced untiringly through ineffable-ineffable Buddha-field-atom-count kalpas. How could he not have traversed multiple kalpas in a single lifetime? Because the power of the ṛṣi has sovereignty over length and brevity. Just like Wang Zhi in the mundane world encountering the immortals playing chess, causing his axe handle to rot: he still thought three years were the span of a meal. Since he could make the long short, he could also make the short long. Just as King Mu of Zhou followed the illusionist: though many years passed, it was actually only a split second. Therefore know that mundane dharmas and Buddhadharmas are both inconceivable. Mundane dharmas are already immeasurable; how much more so the Buddhadharma! One should not determine its meaning by long or short times, or vast or narrow places. Tenth is the Gate of Master and Companion Being Complete and Bright, Endowed with Virtues: The 'Manifestation' chapter of the Avataṃsaka states: 'From the space between the brows came forth the Bodhisattva Utkṛṣṭasvara, emerging together with immeasurable retinues'—this is the personal retinue. The Buddha emits light from between his brows, with immeasurable hundreds of thousands of koṭis of rays of light as its retinue—this is the retinue of light. Furthermore, the dharmadhātu sūtras have sūtras as numerous as the atoms of Buddha-fields as their retinue—this is the Dharma retinue. Therefore, each and every one has a retinue. If viewed from other sūtras, they are merely retinues and do not constitute master and companion. When retinues are spoken of here, it treats the phenomena within the present sūtra as retinues; retinue is companion, thus demonstrating master and companion. These ten profundities on the phenomenon of the flower apply by analogy to all other phenomena. Citing the flower being so, phenomena such as a single speck of dust are also like this. The ten gates concerning the flower speak solely in terms of phenomena: that is, on the phenomenon of the flower, all phenomena are the phenomenon of simultaneous complete endowment, the phenomenon of unimpeded vastness and narrowness, the phenomenon of one and many, down to the phenomenon of master and companion. Since this phenomenal flower carries the ten meanings of simultaneity, it also possesses the other ten gates of teaching and meaning and so forth. That is, on phenomena there are teaching and meaning: simultaneously completely endowed teaching and meaning, vast and narrow teaching and meaning, one and many, down to master and companion teaching and meaning. Furthermore, from teaching and meaning down to stimulus and response, each has simultaneity and so forth, making one hundred gates. Taking that upon which phenomena depend as an analogy for the rest that are depended upon: since phenomenal dharmas have one hundred gates, second, teaching and meaning constitute one hundred gates, down to stimulus and response possessing one hundred gates; thus there are one thousand gates. As teaching and meaning and so forth have these one thousand gates, taking what is depended upon to illustrate the gates that depend [upon them], they also form one thousand gates. That is, previously the substantial phenomenon that is depended upon was taken as the head; now the profound gates that depend [upon them] are taken as the head. That is, within the Gate of Simultaneity, it possesses simultaneous teaching and meaning, simultaneous phenomenon and principle, simultaneous objective realm and wisdom, down to simultaneous stimulus and response; thus there are ten gates. Within the Gate of Simultaneity, it possesses vastness and narrowness and so forth; those of vastness and narrowness and so forth have vast and narrow teaching and meaning and so forth, thus forming one hundred gates. Second, vastness and narrowness possessing one hundred is analogous to the Gate of Simultaneity. Third, the Gate of Mutual Entry possesses one hundred; fourth, the Gate of Mutual Identity possesses one hundred; down to the tenth, the Gate of Master and Companion possessing one hundred; thus forming one thousand gates. However, the latter thousand do not differ from the former thousand; they merely mutually take each other as the head, thereby forming the difference. If one takes them layer upon layer until reaching the inexhaustible, this concludes into inexhaustibility. Speaking of 'taking them layer upon layer': for instance, the first single gate possesses ten; taking one from among the ten, this one must also possess ten, possess one hundred, and possess one thousand, because they are not separate. As the one is so, the ten of each of the thousand gates are also like this; then they possess ten thousand. Taking any one from among the ten thousand, it also possesses ten thousand. Just as one thousand coins together form a dependent origination: with one coin as the head, it possesses the one thousand coins; the others are also like this, so there are a thousand thousands. Taking any one from among the thousand thousands, it also possesses a thousand thousands; therefore it reaches inexhaustibility. Furthermore, as for 'layer upon layer': within a single phenomenon there are also multiple objective realms; within a single wisdom there are again multiple wisdoms and so forth; mutually interpenetrating, they are also inexhaustible. Because this is the inexhaustible Dharma-gate endowed with virtues, it is solely the realm of the Samantacakṣus, which only superior wisdom can enter. Therefore one should diligently cultivate it; it will surely produce great benefit.