宗鏡錄 31.2.1

31.2.1

Now, the realm of all buddhas is reached only through the gate of liberation of the inconceivable one mind. Why is it called "inconceivable liberation"? Because all phenomena are not existing yet exist, exist yet do not exist, and because it is not known by inferential cognition, it is termed "inconceivable." Since they are not existing yet exist, one does not abide in non-existence. Since they exist yet do not exist, one does not abide in existence. Abiding neither in existence nor in non-existence, one is thereupon liberated from all phenomena, because all phenomena do not go beyond existence and non-existence. Thus one knows that within the liberation of the one mind, there are no words or letters; hence there is no saṃsāra, no kleśa, no skandhas or dhātus, no sentient beings, no sorrow or joy, no suffering or pleasure, no bandhana, no going or coming, no right or wrong, no gain or loss, and even no bodhi, no nirvāṇa, no tathatā, and no liberation. In short, all mundane and supramundane phenomena are completely non-existent. As the Śūraṅgamasūtra says: "To establish knowledge upon seeing and knowing is the very root of avidyā; seeing and knowing devoid of [subjective] views is itself nirvāṇa, the uncontaminated, true purity." How could anything else be accommodated within this? As stated above, worldly saṃsāra, supramundane nirvāṇa, and all such immeasurable distinct names are all established from seeing, knowing, words, and letters. If there are no seeing, knowing, words, or letters, names and substances are fundamentally empty. In the wonderful, luminous citta, what else could there be? As the Sixth Patriarch's verse says: / "Bodhi is not a tree at all, / Nor is the bright mirror a stand. / Fundamentally not a single thing exists; / Where could dust and dirt be wiped away?" / Master Rong says: "The ultimate principle cannot be explicated; / It is neither liberated nor bound. / Spiritual and penetrating, responding to things, / It is ever-present before one's eyes. / Before one's eyes there is no thing; / 'No thing' is vividly present. / It does not require human effort to bring about; / Its substance is naturally subtle and profound." / He also says: "No thing is the inherently authentic; / The inherently authentic is the Great Way." / The poem of Master Hanshan says: / "Cold Mountain dwells in a single cave; / Inside the cave there is not a single thing. / Pure, clean, vast and empty, / Bright and luminous as the sun. / Coarse grain nourishes this frail body; / A cloth quilt covers the illusory form. / Let a thousand sages appear as they will; / I possess the inherently authentic Buddha." / Therefore, in the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra, the Buddha spoke of the one hundred phrases of liberation, comparing them to a hundred pounds of gold: they are the supreme treasure of all buddhas, the secret treasure of nirvāṇa. Hence, phrase after phrase, it states that true liberation is just the tathāgata. Now, the tathāgata comes from the intrinsic nature of the tathatā of the one mind; hence he is called "Tathāgata" [the Thus-Come]. Furthermore, "tathā" [thus] means unchanging, unvarying, and not losing its intrinsic nature; hence it is called "tathā." "Āgata" [come] means that tathatā does not remain in its intrinsic nature, but manifests in accord with conditions; hence it is called "come." This is indeed a coming that is non-coming, because the nature of tathatā pervades all places, truly having no going or coming; responding according to the mind, it has neither appearance nor disappearance. Furthermore, the sūtra states: "The Tathāgata is none other than the Dharma." Hence the Treatise on the Awakening of Faith says: "What is called 'Dharma' is the mind of sentient beings." Therefore, an ancient master of virtue said: "The mind is fundamentally pure, yet there is also no mark of purity; only then do you see my mind." Thus we know that among the one hundred phrases of liberation, each phrase illumines the mind, and every mind is liberated; not a single word or letter fails to serve as a compass for the Mirror of the Source. As the sūtra states: "At that time Bodhisattva Kāśyapa addressed the Buddha once again, saying: 'World-Honoured One, we only pray that out of pity you will deign to explain extensively once more the practice of great nirvāṇa and the meaning of liberation.' The Buddha praised Kāśyapa: 'Excellent, excellent! Good son, true liberation is called being far removed from all bandhana. If true liberation is free from all bandhana, then there is no birth and also no coming together. Just as father and mother come together to give birth to a child, true liberation is not like this. For this reason, liberation is called 'unborn.' Kāśyapa, just as ghee is pure in nature, the Tathāgata is also like this: he is not born from the coming together of father and mother; his nature is pure. The reason he manifests having parents is because he wishes to convert and save all sentient beings. True liberation is just the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata and liberation are not two and not distinct. Just as when various beans are planted in the spring months, having received warmth, they immediately sprout and grow, true liberation is not like this. Furthermore, liberation is called 'emptiness and non-being.' Emptiness and non-being are just liberation; liberation is just the Tathāgata; the Tathāgata is just emptiness and non-being. It is neither acting nor what is made. Whatever is made is like city walls, towers, and ramparts. True liberation is not like this. For this reason, liberation is just the Tathāgata. Furthermore, liberation is an unconditioned phenomenon. Just as a potter makes [pots] and then breaks them again, liberation is not like this. True liberation is neither produced nor destroyed. For this reason, liberation is just the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata is also like this: neither produced nor destroyed, neither aging nor dying, neither broken nor destroyed, not a conditioned phenomenon. By this meaning, he is called 'the Tathāgata entering great nirvāṇa.' What is the meaning of neither aging nor dying? 'Aging' means shifting and changing, with white hair and wrinkled face. 'Dying' means the destruction of the body and the end of life. Such phenomena do not exist in liberation. Because these things are absent, it is called 'liberation.' The Tathāgata also has no conditioned phenomena of white hair and wrinkled face; for this reason the Tathāgata has no aging. Because he has no aging, he has no dying. Furthermore, liberation is called 'free from illness.' What is called 'illness' refers to the four hundred and four illnesses, as well as other external damages that harm the body; because these do not exist in this state, it is called 'liberation.' Being free from illness is true liberation. True liberation is just the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata has no illness; therefore the dharmakāya also has no illness. Such absence of illness is just the Tathāgata. 'Dying' is called the destruction of the body and the end of life; having no death in this state is amṛta. This amṛta is true liberation. True liberation is just the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata has accomplished such merits; how could one say that the Tathāgata is impermanent? If one says he is impermanent, there is no such possibility. This is a vajra-body; how could it be impermanent? For this reason, the Tathāgata is not said to have an end of life.'"