宗鏡錄 29.9.1

29.9.1

Answer: The Buddhas have no qualities of form or sound; only tathatā and the wisdom of tathatā exist uniquely. Whatever seeing and hearing there may be are all images of sentient beings' own citta. Thus expounding is expounding only by citta, and listening is listening only by citta. Outside citta, where is there any dharma? As the Siyi jing says: "Brahmā said: 'Why is it said that one who does not listen to the Dharma is [truly] listening to the sūtra?' Mañjuśrī said: 'When eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and manas do not leak, that is listening to the Dharma. Why is this? When at the inner six entries, form, sound, scent, taste, tangibles, and dharmas do not leak, only then is it listening to the sūtra.' And further, Brahmā asked: 'Bodhisattvas who have attained kṣānti, do you not listen to this sūtra?' The answer: 'As we listen, we take not listening as listening.'" A worthy of old said: "The Tathāgata emits the vast sound of the eight eloquence-types; the listener relies on and gives rise to what appears from their own citta. Just as relying on a shape and appearance, it is transformed at the tip of a fine hair; the intrinsic substance is already absent, yet the reflected image is as if present. The assembly of the worthy compiles [the teachings], each following their own seeing and hearing; relying on what was heard and seen, they compile their own words. Truly because, apart from the source of one's own citta, there is no external object, and apart from the object, no internal citta can be found. Those who transmit the Dharma do not bestow it upon another; they merely serve as an excellent condition, causing them to attain the Dharma for themselves. If self-understanding has not arisen, there is no way to awaken another. If self-understanding does not come from another, how could another's understanding not arise from oneself? Therefore, both the compilers and the transmitters all obtain reflected images and do not obtain the intrinsic substance, because one's own citta cannot grasp another's object. Thus we know that compilation is the sūtra transformed by one's own citta, and arriving at transmitters, they transmit the Dharma transformed by their own citta. They obtain the image, not the substance; through contemplation, this can be known. If one can constantly and skillfully distinguish what is manifested by one's own citta, and can know that all external natures are without nature, this person's knowledge and vision can be the same as the Buddha's, and the Dharma they expound will be no different from the Buddha's, because they have awakened and entered the joy of the noble wisdom of self-realization." A verse from the Ratnagotravibhāga says: "The sound of the wonderful heavenly Dharma drum / arises depending on one's own karma. / The Buddhas' expounding of the Dharma / is heard by sentient beings through their own karma. / Just as the wonderful sound is free from / physical and mental effort, / causing all sentient beings / to leave fear and attain tranquility, / the Buddha's voice is also like this: / free from physical and mental effort, / causing all sentient beings / to attain the realization of the path of quiescence." Another verse says: "Just as in empty space / water of eight qualities rains down, / and reaching places where salt and so forth abide, / it produces various different tastes, / the Tathāgata's cloud of compassion / rains down the water of the eightfold noble path; / reaching the place of sentient beings' minds, / it produces various tastes of understanding." The explanation states: Just as the sound of the heavenly drum corresponds to the capacity of what the devas know, like the rain of the dragon king following the evocative conditions of the world, realizing their own dharma they are not identical, and becoming different tastes there are distinctions; the Dharma is also like this: following the divergence of views, from the One Vehicle various vehicles are opened out, and from the one Dharma it is divided into many dharmas. The Huayan tanxuan ji says: "Regarding the gate of dependent origination being mind-only: all these above differentiated teaching dharmas are without exception manifested only by citta; therefore, all take vijñaptimātra as substance. However, there are two meanings: first, the contrast of intrinsic substance and reflected image; second, the complete subsumption of expounding and listening. In the first, broadly discerning the various teachings, there are altogether four propositions. First: intrinsic substance only, without reflected image. As in the Hīnayāna teaching, because it lacks the meaning of vijñaptimātra; treatises masters such as Dharmatrāta mostly establish this meaning. Second: both intrinsic substance and reflected image. As in the initial teaching of the Mahāyāna, outside sentient beings' minds the Buddha possesses subtle and marvelous dharmas of form, sound, and so on; by the power of the predominant condition of the listener's wholesome roots, striking the Buddha's seeds of benefiting others as cause, on the Buddha's wisdom text and meaning mutually arise, serving as the teaching of intrinsic nature and characteristics. By the power of the predominant condition of this teaching of the Buddha, striking the seeds of the tainted wholesome roots of the listener of the Dharma, on the listener's consciousness text and meaning mutually arise, serving as the teaching of the characteristics of reflected images. A verse from the Triṃśikā-vijñaptimātratā says: 'Through mutual predominant power, / the two consciousnesses become determined.' Master Dharmapāla and others all establish this meaning. Third: reflected image only, without intrinsic substance. As in the final teaching of the Mahāyāna, apart from sentient beings' minds, the Buddha fruit has no physical body, voice, or phenomenal qualities; there are only tathatā and the wisdom of tathatā, with great compassion and great vows serving as predominant conditions. In the minds of those transformed sentient beings whose faculties have ripened, the Buddha's form and sound expounding the Dharma are manifested. Therefore, the sacred teaching is solely reflected images within sentient beings' minds. Hence a sūtra verse says: 'All Tathāgatas / do not expound the Buddha-Dharma; / according with those who should be transformed, / they expound the Dharma for them.' Another verse says: 'The Tathāgata's dharmakāya is inconceivable, / formless, signless, and peerless; / manifesting physical images for sentient beings, / in the ten directions those who receive transformation all behold it.' Teachings like this are not solitary. Treatise masters such as Nāgasena and Sthiramati both establish this meaning. Fourth: neither intrinsic substance nor reflected image. As in the sudden teaching, not only is there no Buddha-form and so forth outside the mind, the Buddha manifested within sentient beings' minds is also empty in its very characteristics. Because it is consciousness only, there is no distinct reflected image; because form and so forth are free from nature, they are non-existent; because all is ineffable, the ineffable is also non-existent. Therefore, the sacred teaching is the teaching of non-teaching. As a sūtra verse says: 'The Tathāgata does not appear in the world, / nor does he undergo nirvāṇa.' Furthermore, the Ghanavyūhasūtra clarifies that the Buddha constantly abides in the dharmadhātu, without appearing in the world, and so on. The school of Nāgārjuna and others mostly establishes this meaning. These four explanations are gathered into one teaching; they are perfectly fused without obstruction and do not impede one another, because each sacred teaching gathers sentient beings from the shallow to the deep. Through reflection, this can be seen. Second, as for the complete subsumption of expounding and listening, there are also four propositions. First: apart from the Buddha's mind, there are no sentient beings to be transformed, much less the teaching expounded; therefore, it is manifested solely by the Buddha's mind. What is the meaning of this? It means that sentient beings have no separate intrinsic substance of their own; grasping the tathāgatagarbha, they constitute sentient beings. However, this tathāgatagarbha takes wisdom-realization as its intrinsic substance. Therefore, the entirety of sentient beings is altogether within the citta of the Buddha's wisdom. A sūtra verse says: 'The Buddhas all completely know / that everything turns from citta.' It also says: 'Within the Tathāgata's body of bodhi, / he sees all sentient beings generating the bodhi-mind and accomplishing equal, perfect enlightenment, / up to seeing that all sentient beings have already entered quiescence.'"