宗鏡錄 32.3

32.3

Answer: What are called retinues are entirely retinues within principle. The tathatā of sentient beings and the tathatā of buddhas are one tathatā without two tathatās. Because the nature of principle is interrelated, the Tathāgata is called the father of the world, and all sentient beings are the children of the buddhas. As for the retinue of Dharma gates: in terms of the Dharma of personal realization, dhyāna-concentration is the father and prajñā is the mother, producing the truly pure dharmakāya. In terms of the Dharma of transforming others, expedient means are the father and loving-kindness and compassion are the mother, producing the responsive and manifest buddha bodies. From the true nature of prajñā, great compassion of identical substance arises. All the adornments of the myriad practices are virtues arising from the nature. There are definitely no dharmas outside the mind to serve as host and companion. As the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra says: 'Those who wish to become personal attendants of the Buddha and his inner retinue, and so forth, should study prajñā.' This is because prajñā is the wondrously sentient nature of mind. Therefore, whenever the buddhas and bodhisattvas perform any actions, they are always inwardly concealed and outwardly manifested, not abandoning the qualities of the Path while displaying the affairs of ordinary beings. As the Chapter on Entering the Dharmadhātu in the Avataṃsakasūtra says: 'Furthermore, good son, the bodhisattva takes the perfection of wisdom (prajñāpāramitā) as mother, skill-in-means as father, the perfection of giving (dānapāramitā) as wet nurse, the perfection of ethical discipline (śīlapāramitā) as foster mother, the perfection of forbearance (kṣāntipāramitā) as ornament, the perfection of vigor (vīryapāramitā) as rearer, the perfection of meditation (dhyānapāramitā) as washer, spiritual friends as instructors, all factors of bodhi as companions, all wholesome dharmas as relatives, all bodhisattvas as brothers, the bodhicitta as home, cultivating according to principle as family rules, the wholesome dharmas of the grounds as the family estate, attaining the forbearances as the family clan, the arising of great vows as family instruction, fulfilling all practices through pure wisdom as compliance with family rules, encouraging the diligent cultivation of the Mahāyāna without interruption as continuing the family lineage, the bodhisattva bound to one birth who receives the water of the Dharma in consecration as the crown prince, and accomplishing vast and true bodhi as purifying the family clan.' The Aṅgulimālīyasūtra says: 'The Buddha said: "All sentient beings possess the tathāgatagarbha; all men are brothers, and all women are sisters. Up to: women possess the buddhagarbha, and men are also like this. Why should one single nature give rise to self-defilement? It is because of this one nature that the Tathāgata purely cultivates brahma-conduct, abides on his own ground, the non-retrogressing ground, and attains the ground of the Tathāgata."' A verse in the Vimalakīrtisūtra says: / 'The perfection of wisdom is the mother of the bodhisattva, / And skill-in-means is the father; / All guides of the multitude / Are without exception born from these. / Dharma-joy is taken as wife; / The mind of loving-kindness and compassion is the daughter; / The wholesome mind of sincerity and truth is the son; / And ultimate emptiness and tranquility are the dwelling. / The disciples are the multitude of defilements, / Turned according to one's wish; / Spiritual friends are the factors of the Path: / By these one achieves right enlightenment. / The various perfections and dharmas are peers and companions, / And the four means of embracing are the singing girls; / Singing and chanting the words of the Dharma, / They take this as their music. / The garden and park of dhāraṇī, / The forest grove of undefiled dharmas, / The pure and wondrous flowers of the awakening mind, / And the fruit of the wisdom of liberation; / The bathing pond of the eight liberations, / Filled to the brim with the water of concentration; / Spread with the flowers of the seven purities, / It bathes this unstained person. / The five superknowledges gallop like elephants and horses, / The Great Vehicle is taken as the cart; / Steered by one mind, / One roams upon the eightfold correct path. / Adorned in countenance with the complete marks, / The secondary signs embellish one's posture; / Conscience and shame are the supreme robes, / And the profound mind is the flower garland. / Richly endowed with the seven treasures of wealth, / Instructing so as to increase them; / Cultivating as taught, / Dedication is the great profit. / The four dhyānas are the seat, / Born from pure livelihood; / Much learning increases wisdom, / Serving as the sound of one's own awakening. / The food of the Dharma of ambrosia, / The flavor of liberation is the drink; / Purifying the mind through bathing, / The categories of morality are the scented ointment. / Destroying the thieves of kleśa, / Valiant and robust beyond compare; / Subduing the four kinds of māras, / One hoists the banner of victory and establishes the bodhimanda.' / The Commentary of Chongfu says: 'Actual virtues provide internal sustenance, nurturing like a mother; expedient means encompass externally, delivering beings and being termed the father. Inwardly realizing the profound Dharma pleases one's own wisdom-mind, joy and bliss filling the breast; hence it is named the wife.' Master Zhao says: 'The mind of loving-kindness and compassion is empty and complies outwardly; its nature is gentle and soft, conforming to things without resisting; hence it is like a daughter. The wholesome mind has great strength, eradicating evil to its very source and according with true realization; hence it is named the son. The principle of the twofold emptiness that is realized is one's dwelling: outwardly shielding from the wind and rain of the six dusts, and inwardly expelling the vermin of the three poisons. Furthermore, that which is not truly essential is only visited temporarily from time to time; emptiness is the source of principle, taken as the permanent dwelling; hence it says "ultimate emptiness and tranquility are the dwelling." Being able to transform sentient beings of defilement to accomplish the buddhadharma: what were once the master of ignorance and the māra-king of affection are now converted to follow the Path and called disciples; hence it says "the disciples are the multitude of defilements, turned according to one's wish." Up to: the spiritual friends of the thirty-seven factors [of bodhi] and the Dharma-companions of the six pāramitās and myriad practices are true path-companions, assisting in the completion of bodhi. The four means of embracing widely encompass, causing people to rejoice, like singing girls; praising and chanting the words of the Dharma causes people to delight in the flavor, like music. Taking dhāraṇī as the park, it can subsume all dharmas; taking the undefiled as the forest, it can eliminate burning anguish; through the pure and wondrous flowers of the seven factors of awakening, one accomplishes the wisdom-fruit of the eight liberations; the crystal-clear water of concentration constantly blossoms with the flowers of awakening. Using the One Vehicle as the cart and the five superknowledges as the horses, steered by the one mind, one travels along the eightfold correct path. Up to: the wondrous marks adorn one's countenance, the secondary signs embellish one's form, conscience and shame are the robes, the profound mind is the garland, possessing the wealth of the seven noble ones, occupying the seat of the four dhyānas, entering the treasure house of much learning, born from pure livelihood, drinking the syrup of the single flavor of liberation, obtaining the ultimate food of ambrosia, destroying the eighty thousand kleśas, accomplishing the five-part dharmakāya, subduing the four kinds of māra-armies, and perfecting the path of the three bodhis. Whether host or companion, cause or condition, all are the unfurling and rolling up of the mirror of the source, the substance and function of the mind; never has a single dharma been established that arose from the outside.